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