game auteurs
video game directors, designers or producers that are often discussed/analyzed through a lens of auterism or otherwise embody auterist ethos. suggestions welcome as this is meant to be a relatively comprehensive list
111 Games
Markus "notch" Persson
Kim Swift
Toby Fox
Todd Howard
Maddy Thorson
Neil Druckmann
Ken Levine
Yoko Taro
Shigeru Miyamoto
Josh Sawyer
Jonatan "cactus" Söderström
Katsura Hashino
Hidetaka Miyazaki
Jade Raymond
Jenova Chen
Amy Hennig
Lucas Pope
Hideo Kojima
Tetsuya Nomura
Kazutaka Kodaka
Yuji Naka
Shu Takumi
Scott Cawthon
John Romero / John Carmack
Fumito Ueda
Hideki Kamiya
Yoshio Sakamoto
Davey Wreden
Koji Igarashi
Alexey Pajitnov
Satoshi Tajiri
Shigesato Itoi
Masato Kato
Leslie Benzies / Dan Houser
David Cage
Keiichiro Toyama
Edmund McMillen
Hideaki Itsuno
Jonathan Blow
Kotaro Uchikoshi
Masahiro Sakurai
Robert Kurvitz
Goichi "Suda51" Suda
Keiji Inafune
Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari
Toru Iwatani
Gunpei Yokoi
Phil Fish
Shinji Mikami
Alx Preston
Josef Fares
Kikiyama
Keita Takahashi
Warren Spector
Derek Yu
Bennett Foddy
Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya
Ojiro Fumoto
Will Wright
Toby Gard
Austin "Dingaling" Jorgensen
Mitsuo "Tsunku♂" Terada
Hironobu Sakaguchi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Sam Barlow
Michel Ancel
Peter Molyneux
Hideo Yoshizawa
Jay Tholen
Daniel Mullins
Joar Jakobsson
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Tim Schafer
Mason Lindroth
Yuji Horii
Ron Gilbert
Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro
Yu Suzuki
Ryukishi07
Chris Avellone
Takashi Nishiyama
Tokuro Fujiwara
Tomonobu Itagaki
Jordan Mechner
Éric Chahi
Tetsuya Mizuguchi
thecatamites
Jun'ya "ZUN" Ota
Hideyuki Suganami
Takashi Tokita
Tadashi Satomi
Yukio Futatsugi
Rieko Kodama
Brian and Andrew Allanson
Kitty Horrorshow
Benedetto "Puppet Combo" Cocuzza
Paul Cuisset
Kenji Eno
Zach Barth
22 Comments
@LordDarias lol im not trying to seriously attribute any of these games to solely these individuals. i mean there are a number of cases where that's warranted but i'm just trying to compile a relatively comprehensive list of people who could reasonably be considered the "auteurs" of this medium. my choice of game when it came to representing each person was mostly based around what's the most popular work that they're associated with
@scissors61 thanks for the suggestion, added
@scissors61 thanks for the suggestion, added
Brian and Andrew Allanson (YIIK)
Shozou Kaga (Fire Emblem)
lol. added
(shozou kaga too, thanks for the recs)
Richard "Lord British" Garriot - Ultima series.
added
Yoshiaki Koizumi, most known for Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey.
is koizumi looked at as an auteur though, generally speaking? i am trying to make a broad list but i also want to resist just adding every prolific name in the industry - for example, i decided against adding eiji aounuma. generally the people i'm looking for are ones with strong and identifiable authorial voices, and im not entirely sure if koizumi qualifies. i'm not completely opposed to adding him though, i'm sure there are some examples of hypocrisy or inconsistency in my picks when it comes to this.
Please add Haruhiko Shono (Gadget: Past as Future) and Michiaki Tsubaki (Kumdor no Ken, which I just added to IGDB since it's a sad oversight).
I suppose Toby Gard could count, he was pretty much the driving force as to how Tomb Raider came to be and that became a prosperous series analyzed for different reasons.
There's also Takashi Tokita (worked with Square since around the NES era, started as a full timer once FFIV got into development, then directed Live A Live and Parasite Eve), Paul Cuisset (more or less the driving force behind Flashback, also co-developed a game with Eric Chahi called Future Wars), and Hideo Yoshizawa (Klonoa, NES Ninja Gaiden)
There's also Takashi Tokita (worked with Square since around the NES era, started as a full timer once FFIV got into development, then directed Live A Live and Parasite Eve), Paul Cuisset (more or less the driving force behind Flashback, also co-developed a game with Eric Chahi called Future Wars), and Hideo Yoshizawa (Klonoa, NES Ninja Gaiden)
Tadashi Satomi, known for the Digital Devil Saga duology and the first 3 Persona games (Persona 1,2 IS and EP)
Yukio Futatsugi, known for the Panzer Dragoon franchise and Phantom Dust for the OG Xbox
Hideyuki Suganami, known for lot of Treasure games, ex. Sin & Punishment, Alien Soldier
Hideo Yoshizawa, known for the Klonoa franchise
Yukio Futatsugi, known for the Panzer Dragoon franchise and Phantom Dust for the OG Xbox
Hideyuki Suganami, known for lot of Treasure games, ex. Sin & Punishment, Alien Soldier
Hideo Yoshizawa, known for the Klonoa franchise
itagaki and ninja gaiden black have gotta be on here. also i will second toby gard for tomb raider.
Gunpei Yokoi!!! Huge omission for a list this big.
Also it'd be good to add more notable women to this list. Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star), Kim Swift (Portal), Jade Raymond (Assassin's Creed), etc.
Some others: Markus Persson (Minecraft), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man), Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris)
Also it'd be good to add more notable women to this list. Amy Hennig (Uncharted, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver), Rieko Kodama (Phantasy Star), Kim Swift (Portal), Jade Raymond (Assassin's Creed), etc.
Some others: Markus Persson (Minecraft), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man), Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris)
Very interesting list! Maybe add Charles Cecil?
good suggestion, added
Add Leslie Benzies and Dan Houser?
all right, added.
Shin Megami Tensei - Cozy Okada/Kazuma Kaneko?
Seems kinda fair to have them, since you already have other big jrpg guys like Hori, Sakguchi, Nomura and even Hashino or Satomi.
Overall, interesting list, many guys with interesting careers i had no idea about.
Seems kinda fair to have them, since you already have other big jrpg guys like Hori, Sakguchi, Nomura and even Hashino or Satomi.
Overall, interesting list, many guys with interesting careers i had no idea about.
admittedly feel a little uncomfortable including a character designer/artist on here but ah, its become a very broad list anyway.
LordDarias
1 year ago