John Carmack

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John D. Carmack II (born August 20, 1970) is an American game programmer, and the co-founder of id Software. Carmack was the lead programmer of the id computer games Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, their sequels and the Commander Keen series of games. Though Carmack is best known for his innovations in 3D graphics, he is also a rocketry enthusiast and the founder and lead engineer of Armadillo Aerospace. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/John+Carmack">Read more on Last.fm</a>

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Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

1. Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple

   · 1996 · cited 200,681x

2. Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold

   · 2021 · cited 41,730x

3. Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology

   · 2000 · cited 36,357x

4. Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment

   · 2007 · cited 34,340x

5. The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)

   · 1992 · cited 28,860x

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Quotes

• “I think a lot of people may take some heart from this: a lot of the math, the heavy math in projective geometry, [...] took me a long time. There were many many years, a decade, when I was considered this graphics guru genius, when I really couldn't do from scratch [...] the mathematics that underpins a lot of that. But slowly, eventually, with a couple decades of experience, most of it did eventually sink in on me.”
• “Everything is an interpolation problem if you have enough data”
• “In the information age, the barriers [to entry into programming] just aren't there. The barriers are self imposed. If you want to set off and go develop some grand new thing, you don't need millions of dollars of capitalization. You need enough pizza and Diet Coke to stick in your refrigerator, a cheap PC to work on, and the dedication to go through with it. We slept on floors. We waded across rivers.”
• “These are things I find enchanting and miraculous. I don’t have to be at the Grand Canyon to appreciate the way the world works, I can see that in reflections of light in my bathroom."”
• “Nvidia's OpenGL drivers are my 'gold standard', and it has been quite a while since I have had to report a problem to them, and even their brand new extensions work as documented the first time I try them. When I have a problem on an Nvidia, I assume that it is my fault. With anyone else's drivers, I assume it is their fault.”
• “The situation is so much better for programmers today - a cheap used PC, a linux CD, and an internet account, and you have all the tools necessary to work your way to any level of programming skill you want to shoot for.”

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Key facts

Born

( 1970-08-21 ) August 21, 1970 (age 55) , Shawnee Mission, Kansas , U.S.

Occupations

Computer programmer video game developer engineer

Years active

1989–present

Employers

Keen Technologies (2023–present) Oculus VR (2013–2022)

Known for

Co-founding id Software , Commander Keen , Wolfenstein 3D , Doom , Quake

Title

Consulting CTO, Oculus VR , Founder, Armadillo Aerospace

Political party

Libertarian

Spouse

Katherine Anna Kang ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2000 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 2021 ) ​

Partner

Trista DeLeon (2022–present)

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Wikidata facts

Image

John Carmack 2025.jpg

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