What is PeekScore?: PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news.
At the suggestion of the good people over at the mighty video game site IGN.com, we’ve got a rather rich and robust treat for you today. We’ve taken 60 of the biggest names in the history of video game development – designers, directors, producers, whatever the hats they’ve worn through the years – and listed them, from largest to smallest, by the size and scope of their impact here in cyberspace, as measured on our PeekScore scale.
To first time visitors: You can gain a little more insight into PeekScores, what they are, and even how to increase and/or decrease your own, by reading the introductory entry found by clicking here.
PeekScores factor in both the passive and active factors in an individual’s online existence, so in some cases – such as with the famously press-shy Houser brothers – sheer notoriety, and repeated mentions throughout the news media and blogosphere can alone contribute to a healthy score. In other instances, personal websites, blogs, and all manner of social networking profiles, actively updated by the individual in question – as was the case with more than a few on the below list – will bolster his or her presence here on the ‘Net, and beef up the corresponding score in the process.
We suspect that our first place finisher has been edged to victory for having his name as part of the title of many of the incredibly popular games he’s created, therefore prompting his name to occur throughout the ether that many more times. Not all roads to digital prominence are equally fair, but it’s not the business of the PeekScore to judge. It simply reports the facts.
In general, and in the grand scheme, none of the 60 men and women listed here has anything like a particularly meager PeekScore. Whatever each individual’s direct role in this being the case, this is a digitally impactful group. Given the nature of the profession, and the degree to which it’s extensively and exhaustively covered here on the Web, this is not surprising.
Please comment away, as we’re certain many of you will have strong opinions about this list. We’ve dealt with video game lists before, and we know that commenters on such lists can be quite enthusisastic and passionate when disagreeing with what we’ve shared here. We consider this wonderful, and encourage all to speak their minds as freely as they wish. We must ask, however, that you please refrain from profanity, if only so we can share and respond to all of your comments publicly. Things have gotten quite colorful in the past, but perhaps a bit too peppery for primetime. So, keep it clean, and all else is fair game.
Enjoy, and remember to head on over to IGN.com to check out the video game, TV, and movie news, reviews, and cheat codes, as well as all the other awesome stuff they have for offer over there.
| Rank | Picture | Name | Notable Games | PeekScore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
Sid Meier | Sid Meier’s Civilization | 8.46 / 10.00 |
| 2 |
|
Tim Schafer | Full Throttle, Psychonauts, Brütal Legend | 8.40 / 10.00 |
| 3 |
|
Shigeru Miyamoto | Mario, Zelda | 8.36 / 10.00 |
| 4 |
|
Hideo Kojima | Metal Gear, Snatcher, Policenauts | 8.27 / 10.00 |
| 5 |
|
John Carmack | Wolfenstein 3D, Doom | 8.24 / 10.00 |
| 6 |
|
Dave Jones | Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto | 8.21 / 10.00 |
| 7 |
|
Gabe Newel | Half-Life, Steam | 8.19 / 10.00 |
| 8 |
|
Will Wright | The Sims, SimCity, SimAnt | 8.16 / 10.00 |
| 9 |
|
Peter Molyneux | Dungeon Keeper, Black & White, Fable | 8.15 / 10.00 |
| 10 |
|
Cliff Bleszinski | Gears of War | 8.12 / 10.00 |
| 11 |
|
Tetsuya Nomura | Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts | 8.11 / 10.00 |
| 12 |
|
Ken Levine | BioShock, Thief: The Dark Project | 8.10 / 10.00 |
| 13 |
|
Todd Howard | Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls | 8.09 / 10.00 |
| 14 |
|
Markus “Notch” Persson | Minecraft | 8.09 / 10.00 |
| 15 |
|
David Jaffe | Twisted Metal, God of War | 8.08 / 10.00 |
| 16 |
|
Jason West | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | 8.07 / 10.00 |
| 17 |
|
Ed Boon | Mortal Kombat | 8.07 / 10.00 |
| 18 |
|
David Braben | Elite | 8.06 / 10.00 |
| 19 |
|
Hironobu Sakaguchi | Final Fantasy | 8.06 / 10.00 |
| 20 |
|
Ray Muzyka | Shattered Steel, Baldur’s Gate | 8.06 / 10.00 |
| 21 |
|
Randy Pitchford | Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life: Opposing Force | 8.06 / 10.00 |
| 22 |
|
Warren Spector | System Shock , Deus Ex, Epic Mickey | 8.05 / 10.00 |
| 23 |
|
Ron Gilbert | Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island | 8.05 / 10.00 |
| 24 |
|
Michael Morhaime | World of Warcraft | 8.04 / 10.00 |
| 25 |
|
Dave Grossman | Day of the Tentacle, Pajama Sam, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge | 8.04 / 10.00 |
| 26 |
|
Yu Suzuki | Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, Virtua Fighter | 8.04 / 10.00 |
| 27 |
|
Jonathan Blow | Braid, The Witness | 8.03 / 10.00 |
| 28 |
|
Fumito Ueda | Ico, Shadow of the Colossus | 8.03 / 10.00 |
| 29 |
|
Jordan Mechner | Prince of Persia | 8.03 / 10.00 |
| 30 |
|
Harvey Smith | Deus Ex, FireTeam | 8.03 / 10.00 |
| 31 |
|
Alex Ward | Burnout Paradise, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit | 8.03 / 10.00 |
| 32 |
|
Vince Zampella | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | 8.02 / 10.00 |
| 33 |
|
Yuji Naka | Sonic the Hedgehog | 8.02 / 10.00 |
| 34 |
|
Michel Ancel | Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil | 8.02 / 10.00 |
| 35 |
|
Greg Zeschuk | Shattered Steel, Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic | 8.01 / 10.00 |
| 36 |
|
Bill Roper | World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo | 8.01 / 10.00 |
| 37 |
|
Roberta Williams | King’s Quest, Phantasmagoria | 8.01 / 10.00 |
| 38 |
|
Dan Houser | Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption | 8.01 / 10.00 |
| 39 |
|
Sam Houser | Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption | 8.00 / 10.00 |
| 40 |
|
John Tobias | Mortal Kombat | 8.00 / 10.00 |
| 41 |
|
Alexey Pajitnov | Tetris | 7.99 / 10.00 |
| 42 |
|
Goichi Suda | Moonlight Syndrome, The Silver Case, Shadows of the Damned | 7.98 / 10.00 |
| 43 |
|
Kim Swift | Quantum Conundrum, Portal | 7.97 / 10.00 |
| 44 |
|
Evan Wells | Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Daxter, Jak | 7.96 / 10.00 |
| 45 |
|
Denis Dyack | Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain | 7.90 / 10.00 |
| 46 |
|
Tôru Iwatani | Pac-Man | 7.83 / 10.00 |
| 47 |
|
Masaya Matsuura | PaRappa the Rapper | 7.74 / 10.00 |
| 48 |
|
Jason Rubin | Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Way of the Warrior | 7.73 / 10.00 |
| 49 |
|
Clint Hocking | Far Cry 2, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor | 7.71 / 10.00 |
| 50 |
|
Graeme Devine | The 7th Guest, The 11th Hour, Quake III Arena | 7.62 / 10.00 |
| 51 |
|
Donald Mustard | Infinity Blade, Advent Rising | 7.42 / 10.00 |
| 52 |
|
Tomohiro Nishikado | Space Invaders | 7.23 / 10.00 |
| 53 |
|
Ed Logg | Asteroids, Centipede, Gauntlet | 7.15 / 10.00 |
| 54 |
|
Tokuro Fujiwara | Mega Man, Ghosts and Goblins | 7.14 / 10.00 |
| 55 |
|
Tomonobu Itagaki | Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword | 7.09 / 10.00 |
| 56 |
|
Alex Rigopulos | Rock Band | 7.09 / 10.00 |
| 57 |
|
Akira Nishitani | Street Fighter II, Endless Ocean | 7.07 / 10.00 |
| 58 |
|
Jonty Barnes | Halo 3, Dungeon Keeper | 7.03 / 10.00 |
| 59 |
|
Keiji Inafune | Mega Man, Onimusha, Dead Rising | 7.01 / 10.00 |
| 60 |
|
Dave Theurer | Missile Command, Tempest | 7.00 / 10.00 |