These Questions originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answers by John Romero, Game Programmer & Designer (Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, Quake), on Quora.
A: It's easier now, for sure. You not only have excellent APIs for graphics, sound, etc. but there are far better tools to make games with. In addition, there are now amazing game engines you can use to do all the hard work. So it all mostly comes down to design the way it always has. Before everything else was hard to do in addition to the design. Now the design is the single most critical part of any game to get right. There are already plenty of engines that are great and can deliver your game, whatever it is.
...
A: The original Castle Wolfenstein from 1981 was already iconic. Making a sequel was our only thought, and doing it well. We didn't think about it becoming iconic. It was just one game on our road of making lots of games. The year before Wolf3D we made 11 games.
Lessons to pass on: keep your design simple, then simplify it some more. Try to design something people haven't seen (shooting Nazis was not something you saw any of back then). Spend lots of time on your audio.Keep your game small.
...
A: I learned so many things, chief among them would be to investigate your future co-founders before going into business with them. Second, make sure to hire industry talent to make a game instead of talented modders (there's a difference). Don't market a game earlier than six months before it ships.
...
A: I'm excited to play it!