There are only a few household names in the videogame business. People like Miyamoto, Kojima, Carmack and Molyneux garner instant respect for their contributions to the industry. Ken Levine isn't one of those names. He's been flying under the radar for over ten years now, despite the fact that he's created some of the greatest games of all time. With the imminent release of BioShock, all this may be changing and Ken Levine may finally find his face carved in stone on the gaming equivalent of Mount Rushmore.

Before joining the gaming industry, Ken Levine did some periodic writing screenwriting assignments for Paramount pictures and dabbled in New York playwriting before eventually joining Looking Glass Studios in 1995. Looking Glass Studios was one of the leading developers in the 90s, churning out such great titles as Ultima Underworld I & II and Flight Unlimited. Ken's first big title, of which he served as story writer and initial designer, was the phenomenal Thief: The Dark Project.

Thief: The Dark Project (1998)

At a time when every FPS game on the market involved rocket launchers and relentless combat, Thief: The Dark Project arrived on the scene with the intent of shaking everything up. It succeeded. Set in a fantasy-based medieval city known simply as The City, Thief cast players in the role of Garrett, an up-and-coming rogue who stumbles upon political intrigue. Thief was unlike any game that had come before, demanding that players approach the traditional FPS genre with a new outlook. No longer were you expected to kill everything in sight, as the entire crux of the game was about staying hidden while navigating huge levels patrolled by guards. Thief was widely acclaimed for its fantastic graphics and innovative use of lighting, as well as strong story elements and a superb interface. All these elements conspired to create a game built upon a foundation of pure gameplay.

System Shock 2 (1999)

System Shock 2 was a sequel to 1994's System Shock, originally developed by Looking Glass Studios.

The original System Shock was a huge critical success but a commercial failure, only selling 170,000 copies at retail. Using the Ultima Underworld engine, System Shock delivered an atmospheric RPG/FPS hybrid that had more interactivity than most contemporary games. It was also one of the first games to feature something resembling real-world physics, thanks to the work of one Mr. Seamus Blackley, who would later create Trespasser for Dreamworks and the original design for the first Xbox.

System Shock 2 was a joint venture between Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Ken Levine served as a the story writer and one of several lead designers. Like its predecessor, System Shock 2 presented players with a a mix of horror and science-fiction in an atmospheric 3D environment, built upon a foundation of RPG and FPS elements. Also like the original System Shock, the sequel didn't meet sales expectations, despite its unanimous critical reception, thanks in part to the runaway success of Half-Life. Despite its fate, System Shock 2 went on to win numerous Game of the Year awards, including accolades from USA Today and is currently found in the Top 50 Games of All-Time lists of various sources, from IGN to Gamespot to PC Gamer.

Freedom Force (2002)

Once upon a time, the running joke was that games based on comics were cursed. History was replete with aborted projects that never saw the light of the day. Gamers were thirsty for something...anything, yet it seemed it would never happen. All this changed in 2002 when Irrational Games released Freedom Force, an action-based, top-down perspective game that payed homage to the Silver Age of comics and the work of Jack Kirby. Comic fans finally had a game to play and even better, it happened to a great one. Freedom Force was known for its open-ended gameplay, subtle RPG elements, interactive environment and loyalty to the feel and look of old comics. Featuring great, over-the-top voice-work and challenging missions that followed a central plot, Freedom Force proved itself a moderate hit and more importantly, brought an end to the comic curse, leading the way for the rest of the industry.