15. Tanya Byron

Clinical Psychologist

Admirable common sense - looking from the outside in.

The Byron Report, commissioned by the British Government, was an attempt to map out the future relationship between interactive entertainment and government censors, Undoubtedly, Tanya Byron’s even-handed work will have an impact beyond England’s shores. She makes the case best herself, “Having considered the evidence I believe we need to move from a discussion about the media 'causing' harm to one which focuses on children and young people, what they bring to technology and how we can use our understanding of how they develop to empower them to manage risks and make the digital world safer.”

14. David Braben

Frontier

Turning a simple idea into a beautiful game.

Braben asked his team to come up with some fresh ideas that would make use of the Wii Remote. One of his team-members, Steven Burgess, was inspired by the way wind rustles through the leaves of a tree. Working with art director Chris Symonds, they created LostWinds, a perfectly crafted puzzle that took no more than five-man years to create and yet helped get WiiWare off the ground. Braben has also dedicated himself this year to the ‘Games Up?’ campaign that seeks to engage the game industry with Government, and has been a vocal critic of used game sales.

13. Ocean Quigley

Maxis

Outstanding art direction in Spore.

Although Spore is the work of the brilliant Will Wright, the game fell short of the immense overall promise outlined by its chief architect. But although, taken as a whole, it was slightly disappointing, there were elements that stood out. Chief among these was the artistic brilliance of the Creature Editor tools, designed by Quigley, making Maya-level 3D modeling available to anyone, or at least anyone interested in rendering new life-forms.

12. Jennifer Maclean

Current chair of IGDA

Getting to grips with fair credits for developers.

Maclean – VP of business development at 38 Studios - has used her term as chair of the IGDA to tackle the problem of developer credits "The lack of accurate, fair, and consistent credit standards in the industry poses a serious problem for every game developer," she said.  "By refusing to acknowledge their contributions, studio management limits the professional recognition and opportunity for development that every contributor deserves." The issue of credits needs a clear agenda and firm and strident voice, both of which the IGDA and Maclean have provided in the past year.

11. Michael Booth

Valve

Left4Dead ‘s lead designer offered outstanding work in AI and co-operative gameplay mechanics.

When Valve bought Michael Booth’s company Turtle Rock early in 2008, it picked up a great game in Left4Dead, and a very smart game designer. The AI work in Left4Dead made for one of the most expertly paced games ever made, a dipping and swerving ride of zombie horde-attacks between moments of dreadful quiet.  Left4Dead’s AI Director kept a close eye on a team’s performance and reacted accordingly. Explaining his work to Maximum PC, Booth said, “The Director’s doing that to make sure that there’s high peaks and valleys because if they’re all valleys you quit because it’s boring and if it’s all peaks you get stressed out and you quit anyway. So we want you to have the same kind of excitement as a rollercoaster ride. And of course the Director makes sure everything is procedural so you can never predict when or where the zombies are coming from.”