Exchanging their stethoscopes for joysticks ended up being a lucrative trade for Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, both 36. In fact, this year marks their 10th anniversary as joint CEOs of the Edmonton-based BioWare Corp., an electronic entertainment company specializing in the creation of computer and console video games. Canada is rapidly becoming a leader in video game development and BioWare is near the top of the pack. With published revenues of $18.4 million for 2004, it has sold more than 12 million copies of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, treating players to some of the best story-driven games in the world. Star Wars earned the omnipotent title of "Game of the Year" by the International Game Developers' Association upon its 2003 release. Other popular games include Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. The April 2005 release of the martial arts title Jade Empire, based on new BioWare-owned intellectual property and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox, has created addicts and garnered numerous industry awards and glowing reviews. Over the past 12 months, the community-conscious company continued its philanthropy toward advanced education and children's health care as well as the tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia. Indeed, the careers of Muzyka and Zeschuk are just as enthralling as the games they create. - DH

What do you foresee for the future of video games?
Says Ray: There's a huge spectrum of different kinds of games and each of those games uses different kinds of technologies. One of these that fits in very well with our core vision as a company is virtual-agent technology to improve virtual actors in our games. This involves things like motion capture, lip synching, facial animation - being able to convey more emotion.

Who do you think is the greatest Albertan ever?
Says Ray: This is really tough. There are so many great leaders in history in Alberta, there's a tremendous number of them. You go across the spectrum and there are artists, entertainers, scientists, researchers, educators, farmers, people working in the oil patch to help build the economy, people in technology that are helping to build Alberta's technology-based economy, philanthropists who give back to the communities.... I guess our answer is there are a lot of unsung heroes that deserve the recognition in the province that keep working day to day to build the best place in the world to work and live.

Who do you think is the greatest Albertan ever?
Says Ray: This is really tough. There are so many great leaders in history in Alberta, there's a tremendous number of them. You go across the spectrum and there are artists, entertainers, scientists, researchers, educators, farmers, people working in the oil patch to help build the economy, people in technology that are helping to build Alberta's technology-based economy, philanthropists who give back to the communities.... I guess our answer is there are a lot of unsung heroes that deserve the recognition in the province that keep working day to day to build the best place in the world to work and live.