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
Muriel Tramis
Haruhiko Shono
Tim Rogers
Christine Love
Tonnor
Kouji "Cozy" Okada / Kazuma Kaneko
Richard "Lord British" Garriot
Roberta Williams
Jane Jensen
Sid Meier
Charles Cecil
Zach Barth
Kenji Eno
Paul Cuisset
Benedetto "Puppet Combo" Cocuzza
Kitty Horrorshow
Brian and Andrew Allanson
Rieko Kodama
Yukio Futatsugi
Tadashi Satomi
Takashi Tokita
Jun'ya "ZUN" Ota
Hideyuki Suganami
thecatamites
Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Éric Chahi
Jordan Mechner
Tomonobu Itagaki
Tokuro Fujiwara
Takashi Nishiyama
Chris Avellone
Ryukishi07
Yu Suzuki
Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro
Ron Gilbert
Yuji Horii
Mason Lindroth
Tim Schafer
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Joar Jakobsson
Daniel Mullins
Jay Tholen
Peter Molyneux
Hideo Yoshizawa
Michel Ancel
Sam Barlow
Tetsuya Takahashi
Hironobu Sakaguchi
Austin "Dingaling" Jorgensen
Mitsuo "Tsunku♂" Terada
Toby Gard
Will Wright
Ojiro Fumoto
Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya
Bennett Foddy
Derek Yu
Keita Takahashi
Warren Spector
Kikiyama
Josef Fares
Alx Preston
Shinji Mikami
Phil Fish
Gunpei Yokoi
Toru Iwatani
Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari
Keiji Inafune
Goichi "Suda51" Suda
Robert Kurvitz
Masahiro Sakurai
Kotaro Uchikoshi
Jonathan Blow
Hideaki Itsuno
Edmund McMillen
Keiichiro Toyama
David Cage
Leslie Benzies / Dan Houser
Masato Kato
Shigesato Itoi
Satoshi Tajiri
Alexey Pajitnov
Koji Igarashi
Davey Wreden
Yoshio Sakamoto
Hideki Kamiya
Fumito Ueda
John Romero / John Carmack
Scott Cawthon
Shu Takumi
Yuji Naka
Kazutaka Kodaka
Tetsuya Nomura
Hideo Kojima
Lucas Pope
Amy Hennig
Jenova Chen
Jade Raymond
Hidetaka Miyazaki
Katsura Hashino
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