10 Times Developers Put THEMSELVES In Their Games
Toasty!
“Mortal Kombat II” (1993) One of the most famous creator cameos in video games comes in this bloody arcade classic. In “Mortal Kombat II,” if you landed a particularly nice attack on a foe, you’d be greeted by a man popping up in the corner and yelling “Toasty!” before disappearing. Many of us likely wondered just who this guy was for years. That’s Dan Forden, longtime sound designer and composer on the series. It began as an inside joke between the developers when they were working on the game, which they apparently liked so much they decided to put it in. It became so popular that it was kept for later entries and is now one of the most recognizable sound bites from the series.
Sam Lake’s Face
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“Max Payne” (2001) It’s one thing to make a cameo in your own game, but something else to star in it. “Max Payne” put Remedy Entertainment on the map, being its first big hit. But long before that, the studio needed to design its hero. While to many, Max may just look like some guy, he’s actually the writer behind the game, Sam Lake. Remedy used Lake’s likeness to create Max’s signature grimace. While he wouldn’t return to be the hero’s face in the sequel, he’s never left Remedy, becoming its Creative Director. As of writing, the developer is working on remakes for both games, and we eagerly await what Max will look like.
The Hardest Ending
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“Chrono Trigger” (1995) The original version of “Chrono Trigger” featured 12 different endings depending on when you fought the final boss, Lavos. The most difficult to reach required defeating him as soon as possible without your full party. However, if you accomplished this, you were treated to a pretty nice surprise. Afterwards, you’d be taken to the End of Time, where the development team was disguised as different creatures and NPCs. Not only was it cool to chat with people like “Final Fantasy” creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama, but they also gave you small insights into the game’s development and cracked silly jokes. Some even pointed out artistic details you may have missed, like character animations on the world map.
Pursuit of Obsession
“Soulcalibur V” (2012) Usually, it’s the fictional cameos from other franchises that get all the love in “Soulcalibur.” And while we don’t get to fight as him, the fifth entry still featured a really cool developer appearance. In one of the Quick Battle challenges, you’ll have to face a fighter named Harada Tekken. While many players likely picked up on the mention of “Tekken,” it being another fighting franchise from Bandai Namco, they may not have realized that this fighter is an actual person. He’s Katsuhiro Harada, a longtime producer of both “Soulcalibur” and “Tekken.” He fights using Devil Jin’s style as well, a match we’d say suits him.
Coming Full Circle
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“Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon” (1989) Sierra On-line was once known for crafting fine adventure games in a variety of genres. “Space Quest” was its sci-fi series, the third of which got incredibly meta with its ending. As Roger Wilco, players must eventually rescue two captives from Scumsoft, a video game developer forcing them to make bad games. These two are meant to be Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, the designers behind the series. After rescuing them, your ship goes through a black hole and enters an alternate dimension, very conveniently landing by Sierra On-line’s offices. You then meet Ken Williams, the then real-life president of the company, who offers the two a job working on, you guessed it, the “Space Quest” series.
Wonder-Director
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“The Wonderful 101: Remastered” (2020) Hideki Kamiya has directed some of the best action games of all time, from the original “Devil May Cry” to the entire “Bayonetta” series. When the underrated “The Wonderful 101” got a remaster, the game’s director was made into a playable character. For those unfamiliar, it follows a group of heroes fighting an alien invasion; although only a few have distinct abilities, unlocking more heroes increases the power of those abilities. Upon the remaster’s release, PlatinumGames periodically gave out Wonderful Codes, which unlocked hidden characters and other features. For the final code, the hero designated as Wonder-Director was added. He’s a pretty spot-on representation of Kamiya as a superhero. However, while his laser attack destroys anything in its path, he only takes one hit to go down.
Living Weapons
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“Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2” (2012) Some of these cameos are certainly odd, but there’s nothing as weird as being turned into a giant weapon or attack. Best known for creating Capcom’s “Mega Man” franchise, Keiji Inafune founded his own studio in 2010 called Comcept. One of that studio’s earlier assignments was helping developers Idea Factory and Compile Heart work on their upcoming sequel, “Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2.” We’re not sure whose idea it was, but Inafune makes a rather obvious cameo here. At a certain point, lead character Nepgear can gain something called the Inafune Brand. In battle, she essentially pulls Inafune out of her pocket and beats enemies with him. Even weirder is the hidden attack, labeled TheHellIs AllThis!, which prompts Inafune to stick his head out of the clouds and fire a giant laser. Utterly insane.
Head Honcho
“Doom II” (1994) In addition to the bloody mayhem players loved, this sequel included a well-hidden, but now famous, cameo from one of the creators. Upon entering the lair of the final boss, the Icon of Sin will say something many players probably assumed to be vaguely demonic. However, we now know it says, in reverse, “To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero.” Romero, of course, was one of id Software’s leading men, having designed and programmed several of the studio’s best games at the time. Moreover, if you use a noclip cheat to reach where that giant head is embedded, you’ll find a fake wall. Behind it is the severed head of Romero, sitting on a spike. The head is connected to the boss, and will even react when you shoot it.
The Annoying Dog
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“Undertale” (2015) Just as creator Toby Fox populated “Undertale” with eccentric characters, so too did he include multiple ways to joke with us while we played. The best of both worlds comes in the form of a character named the Annoying Dog, which is meant to represent Fox himself. There’s no telling when or where the Annoying Dog will show up, but when it does, it’s mainly to screw with various characters. You can also find the dog’s room, which features several jokes about it being a game developer. Additionally, Fox paid homage to the only other person to work on the game, artist Temmie Chang, by naming a different silly white dog after her.
The Undercover Agent
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“Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” (2014) Hideo Kojima is known for including a number of silly things in his games. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s popped up in many of his own creations. Hell, he even played a gross pile of goo in “Death Stranding”. However, the auteur actually appears looking like his regular self in “Ground Zeroes.” One of the game’s Side Ops missions has you rescuing an undercover agent from a US naval prison. Though you don’t get a great look at him during your hectic escape, the camera pan to reveal Kojima’s bespectacled face staring back at you on the helicopter was a wild surprise. He’d pop up again in “Phantom Pain”, but having us lead a high-stakes extraction made for a great cameo.
