At this year’s QuakeCon convention in Gaylord, Texas, the gaming world witnessed a heartwarming moment as legendary programmer John Carmack sat down to play Doom, the groundbreaking first-person shooter he helped create over three decades ago. The id Software co-founder shared his experience on social media, noting that he quickly became absorbed in the classic game despite being a bit rusty on the details. “I sat down to try the Evercade Doom port, and before I knew it, I was on level four, and realizing that I had forgotten where all the keycards were,” Carmack wrote. “It wound up taking me 15 minutes each on level four and five. Still a great game after all these years!”
A Nostalgic Return to Gaming History
Carmack’s admission that he had forgotten keycard locations reveals an interesting dynamic between game creators and their own works. For context, the levels he mentioned—E1M4 and E1M5 from the iconic first episode “Knee Deep in the Dead”—have official par times of just 1 minute 30 seconds and 2 minutes 45 seconds respectively. The fact that one of gaming’s most brilliant minds needed 15 minutes per level speaks to how even legendary developers can lose their edge when stepping away from their creations. QuakeCon 2026 featured a special retrospective talk reuniting several id Software founders and original team members, making it the perfect occasion for Carmack to rediscover his magnum opus.
The reunion holds particular significance given Carmack’s current focus on artificial intelligence research following his departure from his role as consulting CTO at Meta. His return to the gaming spotlight, even briefly, reminds fans of his immeasurable contributions to the industry. Carmack’s revolutionary programming techniques for Doom, including binary space partitioning and the game’s pioneering pseudo-3D engine, fundamentally changed what was possible in video games and established templates still relevant in game development today.
How Developers Relate to Their Classic Games
The question of how game creators relate to their own work decades later produces fascinating and varied answers. John Romero, Carmack’s fellow id Software co-founder and Doom’s designer, remains deeply connected to the game. Romero has continued creating content for Doom, releasing the acclaimed Sigil expansion packs and even streaming playthroughs of remarkable community creations like the celebrated MyHouse.wad mod. His ongoing involvement demonstrates one approach to legacy—remaining actively engaged with a beloved creation and its passionate community.
In stark contrast, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke has publicly admitted he deliberately avoids revisiting Ultima 7, despite citing it as one of his favorite games and primary inspirations for titles like Divinity and Baldur’s Gate 3. Vincke’s reasoning is poignant: he fears the game wouldn’t hold up to his cherished memories from the 1990s. He also noted that the intensive development and testing process leaves him so saturated with his own games that he rarely touches them after launch. This protective distance from formative influences represents an entirely different philosophy of creative preservation.
Doom’s Enduring Legacy in Gaming Culture
Released in December 1993, Doom didn’t just launch a franchise—it essentially created the first-person shooter genre as we know it and pioneered numerous gaming conventions. The game introduced deathmatch multiplayer, popularized shareware distribution models, and spawned a modding community that remains active more than 30 years later. Its influence extends far beyond gaming, impacting everything from military training simulations to architectural visualization software. The fact that Doom continues to be ported to virtually every conceivable device—from calculators to refrigerators to pregnancy tests—speaks to its cultural immortality and the enduring appeal of its tight, responsive gameplay.
Carmack’s verdict that Doom remains “a great game after all these years” carries special weight coming from someone who revolutionized technology and could easily focus solely on cutting-edge developments. His willingness to engage with the Evercade port—a dedicated retro gaming handheld that celebrates classic titles—demonstrates an appreciation for gaming history that resonates with fans worldwide. As the gaming industry increasingly looks backward while moving forward, moments like this QuakeCon reunion remind us why certain games transcend their era to become timeless classics.
Expert Opinion: Carmack’s playful acknowledgment of his rustiness, combined with his genuine praise for Doom’s gameplay, underscores a crucial truth in game design: mechanical excellence ages far better than graphical fidelity. The original Doom’s responsive controls, enemy behavior patterns, and level design philosophy created an experience that remains compelling regardless of technological advances. This reunion moment suggests that as the industry matures, preserving and celebrating foundational works becomes increasingly important for understanding gaming’s artistic evolution.
