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

5. Hideo Kojima

Former vice president of Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Hideo Kojima is now the head of Kojima Productions and creator of the groundbreaking Metal Gear Solid series. During his long career as a game designer, Kojima worked on a range of games. However, as soon as the first PlayStation console appeared (1994 in Japan and the following year in the US and Europe), H.K. used the technology to express all his visions and fit them into a highly immersive gaming experience; thus, Metal Gear Solid emerged. The game shipped more than six millions copies and had received excellent reviews. In 2001, Konami released Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - chronologically, this was the sixth game in the series, and, of course, a direct sequel to MGS. Hideo Kojima is indeed a rare mind among game creators, adding that special cinematic feel to most of his projects. With innovative storytelling and unparalleled art direction, we look upon games like MGS2: Sons of Liberty with the highest respect and we commit them to memory in the hope that it will continue to set an example for others.

4. John Carmack

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

While for most people, the name John Carmack is synonymous with Doom 3, this is, by far, one of the industry's most talented programmers. The inventive programmer co-founded id Software, a development studio later acknowledged for releasing titles essential to the progress of gaming. Carmack's work is significant in many aspects, especially in the realm of 3D graphics. Various game technologies and engines he created have powered several industry classics, simultaneously clearing the path for a more technically advanced game experience. He was the lead programmer on Commander Keen and pioneering FPSs like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake. Each of these titles, especially Doom and Quake, are noted as heralds of the 3D acceleration era, setting definite standards for first-person shooters. In 1999, Carmack took 10th place in TIME's list of the 50 most influential people in technology.

3. Sid Meier

Doom III

Looking back on more than a decade of gaming, it's hard to omit this name. Sid Meier is, in all probability, a designer known by almost every true-hearted gamer out there. Okay, I'm just gonna throw a few brands your way: Civilization, Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, all of which can be described as venerable forbearers of gaming itself. The influence of these games was powerful. Apart from showing radical step-ups in game design, each of these games hailed the dawn of fresh, more refined genres. These games allowed players to exercise their minds and tactical skills. Above all, you were able to witness the consequences of important decisions that can influence whole nations within the game world. In addition to having his name next to the world's most popular game franchises, Sid Meier is also the co-founder of the legendary studios MicroProse and Firaxis Games (we all know Firaxis for Alpha Centauri, Gettysburg!, Civilization III, Pirates!, Civilization IV, etc.).

2. Will Wright

Pirates!

What can you say about a guy who designed one of the top-selling game franchises of all time? Both The Sims and SimCity originated from the mind and creativity of Will Wright, a name that now resonates throughout the gaming community and prompts nothing but admiration. The two aforementioned franchises, apart from being superb achievements overall, managed to capture the interest of a wide range of gamers, which, in one fell swoop, rocketed the franchise into worldwide fame. Remarkably enough, The Sims were also largely accepted by female audiences. Will's ideas were often inspired by every-day routines people commonly carry out in real life. Gamers simply see their avatars as the virtual extensions of themselves. At the end of the day, that's what people enjoy most - seeing those avatars go about their daily chores, as they run into countless problems on that thrilling road called life. Will's open-ended approach in game design helped him create extremely immersive video games, but at the same time, they were user-friendly and very easy to get into. He was one of the founders of development studio Maxis (known for churning out almost every game that has the word 'Sim' or 'Sims' in its title). Spore, Will Wright's next great venture, already garnered much attention and, according to what we know so far, it stretches across new planes. Mixing real-time strategy elements with the usual god-sim flare, Spore will allow players to manipulate the course of life in ways never before seen in any game.

1. Shigeru Miyamoto

The Sims

There isn't a person who deserves this spot more than Shigeru Miyamoto himself. He started out by working as a "staff artist" at Nintendo of Japan, back in 1977. Three years later, Nintendo of America, a relatively new branch at the time, was seeking to make an impact on the competitive arcade market. The company hit a snag, after releasing a game called Radar Scope, which was a complete flop. Shigeru stepped in and was tasked to create a game that would save or break the company. With little programming experience, Shigeru finalized a project called Donkey Kong, which was rushed to the US, where it became an overnight success, not only saving the company, but making it a household name. It featured a tiny guy called Jump Man, ascending across platforms to meet his arch nemesis, Donkey Kong. The character of Mario actually derived from Jump Man. Unlike Donkey Kong, the first Mario title, Super Mario Bros, originally an arcade game, expanded the area of playing, turning it into one of the first great side-scrollers, as the cute little main character ran, jumped and collected power ups. The gameplay wasn't restricted to a single screen like Donkey Kong. Although it wasn't the very first side-scroller, its fundamentals motivated an entire generation of game creators. At present Shigeru Miyamoto is the Director and General manager of Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development. Other game brands fabricated by Miyamoto are The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Wave Race and Pikmin. He continues to put new ideas into motion with new discoveries, also taking most of the credit for Nintendo's latest product - the Wii, which dominates current Japanese and American console hardware and software sales charts. Again it is a triumph of creativity, and it casts a shadow over its competition, largely due to its new radically designed control system (i.e. the Wii-mote).

Founding Fathers

Hold on. We've counted down to the top guy, so what's this bit about the "founding fathers"?

Though not on the top 20 list, these people have done a lot to establish the industry as we know it today and help it make its first steps towards globalization. We are talking about the guys who created pioneering titles like Space Invaders, Pong, and others.

We had a hard time determining whether we should place them on the list directly (which surely is where they deserve to be), but given the constraints (only 20 spots), and the nature of the article, as well as the relative complexity of some of the projects that *did* make it on the list, we have decided to create a separate section for some of the veterans who need to be remembered and recognized for laying the foundations of our favorite pastime.

Unfortunately, room was also scarce to talk more about individuals like, Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy series creator), John Romero (assisted in creation of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, co-founded Ion Storm and id Software), Michael Ancel (the guy behind Rayman) and God knows how many others.

Gumpei Yokoi - Crafted the world's first "proper" handheld gaming platform - a.k.a. the Nintendo Game Boy. He also created the space-oriented action series, Metroid.

Jordan Mechner - Creator the original Prince of Persia game. He also helped the realization of the latest generation of PoP games, such as Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time. Apart from designing video games, Mechner prefers to work on occasional screenplays.

Toru Iwatani - Designer of Puck-Man, which is chiefly recognized by its American title, Pac-Man. Iwatani is yet another victim of feeble bureaucratic schemes and has therefore received no credit for Pac-Man. He personally revealed there were no bonuses and wage raises of any kind. He never even got any citation for his work. He was just another employee. At present, he oversees administration at well-known publisher and developer, Namco.

Tomohiro Nishikado - Designed the ancient, but highly celebrated, game Space Invaders. He was aided by programmer David D. Yuh, who's also an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Nolan Bushnell - Founded Atari and made Computer Space, the first coin-operated video game (1971). In addition, he is hailed by many as the creator of Pong.

Ken Kutaragi - Many call him the "Father of the PlayStation." More than that, he also piloted the creation of the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. As of yesterday, Ken Kutaragi is officially no longer the Chairman and CEO at Sony.

And with this, we conclude our comprehensive list of the people who helped shape and form our beloved industry. In the end, it's all about the ability to innovate. This is the key to success of any thriving industry, and of course, its way forward.

This should, naturally, serve as a reminder for all the great game designers to come.

Mario

	Vodoo	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply ha, should have known the creator of Mario would be on top. don’t agree with Will Wright and Metal Gear though, and the fact that Tetris is only on 9th position.... and im not just saying that because its one of my favorite games in the whole world. personally i wouldn’t like to be remembered as the guy who invented Virtual Barbie. (aka Sims)

	Chimera!	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Not the list I'd pick but ok. BTW: Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov eventually got the rights to Tetris back a couple of years after he had moved to the States.

	Vader	[STAFF] [mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Like it or not, The Sims are an important contribution to gaming and Will Wright definitely deserves to be up there. Personally, I never even played a signle Sims title, albeit I am a complete SimCity whore.

	Burning	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply I personally would've placed Ron Gilbert higher on the list, but that's only because I am an utter fan of Monkey Island. Can't say it has had much of an impact on other games, though. But I guess pure genious is just missed by the foolish masses!

	msmith7735	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply The folks who created C&C?? And what about the Final Fantasy series.... Sheesh....

	_Chaks_	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Dont agree entirely with the list but im satisfied to see the creators of Tetris, Metal Gear (whoever dislikes this game never played it or its just too dumb to understand the story) and Shigeru on it. Shigeru literally saved the game industry when he created Mario.

	psydude20	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply My friend's dad was one of the first employees of MicroProse. He worked with Sid Meier on Civilization III as a texture artist.

	Hamsterkill	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Yes, not exactly the list I'd pick... but then I'd imagine there's not manyout there who'd pick the list I'd pick either. Glad to see Bioware's boys up there though. All in all a good list... just wish I agreed on the #1 pick, lol. I'd bump him down behind Will and Sid.

	doomsday	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply I AGREE wid this thingy!! I forgot bout Mario, its the most selling game in history! right??

	Pavarotti	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Well done, but i think something its missing...don't know what though...

	Axxis	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Will Wright eh?....."scribble scribble" Now my list is complete! A few more adjustments to my time machine and I will return to the moment of copulation between his parents and end this evil Sims madness for all time!!!111!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAH HAHAH HAHAHAHHH HAHAH HA HA ....err....ehem

	Vader	[STAFF] [mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Oh damn and blast! I knew I'd forget someone! Correction, Derek Smart now takes the 1st place on the list! It was touch and go between him and the Jackorogh.

	Burning	[mail] Sep 03 2009, 12:00 am EDT
	Reply Good list, I sort of agree, but it's so wrong to see Sims appreciated for anything...