Viewing Thread:
"The men who changed the face of gaming - forever!"

So who are the men who have defined what we see as a good game? Who has pushed the boundaries to previously unseen of limits? Who are the men that have redefined gaming, provided us with superb experiences, introduced innovative console ideas, stories and techniques? This post, my friends, will tell you of such men. (It contains developers from all companies). Starting with…

Me! (Sorry, blood rush to the head again) *slaps face repeatedly*

Shigeru Miyamoto – How can we not include Shigsy baby! (I hope mandatare doesn’t accuse me for hating Sony for writing this – lol). I think that he has changed the course of videogames, that’s for sure. He joined Nintendo as an artist but soon moved on to game designing at the command of Mr. Yamauchi. His first visionary game was the excellent Donkey Kong, also starring the little known Jumpman. Wonder what happened top him? Miyamoto is a true genius that has developed all the brilliant Mario games and has also had his magic hand in the developing of the Zelda, Kirby and Donkey Kong series. Quite simply, he has changed the face of games forever, and it looks like he will do for the foreseeable future.

Yu Suzuki – Yu Suzuki is quite possibly Sega’s answer to Miyamoto. Responsible for some of the greatest arcade games of all time, Hang On and Out Run, and more recently F355 Challenge immediately spring to mind. In my opinion he was and still is the foremost expert in arcades, and his game has had me spend many an hour down the arcade – and wasting money! One of his greatest achievements was the first fully 3D beat-‘em-up, Virtua Fighter, which was released in 1993 to critical acclaim. Recently the series has slipped behind to Tekken and Soul Calibur but with his heavy involvement in the fourth, it looks like going back the top. Why the time away? Working on epic Shenmue, a game of gigantic size and scale. Whatever superb series he comes up with next, his commitment to excellence in the arcade and console field, and his commitment to Sony has meant he has had a massive impact on gaming.

Hideo Kojima – I know he hasn’t been involved in a lot of major series bar MGS, but one thing’s for sure, with Metal Gear Solid 2 he has revolutionised gaming. People will look at games differently, and it will take a skilled developer to match the sense of involvement, feeling, complexity, and depth of Metal Gear Solid 2. Quite simply, it has become the benchmark for future PS2 games. I know he hasn’t shown the diversity that the aforementioned developers have shown in that he hasn’t really experimented with different genres, but with his Metal Gear creation he certainly, in the modern era at least, cemented his place as one of the world’s finest developers, and changed our perspectives on games, especially plot driven, forever.

Gunpei Yoko – You might not know this man, but he is responsible for the single most successful console in history – the Game Boy. Now in its third incarnation, the Game Boy has revolutionised gaming – the ‘play anywhere’ remit helping Nintendo to massive Game Boy sales. He was also an integral part in creating the Game & Watch series and was involved with the Metroid series. His vision of handheld gaming will have a monumental effect on gaming, mark my words.Tragically, he died in a car crash in 1997. But people will never forget his legacy – he has truly revolutionised games and his creation, the Game Boy, lives on and will continue to do so.

And now for someone that might change the face of gaming forever…

Bill Gates – Love him or loathe him, he's here to stay. I know he isn’t a developer, but Microsoft’s entry into the market, the Xbox, has the potential to change gaming. Massive hard drive space, impressive console specs and huge financial clout means Gates’ console has the chance to revolutionise gaming. Only time will tell…

Thanks for reading

Russell

The_Vottanator wrote:
> Ok ok. Just making you sweat a bit. :-D

Anyway, Russell Means is an actor. He
> was Chingachook in Last of the Mohicans. And he was also the indian fella in
> Natural Born Killers who Woody Harrelson accidentally blew away. He's been in a
> few more things as well, but nothing rivalled his brilliance as Chingachook!

Phew *wipes sweat from brow*, now I can relax

Point well taken

Good post there. Yeah, all these people have done excellent work for the games industry and i can see them doing so for some time to come, but remember one thing, its not just one man or woman that makes the games, for a game to be truely great it has to have a great team behind it, and thats what all these people have with them, great teams.

Obviously for the game to be good everyone working on the game needs to be good at there job, and with these people being at the top of the ranks and being the 'head' of the games production they expect high things. So they will only ask the people that are good enough to work for them.

All this comes down to one thing in the end, companies, Konami, Squaresoft, Rare and all the rest of them that are out there.

Ok ok. Just making you sweat a bit. :-D

Anyway, Russell Means is an actor. He was Chingachook in Last of the Mohicans. And he was also the indian fella in Natural Born Killers who Woody Harrelson accidentally blew away. He's been in a few more things as well, but nothing rivalled his brilliance as Chingachook!

Vottanator, tell me????

The_Vottanator wrote:
> Yeah, but do you know who Russell Means is?

No, enlighten me...

Thanks. I dunno, maybe some up and coming star?

Like me!

*slaps face again*

OK, maybe not. Ahem.

Good post Russ. I wonder who will change the face of gaming in the future?

No, I think it was Rare in the Battletoads series of games.

Can anyone clear this matter up?

DeltaJava wrote:
> Remember that groups have also been responsible for having a big effect on the
> way gaming has evolved, too. For example, Rare practically invented the
> isometric point of view. (or were the first to make a game based on it)



Rare? Surely it was Westwood. They make all the C&C/Dune games.