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