John Carmack's "20 Years After Doom" SMU talk finally hits YouTube

John Carmack and the Oculus Rift

Remember back in June, when John Carmack confirmed that he wasn't going to be at QuakeCon but promised as a consolation prize that his lengthy talk at Southern Methodist University's Lyle School of Engineering would (probably) still be released? More than three months after it took place, the video has finally made its way to YouTube>.

Carmack's address at SMU actually took place in April, but the recording he mentioned a few days before the event seemed to just disappear into the void. Not even Carmack appeared to know exactly what happened to it; he said on Twitter in May that it "should be coming soon," and then again in June , somewhat less confidently, that it "should still be released."

"Soon" flew the coop awhile ago, but after a long delay the video is now online . It's a whole lot of Carmack, running nearly 2.5 hours in total, and even though the audio quality isn't the best, this is actually a "fixed" version of the original release .

It's not the same as a QuakeCon keynote, but beggars can't be choosers, as they say. And given the state of relations between Carmack's former employer and his new one, it could be awhile before we see him return to his old stomping grounds.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.