Hollywood Art: System of sunnys

January 26.

The year 1991 is a year of new opportunities. You've built relationships, and in particular, your comic company continues to grow in your activities as an entrepreneur and artist. The niches of Lux Comics continue to expand.

Among all the companies under your name, ID Software is particularly one of the companies about which you know even less about its management because of the difficulties in localization, as it is based in Kansas, Texas.

John Romero arrived at his workstation, a second-hand wooden desk like all the others in the company, this time furnished to his liking. He even got permission to play video games at work. The pay was good and even better, he received a $5,000 signing bonus. He arrived humming, with his hard rock cassette playing.

-So, what do we have for today, Mr. Carson? - Romero asked, addressing Richard, the grandfather of Billy. In simple matters, he is the boss of ID Software. He's not a businessman, but being old and having had employees in the past, he knows a good employee when he sees one.

-Ah, Romero, I've been missing you. Carmack, your friend, is missing. That punk is quite disorganized. Can you call him? - Richard Carson replied.

The rented space consists of two rooms, with a front room composed of a large window. The main room is divided into six large desks, and they're already thinking about expanding the company before even starting. Each desk has its state-of-the-art computers, with some personalized requests from the employees.

-He doesn't have a cellphone, but he should be arriving soon. Yesterday, we worked on the 3D game processors using existing gaming software. In the best-case scenario, we'll end up creating a new one. It's more complicated than we initially envisioned, Mr. Carson, - Romero explained.

-Well, it doesn't matter. I'll be at the café across the street having a coffee, - said Richard as he walked through the desks toward the exit.

The married couple continued to program tirelessly, working on inking the 3D character designs with the shooting device providing movement in the plane.

John Romero focused on developing the 3D game processor, to create a gaming application based on Pixar's designs. They needed their specialized game modulator to design the games. Fortunately, Pixar had an advanced programming system for creating 3D models. The challenge was to create an application that could run these 3D creations, and it was likely that they could only initially design it for computers.

After half an hour, Carmack arrived with wet, disheveled blonde hair and his large-framed glasses.

-Good morning, everyone, - Carmack greeted with a smile. He had been working on creating a 3D game production model based on Pixar's designs, and the game's animation was looking excellent.

-Carmack, Mr. Carson arrived early this morning. Later, I'll show you my ideas about the design. I'm using Animo as a template to standardize our processors for our future game, - Romero explained from his desk, with his metallic shirt and spiked wristbands standing out.

-Great. I got a bit distracted. Yesterday, I formalized the first game maze—a German training ground. With the format from Pixar, we have a shot at having one of the best games of the year if everything goes well, - Carmack said.

-That sounds fantastic. We still need ten more scenarios, - Romero replied.

- For now, it's ten. I have some inspiring ideas for what we can do next, - Carmack added.

-You're crazy, - Romero teased.  - Come on, let's see what Mr. Carson wants from us. -

Pointing to the store across the street, Romero led the way, and Carmack followed suit, tousling his hair into place and leaving his backpack at his desk.

The café across the street was a small family-run shop that had been serving coffee for a decade. Richard Carson, in particular, despised waiting and was only there because he wanted to meet his beloved grandson, who had spent a lot of money to secure the best programmers.

-Finally, I thought they were going to bury me first, young man, -  said Richard Carson as he sipped his coffee.

-Boss, - said Carmack.

-Yes, yes, whatever it is, I have a lot to do, so let's expedite this meeting as much as possible, - said Richard Carson.

-Of course, - said Romero.

The first ID Software meeting was officially beginning. Mr. Carson adjusted his vest as he connected his cell phone to the phone line and took out a thick package wrapped in a yellow manila envelope.

-Here, each of you has one. Read it after the meeting, -  he said to the four ID Software employees.

He dialed a number and put the phone on speaker. The clear voice of a woman, which sounded particularly beautiful to both Carmack and Romero, spoke from the other end.

-Good afternoon, Lux Comics' general management, - Anne said from the background.

-Anne, my dear, please connect me to Billy, - Richard Carson said.

-Ah, I'll find Billy, -- Anne said. -- Give me a moment. -

During the hold music

-Hello, Grandpa, is that you? - Billy asked.

-Billy, it's great to hear from you, son. Your grandpa has all the ID Software employees on hold. They're here to receive your introduction letter, and you're currently on speakerphone, - Richard Carson said.

-Thank you, Grandpa, - Billy said.

-Well, I'm the creator of the Doom series and a new series called Wolfenstein 3D, which I hope my father has told you about. I want these two games to be the company's main focus. I've budgeted that over the next seven years, there will be three releases of each game. Each game aims to innovate the gaming market in its way, - Billy said.

>>In the books that have been provided to you, you will find all the information you need to know about the game you're beginning to develop. My father gave you the basic outline containing the general ideas, along with Pixar's 3D creation software. Now, among the specific ideas, you will work in collaboration with Pixar. The first step is to create a functional game using the provided software. Once it functions, a black-and-white design will suffice, - Billy explained.

-Any questions? -

-How will our work with Pixar be conducted? - Romero asked.

-They will handle it as long as you send them the files. You can start sending them from tomorrow, and the shipping address is in the book my grandfather gave you. Try to send them nearly completed blueprints; it will make the process easier for everyone, - Billy replied.

-Sure, the goal is to create six games in six years. If we finish a game before the estimated time, what will the company do next? - Carmack inquired.

-Well, that would surprise me. Each expected version of each game comes with more complicated requirements. For example, I hope that for the second game, which is about Doom, you can create an online mode that connects people from all over the world, playing on different computers. I would even be quite pleased if you applied your game design to existing gaming consoles, like the NES. So, the work is indeed demanding, -- Billy said.

>>However, if you meet these requirements, you can create more games on your own. I'll provide you with a joint or individual 4% share of each game developed, - Billy continued.

-A 4% share would be fantastic, - Carmack exclaimed.

-As long as the game meets the expectations I have in mind. ID Software is based on creating outstanding games, and a poor game would only tarnish the company's reputation, - Billy emphasized.

-That's reasonable. However, I may deviate from the 3D framework if I decide to create my own game, - Carmack added.

-Yes, you can do as you please with the independent games created outside of our main projects. For that, it will depend on the game's quality. I can offer an 8% royalty on sales to the team that produces it, - Billy explained.

-Great, did you hear that, Romero? - Carmack asked.

Romero could only smile. They had always dreamed of creating a game together, and now they were even getting paid to create games. With a bit of performance, they could work on the game gradually and release it when they had the time to fully develop it. Creating a gaming operating system was a complex endeavor.

-We can add metal songs to the video games, - Romero suggested.

-Of course, if the game is approved, you can purchase licenses for songs! - Billy agreed.

-I'd like to ask about vacation days, - Alexa said.

-When you finish the game, you can request vacations. You'll get 20 days off, and depending on the time in the calendar, you might be able to take 30 days. However, the company will only pay for the first 20 days, - Billy explained.

-That sounds good, - Alexa replied.

-Will we receive our full salary during those 20 days? - Alexa inquired.

-Yes, but the salary will be slightly reduced. After all, transportation allowances are not necessary during vacations. Speaking of benefits, you have half a day off on your birthday, on holidays, and year-end bonuses if the company's performance is good, - Billy added.

This surprised the room. Such benefits were like gold, and only the best companies offered them to their employees.

-Any more questions? Thank you, - Alexa said, clearly pleased with the company's benefits.

-Well, each of you has a key to enter the company. In a week, we'll hire a security monitoring company. The last one to leave should make sure to lock up securely. Now and then, Marshal, a friend of my grandfather's, will come to check on the company or my grandfather himself, - Billy concluded.

-Any more questions? - Billy asked.

Seeing that no one had any further questions, Richard Carson turned off the speakerphone.

-I believe you've got it, my boy, - Richard said.

-Grandpa! - Billy exclaimed.

-Goodbye, Billy. We'll see each other soon. It's your grandpa's birthday, and there's going to be a party. I hope you can come visit, - Richard said.

-Grandpa, please remember to tell them to thoroughly review the manuals. Everything is in the manuals, and I'm very lucky Grandpa, - Billy said.

-Of course, I will, - Richard replied.

-Perfect. Goodbye, Grandpa, - Billy said.

-Goodbye, Billy. -

Richard hung up the phone and checked his pocket watch.

-Billy says to make sure they thoroughly review the manual. Everything is in the manual regarding the game, - Richard said.

The employees nodded, and each of them went to their stations to read. The manual contained 120 pages with everything about Wolfenstein, including backstories, graphical character images, detailed templates for numerous scenarios, shooting weapons, enemies, backgrounds, traps, maps, and puzzles.

Id Software was up and running. They had an amazing team of talented programmers. During this time, games didn't require such extensive teams to create, but they already had excellent designers and programmers in San Francisco who were ready to do their best to make the game a success.

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