5 ms·

John Romero talks about creating TEd, the tile editor

83 points by mastazi 9y ago

drxzcl 9y ago
Romero comes across as a really nice guy!
- dagurp 9y ago
  He's a character. You should check out "Masters of Doom"
  - _pdp_ 9y ago
    This is by far one of my most favourite books.
- corysama 9y ago
  I met him a few years ago when he impromptu visited the gamedev studio where I worked (a mutual friend caught him on the street during lunch). During that brief visit he did come across to me as a really nice guy with a genuine interest in games and the tech that powers them.
- rasz 9y ago
  I guess losing your giant ego driven career after telling people to "suck it down" because "John Romero's about to make you his bitch" does that to a man.
bluedino 9y ago
I found it interesting on all the non-game things that Romero's name was on. The DE-ICE installer, the text file viewer that came with the games... I guess their background in writing tiny random apps for Softdisk explains it.
epicide 9y ago
> A lot of times, ... programmers don't go far enough asking the questions about 'Why do you want that? What is it that you're actually trying to do?' As somebody who is currently trying to push more UI/UX-centric ideas in their company, this quote really hits home. Edit: maybe someday I'll get formatting right the first time.
- danso 9y ago
  Also: "It's also important to take the time to really use the tool yourself, so you can experience what's annoying about it." Even if programmers are willing to ask those questions, it's a two-way street, and users often don't know what to ask for, or what's possible [insert apocryphal Henry Ford quote about faster horses]. Obviously, asking those questions and pursuing answers is a key attitude, but maybe that attitude also has to be augmented by trying to dogfood what you're building for someone else.
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    Which is why exploratory UI/UX design with tools like Balsamiq , Sketch or Adobe XD is important. A bunch of screens that can be used to discuss UI workflows with the actual users, before writing any line of code or setting decisions into stone that can turn into show stoppers.
  - jmts 9y ago
    > A lot of times, ... programmers don't go far enough asking the questions about 'Why do you want that? What is it that you're actually trying to do?' > It's also important to take the time to really use the tool yourself, so you can experience what's annoying about it. I've actually found both of these to be useful in discovering future side-projects, or the design of my future home. What am I really trying to do? Maybe I should use a cloud-based option rather than a file-sync oriented one. What annoys me so much about this? Push to open cupboards have no visual UI hints and the dishwasher requires you to knock to open it. Just add some handles and be done with it! If this annoys me, will it annoy someone else? Maybe I could develop a product around this.
- justicezyx 9y ago
mbauman 9y ago
In case you missed it yesterday, the the second article is an interview with Tim Sweeney. Article here: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidLightbown/20180109/309414/Classic_Tools_Retrospective_Tim_Sweeney_on_the_first_version_of_the_Unreal_Editor.php https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidLightbown/20180109/3094... And relevant HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16110133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16110133

83 points by mastazi 9y ago

drxzcl 9y ago

Romero comes across as a really nice guy!

dagurp 9y ago
He's a character. You should check out "Masters of Doom"
- _pdp_ 9y ago
  This is by far one of my most favourite books.
corysama 9y ago
I met him a few years ago when he impromptu visited the gamedev studio where I worked (a mutual friend caught him on the street during lunch). During that brief visit he did come across to me as a really nice guy with a genuine interest in games and the tech that powers them.
rasz 9y ago
I guess losing your giant ego driven career after telling people to "suck it down" because "John Romero's about to make you his bitch" does that to a man.

bluedino 9y ago

I found it interesting on all the non-game things that Romero's name was on. The DE-ICE installer, the text file viewer that came with the games... I guess their background in writing tiny random apps for Softdisk explains it.

epicide 9y ago

> A lot of times, ... programmers don't go far enough asking the questions about 'Why do you want that? What is it that you're actually trying to do?' As somebody who is currently trying to push more UI/UX-centric ideas in their company, this quote really hits home. Edit: maybe someday I'll get formatting right the first time.

danso 9y ago
Also: "It's also important to take the time to really use the tool yourself, so you can experience what's annoying about it." Even if programmers are willing to ask those questions, it's a two-way street, and users often don't know what to ask for, or what's possible [insert apocryphal Henry Ford quote about faster horses]. Obviously, asking those questions and pursuing answers is a key attitude, but maybe that attitude also has to be augmented by trying to dogfood what you're building for someone else.
- pjmlp 9y ago
  Which is why exploratory UI/UX design with tools like Balsamiq , Sketch or Adobe XD is important. A bunch of screens that can be used to discuss UI workflows with the actual users, before writing any line of code or setting decisions into stone that can turn into show stoppers.
- jmts 9y ago
  > A lot of times, ... programmers don't go far enough asking the questions about 'Why do you want that? What is it that you're actually trying to do?' > It's also important to take the time to really use the tool yourself, so you can experience what's annoying about it. I've actually found both of these to be useful in discovering future side-projects, or the design of my future home. What am I really trying to do? Maybe I should use a cloud-based option rather than a file-sync oriented one. What annoys me so much about this? Push to open cupboards have no visual UI hints and the dishwasher requires you to knock to open it. Just add some handles and be done with it! If this annoys me, will it annoy someone else? Maybe I could develop a product around this.
justicezyx 9y ago

mbauman 9y ago

In case you missed it yesterday, the the second article is an interview with Tim Sweeney. Article here: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidLightbown/20180109/309414/Classic_Tools_Retrospective_Tim_Sweeney_on_the_first_version_of_the_Unreal_Editor.php https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidLightbown/20180109/3094... And relevant HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16110133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16110133