Brenda L Romero

By day: Studio Director @romerogamesltd
By night: Writer. PhD @TCDEnglish.
Words: @TheDublinReview @TOLKA @StingingFly @TNOlitmag
Speaking: [email protected]

[David L. Craddock @davidlcraddock]

I’m thrilled to announce Knee-Deep in the’90s: The First Person Shooters 🔫 That Defined a Decade!
🎙️Based on new & archival interviews
💾Deep dives into 20+ games
📚Available in all formats
📆 Releases on 12.10 (Doom's anniversary!)

1/4 🧵

[Romero Games Ltd. @romerogamesltd]

Today is our 11th birthday!

We are so grateful for all the support we have received during that time. Here’s to many more years and memories. ❤️

[Polygon @Polygon]

The 13 Most Influential Games Ever Made https://t.co/Ybrv52Ix9a

[PC Gamer @pcgamer]

'Thank you so much for the best weekend ever': id Software's founders had a great time at QuakeCon https://t.co/Dtyx7vtZIp

[Adrian Carmack Artist @ACarmackArtist]

Quake 3

[Romero Games Ltd. @romerogamesltd]

Thank you so much for the best weekend ever. ❤️

#QuakeCon @QuakeCon

[Brenda L Romero @br]

@BadCatzGaming No idea. It’s on my iPhone.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

I did it.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

@JoeSiegler That’s amazing, Joe!

[John Romero 🤘🏽 @romero]

What an incredible honor, and DOOM is the only video game on the list! Congrats to DOOM devs, players, modders, and the entire games community. This one is for all of us. Thanks @GenePark @washingtonpost!

[Brenda L Romero @br]

I’d like to return to this thread where I referred to the game industry as being a trash fire. Some corrected me to talk about record profits. How about record layoffs? I am fucking bereft at the state of it.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

When I referred to the industry as being “crashier” now than it was in 1983, I meant how it feels to live and work in this industry as a developer, not in terms of industry revenue.

[John Romero 🤘🏽 @romero]

I’m so sorry for everyone at id Software affected by these layoffs.

I know what it feels like to leave id while id goes on. It’s a strange and painful thing to step away from a place that holds so much of your work, friendships and history.

The people at id have done a great job moving that legacy forward. DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein are not easy names to carry on, especially in today’s industry. The last few games showed real care, skill and respect for what those worlds mean to people.

A note on digital preservation: id's history is critically important to the history of games. I’ve preserved id’s complete early history from our start at Softdisk through to August 6, 1996, including materials and assets that, as far as I know, id itself no longer has. I hope someone is doing the same for the company’s ongoing legacy (the work, code, assets, stories and the people behind them).

I’m thinking of everyone at id today, and everyone else affected by yesterday’s layoffs. Romero Games was there a year ago. I know how devastating it is, and my heart's with all of you.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

@owenmahoney Excellent piece.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

@locust9 Yep

[Brenda L Romero @br]

Congrats to Ardan on taking over our old (but much loved) space in Galway City centre! Romero Games moved to its new office in Dockgate on Merchants Road in 2023.

[Galway Advertiser @galwayad]

As part of its continued growth as an organisation, the team at Ardán is relocating its headquarters from the CREW Hub on Wellpark Road into Galway city centre https://t.co/EsK6Z6k2y9

[Brenda L Romero @br]

The fact that parts of the industry are reporting record profits while so many developers feel exhausted, uncertain, and disposable only makes the disconnect feel even greater.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

When I referred to the industry as being “crashier” now than it was in 1983, I meant how it feels to live and work in this industry as a developer, not in terms of industry revenue.

[Brenda L Romero @br]

What saddens me most is seeing veteran devs leave the industry entirely, taking decades of institutional knowledge with them. Younger devs who grew up loving games and dreamed of making them are wondering if there’s a future for them here at all.