Video games are considered by many to be just entertainment-essentially void of skillful, artistic intervention. But as any gamer knows, there's incredible technical and graphic talent behind even a flickering Gameboy screen.

You may have never heard Shigeru Miyamoto's name, but you've probably spent many a lazy afternoon absorbed in his work. Joining Nintendo as a video game designer in the late 1970s, Miyamoto created the powerhouse franchises Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong-games so ubiquitous that Miyamoto was named one of TIME's 100...