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