Ken Levine, Mark Pincus in running for Time's top 100

Irrational head Ken Levine and Zynga co-rounder Mark Pincus are among the nominees in this year's Time Top 100 Influential People list. It's open to voting now, and the results will be revealed next month.

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Two video game movers and shakers are getting high-profile attention from outside the video game sphere, as part of Time's Top 100 Influential People. Irrational head and gaming luminary Ken Levine and Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus share the honor with political figures, entertainers, and thought leaders across a broad spectrum.

Readers can vote for whether the two deserve a spot with a "Definitely" or "No Way." The poll closes Friday, April 6, and the official results will be released on April 17.

Time's description of Levine credits BioShock as helping to spark the "games as art" debate, and says his games "elevate the conversation" while pointing to BioShock Infinite as an upcoming example of his politically-tinged design. Currently the results give him over 90% "Yes" responses, putting him in second place to Adele for the most votes in favor of inclusion. Then again, Adele has the most "No" votes as well.

Pincus is honored more for his business acumen, racking in $1.8 billion to join the Forbes Billionaires List, and having recently purchased Draw Something developer OMGPOP. His results so far aren't quite so high, but ultimately Time may decide he deserves a spot since the final decision comes down to editors.

Time has credited game developers in its Top 100 lists before; Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto made the list in both 2008 and 2009. If Levine or Pincus do make this year's list, that's pretty good company to be in.

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