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* Creator/PiersAnthony:
** Sure, the Xanth books are filled with puns, but they lurk in other books too, plus the {{Meaningful Name}}s. And he loves logic puzzles; more than once has the climax of a book hinged on the protagonist figuring out a logic puzzle. This includes the Prisoners' Dilemma in the Literature/{{Xanth}} novel ''Golem in the Gears'' and the TwelveCoinsPuzzle in the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' novel ''With a Tangled Skein''.
** ''Literature/{{Macroscope}}'' involved the game ''sprouts''.
** Sure, the Xanth books are filled with puns, but they lurk in other books too, plus the {{Meaningful Name}}s. And he loves logic puzzles; more than once has the climax of a book hinged on the protagonist figuring out a logic puzzle. This includes the Prisoners' Dilemma in the Literature/{{Xanth}} novel ''Golem in the Gears'' and the TwelveCoinsPuzzle in the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' novel ''With a Tangled Skein''.
** ''Literature/{{Macroscope}}'' involved the game ''sprouts''.
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* There is at least one IndyEscape segment in each ''Creator/NaughtyDog'' game. Be it a boulder, a polar bear, a collapsing bridge or [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers exploding mummies]], it'll be there.
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* There is at least one IndyEscape segment in each ''Creator/NaughtyDog'' game. Be it a boulder, a polar bear, a collapsing bridge or [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers exploding mummies]], mummies, it'll be there.
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* A trend in some of Creator/YokoTaro's games is for the final ending to [[DeletionAsPunishment delete your save file]], as shown by ''VideoGame/NieR'', ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', and the Taiwanese server of ''VideoGame/SINoALICE''.
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* A trend in some of Creator/YokoTaro's games is for the final ending to [[DeletionAsPunishment delete your save file]], as shown by ''VideoGame/NieR'', ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', and the Taiwanese server and Global servers of ''VideoGame/SINoALICE''.
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More fitting trope.
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** The company has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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** The company has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement ContrastingSequelAntagonist who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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* Creator/{{SNK}} has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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* Creator/{{SNK}} Creator/{{SNK}}:
** The company has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless afterK9999]].K9999]].
** SNK also is prone to introducing [[TheRival the protagonist's designated rival]] in the second game of a series or StoryArc -- [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Genjuro Kibagami]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters95 Iori Yagami]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000 Kula Diamond]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI Elisabeth Blanctorche]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV Isla]] were all introduced this way.
** The company has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after
** SNK also is prone to introducing [[TheRival the protagonist's designated rival]] in the second game of a series or StoryArc -- [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Genjuro Kibagami]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters95 Iori Yagami]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2000 Kula Diamond]], [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI Elisabeth Blanctorche]] and [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV Isla]] were all introduced this way.
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* A trend in some of Creator/YokoTaro's games is for the final ending to [[DeletionAsPunishment delete your save file]], as shown by ''VideoGame/NieR'', ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', and the Taiwanese server of ''VideoGame/SINoALICE''.
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Expanding an example.
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* Creator/{{SNK}} has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than four times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury Wolfgang Krauser after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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* Creator/{{SNK}} has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than four five times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury both Wolfgang Krauser and Kain R. Heinlein after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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Adding an example.
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* Creator/{{SNK}} has a habit for introducing initial villains who are portrayed as [[HateSink utterly despicable beings]], before following up with a RedeemingReplacement who is far more of an AffablyEvil AntiVillain than their predecessor. This has happened no less than four times: first with [[VideoGame/FatalFury Wolfgang Krauser after Geese Howard]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 Original Zero after his clone]], then [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2003 Adelheid Bernstein after his father Rugal]], and finally [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002 Nameless after K9999]].
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The trope is Flame Bait.
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* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen|Band}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Music/FreddieMercury.
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* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar [[TheHero Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen|Band}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu [[AuthorAvatar Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Music/FreddieMercury.
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* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Freddie Mercury.
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* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen}} Music/{{Queen|Band}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Freddie Mercury.Music/FreddieMercury.
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** In recent years, IGA appears to have acquired a taste for the FinalBoss of the ArrangeMode to be [[spoiler:the now-RogueProtagonist of the normal mode]]. It started with the Julius Mode of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' and extended to Nightmare Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon'' and Zangetsu Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''.
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** In recent years, IGA appears to have acquired a taste for the FinalBoss of the ArrangeMode to be [[spoiler:the now-RogueProtagonist of the normal mode]]. It started with the Julius Mode of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' and extended to Nightmare Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon'' and Zangetsu Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''.
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* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0KnkU1cZz4 Totaka's Song]], a short, 19 note tune hidden in almost every game [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazumi_Totaka Kazumi Totaka]] has worked on as a composer, and first discovered in the tank game ''X''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLMAgcGA8Dw These]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biLfTqQA5T8 three]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBO8EZSNH3A videos]] document but a fraction of the time and effort gamers have invested in finding the melody.
* Creator/ShinjiMikami from ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' fame has a thing for masked wrestlers and {{Sentai}} as demonstrated in games where he can actually get away with it. ''(VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' had MASK de Smith and the Punishing Rangers AKA The Handsome Men, ''VideoGame/GodHand'' had Mr. Gorilla Mask and the Mad Midget Five.)
* Goichi Suda AKA Creator/Suda51 likes MindScrew A LOT. He also seems to have a thing for gratuitous gore, semi-futuristic decadent places with slashes of Magical Realism, and rave music. He also seems to love lucha libre, as seen in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', where the player character collects luchadore masks (who all have names like "La Guerra, Jr.") and learns new wrestling moves from finding masks with notes in them. [=Suda51=] even wears a luchador outfit in some press releases. And as mentioned above, there is MASK de Smith, who is a luchador.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Creator/HironobuSakaguchi likes to "make players cry" and wrote most of the emotional scenes in the games he wrote scenario material for. His games use StandardFantasySetting, mythology about crystals, and a lot of FollowTheLeader of whatever ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' was doing at the time.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Tokita Takashi Tokita]] has an internal reputation for always including time travel elements in his games and jokes about this, though this is [[DeadUnicornTrope not actually true]] ([[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger only]] [[VideoGame/LiveALive two]] of his games included it).
** Creator/YoshinoriKitase is known for having strong overarching visions of what he wants to achieve and tries to enforce cohesion. He is the reason for the push towards '[[PreRenderedGraphics cinematic]]' content in ''FF'', as he felt it was important that even non-video game fans can look at the screen and know what's going on. (The push towards cartoony graphics over sprites in the mobile phone ''FF'' ports was his, as he felt sprites don't make sense to people who aren't familiar with game tropes.) His villains are usually LaughablyEvil, SissyVillain types, and draw a lot of influence from '70s and '80s {{Tokusatsu}} (a lot of his villains are connected to space or outright aliens). By Sakaguchi's admission, Kitase is better at 'big setpieces'
** Creator/KazushigeNojima: Unconventional UrbanFantasy settings and more psychologically realistic writing, often incorporating adolescent elements like WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. Heroes who [[ADarkerMe use performative personas in order to suppress elements of themselves that they dislike]], and villains who are even more desperate to be something they aren't. He tends to focus on themes of memory and likes to [[GenreDeconstruction deconstruct]] RPG stereotypes with DysfunctionJunction setups and, in his later work, WorldLimitedToThePlot {{Absurdism}} where RPG gameplay tropes are SeriousBusiness. His stereotypical main character would be an arrogant ([[InferioritySuperiorityComplex but secretly insecure]]) DeadpanSnarker DefrostingIceKing with a real [[JerkAss dark side]], who acts detached from other people and has LaserGuidedAmnesia; even his innocent and cheerful [[TheWoobie Woobie]] heroes tend to have a few of these twists to them. He is also significantly more likely than the other major ''FF'' scenario writers to give AllThereInTheManual explanations for some of his more baffling plotlines.
** Creator/YasumiMatsuno also writes emotionally realistic material, but with a significantly less 'adolescent' tone than Nojima's, and favours DarkFantasy settings with lots of GothicHorror elements, extremely complex worldbuilding, and references to real-world Medieval history. He tends to deal with themes of class struggle, with nobles and peasants at odds and usually a finale which involves killing God.
** Square-Enix designer Creator/TetsuyaNomura is heavily inspired by Japanese street fashions and style trends, leading occasionally to FashionDissonance in his older work, as well as to {{Zipperiffic}}. He also likes to give his protagonists, and often as many of his characters as possible, a stud in their left ear, imitating Nomura's own piercing. Note that in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', for which the characters were redesigned by a new artist, Cloud is missing his Nomura ear piercing (which he has in ''all'' other appearances). When in charge of scenario, he tends to write straightforward storylines along WholePlotReference lines (e.g. Musashi vs Kojiro, ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', etc.), and takes influence from pop culture ephemera such as fashion labels, music videos, and advertising. Over time he's become prone to InternalHomage, particularly focusing on storylines that contact the series' past legacy.
* Tetsuya Takahashi, founder of Creator/MonolithSoft and Creator/SquareEnix alumnus, has several. His games will usually feature at least one HumongousMecha, if not more. The entire premise of ''Xenoblade'', in fact, is about two races living on two continent-sized titans. They will also feature at least one [[RobotGirl Robotic]] ActionGirl as a playable party member, and there will be lots of religious symbolism integrated into the plot and the lore of his games.
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' Czar Koji "IGA" Igarashi seems to have a weird fixation with furniture, namely [[SlouchOfVillainy chairs]].
** Dracula always waits for the Belmont sitting in his throne before the final fight. His son Alucard and Soma [[spoiler: who's his reincarnation]] can also catch some rest sitting down in the many chairs they encounter.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness''. Former henchman Hector can collect more than 10 different types of chairs scattered all around the stages and store them in the aptly named "Weary Chair Room".
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance''. Most ''Castlevania'' heroes can collect weapons, magical items, and such. Juste Belmont collects random items of furniture and decorates an empty room of the castle with them. You know, the castle he intends to ''destroy''.
** In recent years, IGA appears to have acquired a taste for the FinalBoss of the ArrangeMode to be [[spoiler:the now-RogueProtagonist of the normal mode]]. It started with the Julius Mode of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' and extended to Nightmare Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon'' and Zangetsu Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''.
* Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto:
** He has implemented personal interests into many of his games, including ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' (gardening), ''VideoGame/{{Nintendogs}}'', ''VideoGame/WiiFit'', and ''Wii Music''. Nintendo later banned him from talking about his current hobbies. His earlier works were definitely based on his childhood experiences, too. In fact, the premise of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' was based on his exploration of caves as a child. In an interview for a game-developer site, he flat-out tells other designers to base their games on things they like.
** Miyamoto has admitted to being a [[TheWestern Western]] fan, which is particularly apparent in the 3D ''Zelda'' games. For example, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' all have [[PowerupMount Epona]], ''Ocarina of Time'' has Lon Lon Ranch, ''Majora's Mask'' has Romani Ranch, and ''Twilight Princess'' has the redesigned Kakariko Village, the Hidden Village, Ordon Ranch and the plot similarities with ''Film/TheSearchers''.
** Miyamoto is an avid fan of classic arts like painting. He cited the work of Paul Cézanne as the main inspiration for the impressionism-based visuals of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', while ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' owes its visuals to gouache paintings and ''en plein air'' watercolors.
** Miyamoto also designs things so that their function is apparent when looking at them, i.e. TheGoomba was designed so you'd jump on them, and any enemy, or obstacle, with [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]] is something you should avoid. He has said to his production staff "when in doubt, use spikes". This comes from his background in Industrial Design in high school.
* Yuji Horii of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' fame is a compulsive gambler which is why many of the games in the series have some sort of gambling mini-game in it. (Though it's been said that the fact that you can only save in the town's churches is a way to try to make going out in the field/dungeons feel a bit more of a gamble as well.)
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Freddie Mercury.
* There are so many Flash and InteractiveFiction games about escaping from a locked room remarkably like, say, a programmer's bedroom (usually complete with bed, closet and computer) that it has become its own ''genre''. This might have to do with a throwback to early adventure games, which seized on the genre because of technical limitations; it's a lot easier to write and code a game about a single room than it is about, say even a small apartment.
* Creator/HideoKojima:
** He tells people that instead of being 70% water like normal people, he's 70% movies. As a child, he would often come home to an empty house and sometimes claims that he was raised by movies. As a result, not only do his games homage all his favourite movies to the point where they're almost MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover FanFiction, but many of his characters are also movie fans (although the only one explicitly 'raised' on movies is Raiden and he's anything but an upstanding member of society).
** Kojima is also obsessed with butts, and tends to incorporate butt shots and prominent butts on character designs whenever possible, not even as {{Fanservice}} a lot of the time (the first visual in the E3 2018 ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' trailer is a shot of a baby's butt...)
** He also likes to include plot twists involving the betrayal or deception of an authority figure, and a player character who discovers they're not who they think they are. Most famously, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' Solid Snake discovers he's a clone of Big Boss, his former commander turned traitor who he had to kill. Oh, and [[spoiler:he was sent to Shadow Moses as a delivery system for a bioweapon.]]
* Matt Roszak of ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' fame loves ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', anime, and [[AuthorAppeal cats]]. Every single one of his works contains homages to the first three, often in the form of blatant [[ShoutOut Shout Outs]], as well as copious amounts of cats, and is drawn in a very Animesque fashion.
* Games with Viktor Antonov on art direction tend to feature some very signature elements--clashing classical and futuristic architecture, angular blue-grey metal structures, and tall, spindly robotic creatures. ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' practically look like they're set in the same universe.
* Creator/{{Rare}}
** Keys, ''enormous'' keys, bigger and heavier than the characters, the most famous being the infamous ice key from ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''[=/=] ''Banjo Tooie''. Both ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' feature gigantic gold keys as {{plot coupon}}s; finding or using a key is always a momentous occasion.
** Really small main characters, compared to everything else around them, almost causing a perpetual MacroZone. Even if the character in question is an animal that is very large in real life (like [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie bears]] or [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 gorillas]]).
** Eyeballs on as many things as possible, even if the object in question is normally non-sentient (vegetables, books, etc.).
* Masahiro Sakurai is quite infamous for this, with his games including SOME idea taken from previous works. Most of the time, said elements are from ''Kirby'', but he also seems to have ''loved'' implementing elements from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' for ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS''. Most commonly:
** HyperactiveMetabolism using [[MediumBlending live-action food]].
** The use of a checklist that gradually fills up as the player completes various challenges in-game. Often the primary method of unlocking things.
** An in-game encyclopedia containing every item found in-game (and in related games, in the case of ''Super Smash Bros.''). It can be filled out either by collecting items in-game, through a gachapon-style lottery or by playing a mini-game.
** Paying an amount of in-game currency to increase the difficulty level. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Continuing after a Game Over lowers the difficulty by a set amount.]]
** His games often have highly stylized menus, which are usually designed by his wife Michiko Sakurai. The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series and ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' exemplify these.
* Hidetaka Miyazaki of Creator/FromSoftware:
** He loves incorporating DarkFantasy into his works, particularly in the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series. He also really, REALLY loves ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', with there usually being a reference to it at least once in every game he has directed or has been involved in.
** Also, expect brutally hard swamp levels where you are both slowed and poisoned by the swamp water.
** The characters in his games are also frequently wear face-obscuring headwear. Whether helmets, veils, masks, or cloaks, very few characters go barefaced. Expect most of them to do an EvilLaugh at least once during their dialogue as well.
** Every game he's directed contains a PlayerHeadquarters with a loyal female NPC who provides upgrades to you.
** Expect the FinalBoss to be a DuelBoss of some sort, usually a tragic one.
* Creator/{{Bungie}} loves them [[ArcNumber the number 7]] and its multiples. Expect it to show up as dates, names, and other things in their games. Also expect some form of artificial intelligence to [[AIIsACrapshoot go off the deep end at some point]], most notably [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Durandal]], [[VideoGame/{{Halo}} 05-032 Mendicant Bias]], and [[VideoGame/{{Destiny}} Rasputin]].
* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment absolutely ''loves'' both the FallenHero and GreyAndGrayMorality tropes. There are very few out and out {{Card Carrying Villain}}s and most of the antagonists have a very good reason for what they are doing.
* [[Creator/{{Bethesda}} Bethesda Softworks]] frequently references sweet rolls in their games. The most notable example is in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''. At the start of most of the games in that series, you are described a scene where you decide what to do when someone accosts you for your sweet roll (a scene that is actually incorporated into the actual gameplay of Bethesda's later RPG, ''VideoGame/Fallout3'').
* There is at least one IndyEscape segment in each ''Creator/NaughtyDog'' game. Be it a boulder, a polar bear, a collapsing bridge or [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers exploding mummies]], it'll be there.
* Sam Barlow, the creator of ''VideoGame/TellingLies'', ''VideoGame/HerStory'' and ''VideoGame/{{Aisle}}'' (and the designer of ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'' and ''VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins'') is fond of incorporating fairy tales into the plot, the theme of dual identities, and profession-based surnames for protagonists (Smith, Mason, Miller).
* Creator/QuanticDream:
** There isn't one game that doesn't involve or center around detectives or police officers in a police department setting. Also, expect there to be intense or sometimes goofy chase scenes, and two cops with very different personalities forced to work together as partners to solve their missions.
** Story-telling is a major driving influence for their games more than anything else.
** David Cage seems to have a thing for women with short hair. His female protagonists, such as Madison Page from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has short hair, as does Jodie Holmes from ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls.'' In ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman,'' Kara starts the game with fairly long hair that's mostly kept in a ponytail but eventually has to cut it short because the plot requires you to do so later on.
** David Cage is also infamously known for having a knack of adding/shoehorning in some kind of plot twist or supernatural/fantasy elements, which are almost near constant in each of his games. ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'' goes from a story about one of the protagonists covering up a murder to the protagonist finding out he's actually a superhuman with incredible powers; ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls'' has the main protagonist have a supernatural spirit connected to her by a tight invisible tether and can communicate to him; even games like ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' or ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' have some kind of supernatural element in them.
** An OptionalSexualEncounter, often in awkward situations. ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' surprisingly doesn't have one despite making very clear a lot of the robots in-game are capable and have been used for sex.
* Novotrade International under the design leadership of Ed Anunziata made both the 16-bit ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' games and ''VideoGame/{{Kolibri}}'', which share similar aesthetics, similar "environmentalism but with a coat of sci-fi surrealism" themes, and a similar "hunt for the key to pass a physical barrier" puzzle structure.
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* Creator/ShinjiMikami from ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' fame has a thing for masked wrestlers and {{Sentai}} as demonstrated in games where he can actually get away with it. ''(VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' had MASK de Smith and the Punishing Rangers AKA The Handsome Men, ''VideoGame/GodHand'' had Mr. Gorilla Mask and the Mad Midget Five.)
* Goichi Suda AKA Creator/Suda51 likes MindScrew A LOT. He also seems to have a thing for gratuitous gore, semi-futuristic decadent places with slashes of Magical Realism, and rave music. He also seems to love lucha libre, as seen in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', where the player character collects luchadore masks (who all have names like "La Guerra, Jr.") and learns new wrestling moves from finding masks with notes in them. [=Suda51=] even wears a luchador outfit in some press releases. And as mentioned above, there is MASK de Smith, who is a luchador.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Creator/HironobuSakaguchi likes to "make players cry" and wrote most of the emotional scenes in the games he wrote scenario material for. His games use StandardFantasySetting, mythology about crystals, and a lot of FollowTheLeader of whatever ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' was doing at the time.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takashi_Tokita Takashi Tokita]] has an internal reputation for always including time travel elements in his games and jokes about this, though this is [[DeadUnicornTrope not actually true]] ([[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger only]] [[VideoGame/LiveALive two]] of his games included it).
** Creator/YoshinoriKitase is known for having strong overarching visions of what he wants to achieve and tries to enforce cohesion. He is the reason for the push towards '[[PreRenderedGraphics cinematic]]' content in ''FF'', as he felt it was important that even non-video game fans can look at the screen and know what's going on. (The push towards cartoony graphics over sprites in the mobile phone ''FF'' ports was his, as he felt sprites don't make sense to people who aren't familiar with game tropes.) His villains are usually LaughablyEvil, SissyVillain types, and draw a lot of influence from '70s and '80s {{Tokusatsu}} (a lot of his villains are connected to space or outright aliens). By Sakaguchi's admission, Kitase is better at 'big setpieces'
** Creator/KazushigeNojima: Unconventional UrbanFantasy settings and more psychologically realistic writing, often incorporating adolescent elements like WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. Heroes who [[ADarkerMe use performative personas in order to suppress elements of themselves that they dislike]], and villains who are even more desperate to be something they aren't. He tends to focus on themes of memory and likes to [[GenreDeconstruction deconstruct]] RPG stereotypes with DysfunctionJunction setups and, in his later work, WorldLimitedToThePlot {{Absurdism}} where RPG gameplay tropes are SeriousBusiness. His stereotypical main character would be an arrogant ([[InferioritySuperiorityComplex but secretly insecure]]) DeadpanSnarker DefrostingIceKing with a real [[JerkAss dark side]], who acts detached from other people and has LaserGuidedAmnesia; even his innocent and cheerful [[TheWoobie Woobie]] heroes tend to have a few of these twists to them. He is also significantly more likely than the other major ''FF'' scenario writers to give AllThereInTheManual explanations for some of his more baffling plotlines.
** Creator/YasumiMatsuno also writes emotionally realistic material, but with a significantly less 'adolescent' tone than Nojima's, and favours DarkFantasy settings with lots of GothicHorror elements, extremely complex worldbuilding, and references to real-world Medieval history. He tends to deal with themes of class struggle, with nobles and peasants at odds and usually a finale which involves killing God.
** Square-Enix designer Creator/TetsuyaNomura is heavily inspired by Japanese street fashions and style trends, leading occasionally to FashionDissonance in his older work, as well as to {{Zipperiffic}}. He also likes to give his protagonists, and often as many of his characters as possible, a stud in their left ear, imitating Nomura's own piercing. Note that in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', for which the characters were redesigned by a new artist, Cloud is missing his Nomura ear piercing (which he has in ''all'' other appearances). When in charge of scenario, he tends to write straightforward storylines along WholePlotReference lines (e.g. Musashi vs Kojiro, ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'', etc.), and takes influence from pop culture ephemera such as fashion labels, music videos, and advertising. Over time he's become prone to InternalHomage, particularly focusing on storylines that contact the series' past legacy.
* Tetsuya Takahashi, founder of Creator/MonolithSoft and Creator/SquareEnix alumnus, has several. His games will usually feature at least one HumongousMecha, if not more. The entire premise of ''Xenoblade'', in fact, is about two races living on two continent-sized titans. They will also feature at least one [[RobotGirl Robotic]] ActionGirl as a playable party member, and there will be lots of religious symbolism integrated into the plot and the lore of his games.
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' Czar Koji "IGA" Igarashi seems to have a weird fixation with furniture, namely [[SlouchOfVillainy chairs]].
** Dracula always waits for the Belmont sitting in his throne before the final fight. His son Alucard and Soma [[spoiler: who's his reincarnation]] can also catch some rest sitting down in the many chairs they encounter.
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness''. Former henchman Hector can collect more than 10 different types of chairs scattered all around the stages and store them in the aptly named "Weary Chair Room".
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance''. Most ''Castlevania'' heroes can collect weapons, magical items, and such. Juste Belmont collects random items of furniture and decorates an empty room of the castle with them. You know, the castle he intends to ''destroy''.
** In recent years, IGA appears to have acquired a taste for the FinalBoss of the ArrangeMode to be [[spoiler:the now-RogueProtagonist of the normal mode]]. It started with the Julius Mode of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' and extended to Nightmare Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon'' and Zangetsu Mode in ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight''.
* Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto:
** He has implemented personal interests into many of his games, including ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' (gardening), ''VideoGame/{{Nintendogs}}'', ''VideoGame/WiiFit'', and ''Wii Music''. Nintendo later banned him from talking about his current hobbies. His earlier works were definitely based on his childhood experiences, too. In fact, the premise of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' was based on his exploration of caves as a child. In an interview for a game-developer site, he flat-out tells other designers to base their games on things they like.
** Miyamoto has admitted to being a [[TheWestern Western]] fan, which is particularly apparent in the 3D ''Zelda'' games. For example, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' all have [[PowerupMount Epona]], ''Ocarina of Time'' has Lon Lon Ranch, ''Majora's Mask'' has Romani Ranch, and ''Twilight Princess'' has the redesigned Kakariko Village, the Hidden Village, Ordon Ranch and the plot similarities with ''Film/TheSearchers''.
** Miyamoto is an avid fan of classic arts like painting. He cited the work of Paul Cézanne as the main inspiration for the impressionism-based visuals of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', while ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' owes its visuals to gouache paintings and ''en plein air'' watercolors.
** Miyamoto also designs things so that their function is apparent when looking at them, i.e. TheGoomba was designed so you'd jump on them, and any enemy, or obstacle, with [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]] is something you should avoid. He has said to his production staff "when in doubt, use spikes". This comes from his background in Industrial Design in high school.
* Yuji Horii of ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' fame is a compulsive gambler which is why many of the games in the series have some sort of gambling mini-game in it. (Though it's been said that the fact that you can only save in the town's churches is a way to try to make going out in the field/dungeons feel a bit more of a gamble as well.)
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' character designer Daisuke Ishiwatari seems to use belts as a unifying motif minus a few rare cases (Anji Mito has only a sash). [[AuthorAvatar Sol Badguy]] tops the list with 24 belts in his costume design. Funnily enough, the costumes still manage to look pretty cool. He also loves rock music; almost every character in the series is a reference to either a famous rock musician or a band. Music/{{Queen}} seems to be his favorite, with nearly every aspect of [[MartyStu Sol]] referring to ''something'' about either the band itself or Freddie Mercury.
* There are so many Flash and InteractiveFiction games about escaping from a locked room remarkably like, say, a programmer's bedroom (usually complete with bed, closet and computer) that it has become its own ''genre''. This might have to do with a throwback to early adventure games, which seized on the genre because of technical limitations; it's a lot easier to write and code a game about a single room than it is about, say even a small apartment.
* Creator/HideoKojima:
** He tells people that instead of being 70% water like normal people, he's 70% movies. As a child, he would often come home to an empty house and sometimes claims that he was raised by movies. As a result, not only do his games homage all his favourite movies to the point where they're almost MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover FanFiction, but many of his characters are also movie fans (although the only one explicitly 'raised' on movies is Raiden and he's anything but an upstanding member of society).
** Kojima is also obsessed with butts, and tends to incorporate butt shots and prominent butts on character designs whenever possible, not even as {{Fanservice}} a lot of the time (the first visual in the E3 2018 ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' trailer is a shot of a baby's butt...)
** He also likes to include plot twists involving the betrayal or deception of an authority figure, and a player character who discovers they're not who they think they are. Most famously, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' Solid Snake discovers he's a clone of Big Boss, his former commander turned traitor who he had to kill. Oh, and [[spoiler:he was sent to Shadow Moses as a delivery system for a bioweapon.]]
* Matt Roszak of ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' fame loves ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', anime, and [[AuthorAppeal cats]]. Every single one of his works contains homages to the first three, often in the form of blatant [[ShoutOut Shout Outs]], as well as copious amounts of cats, and is drawn in a very Animesque fashion.
* Games with Viktor Antonov on art direction tend to feature some very signature elements--clashing classical and futuristic architecture, angular blue-grey metal structures, and tall, spindly robotic creatures. ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'' practically look like they're set in the same universe.
* Creator/{{Rare}}
** Keys, ''enormous'' keys, bigger and heavier than the characters, the most famous being the infamous ice key from ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''[=/=] ''Banjo Tooie''. Both ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' feature gigantic gold keys as {{plot coupon}}s; finding or using a key is always a momentous occasion.
** Really small main characters, compared to everything else around them, almost causing a perpetual MacroZone. Even if the character in question is an animal that is very large in real life (like [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie bears]] or [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 gorillas]]).
** Eyeballs on as many things as possible, even if the object in question is normally non-sentient (vegetables, books, etc.).
* Masahiro Sakurai is quite infamous for this, with his games including SOME idea taken from previous works. Most of the time, said elements are from ''Kirby'', but he also seems to have ''loved'' implementing elements from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' for ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS''. Most commonly:
** HyperactiveMetabolism using [[MediumBlending live-action food]].
** The use of a checklist that gradually fills up as the player completes various challenges in-game. Often the primary method of unlocking things.
** An in-game encyclopedia containing every item found in-game (and in related games, in the case of ''Super Smash Bros.''). It can be filled out either by collecting items in-game, through a gachapon-style lottery or by playing a mini-game.
** Paying an amount of in-game currency to increase the difficulty level. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Continuing after a Game Over lowers the difficulty by a set amount.]]
** His games often have highly stylized menus, which are usually designed by his wife Michiko Sakurai. The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series and ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' exemplify these.
* Hidetaka Miyazaki of Creator/FromSoftware:
** He loves incorporating DarkFantasy into his works, particularly in the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series. He also really, REALLY loves ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', with there usually being a reference to it at least once in every game he has directed or has been involved in.
** Also, expect brutally hard swamp levels where you are both slowed and poisoned by the swamp water.
** The characters in his games are also frequently wear face-obscuring headwear. Whether helmets, veils, masks, or cloaks, very few characters go barefaced. Expect most of them to do an EvilLaugh at least once during their dialogue as well.
** Every game he's directed contains a PlayerHeadquarters with a loyal female NPC who provides upgrades to you.
** Expect the FinalBoss to be a DuelBoss of some sort, usually a tragic one.
* Creator/{{Bungie}} loves them [[ArcNumber the number 7]] and its multiples. Expect it to show up as dates, names, and other things in their games. Also expect some form of artificial intelligence to [[AIIsACrapshoot go off the deep end at some point]], most notably [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Durandal]], [[VideoGame/{{Halo}} 05-032 Mendicant Bias]], and [[VideoGame/{{Destiny}} Rasputin]].
* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment absolutely ''loves'' both the FallenHero and GreyAndGrayMorality tropes. There are very few out and out {{Card Carrying Villain}}s and most of the antagonists have a very good reason for what they are doing.
* [[Creator/{{Bethesda}} Bethesda Softworks]] frequently references sweet rolls in their games. The most notable example is in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''. At the start of most of the games in that series, you are described a scene where you decide what to do when someone accosts you for your sweet roll (a scene that is actually incorporated into the actual gameplay of Bethesda's later RPG, ''VideoGame/Fallout3'').
* There is at least one IndyEscape segment in each ''Creator/NaughtyDog'' game. Be it a boulder, a polar bear, a collapsing bridge or [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers exploding mummies]], it'll be there.
* Sam Barlow, the creator of ''VideoGame/TellingLies'', ''VideoGame/HerStory'' and ''VideoGame/{{Aisle}}'' (and the designer of ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'' and ''VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins'') is fond of incorporating fairy tales into the plot, the theme of dual identities, and profession-based surnames for protagonists (Smith, Mason, Miller).
* Creator/QuanticDream:
** There isn't one game that doesn't involve or center around detectives or police officers in a police department setting. Also, expect there to be intense or sometimes goofy chase scenes, and two cops with very different personalities forced to work together as partners to solve their missions.
** Story-telling is a major driving influence for their games more than anything else.
** David Cage seems to have a thing for women with short hair. His female protagonists, such as Madison Page from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has short hair, as does Jodie Holmes from ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls.'' In ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman,'' Kara starts the game with fairly long hair that's mostly kept in a ponytail but eventually has to cut it short because the plot requires you to do so later on.
** David Cage is also infamously known for having a knack of adding/shoehorning in some kind of plot twist or supernatural/fantasy elements, which are almost near constant in each of his games. ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'' goes from a story about one of the protagonists covering up a murder to the protagonist finding out he's actually a superhuman with incredible powers; ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls'' has the main protagonist have a supernatural spirit connected to her by a tight invisible tether and can communicate to him; even games like ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' or ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' have some kind of supernatural element in them.
** An OptionalSexualEncounter, often in awkward situations. ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' surprisingly doesn't have one despite making very clear a lot of the robots in-game are capable and have been used for sex.
* Novotrade International under the design leadership of Ed Anunziata made both the 16-bit ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' games and ''VideoGame/{{Kolibri}}'', which share similar aesthetics, similar "environmentalism but with a coat of sci-fi surrealism" themes, and a similar "hunt for the key to pass a physical barrier" puzzle structure.
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