[Very Top] Five influential personalities in the video game industry

Michael Ancel

By Serenion

After a lively and pleasant chat with my dear elbuenhater, I decided prepare a microsection talking about the great personalities of our industry. Because just like the film or music industry, the video game industry has been, is and will be plagued by big egos that, in a good or bad way, have changed the course of the industry and stood out like gargantuan supernovas. And to begin with this microsection I will talk about a man who deserves much more recognition than he has had internationally: Michael Ancel.

When we talk about the industry in the neighboring country, like that of our country, we talk about an industry with great innovators, great companies and absolute ignorance on the part of the rest of the West. Without a doubt in the country of the baguette we have great creators, such as David Cage (head of Quantic Dreams), Fréderick Raynal (creator of Alone in the Dark), Bruno Bonnel (founder of our much-missed Infograms) or the titan Yves Guillemot, supreme boss of Ubisoft. Each and every one would deserve a topic dedicated to them. So why choose Ancel?

I won't tell you his life, for that you go to Wikipedia. I'll just tell you why In my opinion, he is one of the most important developers that the industry has ever given birth to..

has been after the creation of ten games, having developed six and leaving two halfway. It is the thinking head behind two absolute gems of the industry: Beyond Good and Evil, and, of course, Rayman. Our dear friend, capable of giving you a pass without you knowing it, has been one of the most famous characters in the industry for more than two decades, rubbing shoulders with Sonic, Pacman or Mario himself.

There is no specific reason why Rayman is so famous. There are no major market studies, nor a committee choosing a new Poochy. Just a man who since he was little sat in front of his old Telefunken and played Game and Watch. A heart and an imagination put at the service of the industry which has resulted in great works, maximum exponents of a firm, strong and silent European industry.

Unfortunately has left the industry after more than thirty years being part of it. Now, like our dearest Frank Cuesta, He dedicates himself entirely to caring for animals in a nature reserve, his great passion. A round of applause for those capable of making the right decisions and making the world a better place.

Jonathan Blow

By elbuenhater

Zzz is associated with sleep, with sleeping, not with dreaming, and commonly in video games, when we talk about triple A, we are talking about great super productions. All this dance of letters is just a mirror where we can look towards the future of quality within this landscape of bits, which we want to live as players? As people?

braid It marked my path, my understanding that can be expressed in a video game. The Witness It made me open my eyes and, through puzzles, look much more deeply into a playable environment, feeling that something before you is complex. It's not just a game, it's learning. Just like Miyazaki and his games make you swallow rage and generate tactile dexterity, Jonathan Blow It forces you to do the same but without your fingers. He wants you to be agile with your mind and heart, with reflection, and that guys, today, is magic.

I could begin to subjectively explain to you what the work of this great creator and designer of video games with a soul means, but that would be foolish. In this case, the typical and topical phrase that you should try it yourself becomes huge, it becomes human and enormous, it feels sensitive and complex, it becomes that journey that you must live yourself. It is a journey designed to reflect, to think, to value how important a video game can be if treated in a deep way. A trip to dream, not to sleep…

You can see his work, info, new projects, in the honorable Wikipedia, you can try his games or you can just read these lines and let yourself go, with good Jonathan. We didn't want to push you to get to know him, we just wanted to tell you how great our experience was with his works. We assume that he wants it that way too, and that is how this post ends, letting your dreams be free, like the mind of the magnificent Jonathan Blow...

Fumito Ueda

By elbuenhater

Apart from being a total handsome man, Fumito Ueda shines with its own light within, becoming one of the most important and influential video game developers of recent times.

Does the term «subtractive design»? Artistic quality, emotional level, simple plots, overexposed scenarios, few dialogues. He calls that style “subtractive design.” And, analyzing this term, we can realize that FromSoftware and the great Miyazaki are greatly influenced by this way of understanding the development of a story and design of a video game. Perhaps without the good Ueda we would not have or all the works of the Japanese studio would not be counted in the same way. And people, this is super important, because we will agree that From's work and her future as a developer are among the most promising, important and necessary in this industry today.

«I liked to get and have live things, like fish or birds. Other than that, I liked looking at them and making animations of them. "Basically, he seemed to be interested in things that moved." Among his favorite subjects at school is art, andThis developer is a true ARTIST!!!

Art is feeling, beauty and rawness, complex thoughts, sensations, message, that type of communication that can change your day, that can change your life, that makes you reflect on your insides and how you understand the reality that surrounds you in a deeper way. Este ejercicio sensorial que ciertas personas nos invitan a experimentar es ultra importante si somos capaces de conectar, si somos capaces de aprender a tocar nuestras raíces más ocultas.

Es un orgullo para esta industria que siga quedando gente que no sólo quiere llenarse los bolsillos con dinero dándonos obras genéricas, mainstream, vacías, utilizando los videojuegos como empresas dedicadas a recolectar.

Es un orgullo poder contar que estuve inmerso en la mente, alma y arte del gran Fumito Ueda.

Phil Fish

By Serenion

¿Quién mató a Phil Fish?

Un buen día llegó al mundo un juego que, pese a ser evidentemente indie, era una joya que permanece inalterable por el paso del tiempo, de nombre Fez. Un juego de puzzles imposibles muy bonitos en el que el personaje llevaba tal sombrero. Muchos lo recordamos con cariño, como a otros juegos de la época como braid, Limbo, Faster than Light either Super Meat Boy. Pero si por algo se le recuerda es por su creador, Phillipe Poisson, comúnmente conocido como Phil Fish.

Qué personaje. Su perfume favorito era, sin lugar a dudas, el Eau de Ego. Siempre alardeaba de su sempiterna lucha contra la mismísima industria para poder salir a flote, como aquella vez que abandonó el estudio Artificial Mind (ahora conocido como Behaviour Interactive) porque no le permitían ir a presentar Fez a un evento indie. De hecho, todo lo que sale de su boca en Indie Game: The Movie es puro ego. El poco tiempo que estuvo en esta industria, no pudo estarse callado. Llegó incluso a meterse en el infame GamerGate. No podía parar.

Y llegó el día. El día en que su ego no pudo más. Porque los egocéntricos son así, señores. Fue el comentario de un simple redactor el que hizo que explotara todo. Marcus Beer, de Gametrailers, dijo de forma no tan desafortunada: «Algunos de vosotros sois normales ahí -en la película Indie Game: The Movie– otro es un completo gilipollas». Algo tan banal acabó por que Phil Fish dejara, al más puro estilo pataleta infantil, la industria, cancelando Fez 2 por el camino con todo el bombo y platillo que pudo tener. Y tras eso desapareció. Salvo en algún agradecimiento en algunos indies, poco más se ha sabido de él.

Y ojalá hubiera acabado ahí. Yo era feliz sabiendo que alguien como él no continuaría improntando la industria, generando más generaciones de Fish que con su ego seguirían convirtiendo en un circo algo que debe ser un instrumento de creación de historias. Pero, documentándome para escribir estas líneas, he encontrado una entrevista que ha concedido este mismo año a Eurogamer. ¿Créeis que ha cambiado? No, señores, sigue siendo igual de imbécil. Lo atestigua con una frase: «Estoy constantemente creando nuevos videojuegos y cancelándolos antes siquiera de anunciarlos».

In summary, a Phil Fish lo mató el ego de Phil Fish. Nos dejó sin Fez 2 y encima solo sabe decir tonterías.

Marcus Beer tiene razón. Pedazo de gilipollas.

David Cage

By elbuenhater

David De Gruttola (Mulhouse, Alto Rin, 9 de junio de 1969), más conocido como David Cage, es un diseñador de videojuegos y compositor francés muy importante dentro de este sector. Sus obras son videojuegos narrativos que rozan el cine interactivo, cargados de misterio, relatos intrigantes y crítica social, experiencias dignas de jugar sin ninguna duda. Creó, escribió y dirigió juegos como Fahrenheit, heavy rain, Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human, desarrollados por la compañía Quantic Dream, fundada por él mismo.

Todos estos títulos son verdaderos juegazos, pero queríamos centrarnos en Detroit: Become Human, y es que podríamos asegurar que es su obra más redonda, adulta e impactante. La crudeza de su historia, el acabado técnico y sonoro espectacular, la sensación de vivir tu propia historia dejando decenas de hilos por descubrir and his brillante manera de narrar, hacen de este título un imprescindible. A nosotros nos marcó muchísimo y siempre estará en nuestra mente jugona, quizás también porque vivimos uno de sus finales más desgarradores. Ahora es tu turno…