Top 10 Tuesday: Game Designers
These guys are at the top of their craft. by IGN Staff
July 25, 2007 - Welcome to IGN's weekly countdown of the exceptional, fascinating, and absurd: something we like to call Top 10 Tuesday. Every week we'll feature the top ten games, characters, fashion statements or whatever else we can think of that in some way relates to gaming and its history. And just because it's called Top 10 Tuesday doesn't mean it's always going to be a list of the best -- we like to razz on stuff as much as we like to praise it. From counting down the best consoles ever to revealing the worst-smelling instruction manuals, this is where it's at.
This week we give props to the masters of game design. These are the guys that have an uncanny knack for creating engaging gameplay experiences and have influenced the entire industry with their titles. Some on this list have created countless franchises and invented entirely new genres, while some may have only made one or two key titles that changed gaming (and maybe the world) forever. Did your favorite designer make the cut? Read on to find out.
10. Eugene Jarvis
Notable Games: Defender, Robotron 2084, Smash TV
Eugene JarvisAsk a few hardcore retro arcade junkies to name their favorite games of all time, and more than one Eugene Jarvis-designed title will likely make the cut. The kids today love their Geometry Wars, and it wouldn't exist without Robotron: 2084, a 1982 multi-directional arcade shooter that Jarvis co-designed for Williams Electronics. But he's probably best known for his 27-year-old household-name game Defender. Five buttons and a joystick? In 1980? Awesome. Fun fact: Jarvis is the only videogame designer to have his work featured on a U.S. postage stamp. In a stamp produced for the Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" series, two children are pictured playing Defender.
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9. Alexey Pajitnov
Notable Games: Tetris, Hexic
Alexey PajitnovThe one-hit wonder of this list, Alexey Pajitnov's contribution to our industry cannot be overestimated: he single-handedly created maybe the most-popular videogame of all time, Tetris. Perfect in every way, the appeal of Tetris is universal. Not just a ****c videogame, it's an all-time ****c game, right up there with chess, monopoly, and dominoes. Tetris embodies what just about every other puzzle game aspires to be: easy to learn, difficult to master. Pajitnov went on to make more games, many of which were Tetris spin-offs such as Welltris and Hatris. His latest masterpiece is included on every Xbox 360: Hexic. Fun fact: Although it was released over 20 years ago, Pajitnov has only recently begun to make money off of Tetris, as it was mired in Soviet bureaucracy.
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8. Richard Garriott
Notable Games: Akalabeth: World of Doom (aka Ultima 0), Ultima series, Lineage II
Richard GarriotWhen most programmers in the fledgling videogame industry were racing to create the next PONG clone, Richard Garriott was distributing copies of his homebrewed computer RPG/dungeon crawler Akalabeth: World of Doom in Ziploc bags. The 1979/1980 game was a precursor to the Ultima series, which helped define the Western RPG videogame tradition, both online and offline. He calls himself Lord British, and we do, too. Fun fact: Where do we begin? Garriott's home in Austin, Tex., is called Britannia Manor and features a dungeon, space exploration artifacts, and a coffin.
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7. Hironobu Sakaguchi
Notable Games: Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Kingdom Hearts
Hironobu SakaguchiHaving created Final Fantasy and overseeing games like Parasite Eve, Kingdom Hearts, and Super Mario RPG, Hironobu Sakaguchi knows a thing or two about deep, involving game experiences. His interest in marrying the storytelling of film with the interactivity of videogames has given us more motivation while we play. Outside the world of RPGs, Sakaguchi has brought interesting ideas to the table with innovative titles like the 3D NES games 3-D World Runner and Rad Racer and the realistic, weapons-based fighting game Bushido Blade on PSX. In 2000, Sakaguchi was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame. Fun fact: Final Fantasy was Sakaguchi's last-ditch attempt to save Square from bankruptcy, hence the title. Obviously, the game ended up being anything but final.
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6. Shinji Mikami
Notable Games: Resident Evil/Biohazard series, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe
Shinji MikamiWith his landmark zombie suspense-fest Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) for the PlayStation in 1996, Capcom's Shinji Mikami entered gamers into the world of survival horror. Sure, some of it had been done before - namely in the 1992 computer game Alone in the Dark - but it took Mikami's creepy, intense vision to make the genre soar. As if creating the Resident Evil series isn't enough of a resume, Mikami also had a god-like hand in fan favorites Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe. Fun fact: Shinji Mikami is a mammal.
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5. Yu Suzuki
Notable Games: Shenmue, Virtua Fighter, Space Harrier
Yu SuzukiYu Suzuki has been creating ****c games for SEGA since 1985 like Space Harrier, Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, the Virtua series, and, more recently, Shenmue. In the past, when Nintendo and SEGA were big rivals, Susuki has been referred to as the counterpart to Shigeru Miyamoto. His Virtua Fighter series has been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute for its contribution to the field of Arts & Entertainment. Susuki was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 2003. Fun fact: Suzuki is an accomplished guitarist, philosopher, painter, and mathematician.
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4. Hideo Kojima
Notable Games: Metal Gear series, Zone of the Enders
Hideo KojimaWho else but Hideo Kojima would make cigarettes, cardboard boxes and "men's magazines" integral parts of a genre-busting videogame series? With Konami's 1987 series-spawning Metal Gear for the PC and Nintendo Entertainment System, Kojima changed the way players thought about action games by making stealth an integral part of gameplay. Twenty years later, Kojima is still going strong. His Kojima Productions studio at Konami is scheduled to release Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots in March 2008. And yes, it will include nudie mags. Fun fact: The first game Kojima worked on was the whimsical Penguin Adventure for the MSX computer.
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3. Sid Meier
Notable Games: Pretty much anything with his name and/or the word Civilization in it.
Sid MeierSid Meier founded an eponymous gaming empire when he designed the breakthrough turned-based computer strategy game Civilization in 1991. More than 15 years later, the Meier brand is still one of the most well-known names in the videogame world (his likeness is fairly recognizable, too, as it appears in one form or another in many of his games). His current studio, Firaxis, is working on a console-friendly version of the Civ series. The apt name? Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution. In addition to the Civilization canon, Meier has given the gaming world pirate, railroad, and golf sims. Fun fact: Meier was the second person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame after Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto.
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2. Will Wright
Notable Games: SimCity, The Sims, Spore
Will WrightEven though it might not be the most popular title among the editors or readers of IGN, Will Wright's Sims franchise is the best-selling PC series ever. That means Wright is able to tap into common human interests and create some of the most compelling gameplay experiences around. The common thread running through his games: he hands the reigns over to the player and gives them creative control. It should have been obvious to developers from the beginning -- who doesn't want to be in charge of a fictional universe where their actions have no real consequences? From SimCity to The Sims to the seemingly-forever-in-development (but it'll be worth it) Spore, Wright has the right stuff when it comes to game design. He was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2002. Fun fact: Wright collects leftovers from the Soviet space program.
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1. Shigeru Miyamoto
Notable Games: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin
Shigeru MiyamotoUnsurprisingly, the IGN editors overwhelmingly voted for Nintendo's golden child as the greatest game designer in the world. Shigeru Miyamoto's vision goes beyond the world of videogames, and his titles have captured the imaginations of gamers and non-gamers alike for the better part of 30 years. He is responsible for many of the most beloved and recognizable franchises and characters in the industry: Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Yoshi, Pikmin, Nintendogs... No other designer on this list can claim a body of work that casts a wider net than Miyamoto's. He was the first person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2007 Time magazine selected Miyamoto as one of the 100 most-influential people of the year. Fun fact: Miyamoto is ambidextrous.
http://ds.ign.com/articles/807/807871p1.html
What!? Who the hecks this Miyamoto guy?! :P
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