AT's Top 20 Video Game Creators (Part I)

15. Warren Spector

The creator of System Shock and Deus Ex. Both games would normally be sufficient proof of his contribution to gaming. However, it should be stressed that when it comes to game design, Warren Spector is best known for amalgamating first-person shooters with role-playing games. Games like Dues Ex are perfect testaments of such endeavors. Before stepping up as head of dev. studio Ion Storm, Warren worked for Origin Systems, a company that brought games like Bioforge, Privateer, Ultima series, Ultima Online, the Wing Commander series and others.

14. Roberta Williams

Dues Ex: Invisible War

Roberta Williams is yet another name vital to the progress of adventure games. Back in 1979, along with husband Ken Williams, Roberta established a company called On-Line Systems, which transformed into Sierra On-Line. Without any doubt Roberta's greatest gift to the world of gaming was her single-handed effort to create King's Quest (1984), regarded as the root of adventure games. Roberta, however, did more than that. In 1980 she created Mystery House, the first adventure game to ever contain graphics (believe it or not), or rather 70 simple 2D drawings done by Roberta Williams herself. All this turned her into a highly respected figure in the gaming community. She is probably one the most influential female gamers of all time. Oddly enough, when asked about her creations, she noted that her personal favorite is Phantasmagoria, a game released by Sierra in 1995. This one was unleashed during the height of "interactive movie" era and, again, it ended up being a pioneering effort. Actually, it was one of the first games to use human beings (actual actors) as in-game avatars.

13. Bruce Shelley

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

Together with the great Sid Meier, Bruce Shelley worked on ancient, but never forgotten classics like Civilization and Railroad Tycoon. More importantly, he is the mind behind Microsoft's Age of Empires - possibly one of the most popular strategy games ever released. AoE conquered the hearts of many and was immediately documented as a strategy with great depth and innovation. Out of a myriad of subsequent AoE clones, none really managed to stand up to the concept contrived by Bruce and the people over at Ensemble Studios. Marching onto the world of gaming, Ensemble Studios was founded by brothers Tony and Rick Goodman, Bruce Shelley and Brian Sullivan. Age of Empires was the company's very first project. Eventually, Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, a highly-praised sequel, came out, becoming another massive success.

12. Tim Sweeney

Age of Empires

Widely considered as John Carmack's no. 1 "rival," Tim Sweeny is responsible for brining one of the most important game technologies to life - the Unreal engine. Its true potential had been initially demonstrated with the release of the original Unreal in 1998. The impact of this technology was so huge, publishers and developers kept snatching the rights to make games and are even doing so to this very day. The reason for this was the engine's incredible flexibility that allowed developers to adjust it to any genre they wish, ranging from adventures and RPGs, to FPSs. The vast collection of games using the basis of the Unreal technology includes Clive Barker's Undying, Deus Ex, the original Unreal and many more. The second addition of the engine (Unreal Engine 2) powered innumerable titles, such as Brothers In Arms, Dead Man's Hand, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Lineage II, Magic: The Gathering, Pariah, Postal², Star Wars: Republic Commando, SWAT 4, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Rainbow Six 3, all Splinter Cell games, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Tribes: Vengeance, Unreal II: The Awakening Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal Tournament 2004, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, XIII, etc.

11. Peter Molyneux

Unreal 2: The Awakening

Yes, he's here. As of late, Peter Molyneux and his team at Lionhead Studios are practically infamous for pledging to revolutionize the gaming scene with their projects and then simply failing to deliver on those promises. Now, before you all start throwing rocks at poor Pete, just remember he crafted Populous back in 1989. His work during the early 90's proved to be a crucial turning point in the industry. With games like Dungeon Keeper (1997) under his belt, the development of which he lead personally, he left quite a mark on gaming. In game design, his creativity and diligence helped redefine certain genres, on top of advancing artificial intelligence and ultimately influencing an infinite number of game creators and development studios. Giving new meaning to the term "god game," Peter Molyneux's fame is well-deserved. Black & White bought him additional fame as well as further critical acclaim. Peter also showed a strong will to venture through uncharted territory in an attempt to reach new heights in other genres - The Movies, Fable, etc.

And so, we wrap up this part one of our two-part series. Stay tuned, folks, as we continue our countdown of the top 20 video game creators, whose creative energy helped shape this industry into what it is today.

Black & White 2

	doomsday	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Naice maan If peter molyneeuxeuxueseye is on No:11 who will be taking the rest o the places. well i dont really know a lot o names o the creators, just the games n the company's or studios, WOHOOO!! cant wait to find out mooorre!!

	_Chaks_	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Seriously I hope u have the creators of Pac Man, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, God of War on top 10..else I'll be pissed ^^ I enjoyed so far hehe

	Sujet	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Woo All bets John Carmack #1

	danishpussy	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply I'm betting on Derek Smart for the number 1 spot. :P

	pjnt	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Sid's in there for sure on the next list, but what about Carmack? Garriott? I think they are locks too.

	Vader	[STAFF] [mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply danish, you're right. Derek Smart for the win!

	Kn0w0ne	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Yu !!!! OK... tell me someone thought of Yu Suzuki. Restore my faith in gamers. The man should be #1. You don't make groundbreaking games like shenmue, or any of the other numerous masterpieces he's made without being in the hearts of gamers worldwide. At least I hope so.

	Nameinuse	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply I bet Sid Meier is going to be on the top 10

	Vodoo	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply pretty good though i can’t help but noticing the unusual countdown from vets to novices of gaming creators. PS. is that the kid from 2 and a half men.

	Pavarotti	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Pac Man, Sid Meier ? wtf is wrong with you guys ?

	Hawkeye	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Jason Jones. Myth and Halo.

	doomsday	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply why the hell is there a pic of a 10 yr old piece o shitt kidd on this thingy?!?!?! why not some mixture of the games for which these asshole made $MILLIONS with?!?!?! Still DRunk!! sorry

	Junsui	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Will Wright HAS to be #1 ... It must have taken so much mental effort in making a barby doll house, something the world has not ever seen before!

	Chimera!	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Nice list. I'm wondering who'll be in the top 3. Probably that guy from Atari.

	Hamsterkill	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Will Wright and Sid Meier are the only sure locks in the top ten from my standpoint. Some of the ones from this set I might have bumped up like Roberts,, Specter, and Roberta Williams. I'll be thrilled if Tim Schafer is in the top ten though. Psychonauts was a truly awesome game.