Giles Goddard (video game programmer)

Giles Goddard is a British video game programmer best known for his work at Nintendo during the 1990s. He was a key member of the team that developed several influential titles for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Nintendo 64.

Goddard began his career at Argonaut Software, where he worked on the Super FX chip and the groundbreaking 3D game Star Fox for the SNES. His expertise in 3D graphics and programming led him to Nintendo, where he contributed to projects like Stunt Race FX (SNES), another title that leveraged the Super FX chip.

At Nintendo, Goddard founded his own development company, Argonaut Software (later renamed to Argonaut Software Limited Liability Company), an official second-party Nintendo development team. Through this arrangement, he was instrumental in pushing the technical boundaries of the Nintendo 64. He's particularly celebrated for his contributions to Super Mario 64, where he is credited with programming the camera system and creating the character of Mario's face, which was among the first uses of 3D facial animation in a video game. This technology allowed players to stretch and manipulate Mario's face on the title screen.

Following his work on Super Mario 64, Goddard continued to develop titles for the Nintendo 64, including 1080° Snowboarding. He later left Nintendo and Argonaut to found Vitei Inc. (later renamed to Charybdis Inc.), where he continued to develop games for various platforms, often focusing on innovative gameplay mechanics and visual styles.