Game development wasn't nearly as corporatized back then. At that timeframe the discovery of what's possible was still being invented, let alone formulated. The sheer discovery back then of what you could do in gameplay was a brand new frontier.
So what happened to Blackroom? I'd love to know what happened to that game and the fallout of them pulling the Kickstarter. He clearly moved on to sigil but man I really think he could make a cool new IP with gzdoom if he actually tried, instead of just living in the past with sigil.
I think Selaco beat him to the punch there. I am by no means a game designer but it's seriously impressive what they did with the gzdoom engine. I have a hard time imaging anything that could top it within the same engine.
he was like 24-25 when Wolfenstein 3D came out (having designed like half the levels) and continued on, being an integral part of Doom, Doom 2, Hexen and Quake
But also - the guy had some cringe moments. And he hasn't had other insane smash successes like the many he was part of in the 90s. That'd be incredibly tough.
But he seems like a genuinely good dude and was absolutely a pioneer. People are still interviewing him for a reason. And not because he's trying to relive his glory days.