I couldn't tell if Sam and Dan together count as one influential person, or if they took two whole spots on the list. But this is their write-up, penned by Matt Selman, the executive producer of "The Simpsons." He portrays the Housers as social commentators whose work is, for its time, as meaningful as Dickens.

But what makes the Housers' creation unparalleled is that their games have a take on American cultural history. A smart take. A take that solidifies the culture's vision of its recent past. Was it a prominent film or book or record that defined how we look back on gang-era Los Angeles? No, it was a video game that uses movies, music and writing to a greater effect. Who better summarized and satirized the drug-dealing Miami of the '80s? Or the New York City of now? The Housers are doing the work of Tom Wolfe, creating tapestries of modern times as detailed as those of Balzac or Dickens.

Next week: Time publishes 100 letters from gamers who wonder if they're the only ones who thought Grand Theft Auto IV was overrated.

Sam and Dan Houser - The 2009 Time 100 [Time, also Time illustration. Thanks Mike M.]

The new employment agreements come with a new incentive plan for the Rockstar Games label based primarily on a profit arrangement, meaning the team now gets a cut of sales, rather than simply getting paid for their work. Sounds like a rather sweet deal. Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser agrees.

“The entire Rockstar team has always been dedicated to making groundbreaking games with unprecedented production values, style and depth. We are excited to continue our partnership with the new management team at Take-Two, who have helped us to protect the unique atmosphere that fosters creativity and innovation."

Take that, Michael Pachter!

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces New Long-Term Agreements with Rockstar Games’ Senior Creative Talent

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO) today announced that it has established a new incentive compensation program for the Rockstar Games label that is primarily based on a profit sharing arrangement, and at the same time has entered into new long-term employment agreements with members of the creative team of its wholly-owned Rockstar Games publishing label. The new employment agreements have an initial term ending on January 31, 2012.

Among the Rockstar Games team members entering into new long-term employment agreements are Sam Houser, Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies, as well as several other key members of the creative team behind the renowned Grand Theft Auto series. This team has been instrumental in the development and success of Take-Two’s extensive portfolio of multi-million unit internally owned franchises.

In addition, Take-Two has agreed to fund the future development of certain new intellectual property to be owned by a newly formed company controlled by key Rockstar Games team members and published exclusively by Take-Two.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, commented, “We’re delighted with the extension and expansion of Take-Two’s relationship with the Rockstar team. The talent and creativity at Rockstar are unparalleled in our industry. Their dedication to making extraordinary games has captured the enthusiasm of millions of fans around the world and has contributed enormously to establishing Take-Two as a force in the global video game marketplace and advancing our goal to become the most creative and most innovative company in the industry. In addition, this new chapter in our successful relationship further aligns the interests of our creative teams with those of our shareholders.”

Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games, added, “The entire Rockstar team has always been dedicated to making groundbreaking games with unprecedented production values, style and depth. We are excited to continue our partnership with the new management team at Take-Two, who have helped us to protect the unique atmosphere that fosters creativity and innovation."

The division doesn’t make sense to us; good games will usually sell and be popular, bad games will struggle – of any type or genre or style. But we still believe big, high impact games will help the industry evolve and further surpass the movie industry as the next mass-market story telling medium.

...We always tried to make games that anyone could pick up and play. They may, over time, reveal a lot of structural and mechanical complexity, but the first mission of more or less any Rockstar game is very easy and engaging for a reason – because new people playing the game have to be gently led into the world of 3D action games, or open world racing games or whatever. This is the way we try to cater for a mass market ­– but we are focused on making digital worlds that are fun to explore and interlaced with rich narratives, that even the most casual player can become a part of, if they want to. The challenge is to make a game in which ‘depth’ does not result in complexity the first minutes you play. This is a challenge we’ve always tried to embrace, and I hope we are getting better at it, just as I hope we are getting better at everything.

Also, in the interview, Houser says Rockstar doesn't believe in focus testing, saying "it’s like asking an audience what album they want to hear – they don’t know until they hear it!" Yep, that sums it up perfectly. We've always wondered why there is a separation between "casual" and "core" players. Should all games support both? Otherwise, game companies are being elitist or just pandering.

Grand Theft Auteur - Part 2 [Develop]

Most of the people who hate us are people it is truly an honor to be hated by — reactionary creeps with strange agendas — and the Daily Mail. Most people who know about modern pop culture know about GTA and like or dislike it on its own merits...

I think we [Sam and his brother and co-founder Dan] are both depressed at how boring we really are and how unexciting even the worse fabrications and exaggerations are when you read about them. None of it seems very rock and roll, so we find it a little sad, when there are probably better stories that could be written about both us and the industry/medium. No sharks, groupies or pounds of coke or anything fun at all. We read like angry dorks, which might be true, but is certainly not very exciting.

So all you haters, just think of Rockstar as angry dorks. That, and take deep breaths.

Grand Theft Auteur - Part 1 [Develop Mag via CVG]

He is absolutely the most intense guy in the world... He’s like Rasputin, you know. He’s intense... But that’s how you make great stuff. You don’t make great stuff by wearing a nice sweater and drinking a martini: you make great stuff by digging your fucking teeth in... I know Sam now... I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Sam... Since BioShock’s come out — I was a huge fan of his, and I think he really liked the game, and he felt is was something that was greatly interesting. I can’t speak for Sam, you know, but that’s my interpretation of what he said.

Hey, the martini and nice sweater racket did wonders for Frank Sinatra. That guy was no slouch.

Houser made GTA by digging his “fucking teeth in,” says Levine [VG247]

Knights of the Sandbox City [Develop]

One of the problems with the 360, and it affects games like Grand Theft Auto if you think about how much content we put in the actual machine, is the fact that they don't have a significantly larger storage medium than the previous systems. It's a slightly bigger DVD disc.

I think that the 360 is going to have to get 'round this issue we're talking about. I can think of various ways they can do it. Hopefully, they're going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it's going to become more of an issue. If we're filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It's not like our games are going to get any smaller. I think that issue's on the table with a bunch of games right now. I'm sure they'll come through with an intelligent solution.

Obviously, there's a challenge in redefining MMO convention, with (literal) rat killing and pelt gathering an odd fit for a modern day cops and robbers setting.

But it sure sounds like the Housers are into it, with "the combination of what we're doing with multiplayer and what we're doing with the [downloadable XB360] episodes is the start of us putting our toes in this water and seeing how our audience...adapts to online."

Grand Theft Auto V or GTA Online, whatever it may be called, could be a late entry into the game. Other developers are already taking a stab at it, with Realtime Worlds' APB and SOE's The Agency already gunning for a modern day subscription based game, without all the wizardry and orc-ery. Can't say we're not tempted by the prospect, though.

Motormouth: A GTA Q&A [1UP]