Origins & Early Life

John D. Carmack II (born August 21, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, and their sequels. Carmack made innovations in 3D computer graphics, such as his Carmack's Reverse algorithm for shadow volumes.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In 2013, he resigned from id Software to work full-time at Oculus VR as their CTO. In 2019, he reduced his role to Consulting CTO so he could allocate more time toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). In 2022, he left Oculus to work on his AGI startup, Keen Technologies. Carmack was born in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, the son of local television news reporter Stan Carmack. He grew up in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where he became interested in computers at an early age.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas and Raytown South High School in nearby Raytown, Missouri. Carmack was introduced to video games with the 1978 shoot 'em up game Space Invaders in the arcades during a summer vacation as a child. The 1980 maze chase arcade game Pac-Man also...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Aubrey Beardsley — Shared historical date (08-21 · Born) (1872): Pioneering English illustrator known for decadent, erotic black ink drawings.
• August Bournonville — Shared historical date (08-21 · Born) (1805): Pioneering Danish ballet master and choreographer, founder of the Bournonville School.
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• Alice Hamilton — Historical peer (Died in 1970) (1970): Pioneering toxicologist and advocate for occupational health and safety.
• Aaron Swartz — Historical peer (Died in 2013) (2013): Pioneering programmer, activist, and hacktivist known for RSS, Markdown, and progressive organizing.
• Bernadette Lafont — Historical peer (Died in 2013) (2013): Iconic French actress, celebrated for her role in the New Wave movement.
• Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — Historical peer (Died in 2019) (2019): Iraqi militant leader and founder of the Islamic State (IS)
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