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[JoeDanny]

Are there any true auteurs left in the gaming industry? Maybe Kojima. But it seems like with the massive studio sizes these days, it's just impossible for a singular vision to shine through without being dampened by 1000 suits/contractors/screaming redditors demanding what your game should be. So it begs the questions, are there any games these days where a singular dev's vision can really be seen? Like to the point where you go, "Yeah, this is HIS game, not just CorpoSlop #99 made by 10,000 people"

 

[Ssech]

No more auteurs, only autists

 

[StoopKidz]

I would say Ken Levine, but Judas is nowhere in sight.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

You auteur see deez nuts.

 

[bender]

Kojima, Lucas Pope, Kamitani

 

[Puscifer]

They're making small indie games without publisher influence. Sadly we aren't in the era anymore where someone can give Kojima 400K and say make a game in 16 months and give us metal gear solid.

Isn't it nuts to think that 5 million for Vice City, the most expensive game in history at one point, was considered excessive? Crazy times.

 

[Exede]

Had to Google auteur

 

[Represent.]

Neil Druckmann

Laugh emoji all you want but he's the closest thing to it.

 

[MagnesD3]

Isnt Master Miyazaki one?

 

[Hypereides]

Yes. There's numerous solo hobbyist and bedroom game devs popping up doing interesting work and projects, if you look for it.

 

[Liopleurodon]

Hideo Kojima.

Tetsuya Nomura.

Kim Hyung-tae.

Liu Wei.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Streamers are the Auteurs.
Color commentary while playing a game.

 

[Solarstrike]

 

[Physiognomonics]

All creative directors think they are auteurs.

 

[Chukhopops]

In the AAA world games have become so big that it's rare to see a single author vision behind them, even for games I'd consider very well written like Disco Elysium, Esoteric Ebb or DOS2

You can still see "author intent" in smaller games, especially games by Uchikochi / Kodaka for Spike Chunsoft. Good or bad, you can feel that they are (mostly) written by one person with their own themes and focus.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Daniel Mullins and some other indies under Devolver and some others.

 

[Meicyn]

Are there any true auteurs left in the gaming industry? Maybe Kojima. But it seems like with the massive studio sizes these days, it's just impossible for a singular vision to shine through without being dampened by 1000 suits/contractors/screaming redditors demanding what your game should be. So it begs the questions, are there any games these days where a singular dev's vision can really be seen? Like to the point where you go, "Yeah, this is HIS game, not just CorpoSlop #99 made by 10,000 people"

You can see Fumito Ueda's influence, right down to the single-digit framerates akin to all his games.

In all seriousness though, the visual language, emphasis on scale and the feeling of loneliness... it's all there.

 

[TexMex]

Neil, Levine, Kojima, Lanning

 

[Hudo]

Maybe Akitoshi Kawazu? Dude is one of the very few OGs left at Square and has been directing the SaGa games since the beginning. And say what you want, but he doesn't give a shit about mass-market compatibility when he designs (and writes) a SaGa game. And I guess he is untouchable because he's still at Square and still has a directorial position, even after Unlimited SaGa.

 

[Bojji]

No more auteurs, only autists

In Person:

 

[Durin]

Most of them you're gonna see in indie games, because the team size is small enough one person's vision can be clear.

Only issue is their names are less known, as we don't really make many sub-culturally famous game designers anymore.

 

[touchfuzzy]

Eric Barone / ConcernedApe, for one.

 

[64gigabyteram]

it's always in indie games as usual. AAA games are big productions made by thousands. You're silly looking towards them for one person's vision.

 

[Snowdonhoffen]

In the AAA space? Kojima, Druckman, Lake, Ueda, I'd say Miyazaki too.

 

[uncreativename]

Suda51 and SWERY are still out there making games.

I don't think Tetsuya Nomura would consider himself an auteur, but in terms of character design and just vibes you can definitely tell when you're playing a game that he's been the controlling force over imo.

Jonathan Blow's definitely an auteur as well. An important one imo.

And then ConcernedApe of course.

Probably more I'm forgetting and definitely more I don't know of.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Maybe Kojima

 

[Judge Magister]

Randy Pitchford

 

[Nocty]

I would say Ken Levine, but Judas is nowhere in sight.

Bro takes so fucking long to make his games that the industry moves ahead of him and then he has to rehash it over and over.

What was 'groundbreaking' about Judas when it started development like what 12-15 years ago? probably has already been done now by games that shipped in the mean time.

 

[RedC]

Jonathan Blow

 

[uncreativename]

Bro takes so fucking long to make his games that the industry moves ahead of him and then he has to rehash it over and over.

What was 'groundbreaking' about Judas when it started development like what 12-15 years ago? probably has already been done now by games that shipped in the mean time.

I never had much respect for him and his games to begin with, but yeah, I remember looking at some of the footage for Judas and the design looked hopelessly outdated. I think it's not just been done before, it's been surpassed. We can do more interesting things now, and he's still hammering away making a game that looks like it incrementally improves on his old games lol.

 

[SJRB]

Indie games for sure. AAA games are 100% designed by committee and/or made by incompetent tourists at this point, which is why almost all of them fucking suck.

Seriously, thousands more must lose their jobs if we want to salvage the AAA industry.

 

[Hypereides]

Eric Barone / ConcernedApe, for one.

McPig and Toby Fox are other notable ones.

 

[Nocty]

I never had much respect for him and his games to begin with, but yeah, I remember looking at some of the footage for Judas and the design looked hopelessly outdated. I think it's not just been done before, it's been surpassed. We can do more interesting things now, and he's still hammering away making a game that looks like it incrementally improves on his old games lol.

Bioshock was the golden goose and I admit I was hooked on it from the intro until the very end. It had a beautifully cohesive world design if nothing else. Rapture felt like a real place for me, very immersive.

 

[Trilobit]

Let's not forget about the Professor:

 

[digital_ghost]

I would say Ken Levine, but Judas is nowhere in sight.

Probably because he betrayed someone leading to their death.

edit: wrong Judas.

 

[begotten]

Jonathan Blow

I like Jonathon Blow a lot.

I've always wondered if there was a world where he had unlimited funds and a large scale team - what kind of AAA game he would make and what it would look like if he directed it.

But obviously since he's too particular about things, needs to make new programming languages and engines, his mental and practices wouldn't even allow it.

 

[Lightbreak]

 

[sodstall]

Nope, all dead and gone and erased from the gene pool. Lot of ones listed here by others are also resting on their laurels at this point. No new ideas just the same boxed product, one after the other.

Levine probably has some neat-o writing he's been working on but some of his writing team has been leaking copious amounts of hubris every time i hear em talk about the game so Judas can only hope to whelm me by the time it releases.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

 

[Boo Who?]

Neil Druckmann

Laugh emoji all you want but he's the closest thing to it.

 

[Brigandier]

They're making small indie games without publisher influence. Sadly we aren't in the era anymore where someone can give Kojima 400K and say make a game in 16 months and give us metal gear solid.

Isn't it nuts to think that 5 million for Vice City, the most expensive game in history at one point, was considered excessive? Crazy times.

Shenmue 1 and 2 cost approx $50 million and they were both released before Vice City and I'm pretty sure VC had a higher dev cost of 5m lol

 

[phant0m]

They're making small indie games without publisher influence. Sadly we aren't in the era anymore where someone can give Kojima 400K and say make a game in 16 months and give us metal gear solid.

Isn't it nuts to think that 5 million for Vice City, the most expensive game in history at one point, was considered excessive? Crazy times.

GTA IV was the most expensive piece of entertainment in history at $100M when it launched

Also, Barlog?

 

[SpokkX]

Miyazaki -From software
Vincke - Larian

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

In the indie scene, mostly.

In AAA studios, obviously not. Same as in Hollywood, they want to demolish the star system. Talent is oppression.

What Square Enix is doing to Yoko Taro is the perfect example of why true authors should flee the corporate monster.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

What Square Enix is doing to Yoko Taro is the perfect example of why true authors should flee the corporate monster.

What're they doing to our boy?

 

[Arsic]

Bitch don't you play games as a lighthouse?

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

What're they doing to our boy?

Cancelling whatever project he comes up with. That's why he went out to help in the remake of Evangelion.

If I had to make an educated guess, I'd say that he doesn't comply with the production guidelines of the Ethics Department, a huge Trojan horse that's eating Square Enix from the inside.

 

[Dacvak]

You auteur see deez nuts.

I'm mad at how much that made me laugh

 

[bitbydeath]

 

[drotahorror]

Save us Phil Fish