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

We finalize our choice of top 20 game creators of all time. Coming down to the final 10 wasn't an easy task. Sadly, it wasn't possible to include every person who influenced gaming in some way. So, once again, if you feel we've omitted someone, don't hesitate to post your comments (read: filthy flames - 2Lions) and suggestions.

10. Erich and Max Schaefer

In December, 1996, nerds all over the globe united for a first glimpse of a small virtual town called Tristram that had been assailed by demons. Here, players began an adventure to hunt down and destroy the Lord of Terror, a.k.a. Diablo. This alluring dark-themed hack'n'slash RPG was developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment, which had already set an example with its brilliant real-time strategies, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Two brothers, Eric and Max Schaefer, were the key members behind Diablo and were also two of the founders of Condor Inc. (later renamed to Blizzard North). Eric Schaefer acted as Project Lead, Design Lead and Art Director on both Diablo and Diablo II. Max, on the other hand, did his fair share on Diablo as art designer. Afterward he assumed the responsibilities of Project, Design and Environment Art Director on Diablo II. The Diablo series ended up being one of Blizzard's most profitable endeavors ever (next to WoW, which came many years later). It was one of the first games to condense the intricate system of role-playing into a well-designed action-oriented fantasy experience. The paradigm of Diablo underpinned many action RPGs to come, whereas the game itself had millions of admirers.

9. Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov

Diablo

Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov, a Russian computer engineer, now living in the US, is solely responsible for designing and programming the first Tetris game, which he pulled off in 1984, while working for the Computing Center of the Soviet Academy of Sciences - a Research & Development center funded by the Soviet government. I think it's not necessary to point out just how much of an impact Tetris made on home entertainment and handheld gaming. Needless to say, at one time, it isolated itself as the most popular game on Earth. Unfortunately for Alexey, at the time he made Tetris, he was an employee of the Soviet government, so, naturally, the Soviet bureaucracy "did its part" by licensing and managing Tetris. In other words, Alexey Pajitnov's personal property rights remained ignored and he never received any royalties from his astoundingly popular creation. Eventually, he moved to the US and founded the Tetris Company with Henk Rogers. His later work largely encompassed a variety of puzzle games, most of which were compiled and launched via publisher Microsoft in the form of titles like Puzzle Collection and Pandora's Box.

8. James Ohlen, Scott Greig and Ray Muzyka

Tetris

With these guys it was a tough choice, so we couldn't really go for just one of them. When Bioware is concerned, most of us are perfectly aware of how much appreciation they deserve for the work they've done over the past decade or so. James Ohlen, at first a minor writer and tester for Shattered Steel, worked with Bioware since the company's initial projects. Assuming a more vital role, James became lead designer for a project called Baldur's Gate - later developing into perhaps one of the best AD&D flavored role-playing games ever created. If that wasn't enough, he was also the lead designer on Baldur's Gate II and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

People like Scott Greig and Ray Muzyka also played central roles in the development process of many key Bioware titles, particularly Baldur's Gate. Ray assumed the role of producer, while Scott handled various aspects of game design and was the lead programmer. Many years later Scott also worked as the lead programmer on the epic RPG, Neverwinter Nights, another breakthrough title for the company. Incidentally, Ray is still responsible for most of the projects at Bioware and is the current CEO of Bioware Corp. What's really fascinating is that when games like Baldur's Gate were being made, the development team was relatively inexperienced and had done very little apart from Shattered Steel. Regardless, their efforts lead to huge advancements in fantasy-flavored role-playing games. Today, Bioware continues to walk down the road of progression, taking CRPGs to the next level. With games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age in the pipeline, there's no telling where they'll take us next...

7. Richard Garriott

Neverwinter Nights

Undoubtedly a leading figure in the world of role-playing games, Richard Garriott, also referred to as Lord British, is the designer and creator of the tremendously popular Ultima franchise. Practically influencing every other RPG that followed, Ultima became a thriving series, and scoping more than 25 titles, it is considered as the longest running RPG franchise, in addition to being one of the longest running video game series in general. Richard's further achievements include the founding of Origin Systems, a company that brought numerous smash hits on the gaming market.

In 1997, Lord British launched an MMORPG, Ultima Online, which turned into a giant success sporting over a million paid accounts (EverQuest was the first MMO to outmatch such a success). Next to mowing down the path for new MMOs, Ultima Online was accepted for its wide-ranging timing-based PvP combat system. Its intricate gameplay made it an appealing product to say the least. Richard moved on to take part in many other projects, including Bioforge, Lineage, Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle, City of Heroes, City of Villains and the upcoming Tabula Rasa.

6. Gabe Newell

Ultima Online

You know the name, you know his game. The founder of Valve Software and former employee of Microsoft, Gabe Newell is credited for many accomplishments, most important of which is the work he poured into the creation of Half-Life - still considered a top-notch FPS and a breakthrough in modern-day entertainment. What's more, it sparked a whole new generation of action games, ultimately leading to the creation of the mod Counter-Strike (originally made by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe), still one of the most revered multiplayer games on the market. Valve Software proudly stands behind powerful brands such as Half-Life and Steam, the company's ever-thriving content delivery service. Gabe Newell was one of the key figures in bringing Steam to life.

Gordon Freeman

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