May 15, 2018 at 12:35John Carmack: My Stories about Steve Jobs
- Transfer
One day my wife asked me, “Why do you give up what you do when Steve Jobs asks you to do something for him? You don’t do that for everyone else. ”
Indeed, there is something to think about.
In my youth I was a fan of the Apple computer, Jobs and Wozniak were revered for me, and the desire to have Apple 2 was a defining feature of my childhood for several years. Years later, when I first saw the NeXT computer at a computer exhibition - in those days when I was already selling my first commercial software - it seemed to me a look into the future (but the price tag was more than $ 10,000 - not bad!).
When Id Software became successful thanks to Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D, the first personal serious purchase for me was not a car - it was a NeXT computer. As it soon became clear, it turned out to be very useful for the development of our software, and as a result, we transferred our entire company to NeXT equipment.
We liked our NeXTs so much that we wanted to release Doom with the special logo “Developed on NeXT Computers” on the splash screen. However, when we asked for permission to take this step, we were refused.
Some time after the release, when Doom began its march on the planet and began to leave a noticeable mark on it, we found out that Steve changed his mind on this issue and would be glad to see NeXT branding on the game - however, this ship already sailed away for him. Then we exchanged a few messages with Steve Jobs and I thought it was cool.
Years later, based on my observations and circumstantial evidence, I came to the conclusion that, at heart, Steve never had a high opinion of games - and that he always wanted games not to be as important to his platforms as they occupied on really. I have never personally taken it personally.
When NeXT was able to carry out a kind of “reverse takeover” of Apple, and Steve was again at the helm, I sincerely rejoiced at this and was looking forward to all the useful features that a resurgent Apple could bring from NeXT to the mainstream.
I was invited to discuss the needs of the games in general, but my mission was to convince Apple to accept OpenGL as its 3D graphics API. We argued a lot with Steve about this.
Part of his method of communicating with others (at least with me) was to ridicule modern alternatives - and no one dared to argue with him or to speak differently. He could recognize these options as pragmatic - but, of course, they are by definitioncould not be a good choice. “I have a Pixar. We will build something [API] that will work really well. "
This often disappointed me, because he could confidently talk about things about which he was simply wrong - for example, the price of memory for video cards or the bandwidth of systems available for AltiVec extensions .
However, when I know what I'm talking about, I will stand my ground against anyone to the last.
When Steve determined something, he acted decisively. Dictations were held, companies were acquired, presentations were planned - to which the notorious field of distortion of reality was connected , turning all the ideas that were discussed and considered before, into terrible and inappropriateideas.
I believe that this decision of mine has become one of the most impressive indirect influences on the industry that I have had in my career. OpenGL never seriously threatened D3D on the PC, but it was critical for Apple - and this meant that it still had enough attention to make OpenGL the definitive API choice at the time when it began to install its GPUs on mobile devices. Now all of this has become a bit boring for us, but it is much better than if each of the five SoC manufacturers rolled out their own API at the dawn of the mobile era.
In the end, I made several presentations with Steve, and each time it was like a crazy fire alarm - there was never enough time to do everything right, and more often it took the heroic efforts of a large number of people to make it work. In part, it seems to me that this was actually a calculated part of his method.
The first impression I got from “performing Steve” ( “Keynote Steve” ) for me was Jobs scolding the poor work scene about “this Home Depot shit,” the fixture that rolled out the booth with the new Mac, and which he was extremely disappointed with. Although his complaints had good reasons, and as a result, with his attention to details, he improved the quality of the presentation - but I would not want to work for him as a working stage.
Once, my wife (then still a bride) and I met Steve at Apple - he wanted me to give a presentation that was scheduled for the same day as our wedding. With a wide smile and full of charm, he invited us to postpone the wedding to another day. We refused, but he continued to push. In the end, my wife came up with a counter proposal - if he really needed “her” John so much, he should lend John Lassiter to her media company for a day to consult. Steve fuckingly quickly turned from a man full of charm into real ice - and as a result, I never made a presentation at that presentation.
When I was working on the early technology demo of Doom 3 for a presentation in Japan, it was hard for me to work with some of the managers who worked on the issue because they insisted that I change the demo because “Steve doesn't like blood.” I was aware that Doom 3 fit poorly into its tastes - but it was not he who made the presentation.
I raised this issue in discussion with Steve and with everyone involved on board. He answered all of us as follows:
“I trust you, John. Do whatever you think is best. ”
Such an answer brought me great benefit - after him no one said a word to me.
When my wife and I later started creating games for “regular” phones ( DoomRPG! Orcs & Elves!), I repeatedly spoke to Steve that an Apple phone would be a great idea. Every time there was a rumor that Apple was allegedly working on a phone, I improved my pitch in front of it. One day he called me at home on Sunday (where did he get my number from?) To ask one question, after which I long and enthusiastically discussed potential opportunities.
I did not take any part in the creation of the iPhone - but I was very impressed when the iPhone finally saw the light. Giant (for its time) screen with accurate color reproduction ( true color ) and with a GPU! We could do incredible things on it!
Steve first talked about developing applications for the iPhone at the same presentation where I showed the new ID Tech 5 engine on Mac, so I sat in the front row. When he started talking about Web applications ( the Web Apps, ), I (albeit fairly quietly) has publicly voiced his disapproval.
After the audience went away and the others gathered in front of the stage, I immediately started talking about how terrible web applications are, since they will not be able to reflect the full potential of the device. We could realize so many more interesting ideas if we had real, direct access to the device!
Steve answered me with the same words that I heard earlier - "bad applications can disable cellular base stations." I hated these words. He could just say, “We are not ready for this,” and I would have reacted normally.
I had some of my guesses, and I decided to bet that the components of the iPhone and its OS already provided a sufficient level of protection for native applications. I pointed to the engineer closest to me and asked him, "Don't you already have MMU and process isolation on the iPhone?" His eyes were wide open - he looked at me with a look of "please do not drag me into this" - but in the end I got an affirmative answer from him.
I said that OS X was almost certainly used for activities that had much higher security requirements than a telephone - and that if Apple could not provide sufficient protection for this part there, it meant that they had big problems. He replied sarcastically, “You're a smart guy, John, why don't you write a new OS?” At that moment, I thought, “Fuck you, Steve.”
People parted from us. When Steve was angry, Apple employees did not want to catch his eye, so that inadvertently not fall under a hot hand after. Later, one of the Apple managers reassured me that “Steve welcomes such energetic discussions.”
Still disappointed about this decision, I made some unflattering comments, which the press immediately picked up. Of course, Steve didn't like it.
The famous “hero / shithead roller-coaster” swing by Steve Jobs (“the swing that carries you either in the mud or to confession”), as it turned out, was true. After I stayed at their summit for many years, now I am at the bottom. I was told that Steve gave direct instructions not to give me access to the early version of the iPhone SDK, when work on it was finally completed.
As a result, I wrote some successful iPhone applications on the side (all of them have now sunk into oblivion due to the fact that Apple ceases to support 32-bit applications, and this disappoints me) - and despite the fact that I had a lot of strengths employees inside Apple, I was on knives with Steve.
The last iOS product I worked on was Rage for iOS. At that time, in my opinion, she set a new bar for visual quality among mobile games, and also supported some new features like TV-out. I heard that inside Apple itself, they were very pleased.
I did a debriefing for the team after starting the game when they called me. I was busy, so I dropped the call. A few minutes later, someone entered the room and said that Steve wanted to call me. Oops ...
Everyone laughed at the fact that I “hung up on Steve Jobs” - but as it turned out later, this was the last time we interacted with each other.
As the news leaked to the press about his deteriorating health, I sat down at different times to write emails to him, trying to come up with something meaningful and positive in order to support him - but I never finished them, oh than today I am very sorry.
I confirm the existence of many negative character traits for which he was widely known - but the elements of the path that led me to where I am today depended on the traces he left in the universe.
So why did I give up all my affairs when Steve Jobs asked me for something? I exhibited in front of him.
Indeed, there is something to think about.
In my youth I was a fan of the Apple computer, Jobs and Wozniak were revered for me, and the desire to have Apple 2 was a defining feature of my childhood for several years. Years later, when I first saw the NeXT computer at a computer exhibition - in those days when I was already selling my first commercial software - it seemed to me a look into the future (but the price tag was more than $ 10,000 - not bad!).
When Id Software became successful thanks to Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D, the first personal serious purchase for me was not a car - it was a NeXT computer. As it soon became clear, it turned out to be very useful for the development of our software, and as a result, we transferred our entire company to NeXT equipment.
We liked our NeXTs so much that we wanted to release Doom with the special logo “Developed on NeXT Computers” on the splash screen. However, when we asked for permission to take this step, we were refused.
Some time after the release, when Doom began its march on the planet and began to leave a noticeable mark on it, we found out that Steve changed his mind on this issue and would be glad to see NeXT branding on the game - however, this ship already sailed away for him. Then we exchanged a few messages with Steve Jobs and I thought it was cool.
Years later, based on my observations and circumstantial evidence, I came to the conclusion that, at heart, Steve never had a high opinion of games - and that he always wanted games not to be as important to his platforms as they occupied on really. I have never personally taken it personally.
When NeXT was able to carry out a kind of “reverse takeover” of Apple, and Steve was again at the helm, I sincerely rejoiced at this and was looking forward to all the useful features that a resurgent Apple could bring from NeXT to the mainstream.
I was invited to discuss the needs of the games in general, but my mission was to convince Apple to accept OpenGL as its 3D graphics API. We argued a lot with Steve about this.
Part of his method of communicating with others (at least with me) was to ridicule modern alternatives - and no one dared to argue with him or to speak differently. He could recognize these options as pragmatic - but, of course, they are by definitioncould not be a good choice. “I have a Pixar. We will build something [API] that will work really well. "
This often disappointed me, because he could confidently talk about things about which he was simply wrong - for example, the price of memory for video cards or the bandwidth of systems available for AltiVec extensions .
However, when I know what I'm talking about, I will stand my ground against anyone to the last.
When Steve determined something, he acted decisively. Dictations were held, companies were acquired, presentations were planned - to which the notorious field of distortion of reality was connected , turning all the ideas that were discussed and considered before, into terrible and inappropriateideas.
I believe that this decision of mine has become one of the most impressive indirect influences on the industry that I have had in my career. OpenGL never seriously threatened D3D on the PC, but it was critical for Apple - and this meant that it still had enough attention to make OpenGL the definitive API choice at the time when it began to install its GPUs on mobile devices. Now all of this has become a bit boring for us, but it is much better than if each of the five SoC manufacturers rolled out their own API at the dawn of the mobile era.
In the end, I made several presentations with Steve, and each time it was like a crazy fire alarm - there was never enough time to do everything right, and more often it took the heroic efforts of a large number of people to make it work. In part, it seems to me that this was actually a calculated part of his method.
The first impression I got from “performing Steve” ( “Keynote Steve” ) for me was Jobs scolding the poor work scene about “this Home Depot shit,” the fixture that rolled out the booth with the new Mac, and which he was extremely disappointed with. Although his complaints had good reasons, and as a result, with his attention to details, he improved the quality of the presentation - but I would not want to work for him as a working stage.
Once, my wife (then still a bride) and I met Steve at Apple - he wanted me to give a presentation that was scheduled for the same day as our wedding. With a wide smile and full of charm, he invited us to postpone the wedding to another day. We refused, but he continued to push. In the end, my wife came up with a counter proposal - if he really needed “her” John so much, he should lend John Lassiter to her media company for a day to consult. Steve fuckingly quickly turned from a man full of charm into real ice - and as a result, I never made a presentation at that presentation.
When I was working on the early technology demo of Doom 3 for a presentation in Japan, it was hard for me to work with some of the managers who worked on the issue because they insisted that I change the demo because “Steve doesn't like blood.” I was aware that Doom 3 fit poorly into its tastes - but it was not he who made the presentation.
I raised this issue in discussion with Steve and with everyone involved on board. He answered all of us as follows:
“I trust you, John. Do whatever you think is best. ”
Such an answer brought me great benefit - after him no one said a word to me.
When my wife and I later started creating games for “regular” phones ( DoomRPG! Orcs & Elves!), I repeatedly spoke to Steve that an Apple phone would be a great idea. Every time there was a rumor that Apple was allegedly working on a phone, I improved my pitch in front of it. One day he called me at home on Sunday (where did he get my number from?) To ask one question, after which I long and enthusiastically discussed potential opportunities.
I did not take any part in the creation of the iPhone - but I was very impressed when the iPhone finally saw the light. Giant (for its time) screen with accurate color reproduction ( true color ) and with a GPU! We could do incredible things on it!
Steve first talked about developing applications for the iPhone at the same presentation where I showed the new ID Tech 5 engine on Mac, so I sat in the front row. When he started talking about Web applications ( the Web Apps, ), I (albeit fairly quietly) has publicly voiced his disapproval.
After the audience went away and the others gathered in front of the stage, I immediately started talking about how terrible web applications are, since they will not be able to reflect the full potential of the device. We could realize so many more interesting ideas if we had real, direct access to the device!
Steve answered me with the same words that I heard earlier - "bad applications can disable cellular base stations." I hated these words. He could just say, “We are not ready for this,” and I would have reacted normally.
I had some of my guesses, and I decided to bet that the components of the iPhone and its OS already provided a sufficient level of protection for native applications. I pointed to the engineer closest to me and asked him, "Don't you already have MMU and process isolation on the iPhone?" His eyes were wide open - he looked at me with a look of "please do not drag me into this" - but in the end I got an affirmative answer from him.
I said that OS X was almost certainly used for activities that had much higher security requirements than a telephone - and that if Apple could not provide sufficient protection for this part there, it meant that they had big problems. He replied sarcastically, “You're a smart guy, John, why don't you write a new OS?” At that moment, I thought, “Fuck you, Steve.”
People parted from us. When Steve was angry, Apple employees did not want to catch his eye, so that inadvertently not fall under a hot hand after. Later, one of the Apple managers reassured me that “Steve welcomes such energetic discussions.”
Still disappointed about this decision, I made some unflattering comments, which the press immediately picked up. Of course, Steve didn't like it.
The famous “hero / shithead roller-coaster” swing by Steve Jobs (“the swing that carries you either in the mud or to confession”), as it turned out, was true. After I stayed at their summit for many years, now I am at the bottom. I was told that Steve gave direct instructions not to give me access to the early version of the iPhone SDK, when work on it was finally completed.
As a result, I wrote some successful iPhone applications on the side (all of them have now sunk into oblivion due to the fact that Apple ceases to support 32-bit applications, and this disappoints me) - and despite the fact that I had a lot of strengths employees inside Apple, I was on knives with Steve.
The last iOS product I worked on was Rage for iOS. At that time, in my opinion, she set a new bar for visual quality among mobile games, and also supported some new features like TV-out. I heard that inside Apple itself, they were very pleased.
I did a debriefing for the team after starting the game when they called me. I was busy, so I dropped the call. A few minutes later, someone entered the room and said that Steve wanted to call me. Oops ...
Everyone laughed at the fact that I “hung up on Steve Jobs” - but as it turned out later, this was the last time we interacted with each other.
As the news leaked to the press about his deteriorating health, I sat down at different times to write emails to him, trying to come up with something meaningful and positive in order to support him - but I never finished them, oh than today I am very sorry.
I confirm the existence of many negative character traits for which he was widely known - but the elements of the path that led me to where I am today depended on the traces he left in the universe.
So why did I give up all my affairs when Steve Jobs asked me for something? I exhibited in front of him.
