71. David Jaffe

A veteran in the gaming industry, the outspoken David Jaffe first got his start as a tester for Sony Imagesoft before earning his design chops with the 1994 platformer Mickey Mania. After completing the well-received side-scroller, Jaffe's involvement with the fledgling Utah-based development studio SingleTrac paid off when he helped produce the original Twisted Metal on PlayStation -- one of the most influential and beloved games of the 32-bit era and the model for all future car combat games to come.

It was Twisted Metal 2, however, that catapulted Jaffe into the limelight. The game was not only met with great success by consumers, but also by critics and fellow game developers. It had done what all sequels are supposed to do -- take an already-engrossing formula and expand upon it in nearly every possible way.

After multiple buyouts and parent company changes, SingleTrac ceased to exist but was eventually reformed by many of its employees, including Jaffe, as Incognito Entertainment. With the support of his friends and colleagues, David took the reins of a number of high profile PlayStation 2 projects and hits. Twisted Metal: Black, considered by many as the best car combat game ever made was overseen by Jaffe himself, while his concepts for the innovative giant creature fighter, War of the Monsters cemented his status as a creative powerhouse.

But it was the voyages of the fallen Spartan warrior Kratos in God of War that made Jaffe a household name with game dorks. A smash blockbuster hit for Sony, God of War turned the action/adventure genre on its head with fantastic boss battles, incredible graphics and some of the most intuitive and responsive gameplay mechanics seen in years. Though Dave passed off the design duties for God of War II a few years later, he still served as creative director before turning his attention back to the driving genre where he helmed the PSN favorite, Calling All Cars.

These days Jaffe works on upcoming projects behind closed doors at Eat, Sleep, Play -- a development studio formed in conjunction with his longtime friend and ex-Incog'r, Scott Campbell. In his spare time, David regularly updates his blog "David Jaffe.biz" where he directly updates fans and admirers with his daily observations.