It is very important to lead the field and innovate in game

The words of John Romero—“It is very important to lead the field and innovate in game design”—may at first seem the command of a creator in the realm of digital entertainment, but they echo a wisdom far older and deeper than technology itself. In truth, his statement is a modern reflection of an ancient law of creation: that progress belongs not to those who imitate, but to those who dare to imagine what does not yet exist. Romero, one of the founding figures of the video game revolution, speaks as the artisan of a new world—one built not of stone or parchment, but of imagination and code, where innovation is the lifeblood of legacy.

To lead the field is to walk the path of pioneers. It is to see beyond the boundaries of the familiar, to sense what others cannot yet see, and to shape reality with one’s own hands. In every age, there are those who stand content to follow, and there are those who blaze the trail through wilderness and doubt. Romero belonged to the latter, and his creations—most famously Doom and Quake—were not merely games, but revolutions. He understood that the field of game design, like any art or craft, stagnates when it repeats itself, but thrives when its masters dare to innovate, to transform rules rather than obey them.

The origin of his quote lies not only in his craft, but in his philosophy. In the early 1990s, when games were simple amusements confined to screens and pixels, Romero and his companions at id Software envisioned something bolder: a living world within the machine. They built new engines, new ways of thinking about interaction and space, creating experiences that were as immersive as they were imaginative. In doing so, they did what all true creators must do—they redefined the possible. His words remind us that creation without innovation is mere repetition, and that to lead, one must always stand at the edge of what is known and reach into the unknown.

History abounds with those who lived by this creed. Consider Leonardo da Vinci, the great innovator of the Renaissance. Surrounded by artists content to perfect the old forms, Leonardo looked beyond them—he studied the flight of birds, the mechanics of muscles, the movement of water. His mind leapt centuries ahead, sketching helicopters before engines existed, drawing anatomy before medicine could explain it. Like Romero, he understood that to lead the field is not to follow the road of others, but to carve a new one entirely. And though both men lived in different ages, their message is the same: the world belongs to those who dare to imagine differently.

Yet the act of innovation is not born of arrogance, but of devotion. It is not the desire to destroy the old, but to awaken it into new form. The ancients said that the flame of creativity is divine—it must be tended, not hoarded. Romero’s insistence on leading and innovating is thus not only a challenge to artists, but to all who work, dream, or build. Whether one designs a game, composes a song, or builds a life, one must strive always to push the boundary, to breathe new life into what one touches. For stagnation is the death of spirit, and imitation the slow decay of greatness.

But innovation demands courage. It is easier to follow the well-lit path than to wander into darkness with only your vision as a guide. The innovator must face misunderstanding, criticism, even failure. When Romero and his team first crafted their radical designs, many dismissed them as reckless or excessive. Yet, like all who bear the torch of progress, they endured the fire of skepticism. And when their creations finally reshaped the landscape of their art, the world saw what the dreamer had seen all along: that risk is the price of creation, and courage the hand that pays it.

Let this, then, be the teaching: to lead is to innovate, and to innovate is to live bravely. Do not fear to create something new, even when the world clings to the old. Whether you forge ideas, art, or futures, remember that every great achievement began as a vision that others could not yet see. Strive not to copy, but to create with conviction. The imitator preserves what is, but the innovator gives birth to what will be.

For in the end, as John Romero teaches, innovation is not merely a matter of craft—it is the very essence of human progress. It is the spirit that built cities, painted masterpieces, and, in his own time, coded new worlds out of light. So take up the same mantle in your own life. Whatever field you walk in, do not merely follow—lead. Do not repeat—reimagine. For only through innovation does the human story continue, and only through courage does the flame of creation burn bright through the ages.