In a recent episode of Nightdive Studios’ Deep Dive podcast, legendary developer John Romero casually shared a surprising alternative path that could have changed both his career and the course of gaming history. Paul Neurath, who founded Looking Glass Studios (known for System Shock and Thief), had approached Romero to co-found the company with him, but Romero had already committed to another venture.

Romero reminisced about his experience at Origin Systems, the pioneering studio started by Ultima creator Richard Garriott. He shared, “I got my job there in 1987. My first task was porting 2400 AD from the Apple 2 to the Commodore 64.” Unfortunately, the project was canceled, leading him to work on Space Rogue alongside Neurath.

The major gaming landscape shifted when Romero ended up leaving Origin to start a company with another colleague, while Neurath established Blue Sky Productions, later renamed Looking Glass. The two giants went on to serve as friendly competitors in the development of groundbreaking 3D games for PCs, influencing critical design principles and technologies that echo in games from Half-Life to The Elder Scrolls.

This conversation not only dives into Romero’s past but also touches on why he believes indie developers represent the future of game development, along with fascinating insights on the origins of genre categories in gaming.