Every art or business has its heroes, those names that they manage to highlight by heading projects capable of marking the greatest successes in each discipline. The characteristics that define these leaders can vary greatly: there are those with a grand vision of the future, others who make use of an enormous capacity for motivation and those who rely on their unique individual talent.
But there is something familiar to all of them, and that cannot be denied in any case: the enormous effort required to become a reference point. And in an industry like a video game, so competitive and with so many millions in dispute, becoming a developer capable of making a difference is something that is within reach of very few
An excellent example of this is the undisputed success of ‘Angry Birds,’ a title based on a relatively simple formula, and yet it was not conceived by its creators until after having tried more than fifty failed games during six years of effort. We can get to the idea of the amount of work needed to get to the right key.
It is therefore fair to recognize those great creators who have contributed so much during the few but intense decades of life this industry has had. Very different personalities and ways in some opposite cases of understanding the same universe, but with a common denominator in how much they have made us enjoy. Go from here to our tribute on this list with the best developers in the history of video games, from which today we will deduct their first half.
- Shigeru Miyamoto
Only he could top a list like that. The one and only Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the best-known faces of this industry even by those who know less about it. His well-deserved 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities is only a small reflection of the enormous transcendence of the creator of some of the most memorable characters and universes we have discovered.
Takes at Nintendo since 1977, and his list of hits is so long that we still need the article to fill the vacancy. Pillars of the video game-like ‘ Mario Bros.,’ ‘The Legend of Zelda,” Donkey Kong,” F-Zero ‘or’ Pikmin ‘ have been erected to a greater or lesser extent thanks to this man who rules the game like no one else.
- Hironobu Sakaguchi
If we talk about the brand ‘Final Fantasy’, many are the names that can come to our head, but probably the first one we remember is that of Hironobu Sakaguchi. An essential piece in the conception and expansion of one of the most successful sagas in history, Sakaguchi also contributed his excellent work in dozens of titles edited by Square for two decades.
In 2004 he decided to emancipate himself from the company he helped make big and founded Mistwalker with Microsoft’s financial support. Although he has not yet won such huge victories as those of the past, exciting projects such as’ The Last Story,” Lost Odyssey ‘or’ Blue Dragon ‘ show that he has not yet lost his touch.
- Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune has the face of being a very nice guy; no one can deny that. But logically, his merits in this life go much further, and that’s why we have him here. Note for example being the father of ‘Mega Man,’ a saga to which he has devoted his most significant efforts by engaging in the vast majority of releases.
But don’t think that his work has remained there because his signature as a producer and designer also appears in other significant licenses such as ‘Resident Evil,’ ‘Onimusha’ or ‘Street Fighter.’ He also decided to try his luck for free after two decades in Capcom’s service and founded Comcept.
- John Carmack
Not all the great names in the video game world come from beautiful Japan, of course, and among the most recognized figures in the sector in the West, it is impossible to avoid John Carmack. Technical genius and strong man of id Software during his most glorious years alongside John Romero and Tom Hall, we can say that Carmack has practically not stopped creating since the late 1980s.
His talent has served to squeeze to the maximum the technological possibilities of each moment, being the genre of first-person shooters that more have taken advantage of this in genius as ‘Wolfenstein 3D’, ‘Doom’ and ‘Quake.’ It is currently part of the process of creating Oculus Rift, as well as engaging in other businesses outside of digital leisure through the Company Armadillo Aerospace.
- Will Wright
Another great name in the field of strategy is Will Wright, and from his leadership position at Maxis, a company he founded with Jeff Braun, he has been the father of high sales and criticism successes. So much so that EA decided to buy the studio as mentioned earlier in 1997 to exclusively enjoy his creations.
His first great bombshell was the visionary ‘SimCity,’ although we cannot deny that in the eyes of the general public, his most significant reference is in The Sims.’ His last works to date were the two installments of ‘Spore,’ and he did not participate in the rugged reboot of’ SimCity ‘ published in the previous year.
