John Carmack

About

Notable for founding the Id Software company, Carmack created a number of popular video games, including Rage, Quake, Doom, Commander Keen, and Wolfenstein 3D.

Before Fame

In his early teens, he was arrested for his role in an Apple computer heist at a school in his hometown. Later, after briefly studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, he began working for a Louisiana-based computer technology company called Softdisk.

Trivia

He launched a visionary, Texas-based company called Armadillo Aerospace that initially aimed to operate commercial spaceflights.

Family Life

His marriage to fellow video game designer Katherine Anna Kang resulted in two children.

Associated With

He and fellow Kansas native Matt Burch both had successful careers as software programmers.