Tim Cain | |
|---|---|
 Cain on the GDC Online 2010 | |
| Born | Timothy Cain |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Programmer, designer, producer |
| Employer | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Known for | Creator of Fallout series |
| Spouse | Robert Land (m. 2011) |
Timothy Cain is an American video game developer best known as the creator, producer, lead programmer and one of the main designers of the 1997 computer game Fallout . [1] [2] In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. [3]
Cain went to college at the University of Virginia and to graduate school in California. During this time, he helped out a friend programming a card game named Grand Slam Bridge for CYBRON Corporation which was released in 1986. [4] In 1989, he received a Master's Degree in Computer Science at University of California, Irvine. [3]
In 1994 he started for a couple of months as the only employee working on a game that would later become the post-apocalyptic CRPG game Fallout . [4] He laid out the basic concept based on the GURPS system and began programming the isometric game engine. He also took over the producer role from Thomas R. Decker who had to supervise multiple other projects at the time. [5] With a development cycle of three and a half years Fallout was released in 1997. During this time he was also a programming consultant on Stonekeep (1995) and helped out coding Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1997). [6]
In an interview he criticized the bigger influence from sales/marketing department during Fallout 2 development, saying, "We were losing part of the game to a larger group who had bigger plans for it." [7] Cain corroborated further in May 2023 that he left the company bitter after he was forced to work on Fallout 2 and did not get the bonus pay that was agreed upon after completion. [8]
His next game reunited him with Thomas R. Decker, the original Fallout producer. As project leader and lead designer he produced within 20 months the Dungeons & Dragons game The Temple of Elemental Evil for publisher Atari in 2003. While he loved making the game he was disappointed that it did not turn out what he wanted it to be. [9]
After Bethesda secured the Fallout license from Interplay in 2004, Cain expressed disappointment.
I was hoping that Troika would get the license, but we were massively outbid. But in the end, they made a good game. [10]
Cain had mixed reactions to Fallout 3 , praising Bethesda's understanding of Fallout lore as well as the adaptation of "S. P. E. C. I. A. L." system into a FPS-RPG, but criticized the humor and recycling of too many story elements from the earlier Fallout games. [9]
He helped out programming the last Troika game, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines , a horror RPG for Activision in 2004. He also worked on a post-apocalyptic roleplay game for which he couldn't convince any publisher to fund. As consequence he had to lay off most employees in late 2004 and shut down Troika Games in February 2005. [11]
He joined as the programming director at Carbine Studios working on a fantasy MMO game for NCSoft. He was promoted to design director in October 2007. [12] Cain left Carbine Studios in July 2011. [13]
In 2011, Tim Cain joined Obsidian Entertainment as senior programmer. [14] He worked on Pillars of Eternity , which was funded through Kickstarter. [15] He was also a co-director for The Outer Worlds . [16] Since June 2020, Cain is no longer employed by Obsidian as a full time employee, but still works for them on the sequel to The Outer Worlds as well as for two other companies on a contract basis. [17] [18]
Cain is affected by hereditary color blindness, stating in a Gamasutra interview that he "[can now] see less than half the spectrum of colors". He enjoys cooking, particularly Japanese and Chinese cuisine, and his favorite dishes are garlic chicken fried rice and chicken karaage. [19] Cain came out as a gay man in the early 2000s after concealing his sexuality throughout much of his early career. [20] He married his husband Robert Land on July 14, 2011. [21]
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Bard's Tale Construction Set | Designer, programmer |
| 1993 | Rags to Riches: The Financial Market Simulation | Programmer, additional design |
| 1997 | Star Trek: Starfleet Academy | Programmer |
| Fallout | Producer, designer, lead programmer | |
| 1998 | Fallout 2 | Designer, additional programming |
| 2001 | Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | Project lead, lead programmer |
| 2003 | The Temple of Elemental Evil | Project lead, lead designer |
| 2004 | Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines | Programmer |
| 2014 | South Park: The Stick of Truth | Programmer |
| WildStar | Additional design, additional programming | |
| 2015 | Pillars of Eternity | Programmer, additional design |
| 2016 | Tyranny | Programmer |
| 2019 | The Outer Worlds | Director |
A role-playing video game, a role-playing game (RPG) or computer role-playing game (CRPG), is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.
Ron Gilbert is an American video-game designer, programmer, and producer. His games are generally focused on interactive story-telling, and he is arguably best known for his work on several LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
Troika Games was an American video game developer co-founded by Jason Anderson, Tim Cain, and Leonard Boyarsky. The company was focused on role-playing video games between 1998 and 2005, best known for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a 2001 role-playing video game developed by Troika Games and published by Sierra On-Line for Microsoft Windows. The game's story takes place within a fantasy setting currently undergoing a transformation from its own industrial revolution, in which magic competes against technological gadgets, and focuses on the efforts of a zeppelin crash survivor to find out who attacked the vessel, ultimately discovering a plot by an ancient power to return to the world and cause chaos. The game, conducted from an isometric perspective and within an open world, offers players the opportunity to craft their protagonist with a variety of skills, including the option to be gifted in magic or use guns and gadgets to combat enemies, and complete quests in different ways.
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