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[tommib]

Update: Congratulations to Harry Krueger for being voted GAF's Game Director of the Year 2021!

Some games more than others are clearly a vision of a specific game designer more than just a bulk team effort. Lets vote and celebrate the games that seem to reflect their directors either in aesthetic choices, gameplay mechanics, narrative approach or overall themes.

Harry Krueger (Winner)
(Director: Returnal, Nex Machina. Lead Programmer: Resogun)

Dinga Bakaba
(Director: Deathloop, Wolfenstein: Young Blood)

Josef Fares
(Director: It Takes Two, A Way Out, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons)

Tim Schaefer
(Director: Psychonauts 2, Broken Age, Brutal Legend, Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle)

Goichi Suda
(Director: No More Heroes 3, Travis Strikes Again, Killer is Dead, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, No More Heroes, Killer 7. Creative Director: Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned)

 

[DonJorginho]

Gotta go for my boy Dinga, "DEATHLOOP" wasn't for everyone, but it certainly hit my sweet spot and I can't commend Dinga enough for sticking to his guns in this era of the majority of AAA games just endlessly copying one another or having next to no originality.

 

[Great Hair]

GIMMIE YOUR VOTE OR ELSE ....

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

I gotta give to Harry but Tim surely is sawing at his throne.

Returnal and Psychonauts 2 are both exceptional games in their own right.

 

[Bartski]

I have huge respect for all of them. Harry gets the vote for making the best game IMO, but I love to see them all have their success and recognition.

 

[ParaSeoul]

You knew this was coming

 

[The Cockatrice]

Fuck the Oscars.

 

[Gameplaylover]

Tim followed by Josef.

 

[Handel]

Most will just treat this as just another version of GOTY, unless they've actually digged into these director's input. Tim Schaefer is my pick as Psychonauts 2 comes nearly direct from his mind. Fares would come second, as It Takes Two keeps the gameplay fresh by constantly changing things up.

 

[Connificent]

Joseph Staten

 

[Iced Arcade]

Tim Schaefer. wasn't expecting much from that game and left blown away how good it was.

 

[Starfield]

Todd Howard

 

[Griffon]

Yoshi-p

 

[GrayChild]

David Cage. Just like every other year.

 

[Roberts]

Well, Psychonauts 2 is my GOTY anyway, but if we look at how a director adds his personal touch to everything (gameplay, story, characters, themes), Tim Schafer is clearly a winner here.

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[Kenpachii]

Whoever made valheim

 

[Bernkastel]

She is more like the manager for everything related to Halo and 343i, a link between the devs and higher ups at Microsoft. She was given this role because she was working at Microsoft with the gaming division since 1994. The creative director for the games is Joseph Staten.

He is also the voice actor for grunts. For most of the development it was Chris Lee until he left.

 

[Fbh]

Haven't played all the games on the list but I love the commitment of Josef to releasing linear and creative couch coop games in an age where coop has become dominated by open ended, online only loot or survival crafting games.

 

[Elder Legend]

I'd have to give it to Harry and Tim. Very much enjoyed Returnal and Psychonauts 2.

It Takes Two was a fun game but too niche for me and I did get all trophies but it was piss easy. I only played it cause it was a review copy.

 

[SEGA_2012]

You knew this was coming

Who is this guy ? I am seeing him in many posts.

 

[kalecsan]

Who is this guy ? I am seeing him in many posts.

Hideo Kojima

 

[Great Hair]

Returnal losing! Watta heppen¿

 

[Mr Hyde]

Solid list of directors. Hard to choose, but I'd say Harry Krueger or Tim Schaefer. Josef is good (and a fellow Swede) but his style of games doesn't really appeal to me.

 

[worldwithpyramids]

probably the guy who made Inscryption

 

[CatLady]

Joseph Staten and it's not even close, but for some reason he's not even listed, so I went with Tim Schafer.

I didn't think Psychonauts was a game for me. I downloaded it just to check it out and intended to delete in less than an hour. Instead I couldn't stop playing it. Schafer is a super creative genius.

 

[remember_spinal]

Dinga, most original game on the list

 

[Cutty Flam]

Takeru Sugimoto

Mario Party Superstars is the second or third best Mario Party game ever created, which equates to a hell of a lot of fun for anyone who gets the game, learns the game and sticks with it. This game is superb when played with friends

To have the Mario Party series back in this kind of fashion is the equivalent of Hidemaro Fujibayashi directing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Both are monumental moments for their respective series

 

[struggler_guts]

Haven't played all the games on the list but I love the commitment of Josef to releasing linear and creative couch coop games in an age where coop has become dominated by open ended, online only loot or survival crafting games.

Exactly why I voted for him too, but they're all good!

 

[tommib]

67 votes but not enough messages, good people.

 

[bender]

If I were human I'd want Tim Schafer to be my dad. He's on my short "Keanu List" of humans not to kill.

 

[ReBurn]

Fumi Hayashi

Metroid Dread

 

[Gameplaylover]

You can tell Psychonauts 2 is a really good game if it can keep up on GAF.

 

[roosnam1980]

bonnie ross

 

[tommib]

9 days to go for winning results.

Some people don't understand the difference between a game director and a head of a studio apparently.

 

[Aion002]

Fares.

 

[tommib]

Ok, guys, 4 days to go for last results. Keep voting!

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

why is the king of all directors the glorious HIDEO KOJIMA not here? are people forgetting that we got "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)" only a few months ago?? i know i know that the original version came out years ago but "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)" totally enhanced the experience and therefore, imvhho, HIDEO KOJIMA deserves a nomination for the fantastic work he did on "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)"

 

[tommib]

why is the king of all directors the glorious HIDEO KOJIMA not here? are people forgetting that we got "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)" only a few months ago?? i know i know that the original version came out years ago but "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)" totally enhanced the experience and therefore, imvhho, HIDEO KOJIMA deserves a nomination for the fantastic work he did on "DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT (A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME)"

I THOUGHT OF THAT BUT I WANTED TO RESTRICT THE POLLING TO 5 DIRECTORS, KIND OF LIKE OLD ACADEMY AWARDS! HE WAS ALREADY SUPER ACKNOWLEDGED WHEN DEATH STRANDING CAME OUT SO I HAD TO GIVE RELEVANCE TO DIRECTORS THAT RELEASED FRESH NEW GAMES THIS YEAR.

 

[tommib]

Ok, everyone. 48 minutes to close the poll! Last round of votes!

 

[tommib]

Harry Krueger - GAF's Game Director of the year!

 

[Bernkastel]

Who is this guy ? I am seeing him in many posts.

Green Ham Gaming GHG

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

You knew this was coming

?

 

[Great Hair]

GIMMIE YOUR VOTE OR ELSE ....

tii !wRoekd ahgugha
more*context*

 

[GHG]

Green Ham Gaming GHG