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
Robert Kurvitz
Tonnor
Masato Kato
Koji Igarashi
Fumito Ueda
Warren Spector
Hidetaka Miyazaki
Josh Sawyer
Yoshio Sakamoto
Shinji Mikami
Chris Avellone
Neil Druckmann
Toby Fox
Markus "notch" Persson
Maddy Thorson
Yoko Taro
Hideo Kojima
Austin "Dingaling" Jorgensen
Hideaki Itsuno
Shigesato Itoi
Keita Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Kotaro Uchikoshi
Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya
Ryukishi07
Tomonobu Itagaki
Kim Swift
Jane Jensen
Shu Takumi
Katsura Hashino
Tim Schafer
Keiichiro Toyama
Alexey Pajitnov
Hideo Yoshizawa
Ron Gilbert
Jay Tholen
Kikiyama
Mitsuo "Tsunku♂" Terada
Ken Levine
Jonatan "cactus" Söderström
Charles Cecil
John Romero / John Carmack
Takashi Tokita
Kitty Horrorshow
Joar Jakobsson
Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Hideyuki Suganami
Goichi "Suda51" Suda
Tim Rogers
Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari
Jenova Chen
Lucas Pope
Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro
Davey Wreden
Todd Howard
Alx Preston
thecatamites
Mason Lindroth
Tetsuya Nomura
Derek Yu
Haruhiko Shono
Phil Fish
Jonathan Blow
Will Wright
Peter Molyneux
Kouji "Cozy" Okada / Kazuma Kaneko
Zach Barth
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Benedetto "Puppet Combo" Cocuzza
Sam Barlow
Kazutaka Kodaka
Josef Fares
Christine Love
Ojiro Fumoto
Hideki Kamiya
Yu Suzuki
Shigeru Miyamoto
Satoshi Tajiri
Sid Meier
Toru Iwatani
Edmund McMillen
Yukio Futatsugi
Éric Chahi
Toby Gard
Jordan Mechner
Rieko Kodama
Paul Cuisset
Daniel Mullins
Leslie Benzies / Dan Houser
Masahiro Sakurai
Yuji Horii
Yuji Naka
Amy Hennig
Michel Ancel
David Cage
Bennett Foddy
Scott Cawthon
Hironobu Sakaguchi
Roberta Williams
Jade Raymond
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