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John Carmack, legendary programmer of id Software, recently held a press conference at E3 to discuss their upcoming game, Doom III. Gamespy was there and recently posted an article detailing the event.

In the conference, Carmack went into great detail about the development of Doom III, along with discussing trends in the development process itself. Here's a snippet of the article:

How did it all come together? "We made good strategic decisions two and a half years ago," Carmack explained. He went on to describe the problem content creators face when they're trying to push the graphical envelope: predicting where the videocard market will be three or even six years down the line. That's three years to bring a state-of-the-art game engine to market, and then another three years (hopefully) of the engine being relevant for gamers. Granted, Carmack has an easier time than most: He can influence the hardware manufacturers, making his designs somewhat self-fulfilling.

When Carmack started drawing up his plans for the DOOM 3 engine, he wanted it to break new ground graphically -- and then he wanted to design a game around it. It was about getting what he called "a real 'WOW' impact," and it meant sacrifices elsewhere. "You have to make compromises," he explained. A complex lighting renderer meant that players wouldn't be able to enter a room full of a hundred monsters and mow them down like grass. It defines a different experience; one where the player progresses from elaborate set piece to elaborate set piece engaged in brutal up-close combat with small groups of extremely detailed monsters.

GameSpy: John Carmack on DOOM 3 and Game Development Trends

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