Masters Of Doom, the book that details the development of one of the most revolutionary PC games ever made, is being turned into a TV pilot with help from executive producers James and Dave Franco.
This story comes from Variety who reports that USA Network has ordered a pilot based on the 2004 novel Masters Of Doom: How Two Guys Created An Empire And Transformed Pop Culture. At the moment, it seems that this is a true pilot order, which means it has to pass network approval before it is turned into a full series. The Franco brothers are apparently not involved as writers or directors, but there’s no word on whether either of them would appear in the series in some capacity.
Aside from producers, the only other notable name attached to the project at this time is Tom Bissell. Not only has Bissel written the video game book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, but he has also written for video games like Uncharted 4 and Batman: Arkham Origins. He’s also the co-author of the book that inspired The Disaster Artist.
Here’s where things get really interesting. If this pilot is picked up, it will eventually be turned into what those involved with the project hope will be the first season in an anthology that tells important stories from the history of video games. No other moments from gaming history have been mentioned at this time as possible follow-up seasons, but we know a few games and innovations that may warrant a closer look.
As for Masters Of Doom, it’s generally considered to be one of the best books about video games ever written and a compelling story in its own right. The development of Doom required John Romero and John Carmack to break technological and social boundaries that forever changed the ways that games are made and talked about.
There’s no indication at this time whether Masters Of Doom author David Kushner is involved with this project, but that should become clearer if this pilot is picked up by USA.
