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Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame
killdashnine writes "Last year we discussed the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa, and a first event in 2009 which brought 3,500 people to witness it. Since then, there's been much progress toward creation of the museum, including the upcoming 'Big Bang 2010' exhibition. Their first event kicks off with formal induction ceremonies, tournaments, record-setting attempts, and an array of concerts from 8-bit music to modern rock. This serves as the first official fundraiser for this new non-profit. Iowa is positioning itself as the Video Game Capital of the World. While some sneer and scoff at this, pointing to LA or Seattle as gaming giants and rightful heirs to the title, the real goal is not to glorify software developers but rather to memorialize the 'heroes of video games,' from the iconic Pac Man to pioneers such as Ralph Baer."
Here's a list of this year's inductees. Who gets your vote for next year?
No Yokoi? Blasphemy!
The inductees so far seem to favor the US.
Only two from Japan and none from anyplace else, as far as I can see. It reads more like a "well-known people who are expected to be inducted into any such list" compilation rather than an award of merit. Not saying they don't have the merit to be on such a list - just that they clearly are on the list because of how well-known, merit notwithstanding).
Certainly, a huge amount of early work did take place in the US; but they are nominating a lot of much more recent contributors.
Just an observation.
Why is half the list consisting of "champions" when there isn't even a mention of such names as Sid Meier, Will Wright, Gabe Newell, Richard Garriott or John Carmack? I couldn't find any other list, so I must assume this is the first one, right?
It's fine if they want to induct mainly people into the "Hall of Fame" as it were, but why does Pac-Man get the sole video game induction? I don't doubt the effect Pac Man has had over the years but surely some other games deserve mention if even ONE game gets the nod.
Why is Miyamoto listed as "creator of Donkey Kong"? Surely he is well known for MUCH MUCH more than just donkey kong, it's as if they treat him as some obscure programmer when everyone knows he's much more than that.
Without Gunpei Yokoi there would be no "Plus Switch" (originated on his Game and Watch), no Metroid, no Donkey Kong, no Mario, no Game Boy, no Virtual Boy, and likely Shigeru Miyamoto would never have created Super Mario Bros. or Zelda. Nintendo most likely would not have had enough excellent games to break into the North American market in the mid 80s (or even have ever gotten into the home console market), and quite possibly the crash of 1983 would have been permanent, leaving only PC games in the market. Possibly Sega would have dominated Japan, or possibly they would never have been inspired to actually try. The gaming world would have turned out very differently.
Now this is really bugging me. I like mah xboxes and such, but why is the xbox design team part of this list and not the design team from the many other much more influential consoles than of all things, THE FIRST XBOX?!
You mean if you win the award you have to actually go to Ottumwa? I thought towns with names like that were only found on job postings....
Everybody gathers around, then they all make John Romero their bitch.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
and quite possibly the crash of 1983 would have been permanent, leaving only PC games in the market.
And nothing of value would have been lost.
http://www.zombieapocalypse.tv/
I don't understand what they're celebrating here, since its got videogame designers, characters and gamers, all on the same list! Also, it says "Class of 2010", but the nominees span more or less 30 years of history.
Anyway, I'd would nominate Rob Hubbard, a brilliant video game musician.
Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
Genius.
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
No Ed Logg. No Ed Rotberg. No Tim Skelly. No Toru Iwatani. No Eugene Jarvis. No FUCKING EUGENE JARVIS?!?!
Instead they honor such douche nozzles as Billy "Kenny Loggins is my long lost dad" Mitchell. Great.
Hall of fames are a joke, just like the lame, political, glad-handing "Rock N Roll" Hall of Fame...
"You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic."
"Thank you, Master Control"
-Sark and the MCP
Ian Bell (Elite), David Braben (Elite, Zarch, Virus, Virus 2000), Jeremy Smith (Thrust, Exile), Peter Irvin (Starship Command, Exile), Nigel Alderton (Chuckie Egg), Geoff Crammond (Revs, Formula One Grand Prix), Tim and Chris Stamper (Knight Lore), Nick Pelling (Firetrack, Frak!, Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat 2, Duke Nukem), Peter Molyneux (Populous). And that's within a few minutes of looking. Of these, Ian Bell and David Braben deserve MBEs for their service to gaming and a lifetime of free psychiatric care to help with their feud).
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
But mostly and originally, video games come from Japan!
Absolutely wrong. A primary example is Atari [Pong if you want a starting point]. The company just sounds Japanese, but was solidly American- as were almost all the producers of the first commercial games. Even the English got into the game before Japan did.
Mind you, the Japanese caught on early and polished things into jewellike luster, much like consumer video and automotive production in the 1970's, and brought brilliant new concepts to the table, but video/computer games were not in any way "mostly and originally" from there.
Oh. I see it right here on the map. Just southeast of Outer Buttfuckistan...err...Des Moines.
Who in their right mind puts something like this out in the asscrack back of beyond?
"Oh property values are cheap and this'll draw tourism!"
IT'S FUCKING IOWA! It's one gigantic cornfield with pretty much NOTHING else to recommend it.
And this place is nearly an hour's travel from the nearest major expressway. Yeah! Gonna draw lots of non-locals there!
What next? The Goatse hall of fame?
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Duke Nukem Forever, of course !
LEROY JENKINS!!!
At the end of day, it is the players who have decided the fates of games. If a gamer does not play the game, it is gone; a puff of smoke in a breeze. So why not the major cities to place this homage? It is because the pure heart of the players beat not in the hustle and bustle of the city, but in the quiet rural areas. Ottumwa is a mecca of rural areas; the rural areas where the bored farm boy who spent so many countless hours feeding the industry. Think of gamers from the period of infancy of gaming, who were not distracted by the hustle and bustle of the urban sprawls, who could focus on their new found entertainment with a singularity of purpose.
It was those bored rubes feeding rolls of quarters into early video game machines; those uncool masses scattered about the landscape who could be allowed to push the envelope and demand yet more. They were unhampered by the fads of the metropolis, and thus gave what was need the most in the infancy of the gaming industry; they brought their money and they PLAYED.
Behold Ottumwa, Iowa; the City of Bridges. It is a twinkle of a city, but a microcosm of modern civilization in an ocean of wilderness. There it serves as an oasis of sorts for the denizens of the moderately tamed wilds. There, a gamer shall find refuge, supplies and comrades. So there shall be the heart of computer games, and there they shall gather on that river bank. As native Americans gathered there for their games, so shall pioneers of the information and digital age gather with theirs.
That young one, is why.
Take the Red Pill.
Build it and they shall come.
A part of a destination is the journey taken, and what honor is there to a hall of fame without a pilgrimage?
Take the Red Pill.
Once in a blue moon, a profane AC post just nails it.
I'm guessing this is marketing spam from Microsoft, particularly as it doesn't contain someone like David Braben but does contain a whole load of x-box designers.
I'd rather they focus on recognizing the games themselves, kind of like how other museums focus on the artifacts they display. Funspot Family Fun Center's non-profit wing takes that approach - showcasing old arcade games.
Freedom is drinking a beer in the park when you're supposed to be at work.
the title appears misleading is it only console games? (what i think of when i see video games) or is it all computer games including consoles etc. There are brilliant games that should be included in such a HOF including but not limited to games like Gauntlet and for me the original ad&d roleplaying games. In terms of people Mike Singleton sticks out (Lords of Midnight developer) but this was not console/arcade so might be excluded on that basis. It seams that such a HOF will very much depend on what people like/play who get a say in it and how wide their remit is
if today is a good day to die, it must be pretty bad
I'd like to suggest Frank Klepacki for his incredible work on the Command and Conquer series. Can't say much more about that.
More controversially, I think Chris Sawyer is an underrated fella in the Gaming world. He single handedly built some of the best games I've ever played (Transport Tycoon Deluxe and Rollercoaster Tycoon). Obviously my preference for these two games make me biased, but I think he deserves it for not having any problem with Transport Tycoon Deluxe being open-source developed into OpenTTD. The fact he wasn't a dick about it and now OpenTTD is one of the best games ever written, that makes him pretty kickass in my book.
Really? Where is Yu Suzuki?
And what about russian Alexey Pajitnov and his Tetris game...
- "Every demand is a prison, and wisdom is only free when it asks nothing." Sir Betrand Russell
...Not exactly impressive. They basically have a bunch of shops (Walmart, Gamestop), some random studios (but hey if they made the hit SuperMonkeyBash HD on XBLA, then who are we to doubt the decades of industry knowledge AngryChimp Studios has?) and then XBox 360. Well then, that'd explain all the XBox related crap on the list. The whole site smacks of some coordinator of State relations being given a government grant and noticing that them thar games are big at the moment, and gathering a similar bunch of people who know nothing with some input from that AngryChimp Studio they managed to get onboard for a few thousand bucks. I've actually seen this happen and sadly been a part of it, and it's a soul sucking experience when a bunch of 40 something HR/marketing people decide that Gaming is the Next Big Thing and proceed to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars on stupid conferences and websites built by amateur local design companies. Oh yeah, and any Gaming hall of anything with Master Chief at the top has about as much credibility as a gaming degree without math in it.
And nothing of value would have been lost.
That's a bit of a stretch. This last generation could have not existed, but most of the consoles before that were glorious in their own rights.
I've actually won a tourney around here...
Iowa DOES NOT deserve to have this here. There has never been any CAL tourney's, never anything bigger than MAYBE 50 people in one tourney.
they need pinball games as well.
There's a Donkey Kong kill screen coming up if anyone wants to watch.
Let's not forget Fred Savage in the Wizard...
This whole idea should go in the FAIL hall of fame. A bunch of xbox douchebags get included, while real pioneers get completely overlooked? Pac-man is the only character on the list? Apparently, this is nothing but a Microsoft wank-fest. I'm just glad they so totally failed to give this any kind of credibility, so any money they sunk into it will be completely wasted.
1. This is the first year of the induction ceremonies. Like every other hall of fame out there, people don't make the first year, or second year or other years. 2. Yes, we know some of the people who "should be inducted" didn't make the cut. Shit happens. 3....please read the below comments from Walter Day on how the inductees were picked: When the IVGHOF was first conceived, it immediately approved a list of inductees that included five noted competitive gamers, four legendary industry pioneers and one historic video game. Realizing that there were many, many more individuals worthy of enshrinement into the IVGHOF, the IVGHOF Board of Directors decided to make the Class of 2010 a very large one and decided to hold many ceremonies around North America to induct further honorees into the Hall of Fame for the Class of 2010. However, only one such ceremony was held – at the 2009 NW Pinball and Game Room Show – before the IVGHOF changed its plans and decided that all future inductees would be selected by a Panel of Industry Experts who would approve the selection criteria, create a ballot of nominees for each forthcoming year, and then select the Inductees from among the list of nominees. Plus, as the IVGHOF gained more knowledge from these experiences, the vision for the IVGHOF evolved and it was decided that there would be only one ceremony per year and that it would induct a smaller number of honorees designated by this objective panel of industry experts. Recognizing that the worldwide gaming industry has greatly benefited from the support of the global community of competitive gamers, it was decided to dedicate this first class to the "History of Competitive Gaming," and to focus on the contributions made to the industry by the original gamer -- the "arcade champion." In accordance with these plans to celebrate the "History of Competitive Gaming," a majority of the inductees honored in this first Class are arcade or PC gaming champions. You will find on this website a list of the current Inductees. We hope you will join us in honoring them on Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa. The current class -- the Class of 2010 -- is composed of the arcade champions Inducted at the NW Pinball and Game Room Show, as well as ten other luminaries who were approved by the IVGHOF Board of Directors in May of 2009. In total, the Class of 2010 includes 4 iconic industry visionaries, 5 game or software designers, 19 competitive gamers and one video game. And, if you think that someone is missing -- someone who absolutely deserves to be inducted into the IVGHOF, but is not on this list, you are right! This process is just beginning and we plan on bestowing the highest honors on every individual or organization who has contributed to the success or enrichment of the worldwide video game industry. Unfortunately, everybody can't be inducted in a single year, so we ask for everyone's patience as we move through this first year and work to establish the IVGHOF as the cultural crossroads of the video game age.
And with the 32-bit and later systems, the Americans and the English made a comeback. I would say that the Americans and English adapted better to development of 3D polygon based games better than the Japanese did.
And -I- would say that things like game development (and computer engineering in general) is a global happening. It makes no sense to point out what "Americans" or the "English" did as opposed to "the Japanese". Game companies (and subsequently, games) are build using talent from all over the globe. In one game, your sprites may be American, your music can be Japanese and the code could be African.
Sure, you can point out regional differences in the game market. If you look closer though, you'll see that there's much more cohesion than divisiveness.
Really? Without him, NO plus switch? Come on, it was inevitable. If not him, then someone would have. You might as well say without Edison there'd be no light bulbs... just because someone was first doesn't mean they are the ONLY person in history who was capable of the innovation.
To paraphrase a comparison between Carmack and Romero is a limousine driver to Johny Depp (without that limousine he's just a homeless weirdo on the street that sells pens and pencils like in real-life). That's perhaps the reason why Duke Nukem Forever was started built on Quake1 because of how beautiful of presentation Romero's art appeared through that shitty birth-canal that Carmack mostly wrote for Romero to berth through.
It's necessary comparisons between John Carmack to John Romero that all gamers should lend their soul to comprehend that Carmack has/had a peak talent that only 1 man on earth could make better: that was the art skills of John Romero. Sure, laugh at Romero all you want just because he's not as good a programmer to balance his work (Daikatana). Just remember it was Romero that made everyone forget that Quake1 was a new shitty game engine; because the environment art and sound coordination was that much more jaw-dropping. Just remember that Romero is souly responsible for the beauty that was inspired into Doom that bled into Doom3 and soon-to-be Doom4 after he left the company. All the knock-offs on abysmal horror and grotesque style adapted into many movies was from Romero.
I ask you one last question, and that is: what do you think Diablo3, World of WarCraft, or even StarCraft would have ever looked like if it's very molecular biology was in the dripping-wet hands of John Romero. That's right: Blizzard's crew is Duplo compared to Lego Technick.
You may all whine that it was Romero with an attitude problem that he ran away from Carmack and ID Software, but that's not what a Psychotherapist would say. People like Romero are those fidgity creatures of dark inspiration that needed to be guided towards their work with flashlights shaping the direction where they neeeeed to walk. That's why Romero left. Everyone is too busy staring at the sun in the sky, while poor ol' Romero was ignored that it looks much more beautiful reflected on the moon down to the liefless treeeees that scream the agony of 72 virgins sacrificed on their yew branches blistered and bleach-dried to prunes from the day.
I'm more implying that the real innovations in gaming as a serious medium of artistic expression and gameplay variations (as opposed to arcade games, which are designed to be nothing more than puerile and addictive shallow entertainment) occurred on the PC; here is a small list of genre launching/breakthrough games:
Civilisation
Railroad Tycoon
Wolf 3D
Elite
Doom
Daggerfall
SimCity
Fallout
XCOM
Dune 2
Flight Simulator
I could go on. Apart from platformers and JRPGs, any games that now matter have their roots in PC gaming.
http://www.zombieapocalypse.tv/
Pretty sure it's the first. And yes, the list is complete and utter wank. There are only a few who deserve to be on that list and the only one on the list that stands out (and who would be on my list of potential inductees), Shigeru Miyamoto. Nolan Bushnell, Ralph Baer and the founder of NAMCO, are all industry pioneers who have earnt a place on the list. I might...MIGHT...even go so far as to say that Jonathon "Fatal1ty" Wendel isn't *that* out of place considering how well known he is and how he was one of the best known gamers at a time when competitive gaming was taking off, just look at all the products named after him. But trawling the past for the champion of "Berzerk"...WTF?
John Carmack, Tom Hall, American McGee, John Romero, Sandy Petersen, Gabe Newell, Alexey Pajitnov, Sid Meier, Richard Garriott and Will Wright all deserve to be honoured on that list, but I doubt that will happen while Microsoft is stacking the votes. Who the hell has ever heard of either of the XBox design team members on the list? I thought it was called a hall of *FAME*?
Oh well...I'm really good at playing Led Zeppelin on my CD player, so maybe I can get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ottumwa, Iowa? The Center of the Video Game Universe?! Nooooo! Say it isn't so! All Ottumwa, Iowa and the whole state in fact is the Epicenter of BF Nowhere and a huge black hole for technology! (I should know - I use to live there!)