Doom and Quake creator builds the real stuff
Dec 13, 2004 18: 09 EST
Previously published Oct 29, 2004 19: 33 EST
The development of Contact technology for extreme expeditions now includes 3D positioning. The automated live reports, images, positions and maps on internet are slowly turning extreme explorers and climbers into virtual dots with an ongoing story, chillingly resembling computer games.
Gamers coming out
The interesting part is that as the real-life action figures of our community are entering virtual reality - virtual game creators are stepping out into real reality.
One such is John Carmack, 33, the legendary coder behind the games Doom and Quake, and also proud owner of a fleet of Ferraris.
"Nothing will change if someone doesn’t do something differently"
His company, Armadillo Aerospace in Dallas, hoped to win the X Prize, but moves on despite the 10 million loss.
Seven volunteers have been meeting in a warehouse for 3 years to build computer-controlled hydrogen peroxide rocket vehicles, with a parachute and compressible nose cone to ensure a soft landing.
“There’s a very good chance that nothing significant will change in space in the next 20 years if someone doesn’t do something differently,” John told Newsweek.
Nothing complicated about rocket science
Russ Blink is the test-pilot, whilst John will stay grounded at the computer-control.
"Rocket science has been mythologized all out of proportion to its true difficulty," John told CNN. "So has game coding" shot back NASA (just kidding).
"I think I can make my own spaceship"
For fun, Carmack used to modify twin turbo-charged Italian sports cars, until he had a Eureka moment: "I thought to myself, you know, for less money that I spend on Ferraris the past decade, I think I can make my own spaceship."
The gaming community is thrilled: "We would suggest that Carmack’s strength lies in the fact that he is a gamer. His coding abilities have been unrivalled in the PC arena, producing one hit first-person shooter after the other. Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake are just a few of his early successes, with their follow-ups garnering international acclaim akin to that of an academy award-winning film," writes PCgameworld.
Image of John Carmack (top left), and Russ Blink, strapped into a metal frame with ignited peroxide fuel tanks, just before blasting a few feet off the ground.
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