Seneca Crane looking over the work of Lucia.
Gamemakers were people from the Capitol who designed and planned the annual Hunger Games.
Tasks[]
Training[]
Gamemakers observed the tributes over three days of training, culminating in private sessions after lunch on the third afternoon. Each tribute would get around fifteen minutes to showcase their abilities.[1] Then, based on their performance, the Gamemakers would assign them a training score that would be announced on television that evening. Scores ranged from 1 to 12, with 1 being the lowest and 12 being the highest.[2]
Interviews[]
In the City Circle, the Gamemakers watched the tributes' interviews from a large balcony on a building to the right of the stage.[3]
Arenas[]
Gamemakers in the Control Room.
From their Control Room, Gamemakers exerted their influence over the arena each year. They decided on the location, biome, plant life and wildlife, arena wear, weapons, and other resources available to tributes[4]— both from the arena itself and the Cornucopia, drawing competitors in for a bloodbath.[5] The Gamemakers also chose what the audience got to see on television from their many hidden cameras.[6]
Additionally, Gamemakers controlled the weather inside the arena, like the temperature[7] or precipitation.[8] It was also within their power to trigger events such as avalanches,[4] fires,[9] and tidal waves.[10] In the films, they could even make it seem like it was a different time of day within the arena than it truly was outside.[11][12] These manipulations were usually intended to drive tributes together to fight for the audience's entertainment, but the Gamemakers occasionally killed a tribute just to remind the others that they could.[9]
During the 50th Hunger Games, three Gamemakers were mopping and taking care of the oozing slime on the forest floor of the arena. When Haymitch Abernathy, Maysilee Donner, Silka Sharp, and Maritte came across them, they tried to flee to Sub-A, but all were killed. One had a trident thrown at him by Maritte, another was attacked by one of Maysilee's darts, and the third plummeted to her death after she leaped headfirst into Sub-A, cracking her head on the concrete.[13]
Muttations[]
The Gamemakers created genetically altered muttations to weaponize against tributes.[14] Mutts could be sent out and recalled at will, presumably going to and from the catacombs beneath each arena.[15]
Announcements[]
Whenever a tribute died, the Gamemakers set off the sound of a cannon, marking the death for the remaining tributes. The only exception was the Cornucopia bloodbath, in which case they waited until the fight ended to tally up the deceased. Every evening, they played the anthem and showed images of the fallen in the sky. This was done both as a recap for the audience and to help the remaining tributes strategize.[5]
The Gamemakers would sometimes project the voice of Claudius Templesmith into the arena so he could announce events such as feasts, enticing tributes to gather and fight. During the 74th Hunger Games, they also had him announce rule changes.[16][15]
Known Gamemakers[]
The Gamemakers in their observation area.
In The Hunger Games novel, there were around twenty Gamemakers, both men and women, dressed in deep purple robes.[1] The Head Gamemaker could be identified because their robe had a fur-trimmed collar.[17] In the film adaptations, all but the Head Gamemaker wore simple white uniforms in the Control Room.[11][12]
Head Gamemakers[]
Head Gamemakers were under the scrutiny of the President to ensure that the Games not only entertained the Capitol, but inspired fear in the districts, quelling any chance of rebellion. If the President was dissatisfied, the Head Gamemaker could face execution.[18]
| Hunger Games | Head Gamemaker | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-10 | Dr. Volumnia Gaul | After the Dark Days, she brought out Casca Highbottom's original proposal for the Games,[19] and it was incorporated into the Treaty of Treason.[20] She later introduced mentors, interviews,[21] and muttations[22] in the 10th Hunger Games. |
| fl.50 | Faustina Gripper | She evidently had a negative impression of Haymitch Abernathy during his private training session for the 50th Hunger Games, since she and the other Gamemakers gave him a training score of only 1.[23] |
| 72[11]-74[18] | Seneca Crane | Executed after he allowed Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark to become co-victors of the 74th Hunger Games. In The Hunger Games film, he was forced to eat nightlock,[11] while in the trilogy, it is implied that he was hanged.[18] |
| 75 | Plutarch Heavensbee | Rebel insider who helped with the plan to extract Katniss from the arena during the 75th Hunger Games.[24] |
Other Gamemakers[]
| Hunger Games | Gamemakers | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Remus Dolittle | Gamemaker-in-Training and downstairs neighbor of Coriolanus Snow. |
| 11 | Coriolanus Snow | Gamemaker intern. Responsible for the idea of the Victors' Villages.[19] |
| 74 | Lucia | Only appears in the first film. Created the wolf mutts.[11] |
| Plutarch Heavensbee | During her private session, Katniss shot an apple out of the mouth of the Gamemakers' roasted pig, startling Plutarch. He tripped and fell into the punch bowl.[2][25] |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 7
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 8
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 9
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 10
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 11
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 12
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 20
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 22
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 13
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 22
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 The Hunger Games (film)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- ↑ Sunrise on the Reaping, Chapter 22
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 14
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Hunger Games, Chapter 25
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 18
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 16
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Catching Fire, Chapter 2
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Epilogue
- ↑ The Hunger Games, Chapter 1
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 1
- ↑ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 19
- ↑ Sunrise on the Reaping, Chapter 11
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 27
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 6