At its best, entertainment is going to be a subjective thing that can't win for everyone, while at worst, a particular game just becomes a random symbol for petty tribal behavior.
– John Carmack
Because of the nature of Moore's law, anything that an extremely clever graphics programmer can do at one point can be replicated by a merely competent programmer some number of years later.
– John Carmack
Focus is a matter of deciding what things you're not going to do.
– John Carmack
Focused, hard work is the real key to success. Keep your eyes on the goal, and just keep taking the next step towards completing it. If you aren't sure which way to do something, do it both ways and see which works better.
– John Carmack
I recognize that I possess a very special intellect, but at the same time, I recognize that I'm lacking in a lot of areas. But being well-rounded is greatly overrated.
– John Carmack
I'd rather have a search engine or a compiler on a deserted island than a game.
– John Carmack
I'm good? Seriously?
– John Carmack
It's nice to have a game that sells a million copies.
– John Carmack
Low-level programming is good for the programmer's soul.
– John Carmack
Note to self: Pasty-skinned programmers ought not stand in the Mojave desert for multiple hours.
– John Carmack
Programming is not a zero-sum game. Teaching something to a fellow programmer doesn't take it away from you. I'm happy to share what I can, because I'm in it for the love of programming.
– John Carmack
Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important.
– John Carmack
Telneting into your rocket is sort of fundamentally cool.
– John Carmack
The cost of adding a feature isn't just the time it takes to code it. The cost also includes the addition of an obstacle to future expansion. ... The trick is to pick the features that don't fight each other.
– John Carmack
The speed of light sucks.
– John Carmack
Rocket science has been mythologized all out of proportion to its true difficulty.