10 Most Influential Creators In Modern Video Games

Whether mutant-infested wastelands, red plumbers in hat-shaped rocket ships or colourful bandicoots sporting 'gnarly' jorts and tribal tattoos - on second thought, scratch that last one - games are just as heavily built off creative ideas and artistic thoughts as every other mainstream medium.

In truth, behind all your favourite games are some of the smartest minds to ever grace the world of visual entertainment. These upstanding people have singlehandedly influenced every modern trend to sweep the industry, every expansive open world you've stepped foot in and every traumatised NPC that took a devastating arrow to the knee.

Designing some of the most revolutionary experiences in modern day gaming, they're unsung heroes that form the very blood that courses through the games industries veins. Heading projects consisting of hundreds of designers, their iconic stature has seen them cohesively pull together feats of extraordinary creativity, ensuring they make games that push the boundaries in an era where the boundaries are widened every day.

With the industry still expanding, it's worth looking at the figures who have made modern day gaming so groundbreaking, and will continue to do so for several decades to come.

Creating such heavy-hitting RPGs as System Shock 2 and the Bioshock franchise, Ken Levine is the man credited with inventing an immersive first-person RPG formula that's still used in a variety of titles to this day.

From the subterranean halls of Bioshock's Rapture to the heavenly vistas of Infinite's Columbia, Levine has created some of the most stunning worlds of the last two decades, each imaginatively designed and hugely ambitious in scope.

But they're more than just pretty faces. Each of Levine's worlds are crammed with a cutting-edge approach to environmental story-telling, the creator's unique attitude towards level design meaning that each player earns the story through exploration rather than being force-fed lengthy cut-scenes. Merging gameplay and story so seamlessly utilised the immersive nature of video games in a way many game developers had never thought of.

As a result, it's commonplace to see many newer releases attempt to replicate the innovations that Levine and his team put in place. Big name franchises such as Dishonored, Deus Ex and Prey are a mere few of the examples that toyed with the creator's revolutionary concepts.

With Levine currently working on a new project underneath his recently established studio, it's only a matter of time before he innovates once more.