When it comes to the gaming industry, there are many AAA developers and publishers that might come to mind. Whether it be Cliff Blieszinski, Peter Molyneux or Tim Schafer, there are many industry heavyweights who we regard as successes.
However, there are always other industry figures who have made great products or done great things that we may overlook.
Here are five industry figures that you may or may not recognize -- but should definitely get the credit they're due.
Amir Rao
Co-founder of Super Giant Games, Amir Rao has gone on to co-create two highly acclaimed and beloved games, Bastion and Transistor.
Rao originally worked at Electronic Arts, where he was responsible for design on Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. In 2009, he left EA and formed Supergiant Games with his partner, Gavin Simon.
Davey Wreden
Co-founder of Galactic Cafe, Davey Wreden wrote and co-created the award-winning indie title, The Stanley Parable, which has been praised for its brilliant and unconventional storytelling and writing.
Wreden began working on his first game (which would be the first version of The Stanley Parable), at the end of his undergraduate course in film school. Soon afterward, he then started fiddling around with Valve's Source Engine (yes, the first version of The Stanley Parable was a Half-Life 2 mod).
The mod blew up online and became an overnight sensation. Wreden teamed up with William Pugh to form Galactic Cafe and released a high-definition version of The Stanley Parable only two years later.
John Graham
Co-founder of the widely popular website Humble Bundle, John Graham's creation contributes to the video-game market by allowing users to buy bundles of miscellaneous games at whatever price they choose -- and then letting customers choose where their money goes, whether it be to charities or the developers.
Graham is not only the co-founder of Humble Bundle, but he is also the founding member of the game developing studio Wolfire Games. He and the team developed various indie games over the years, many that would also find their ways onto Humble Bundle.
Justin Ma and Matthew Davis
This duo not only founded the company Subset Games but also created the hit indie title FTL: Faster Than Light. Raising $200,000 dollars on Kickstarter to make FTL, the duo have won many awards for it since.
Before Subset Games, both were former 2K China team member alongside Justin Ma. Meanwhile, Justin Ma was a games design consultant for 2K China, a junior games designer for 2K and a graphic designer for Blue Whale Studios.
Games that he has previously worked on include: Bioshock 2, and Top Spin 4 Wii.
The two would leave the 2K team to work on an indie game inspired by board games like X-Wing and Battlestar Galactica. Their game was named as a finalist at the Independent Games Festival China competition in 2011, after which interest in the game started picking up.
The duo would eventually turn to Kickstarter to fund their game after realizing that the development time was longer than originally anticipated. They asked for a mere $10,000 and received $200,000.
Their game would go on to receive critical acclaim and be regarded as a hit.
Palmer Luckey
Founder of the company Oculus VR and developer of the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey is recognized as one of the big pioneers in the VR world.
Luckey created the original prototype for the Oculus at age 18 in his parents’ garage, and he would go on to sell his 6th generation unit as a DIY kit to fellow enthusiasts on Kickstarter. Later, Luckey ran Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of the Oculus Rift. The campaign would raise $2.4 million, or 974% of its original goal, cementing Luckey as the face of VR gaming.
In 2015, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth to be $700 million.
Young or old, industry veteran or garage genius, the gaming industry has a whole slew of interesting industry figures.
Some may develop games, some may write, some may invent or some may just sell, but they all have a part in this industry.
