Ken Levine will compete against George R.R. Martin, Kony 2012, and Barack Obama for one of only 100 spots in TIME’s famous issue.
Each year, TIME magazine publishes a list of people that its editors (and readers) deem to be the 100 most influential leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes on the planet. And if public polling goes well, the 2012 edition may recognize the videogame industry via Ken Levine, cofounder and president of Irrational Games, the creator of BioShock, and the creative director of the upcoming BioShock Infinite.
Levine has been selected by TIME as an official nominee for the honor, among the usual group of politicians (Obama, Santorum, Putin), sports stars (Tebow, Lin), and run-of-the-mill mega celebs (Clooney, Lady Gaga, Oprah). The famed developer almost sticks out as an odd inclusion, at least until you hit the stranger entries, such as the women of Mad Men (Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks and January Jones) lumped into a single contestant, or the fact that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s parenthood is on there.
While the magazine’s editorial staff determines the final list, they do allow a public poll to influence their thinking. All results from the voting are counted, but only the top-voted person is guaranteed a slot. You can visit TIME’s website before April 6th if you’d like to vote, then check out the full list of winners on April 17th.
Maybe you didn’t like BioShock, or perhaps you’ve never forgiven Ken Levine for sort of looking like Ben Stiller, but even if you can think of a hundred reasons why he shouldn’t be on there, and your favorite developer should, Levine is the only videogame designer even nominated this year. I’d say that a vote for Levine is a vote for the influence of videogames in general, so would you kindly click his name in support of the community?
Image: G4TV
