Mortal Kombat's creator honoured in the "Gaming Hall of Fame"

The creator of one of gaming's longest legacies is being officially honoured in gaming's "hall of fame". It's about time.

When the fighting game Mortal Kombat first hit arcades in 1992, it caused quite the stir.

It was the first game of its kind to portray high levels of graphic violence in a fighting game to the delight of gamers, and the horror of parents.
The franchise still remains one of the highest-grossing of all time, with 11 mainline games and a slew of movie and TV spinoffs.

Mortal Kombat's creator, Ed Boon, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.

The award is bestowed to "game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward."
Mr. Boon will be bestowed the honour at the peer-juried awards show, the 2022 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Awards, next month.

Mr. Boon joins the ranks of other gaming titans, such as Super Mario's creator, who have shaped what gaming is today.

No doubt Mr. Boon will be honoured for his contributions to the fighting game genre, similarly to how Super Mario contributed to the platforming genre.
However, Mortal Kombat also transformed the way we adopted graphic violence in video games, which is now commonplace and officially monitored in gaming.

Game-related honours are still overshadowed by traditional media awards, despite the video game industry being more than double the size of Hollywood.

This trend is unlikely to reverse anytime soon, but nonetheless it is fantastic to formally recognize the creative forces that enhance the medium.

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