I think it has a recurring theme that any time he got involved, things didn't go well so he decided to let go of it.

That's not to say he didn't have influence; many times the games' stories were derived FROM the tech, not the other way around. Doom was originally supposed to be much more story- and character-driven, but that took a backseat given the focus on the development side was on the gameplay mechanics.

Also, this quote:

> Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important

From "Masters of Doom".

He was the Dungeon Master in their Dungeons & Dragons games. John Romero loved Carmack's campaign world, but John Romero destroyed it, Opening up a gateway to hell, and then immediately regretted it (but they got the idea for Doom from it), since it was a long running campaign in a world completely designed by John Carmack. I think Heretic/Hexen and Quake also borrowed heavily from their D&D games. Masters of Doom is an awesome book.

Good point. I forgot about that.

John Romero was largely responsible for the stories and designs of the old school iD games from back in the day. Carmack brought the tech brilliance to make it happen.

From 'Masters of Doom' - he used to make and DM D&D campaigns.