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http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=55122
A post on John Romero's message boards by Romero himself reveals that the 
former id Software designer and founder of the now defunct Ion Storm has 
departed Midway Games. Romero, along with Ion Storm co-founder Tom Hall, was 
hired by Midway less than two years ago and Romero worked on the design of 
the upcoming action-RPG Gauntlet: Seven Sorrorws. There is no word on why 
Romero left Midway although this post at Computer Games Magazine speculates 
that Romero was fired by Midway thanks to a quick mention near the end of a 
lengthy blog entry by game designer David Jaffe. Romero states that cannot 
comment on Gauntlet's current status following his departure and adds, "I'm 
currently looking at lots of exciting developments right now and it'll be a 
couple months before I can announce my next destination." Thanks to Blue's 
News for the tip
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http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3141971

Romero Leaves Midway
Master of Doom no longer on Gauntlet project
by Jane Pinckard, 07/13/2005

Gamesindustry.biz reports today that John Romero has left Midway and the 
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows project. A statement on his personal website reads:

  "Hey guys, I can definitely confirm that I have left Midway - I've been 
gone for about 3 weeks and Rhaluka and I have been traveling around and 
having fun together (a sort of honeymoon without going to tropical 
destinations).
  Midway says that development of Gauntlet hasn't been impacted by my 
departure and is scheduled to ship this fall. I can't say anything more 
about the situation and hope you all understand. Smile

  I'm currently looking at lots of exciting developments right now and it'll 
be a couple months before I can announce my next destination."


When contacted, Midway confirmed his departure, and also stated that 
development on Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows "has not been impacted in any way" 
and is still scheduled to ship this fall.

More interestingly, there are rumors that Romero was fired by Midway. An 
enigmatic post on game developer David "God of War" Jaffe's blog comments:

  "It's funny because just the other day I heard that a big name designer 
got fired from his latest job. I won't say who it was/is because I think 
it's very sad whenever anyone loses a job...sometimes there's nothing that 
can be done, but it's still someone's life we are talking about and it's a 
tough blow to take. But I will tell you that this is a designer who designed 
some DAMN GOOD GAMES (and these games were phenoms as well...popular as any 
big game has ever been)...and now he's out of a job. And he's a guy who 
seemed to really pursue the limelight, the fame, the accolades....at least 
as far as I could tell. I don't know him but from my view it seemed that the 
fame overtook the work, you know? And I know the guy has talent but it go 
burried somewhere while- it seems to me- he focused on the wrong things (at 
least the wrong things to me).....and while I am very sad he's out of work, 
his career path serves as a good lesson to stay focused on the work that you 
love...and let the rest come and go as it pleases..."

John Romero does indeed fit this description. He was once the glamorous bad 
boy of the video game world, strutting across the E3 floor with his long 
flowing locks and his leather pants, with his girl Stevie "Killcreek" Case 
by his side. He co-founded not just one, but two important game studios, id 
and Ion Storm.

But although--or maybe because--he pursued fame so outrageously and 
ambitiously, public reaction to his legacy has ranged wildly from adulation 
to mockery. Okay, maybe loving mockery, because Romero was, in spite of 
everything, the first celebrity games ever had. And he knew it.

It all backfired on him in 1997, when the ad campaign for a famously 
blundered game, Daikatana, featured a red page with black letters 
threatening, "John Romero's About to make You His Bitch." Naturally, this 
gratuitous display of ego was ridiculed in the games press. What was worse, 
the game itself didn't live up to the hype. It was delayed for three years 
and when it came out, it was less than brilliant. And that's putting the 
kindest spin on it.

He faded from mainstream gaming after that, leaving Ion Storm to found 
mobile game development studio Monkeystone Games in 2001. When Midway signed 
him as Project Lead on Gauntlet in 2003, along with his Ion Storm and 
Monkeystone partner Tom Hall (who also left Midway in early 2005 after 
shipping Area 51) the gaming community was ready to forgive Romero and 
welcome him back. After all, this was the man who co-developed DOOM, one of 
the most influential and enduring games of the last twenty-five years. 
Gamers were ready to hope that Romero might score another such hit with 
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. If the game does indeed ship on schedule, and if 
it's as good as gamers hope, perhaps Romero will be redeemed.

hope, perhaps Romero will be redeemed.
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http://xbox.ign.com/articles/633/633143p1.html
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10100



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http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/13/news_6128946.html

Romero exits Midway

Legendary game designer unexpectedly leaves gig overseeing Gauntlet: Seven 
Sorrows at publisher's San Diego shop.
One of the most storied careers in the game industry has taken another 
dramatic turn. Yesterday, the famous--some would say infamous--John Romero 
revealed on his Web site that he's no longer working for Midway Games. "I 
can definitely confirm that I have left Midway," he wrote in a post on the 
forums of his personal Web site.


In October 2003, Romero and longtime collaborator Tom Hall revealed they had 
accepted Midway's offer to take lead positions at the publisher's San Diego 
studio. In February, Midway announced he would oversee development of the 
multiplatform action role-playing game Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, along with 
with J.E. Sawyer, a lead designer of Black Isle Studios' Icewind Dale 
series.

Since then, little has been heard about Romero's involvement in Seven 
Sorrows, although the game was on display at E3 in May. For his part, Romero 
is doing nothing to enlighten gamers of his work on the project 
post-departure. "Midway says that development of Gauntlet hasn't been 
impacted by my departure and is scheduled to ship this fall," he said in his 
post. "I can't say anything more about the situation and hope you all 
understand." Romero's comments aren't helping to quell growing speculation 
that he was ushered out the door of Midway's San Diego studio, though no 
evidence explicitly supports that fact.

One thing is for certain, however: Romero has had one of the most 
controversial careers in gaming. Along with Hall and John Carmack, he 
cofounded id Software and cocreated such seminal shooters as Wolfenstein 3D, 
Doom, Doom II, and Quake. In 1996, he left id to found Ion Storm, where the 
troubled development--and critical evisceration--of Daikatana made him the 
enfant terrible of the development community. After leaving Ion Storm, he 
founded the now-defunct mobile studio Monkeystone Games.

What does the future hold for Romero? He's not saying...yet. "I'm currently 
looking at lots of exciting developments right now and it'll be a couple 
months before I can announce my next destination," he wrote on his site. 
"I've been gone for about 3 weeks and [my wife] Rhaluka and I have been 
traveling around and having fun together (a sort of honeymoon without going 
to tropical destinations)."

By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot
POSTED: 07/13/05 10:13 AM PST





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