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Off the top of my head: Carmack, Sweeny, Rami Ismail Could probably come up with many other examples. As someone who did dev in that industry I knew plenty tec

Off the top of my head: Carmack, Sweeny, Rami Ismail Could probably come up with many other examples. As someone who did dev in that industry I knew plenty technical people who had a outsized impact on gameplay, tone and style.

Permit 8y ago
How many average people playing the games know of these people? How many average people watching movies recognize Tom Cruise?
dfxm12 8y ago
Well, I'd agree that John Carmack is more comparable to a film director than a crew member. On the other hand, John Carmack is better compensated for that, as he is worth $40 Million[0], the same as film director Spike Lee[1] (who has been active a bit longer). 0 - https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/business-executives/john-d-carmack-net-worth/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/busine... 1 - https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/directors/spike-lee-net-worth/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/direct...
- phaus 8y ago
  Their net worth isn't really comparable though. Spike Lee makes polarizing movies that appeal to niche audiences. Carmack made a couple of the best and most popular games of all time. He also achieved revolutionary technological advances that pushed gaming beyond what people thought was possible on the hardware that existed 3 generations in a row. Arguably 4. Given that the game industry is so large, his net worth should be comparable to lucas, Cameron, or Spielberg. When it comes to excelling in a field, I don't even think Spielberg, Lucas and Cameron compare to Carmack. I can think of some actors that might, such as Daniel-Day Lewis, but not a director.
  - Impossible 8y ago
    Carmack is a hero for a certain generation of programmers, but id's most successful titles in it's heyday would be considered mid-tier indie successes by today's standards. Games derived from idtech (most Call of Duty games, most Valve titles) have seen orders of magnitude more success than anything released by id. I imagine at this point that most of Carmack's networth comes from the sale of id to Zenimax followed by Facebook stock granted for joining Oculus, not from game royalties. Doom and Quake are more niche than many movies Spike Lee has directed if you are outside of a tech/gamer bubble. According to wikipedia Doom as a series has sold 10 million units (by comparison a single Call of Duty game sells 30 million+) and Quake sold 1.1 million units life time (Gone Home sold 700K units). I agree that Carmack's impact and influence on the industry isn't captured in his networth (although really he's still ridiculously rich...)
gamblor956 8y ago
The average A-list director, of which there are many, makes more than the average Carmack/Sweeny, of which there are far fewer. On the whole, video-gaming profits accrue almost entirely to the investors.
- Impossible 8y ago
  Tim Sweeney's networth is now 7 billion which is higher than James Cameron (700 million) and Steven Spielberg (3.7 billion).
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    As I stated earlier, Sweeney owns his studio and would be classified as an investor.
    - Impossible 8y ago
      My comment was a direct response to you having Sweeney's name in the post I responded to, I had not read the earlier post where you mention investor classification. Why use Sweeney as an example if you think he's an exception, which he is.

Permit 8y ago

How many average people playing the games know of these people? How many average people watching movies recognize Tom Cruise?

dfxm12 8y ago

Well, I'd agree that John Carmack is more comparable to a film director than a crew member. On the other hand, John Carmack is better compensated for that, as he is worth $40 Million[0], the same as film director Spike Lee[1] (who has been active a bit longer). 0 - https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/business-executives/john-d-carmack-net-worth/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/busine... 1 - https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/directors/spike-lee-net-worth/ https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/direct...

phaus 8y ago
Their net worth isn't really comparable though. Spike Lee makes polarizing movies that appeal to niche audiences. Carmack made a couple of the best and most popular games of all time. He also achieved revolutionary technological advances that pushed gaming beyond what people thought was possible on the hardware that existed 3 generations in a row. Arguably 4. Given that the game industry is so large, his net worth should be comparable to lucas, Cameron, or Spielberg. When it comes to excelling in a field, I don't even think Spielberg, Lucas and Cameron compare to Carmack. I can think of some actors that might, such as Daniel-Day Lewis, but not a director.
- Impossible 8y ago
  Carmack is a hero for a certain generation of programmers, but id's most successful titles in it's heyday would be considered mid-tier indie successes by today's standards. Games derived from idtech (most Call of Duty games, most Valve titles) have seen orders of magnitude more success than anything released by id. I imagine at this point that most of Carmack's networth comes from the sale of id to Zenimax followed by Facebook stock granted for joining Oculus, not from game royalties. Doom and Quake are more niche than many movies Spike Lee has directed if you are outside of a tech/gamer bubble. According to wikipedia Doom as a series has sold 10 million units (by comparison a single Call of Duty game sells 30 million+) and Quake sold 1.1 million units life time (Gone Home sold 700K units). I agree that Carmack's impact and influence on the industry isn't captured in his networth (although really he's still ridiculously rich...)

gamblor956 8y ago

The average A-list director, of which there are many, makes more than the average Carmack/Sweeny, of which there are far fewer. On the whole, video-gaming profits accrue almost entirely to the investors.

Impossible 8y ago
Tim Sweeney's networth is now 7 billion which is higher than James Cameron (700 million) and Steven Spielberg (3.7 billion).
- gamblor956 8y ago
  As I stated earlier, Sweeney owns his studio and would be classified as an investor.
  - Impossible 8y ago
    My comment was a direct response to you having Sweeney's name in the post I responded to, I had not read the earlier post where you mention investor classification. Why use Sweeney as an example if you think he's an exception, which he is.