Editing John Carmack (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Carmack was born in [[Shawnee Mission, Kansas]],<ref name="wired.com" /> the son of local television news reporter Stan Carmack. He grew up in the [[Kansas City metropolitan area]], where he became interested in [[computer]]s at an early age. He attended [[Shawnee Mission East High School]] in [[Prairie Village, Kansas]] and [[Raytown South High School]] in nearby [[Raytown, Missouri]].{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=20–22}}

Carmack was introduced to video games with the 1978 [[shoot 'em up]] game ''[[Space Invaders]]'' in the [[Arcade game|arcades]] during a [[summer]] vacation as a child. The 1980 [[List of maze video games#Maze chase games|maze chase]] arcade game ''[[Pac-Man]]'' also left a strong impression on him. He cited [[Nintendo]] designer [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] as the game developer he most admired.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/ |title= All the RAGE: John Carmack | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052321/http://www.bethblog.com/2011/01/26/all-the-rage-john-carmack/ |archive-date= March 20, 2017 |website= [[Bethesda Softworks]] }}</ref>

As reported in David Kushner's ''[[Masters of Doom]]'', when Carmack was 14, he broke into a school with other children to steal [[Apple II]] computers. To gain entry to the building, Carmack concocted a sticky substance of [[thermite]] mixed with [[Vaseline]] that melted through the windows. However, an overweight accomplice struggled to get through the hole and instead opened the window, setting off a silent alarm and alerting police. Carmack was arrested and sent for psychiatric evaluation. He was sentenced to a year in a juvenile home.<ref name="slashdot-answers">{{cite web |url=https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/john-carmack-answers |title=John Carmack Answers |date=October 15, 1999 |website=[[Slashdot]] |access-date=November 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005165414/https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/john-carmack-answers |archive-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=21}} He attended the [[University of Missouri–Kansas City]] for two semesters before withdrawing to work as a freelance programmer.<ref>{{cite book|last1 =Jones |first1=Steve|title=Encyclopedia of New Media: An Essential Reference to Communication and Technology Encyclopedia Of New Media|publisher =SAGE Publications |isbn=0-7619-2382-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofne00jone|url-access =registration |page =[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofne00jone/page/53 53] |quote =University of Missouri–Kansas City john carmack. |date=December 10, 2002}}</ref>

===Career===
[[Softdisk]], a computer company in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], hired Carmack to work on ''[[Softdisk (disk magazine)|Softdisk G-S]]'' (an [[Apple IIGS|Apple II<small>GS</small>]] publication), introducing him to [[John Romero]] and other future key members of id Software such as [[Adrian Carmack]] (no relation). Later, Softdisk would place this team in charge of a new, but short-lived, bi-monthly game subscription product called ''Gamer's Edge'' for the IBM PC (DOS) platform. In 1990, while still at Softdisk, Carmack, Romero, and others created the first of the ''[[Commander Keen]]'' games, a series that was published by [[Apogee Software]], under the [[shareware]] distribution model, from 1991 onwards.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=63–66}} Afterwards, Carmack left Softdisk to co-found [[id Software]].{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=74}}

Carmack has pioneered or popularized the use of many techniques in computer graphics, including "[[adaptive tile refresh]]" for ''Commander Keen'',{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=50}} [[ray casting]] for ''[[Hovertank 3D]]'', ''[[Catacomb 3-D]]'', and ''Wolfenstein 3D'', [[binary space partitioning]] which ''Doom'' became the first game to use,{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=142}} [[surface caching]] which he invented for ''Quake'', [[Carmack's Reverse]] (formally known as z-fail stencil shadows) which he devised for ''Doom 3'', and [[MegaTexture]] technology, first used in ''[[Enemy Territory: Quake Wars]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/enemy-territory-quake-wars/681231p1.html |title=GameSpy: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – Page 1 |last=Accardo |first=Sal 'Sluggo' |date=January 13, 2006 |website=[[GameSpy]] |access-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511012233/http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/enemy-territory-quake-wars/681231p1.html |archive-date=May 11, 2016}}</ref> ''[[Quake 3]]'' popularized the [[fast inverse square root]] algorithm.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyond3D – Origin of Quake3's Fast InvSqrt() – Part Two|url=https://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/15|access-date=September 17, 2021|website=www.beyond3d.com}}</ref>

Carmack's engines have also been licensed for use in other influential first-person shooters such as ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'', ''[[Call of Duty (video game)|Call of Duty]]'' and ''[[Medal of Honor: Allied Assault]]''. In 2007, when Carmack was on vacation with his wife, he ended up playing some games on his cellphone, and decided he was going to make a "good" mobile game.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Anna |last=Kang |date=October 18, 2007 |title=Q&A: Fountainhead's Kang Talks Orcs & Elves DS, Wii Possibilities |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15909 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117020714/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15909 |archive-date=January 17, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Mike |last=Snider |title=Q&A with id Software's Kevin Cloud and Steve Nix |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=July 18, 2007 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/bonus/2007-07-16-q&a-id_N.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523230030/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/bonus/2007-07-16-q%26a-id_N.htm?csp=34 |archive-date=May 23, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:John Carmack GDC 2010.jpg|thumb|Carmack giving a speech after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 10th annual [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] ceremony on March 11, 2010]]

On August 7, 2013, Carmack joined [[Oculus VR]] as their [[Chief technology officer|CTO]].<ref>{{cite news|first1=Keith|last1=Stuart|access-date=July 30, 2019|title=Press Start: John Carmack joins Oculus Rift, Xbox One video recorder is for Gold members only, and more|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2013/aug/08/game-links-press-start|newspaper=The Guardian|date=August 8, 2013|issn=0261-3077|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> On November 22, 2013, he resigned from [[id Software]] to work full-time at Oculus VR.<ref name="polygon" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/22/dooms-john-carmack-leaves-id-software-to-focus-on-the-oculus-virtual-reality-headset/|title=Doom's John Carmack Leaves id Software To Focus On The Oculus Virtual Reality Headset|first=Alex|last=Wilhelm|date=November 22, 2013 }}</ref> Carmack's reason for leaving was that id's parent company [[ZeniMax Media]] did not want to support Oculus Rift.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-05-why-john-carmack-quit-id-software |title=Why John Carmack quit id Software |last=Yin-Poole |first=Wesley |date=February 5, 2014 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=February 5, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222202220/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-05-why-john-carmack-quit-id-software |archive-date=February 22, 2014}}</ref> Carmack's role at both companies later became central to [[ZeniMax v. Oculus|a ZeniMax lawsuit]] against Oculus' parent company, [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] (then known as Facebook), claiming that Oculus stole ZeniMax's virtual reality [[intellectual property]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Orland |first1=Kyle |title=Oculus accused of destroying evidence, Zuckerberg to testify in VR theft trial |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/01/oculus-accused-of-destroying-evidence-zuckerberg-to-testify-in-vr-theft-trial/ |access-date=January 16, 2017 |website=Ars Technica |date=January 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116211622/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/01/oculus-accused-of-destroying-evidence-zuckerberg-to-testify-in-vr-theft-trial/ |archive-date=January 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Alex|last1=Hern|access-date=July 30, 2019|title=Facebook in row with games firm over Oculus Rift purchase|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/02/facebook-row-games-firm-oculus-rift-john-carmack-id-software|newspaper=The Guardian|date=May 2, 2014|issn=0261-3077|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Sam|last1=Thielman|access-date=July 30, 2019|title=Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg testifies in Oculus Rift lawsuit|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/17/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-testifies-oculus-rift-lawsuit|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 17, 2017|issn=0261-3077|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> The trial jury absolved Carmack of liability, though Oculus and other corporate officers were held liable for trademark, copyright, and contract violations.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Orland |first1=Kyle |title=Oculus, execs liable for $500 million in ZeniMax VR trial |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/oculus-execs-liable-for-500-million-in-zenimax-vr-trial/ |access-date=February 1, 2017 |website=Ars Technica |date=February 1, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201225128/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/oculus-execs-liable-for-500-million-in-zenimax-vr-trial/ |archive-date=February 1, 2017}}</ref>

[[File:John Carmack - The Dawn of Mobile VR - Game Developer Conference 2015 - cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Carmack speaking about "The Dawn of Mobile VR" during the [[Game Developers Conference]] 2015]]

In February 2017, Carmack sued ZeniMax, claiming the company had refused to pay him the remaining $22.5 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=22500000|start_year=2017}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) owed to him from their purchase of id Software.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Manion |first1=Wayne |title=John Carmack sues ZeniMax for $22.5 million |url=https://techreport.com/news/31570/john-carmack-sues-zenimax-for-22-5-million |access-date=March 13, 2017 |publisher=Tech Report |date=March 10, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314063835/https://techreport.com/news/31570/john-carmack-sues-zenimax-for-22-5-million |archive-date=March 14, 2017}}</ref> In October 2018, Carmack stated that he and ZeniMax had reached an agreement and that "Zenimax has fully satisfied their obligations to me", ending the suit.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/12/john-carmack-zenimax-lawsuits/ | title = 'Doom' co-creator John Carmack ends legal fight with ZeniMax | first = Daniel | last = Cooper | date = October 12, 2018 | access-date = October 12, 2018 | work = [[Engadget]] }}</ref>

On November 13, 2019, Carmack stepped down from the Oculus CTO role to become a "Consulting CTO" in order to allocate more time to his work on [[artificial general intelligence]] (AGI).<ref name="consultant">{{Cite web|first=Richard|last=Lawler|url=https://www.engadget.com/2019/11/13/john-carmack-agi/?guccounter=1|title=John Carmack takes a step back at Oculus to work on human-like AI|website=Engadget.com|date=November 14, 2019 |language=en|access-date=November 14, 2019}}</ref> On August 19, 2022, Carmack announced that he has raised $20M for Keen Technologies, his new AGI company.<ref name="keenagi">{{Cite web|first=John|last=Carmack|url= https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1560728042959507457|title=John Carmack on Twitter|website=Twitter.com|language=en|access-date=August 23, 2022| date=August 19, 2022}}</ref> On December 16, 2022, Carmack left Oculus to focus on Keen.<ref name=":0" />

In September 2023 John partnered with computer scientist [[Richard S. Sutton]] from the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute {{!}} AI for good and for all |url=https://www.amii.ca/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute |language=en}}</ref> to help further AI research efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Carmack & Rich Sutton Partner to Accelerate AGI Development {{!}} Amii |url=https://www.amii.ca/updates-insights/john-carmack-and-rich-sutton-agi |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute |language=en}}</ref>

===Workstyle ===
Carmack claims to have maintained a sixty-hour work week, working a 10-hour day, six days a week, throughout his career.<ref name="Fridman">{{cite podcast |host=Lex Fridman |title=#309 – John Carmack: Doom, Quake, VR, AGI, Programming, Video Games, and Rockets |website=Lexfridman.com |publisher=Lex Fridman |date=15 January 2023 |url=https://lexfridman.com/john-carmack/ |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref> He has spoken publicly about the importance of long hours of uninterrupted focus in his work. Not only does high intensity allow him to make progress more quickly, but long hours are also critical to maintaining a focused mindset over time. Despite working such a demanding schedule, he has never experienced burnout.<ref name="Fridman"/>

Carmack is also known for taking week-long programming retreats. These retreats involve a solitary, uninterrupted period away from his normal routine often sequestered in a random city and hotel.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=252}} The goal of these retreats is to allow Carmack to operate at full cognitive capacity, tackling a specific, difficult problem or learning a new skill.<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Carmack |first=John |user=@ID_AA_Carmack |number=1218526548627804161 |date=January 18, 2020 |access-date=January 15, 2023 |link=https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1218526548627804161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw |title=I was doing a remote study/think time this week, and I tried a "no screen time day" as an experiment, restricting myself to printed books and papers. It was inconclusive. I missed finding instant answers and chasing references at least a dozen times during the day. I was ...}}</ref> The solitude and physical isolation of these retreats offer the perfect environment for deep focus and reflection, making them an essential part of Carmack's creative process.

Carmack was vocal about his frustration with the bureaucratic inefficiencies he encountered during his time at Meta.<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Carmack |first=John |user=@ID_AA_Carmack |number=1603931901491908610 |date=December 16, 2022 |access-date=January 15, 2023 |link=https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1218526548627804161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw |title=I have always been pretty frustrated with how things get done at FB/Meta. Everything necessary for spectacular success is right there, but it doesn't get put together effectively.}}</ref> In his departure memo, he stated, "We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort," he wrote. "I have never been able to kill stupid things before they cause damage, or set a direction and have a team actually stick to it."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/john-carmack-leaves-meta-043202664.html |title=John Carmack leaves Meta with a memo criticizing the company's efficiency |last=Moon |first=Mariella |date=December 16, 2022 |website=Engadget |publisher=Yahoo |access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

Carmack subscribes to the philosophy that small, incremental steps are the fastest route to meaningful and disruptive [[innovation]].<ref name="Fridman"/> He compares this approach to the "magic of [[gradient descent]]" where small steps using local information result in the best outcomes. According to Carmack, this principle is proven by his own experience, and he has observed this in many of the smartest people in the world. He states, "Little tiny steps using local information winds up leading to all the best answers."<ref name="Fridman"/>