Auteurs of the gaming industry

What is an auteur? For those of you who know, bravo, you are now on the list of people who get to go on the spaceship before the meteor hits. For those that don’t know, you now have the pleasure of watching a flaming orange the size of a football field come hurtling towards you from space. I however will be in spaceship with an army of virile young women in an attempt to repopulate the human race. If only you’d known…

But seriously, I remember first hearing the word in a lecture hall as a guy with a beret sat next to me nodding along so heartily it was as if his neck was on a spring.

I’m probably correct in guessing that the word ‘Auteur’ doesn’t really get thrown about in the realm of video game design. The dictionary defines it as: “A director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author”

Yes, it’s film terminology but when thinking about it, it has just as much relevance in the games industry.

You could describe a director like Tim Burton as an auteur because visually/thematically his films are very unique. That’s probably the most understandable and relevant example of film that I can be bothered thinking about.

Although, while the term can be used for individuals in the industry it’s not entirely the same process in which both mediums are created. Movies are kind of like a dictatorship, you have Lenin or Castro at the top munching a cigar while the rest of the crew (the proletariat) run about doing his bidding. Sure, maybe he’ll listen to your suggestions and nod from time to time promising to take on your ideas but ultimately he’s where the buck stops.

In games, you have your dictators (more about them in a minute) but mostly the process is more akin to a democracy. You will have directors and lead designers et cetera but it’s not like they are so focused on their own plan that they consider everyone else in the team a projection of the matrix. Though to be sure this is real punch the next person you encounter.

From what I’ve experienced people up the chain of command are willing to take on ideas and suggestions from everyone because the game process has a history of being a communal effort.

Within the industry both methods work though you have to get it just right. It can’t be too hot, or too cold, unless you want your face mauled off by a bear. And there certainly have been occasions when an individual, usually in the dictator’s seat takes it a little too far.

Case in point: John Romero of id Software fame. The man had vision (read delusion) of a great game, a game named Daikatana. The problem is getting that idea from its natural state of mind jelly into an actual feasible working product. As we all know that plan really didn’t really live up to all our expectations and we were all given a playable nightmare. Kudos to the guy, he had some stones made of reinforced concrete the size of overinflated beach balls. However, we need more than a large helping of crazy to make our game both delicious and playable.

Good examples of gaming auteurism cannot really be described as a dictatorship, more like a democracy with a residing president, or some kind of religious cult.

Shinji Makami – This Japanese director is responsible for some of the most well-known and highly praised games out there on the console market. The father of the Biohazard (Resident Evil) series you know when he’s had a hand in a game because they all have a distinct ‘feel’ to them. As with most auteur’s work with a project the thematic experience isn’t something as simple as checklist of what was included in the game.

With Makami’s work, there definitely is a thread running through the games. If you look at his back catalogue which includes a hell of a lot of Resi games, there’s also other’s he’s had a hand in such as Devil May Cry, Killer 7 and Vanquish. Working with production in Capcom brings together sharp game design and awesome zombie/demon killing choreography.

Peter Molyneux – While not the father of game hype he most certainly must be the over excited toddler who’s had too much candy and starts dry humping the couch. Before Jesus came back to earth as the Fable series Molyneux had created games such as Populous, Black & White and The Movies.

Again these projects have that distinct aesthetic to them that resides through his and Lionhead’s games. Molyneux has strived to get his presence floating out there in the gamerverse like a creepy uncle whispering in your ear. It works though; he could talk a nun out of the clergy to become a stripper.

With those individuals mentioned I had a think to some MASSIVE games of the past few years and wondered why I didn’t know any of the names tied to them. Such as the great team at Bioware, they create stellar games yet I imagine them as faceless mannequins’ continually beating keyboards until a game pops out.

The guys and gals at Bethesda as well. Pumping out titles like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout and again I couldn’t name one even if an army of homeless mentalist from the Fallout wastelands threatened to beat me with a rusty length of industrial piping.

There are also some that I have missed out on and props must be given where props are due. So a big shout out to Heavy Rain’s David Cage who in a mark of respect I cut off my own finger while someone held my sandwich hostage. Also Hironbu Sakaguchi of Final Fantasy and Mistwalker studios fame. In a mark of respect I have dyed my hair blonde and decided to keep all my rage/pain inside until I cry all the water out of body in a weeping stroke.

Perhaps the shame is on me though. I’m guessing a lot of others out there could name each member of staff, their birthdays and that terrible incident that happened at the lake when they were twelve. For some reason these companies seem like the faceless corporations’ that rule dystopian futures and we have to destroy them in a hail of bullets and fire.

Maybe it’s already happened and we’re in the game right now…I’m gonna go jump out the window and see if I respawn. I’ll let you know how it goes.