Cain on Games - Tim Cain's new YouTube channel

[Hobo Elf]

Some of his actions are frankly bizarre, like spending 4 hours straight going through his notes of complaints during a meeting. Like what did he expect was going to happen? Is he a complete autist?

Probably he was just trying win over the other decision makers. It's hard to gauge from his video if he truly thought that the art director would've taken the criticism to heart, or if he was just trying to underline the problems for everyone else to see and maybe act on it. Judging by the fact that other high position people quit around the same time as him it's obvious that the problem was with the top not snipping the problems at the bottom and letting the people who actually know their shit to work in peace. The game came out and died almost instantly, so it's no surprise that it had such a troubled development. All it takes is for one bad egg to ruin a work environment if he's being enabled by the people who have the power to do something about it.

I realise what he was trying to do, I'm saying that they way he went about it was stupid and not going to convince anyone. The belief that it would suggest a lack of social skills and/or immaturity.

Tim seems like a good guy and it was unfortunate for him that he was thrust into leadership positions he was seemingly not very well suited for. He would probably have been both a lot happier and more productive as senior programmer or programming lead.

Well, yeah. You're just repeating what he himself has said many times. But they didn't give him much of a choice, right? He was told that either he becomes the lead designer or they can the project.

 

[Riddler]

Some of his actions are frankly bizarre, like spending 4 hours straight going through his notes of complaints during a meeting. Like what did he expect was going to happen? Is he a complete autist?

Probably he was just trying win over the other decision makers. It's hard to gauge from his video if he truly thought that the art director would've taken the criticism to heart, or if he was just trying to underline the problems for everyone else to see and maybe act on it. Judging by the fact that other high position people quit around the same time as him it's obvious that the problem was with the top not snipping the problems at the bottom and letting the people who actually know their shit to work in peace. The game came out and died almost instantly, so it's no surprise that it had such a troubled development. All it takes is for one bad egg to ruin a work environment if he's being enabled by the people who have the power to do something about it.

I realise what he was trying to do, I'm saying that they way he went about it was stupid and not going to convince anyone. The belief that it would suggest a lack of social skills and/or immaturity.

Tim seems like a good guy and it was unfortunate for him that he was thrust into leadership positions he was seemingly not very well suited for. He would probably have been both a lot happier and more productive as senior programmer or programming lead.

Well, yeah. You're just repeating what he himself has said many times. But they didn't give him much of a choice, right? He was told that either he becomes the lead designer or they can the project.

Yes, it was unfortunate.

 

[Alienman]

Wtf @ the characters and groups.

 

[NecroLord]

This stuff is getting really repetitive.
Tim should mix it up a little.

 

[bobocrunch]

The guy saying he hates meetings with Tim because they have no point is pretty on point, even from his videos I just have an overwhelming sense of ...ok at the end. They're enjoyable to watch but eventually he hits a point where he's just done talking linearly and says that's it, unable to come to a satisfying conclusion. Thankfully people overruled his ending of FO1

 

[Roguey]

On brainstorming:


Tim once again seethes at unconstructive criticism. Meanwhile, the Chad Swen Vincke approach to game directing:

While Swen's frank feedback is appreciated, he often simply states, "This isn't good enough." and other none helpful tips. When asked for suggestions on improvement, he expresses frustration, tells you it is "Unacceptable!" and tells you to figure it out on your own.

I have the suspicion the submissive in this anecdote was Megan Starks

Early on for like South Park and Pillars and Tyranny I thought it went pretty good with the brainstorming but later when I was game director it was hard to get people to brainstorm. I literally had one person who I'd worked with closely on those other games say "Yeah, I just can't do it. I mean you're game director now, I can't do it. I can't argue one of your ideas. If just you say it, I just want to implement it."

Also dishing out the dirt on Fearg's meddling in The Outer Worlds:

Ferg occasionally would but then he had the habit, and he did this way back at Interplay, where if he lost one of those, if he lost (and I don't consider it a competition), but if there was a brainstorming session and his idea didn't come out on top, he sometimes just said "put it in anyway." That was the turbo plasma rifle in Fallout. He did it in Outer Worlds with a few things, a few of which broke the game build the next day.

Additionally, there was a time when Leonard and Tim were getting heated over a brainstorming session and Anthony Davis walked in to tell them that the people who could hear it felt like mom and dad were fighting, and it surprised Tim that the younger devs could mistake passion for anger since he and Leonard had been like this the entire time they had been working together with no complaints.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Also dishing out the dirt on Fearg's meddling in The Outer Worlds:

Ferg occasionally would but then he had the habit, and he did this way back at Interplay, where if he lost one of those, if he lost (and I don't consider it a competition), but if there was a brainstorming session and his idea didn't come out on top, he sometimes just said "put it in anyway." That was the turbo plasma rifle in Fallout. He did it in Outer Worlds with a few things, a few of which broke the game build the next day.

Classic Feargus. "You should have chosen Fenstermaker"

 

[Infinitron]

I talk a little more about Carbine, since several issues came up in the comments, and there were comments from other ex-Carbine employees as well.

p.s. and again, despite this video being over 9 minutes long, YouTube is not letting me remove pre-roll ads (which the rules say I can do on any video over 8 minutes long). Sorry.

 

[flyingjohn]

Designers can't even talk to artists? Yeah, Matt had the management in his pockets.

 

[Rahdulan]

I talk about why I left the development of WildStar at Carbine Studios in 2011. Along with Fallout 2, WildStar is the only other game I did not complete, but like Fallout 2, it did ship without me, getting released in 2014.

Edit:
Tim Cain was paid the best there but in the end he felt sick there and it broke him (he literally says it).

Interestingly enough I always assumed Wildstar had myriad of behind-the-scenes problem, but not that art lead would be one of them.

 

[Egosphere]

I talk about why I left the development of WildStar at Carbine Studios in 2011. Along with Fallout 2, WildStar is the only other game I did not complete, but like Fallout 2, it did ship without me, getting released in 2014.

Edit:
Tim Cain was paid the best there but in the end he felt sick there and it broke him (he literally says it).

"I ended up with a big crack in me that eventually got filled in with something. And I could lead again"

Thank you Tim. Very cool.

 

[NecroLord]

"I ended up with a big crack in me that eventually got filled in with something. And I could lead again"

 

[Roguey]

The extreme detail that went into Arcanum criticals

 

[Infinitron]

I talk about Fallout random encounters, both how they work and what our intention was for using them in the game.

p.s. I'm sorry if there are pre-roll ads. This video is longer than 8 minutes but again, I was given no control by YouTube over the ad placement in it.

 

[flyingjohn]

The thumbnail hand gesture is literally the exact same as the Chinese gay meme.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Tim's chat on how he got into graphical MMOs was pretty funny. Ah, the tribulations of an omnipotent wizard and the effects of chaos and magic, or chaos in magic to be more precise! Makes me want to play EverQuest. I have P99. Have they eased more of the expansions into the recent updates?

 

[Infinitron]

I talk about non-linear game design and how to support it, both with system mechanics and in the game's storyline.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

I want that T-shirt

 

[Roguey]

Cain finally talks about good design but it's too bad Arcanum and Bloodlines really didn't respect those pillars. Haven't played Outer Worlds yet so I can't comment on how well it does it.

Also Tim says he'd rather watch a movie than play Planescape Torment (or Witcher or Gothic or Disco Elysium and so on).

 

[Diggfinger]

Cain finally talks about good design but it's too bad Arcanum and Bloodlines really didn't respect those pillars. Haven't played Outer Worlds yet so I can't comment on how well it does it.

Also Tim says he'd rather watch a movie than play Planescape Torment (or Witcher or Gothic or Disco Elysium and so on).

Can't say I disagree

Gothic too though? Doesnt that have some (more) player agency?



Also,
in B4 Tim's new RPG is announced...

Spoiler

Cain's FarmVille RPG

 

[Roguey]

Gothic too though? Doesnt that have some (more) player agency?

I really don't like RPGs that force you to play a particular character. My attitude is "you make the story, I make the character." If you're gonna make both then maybe I'll just go watch a movie.

In Gothic you have to be The Nameless Hero.

 

[Infinitron]

I talk about the Void in Arcanum. I answer how we came up with the idea, how we planned to use it, and whether it would appear in sequels.

Note: this video contains spoilers...as if I need to say that for a 20+ year old game.

 

[Geomancer86]

I mentioned something about the naming of original D&D and AD&D and he replied me haha. Today I feel less of a peasant.

 

[Infinitron]

I talk about several ideas I have had for different settings, including turning toy games into bigger ones, different ideas for turn-based combat, and a rundown of all the ways a world can become post-apocalyptic.

 

[toro]

My only take from all his videos is that he likes to hear himself talking.

Also it looks like he cannot enjoy his retirement because of lack of attention.