In terms of game creator who is up their in my eyes? Why call it design?
Game design is not a real job, and being a person who controls the content of a game should be game creation in general. Calling it game design, just takes the fun out of it.
1. Hudson Soft/RED- for taking taking the idea of the PCE and doing it.
Bee card system, and even all the Hu62 love?
2. Gameboy Creator - Okay I can't hate the guy saved Nintendo
3. Rareware- saved Nintendo, Perfect Dark, Conker, and early Nintendo games, like Battle Toads, and some other Isometric, 3d games.
4. Pokemon- Saved Nintendo. Between Pokemon, the animation, FFVII,
and Super Mario RPG. These three games are the reason why RPG games
was most prolific in the west during the late 1990's. Before that everything was DAD, King Author, Robin Hood, and Conan.
5. Beyond Good and Evil ( Rayman creator ). Actually made a game I can play over and over and still feel happy. Rayman II was auwsome, in it's might and the new rayman game looks promising. ( if It was on the cube I would buy it. BG&E has a special place in my heart.
6. NEC for helping make the PCE and the Dreamcast.
7. Kojima ( before Metal Gear Solid ). Also held the record for porting to all systems current. Gave you a reason to buy all game systems, or at least most.
8. Capcom Resident Evil Shinji Makima. Megaman, Street Fighter etc.
Shinji Makima made a promise and Capcom broke it. He is a coperate slave now???
9. DeJap ( translators ). The reason why I started to import.
Or Tri-Ace AKA Wolf Team, AKA Telegames employees. I heard about how Namco made Shin Mega Tensi was really the Telegame employees.
ATLUS and Techno as well. These are alot of mix ups in this thing here.
10. Falcom ( Y's, Sorcerain, )
Their are a lot of others but these come to mind when I think about creative content that takes everybody by the neck.