This isn't going to make me friends. John Carmack hasn't be relevant for years, and this doesn't move me one way or another. There was a time when game engines were simpler and the work of incredible engineers who could make something happen five years sooner, but we're past that, and I'm not sure Carmack is.
> it is the more personal pain of seeing a 5% GPU utilization number in production. I am offended by it.
For a high-level badge post, I'm not sure why he's calling out a low-level metric like this. It's also a complicated metric. Keeping GPU utilization low improves battery life. Delivering jaw-dropping graphics might have been the goal in 1993, but we're past that, and for all its flaws, I doubt Wii-level graphics are the reason no one uses Horizon Worlds.
Which brings me to why he left now. The company doesn't want Quest to be just a gaming headset any more, but Carmack does. It's a fair disagreement to have, and investors are even with Carmack on this, but a mature leader would disagree and commit or quietly step aside. Carmack isn't a mature leader, he's a talented, high-level IC you hire as a mascot.
Carmack has simply hit a ceiling that others won't let him pass. Carmack isn't in authority, and as such, he has to rely purely on influence. Hard to do when you are focused on technology, because technology and humans are quite different (yet also similar). He's making it clear that his political effectiveness is limited and he has no motivation to continue his fight. It happens. You only have so much energy to spend in any given time period, you have to spend it where it will do you and others the most good. Everyone eventually learns from these things. It takes time. And how each person defines success will be a bit different.
> it is the more personal pain of seeing a 5% GPU utilization number in production. I am offended by it.
For a high-level badge post, I'm not sure why he's calling out a low-level metric like this. It's also a complicated metric. Keeping GPU utilization low improves battery life. Delivering jaw-dropping graphics might have been the goal in 1993, but we're past that, and for all its flaws, I doubt Wii-level graphics are the reason no one uses Horizon Worlds.
Which brings me to why he left now. The company doesn't want Quest to be just a gaming headset any more, but Carmack does. It's a fair disagreement to have, and investors are even with Carmack on this, but a mature leader would disagree and commit or quietly step aside. Carmack isn't a mature leader, he's a talented, high-level IC you hire as a mascot.