Carmack Doom-ed to Lifetime Achievement Award

Thanks to seminal early-'90s hits such as Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein, id Software essentially invented the first-person shooter genre as the industry currently knows it. Beyond being pioneers in the field of real-time 3D graphics, id's early software lineup also contributed to the proliferation of such standard features as networked multiplayer matches.

Now, the man behind the technology that powered those early shooters will have one more honor to add to his mantel, as Game Developers Conference show runners UBM TechWeb Game Network (formerly Think Services Game Group) announced today that it would honor id chief technical officer John Carmack with a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards.

According to show organizers, the Lifetime Achievement Award "recognizes the career and achievements of developers who have made an indelible impact on the craft of game development." Award winners are chosen by the Choice Awards Advisory Committee, which comprises industry luminaries such as Ben Cousins (EA DICE), Harvey Smith (Arkane), Raph Koster (Metaplace), John Vechey (PopCap), Ray Muzyka (BioWare), and Clint Hocking (Ubisoft).

"It's no exaggeration to say that John Carmack and id Software have had a monumental influence on all modern 3D games, but especially the first-person shooter genre," said GDC event director Meggan Scavio of Carmack's selection. "John is one of the key figures in the history of video games, and we're delighted to be giving him the Lifetime Achievement award this year."

Carmack will receive the accolade at the GDCAs, which will take place on March 11 in San Francisco as part of GDC 2010. The studio, which was purchased by Bethesda Softworks parent company Zenimax Media in June 2009, is currently work on the all-new intellectual property Rage, as well as Doom 4 and a free-to-play Web browser-based version of Quake, which is currently in a beta-testing phase.

GDC show runners also announced today that Junction Point Studios founder Warren Spector will host the 2010 GDCAs. Spector is best known for his contributions to the System Shock, Deus Ex, and Thief franchises. His studio, which was acquired by Disney in July 2007, is currently working on Epic Mickey, a platforming adventure game slated to ship for the Wii later this year.