TOP10 GAME MASTERS AT NMS
GAME DESIGNERS
Ewen Hosie counts down 10 game masters that changed our lives
NOLAN BUSHNELL
SHIGERU MIYAMOTO ROBERTA WILLIAMS
YU SUZUKI
YUJI NAKA
FOR KICKSTARTING A
FOR BRINGING
FOR MAKING GAMES A FOR STRIVING TOWARDS
FOR MAKING THE
BELOVED INDUSTRY
CHARACTER TO GAMING STORYTELLING MEDIUM
REALISTIC 3D GAMING
CONSOLE COOL
A certii able gaming godfather,
Nolan Bushnell is a co-
founder of once-giant gaming company Atari, and was also instrumental in the develop- ment of the game Pong, the i rst video game to truly
Arguably the most respected game designer in the world to this day, Shigeru Miyamoto is the creative behind some of Nintendo’s biggest hits. He is the inventor of franchises such as Super Mario, Donkey Kong,
capture the imagination of the Star Fox, and The Legend
public.
of Zelda, and was also a key proponent in the success of the Nintendo Wii.
Roberta Williams is
considered a pioneer in the graphic adventure genre of games, particularly with her popular series King’s Quest, which started in 1984. Her ambition led to a focus on narrative and storytelling in video games that had never been seen before, and paved the way for future luminaries
such as Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer, the creators of
Monkey Island.
Yu Suzuki is very much Sega’s answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, coming to prominence in the 1980s with arcade hits such as Outrun and Hang-On. A known perfectionist, he is The poster child for Sega’s golden age, Naka is famous as the lead designer of Sonic the Hedgehog. Although he didn’t design the look of the characters (that credit goes to
considered a driving force in pushing 3D graphics with his co-worker Naoto Ohshima), he was in charge of its overall
Virtua series of games, as well as the Dreamcast title Shenmue, one of the most expensive games ever made. direction.
JOHN CARMACK WILL WRIGHT
SID MEIER
FOR A WORLD VIEWED FOR ALLOWING US
FOR GIVING US THE
ROB PARDO FOR PUSHING
MARKUS ‘NOTCH’ PERSSON
THROUGH THE EYES OF
TO PLAY GOD
POWER OF CONQUERORS
CONNECTIVITY IN A VAST FOR TAKING INDIE GAMING
THE DOOM GUY
AND KINGS
ONLINE WORLD INTO THE STRATOSPHERE
John Carmack popularised
kind of strategy management The creator of several classics,
Pardo was the lead designer
Swedish indie king Markus
If you’ve ever played some
the now-common i rst-person game on Facebook or
Meier is primarily known for
shooter genre of game. A chief designer on games from the company Id Software, his
credits include Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. He is now working on the highly anticipated Oculus Rift VR
your phone, chances are it owes a debt to Will Wright. With his SimCity series, he showed that games weren’t necessarily all about winning, and with spin-off The Sims, he gave birth to an industry
project. phenomenon.
his addictive Civilization series, where players select from a list of famous world leaders,
then build their nation from the age of the cave to the race for
the stars.
of cultural phenomenon World of Warcraft. Others did online role-playing i rst (Ultima Online, Everquest), but
World of Warcraft perfected the moreish, hamster wheel ‘reward through repetition’ formula which even now keeps over seven million players hooked as the game celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Persson, of the hugely successful games company
Mojang, is the inventive designer behind Minecraft. A modest, independently produced title that started
out small, Minecraft’s combination of limitless
building options and survival gameplay has propelled it into a worldwide hit.
13 Nov–11 Dec 2014 THE LIST 15