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Tim Schafer

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Not to be confused withTim Schaffer.

Tim Schafer
Schafer in 2016
Born
Timothy John Schafer

(1967-07-26)July 26, 1967(age 56)
Sonoma, California,U.S.
Occupation(s)Game designer,game programmer,game writer
SpouseRachael Schafer

Timothy John Schafer[1][2](born July 26, 1967) is an Americanvideo game designer.He foundedDouble Fine Productionsin July 2000, after having spent over a decade atLucasArts.Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed gamesFull Throttle,Grim Fandango,Psychonauts,Brütal LegendandBroken Age,co-designer ofDay of the Tentacle,and assistant designer onThe Secret of Monkey IslandandMonkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.He is well known in the video game industry for his storytelling and comedic writing style,[3]and has been given both a Lifetime Achievement Award from theGame Developers Choice Awards,and aBAFTA Fellowshipfor his contributions to the industry.

Career

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College and LucasArts (1989–2000)

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Tim Schafer was born on July 26, 1967, inSonoma, California,the youngest of five children. His father was a doctor and his mother was a nurse.[4]While studying computer science atUC Berkeley,Schafer became interested in writing, and took inspiration fromKurt Vonnegut,who while a publicist atGeneral Electricwrote short stories in the evenings. Schafer opted for a similar course, interning to help developdatabasesfor small companies while trying to position himself for an opening in a larger corporation such asAtariandHewlett-Packard,but he was rejected by these.[5]He saw an offering atLucasfilm Games,looking for programmers who could also write game dialog, which piqued his interest.[5]

During his application process for the job, he had a somewhat disastrous phone interview withDavid Foxin which he mentioned being a fan ofBallblaster.Fox informed him that the Lucasfilm Games title wasBallblazer,and that only the pirated version was known asBallblaster,but despite the misstep, Fox asked Schafer to submit his resume for further consideration.[5][6]To make up for the phone interview, Schafer sent in a comic of himself applying for and getting the job at Lucasfilm Games, drawn as a text adventure.[5][6][7]

Schafer was hired by LucasArts in 1989, and his first position was as a "scummlet", a programmer who helped to implement features and ideas proposed by the lead game developers within the LucasArtsSCUMMengine. He, alongsideDave Grossman,helped to playtestIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Gameand implement theNESversion ofManiac Mansion.Schafer and Grossman, along with two others, were taught byRon Gilbertas part of a "SCUMM University" on how to use the engine to set up rooms and puzzles.[5]

Later, Gilbert approached Schafer and Grossman, offering them the chance to work on his new project, which would ultimately become the pirate-themedadventure gameThe Secret of Monkey Island.[5]

According to series creator Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman were responsible for about two thirds of the game's dialogue.[8]The Secret of Monkey Islandbecame one of the most acclaimed games of its kind. The same team created the sequel,Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.[9]

In his first lead role on a game project, Schafer co-designed (with Dave Grossman)Day of the Tentacle,a time-travel comedy adventure and the sequel to Ron Gilbert'sManiac Mansion.[10]Schafer's first solo project, the biker adventureFull Throttle,was released in 1995.[11]He went on to design the highly acclaimedGrim Fandango,anoiradventure gameset in theAztecafterlifefeaturing characters similar to thepapier-mâchéskeleton decorations from the Mexican holidayDia De Los Muertos.Grim Fandangowon many awards, includingGameSpot's Game of the Year award of 1998.[12]

Double Fine Productions (2000–present)

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Schafer and other game developers at aBAFTAevent in Los Angeles in July 2011. From left:Rod Humble,Louis Castle,David Perry,Brenda Brathwaite,John Romero,Will Wright,Tim Schafer,Chris Hecker.

Schafer worked on an unannouncedPlayStation 2action-adventure game at LucasArts, but it never entered production.[3]Prior to his departure, a number of other developers were leaving LucasArts as the studio shifted away from adventure games. Schafer was approached by his colleagues with the idea of leaving the company to develop PlayStation 2 games on their own; Schafer was initially wary of this believing he felt secure in his position at LucasArts.[13]He left the company in January 2000,[14]to foundDouble Fine Productions,where he created theplatform gamePsychonauts.[3]The game was first released on Xbox in North America on April 19, 2005. While the game was met with critical acclaim, including aGame of the Yearaward fromEurogamer,it sold poorly at its initial release and led to financial troubles for its publisherMajesco Entertainment.[15]Double Fine reacquired full rights toPsychonautsby 2012, allowing them to release the game with improvements for modern systems, and in that year, Schafer stated that "We made more onPsychonauts[in 2012] than we ever have before. "[16]

On March 7, 2007, he hosted the annualGame Developers Choice Awards.He later hosted it again in 2009. To coincide, Double Fine released a freeFlashminigameentitledHost Master and the Conquest of Humor,a pastiche of Schafer's LucasArts games in which the player takes on the role of Schafer backstage at the GDC Awards.[17]

Schafer led the development of Double Fine's next game,Brütal Legend,released on October 13, 2009, after a tortuous development route due to having its original publisherVivendi Gamesdrop the title following its merge withActivisionin 2008 to be picked up later byElectronic Arts.[18]The game was Schafer's tribute to the music and art ofheavy metaland featured voice acting from actor/musicianJack Blackand cameos from rock musicians includingLemmy Kilmister,Rob Halford,Ozzy OsbourneandLita Ford.Schafer said "ForBrütal Legend,I've always seen this overlap between medieval warfare and heavy metal. You see heavy metal singers and they'll have like a brace around their arm and they'll be singing aboutOrcs.So let's just make a world where that all happens. That all gets put together, the heavy metal, and the rock, and the battling, actually does happen. Let's not flirt around with this; let's just do it. "[19]

DuringBrütal Legend'sdevelopment, Schafer had Double Fine's staff take two weeks away from the game's development to participate in Amnesia Fortnights once a year starting in 2007. This was an internalgame jamwhere the company was split into four teams to make a pitchable game prototype, an idea he compared to what film directorWong Kar-Waihad used previously. AfterBrütal Legend'srelease, the game had generally positive reviews but did not perform as well as expected, and Electronic Arts cancelled the preliminary work Double Fine had started on the sequel.[20]To keep Double Fine above water financially, Schafer went back to the past Amnesia Fortnight projects and selected games they could reasonably expand into full releases. From these, four smaller games were picked up by publishers, and were the first games in Double Fine's history to have project leaders other than Schafer:Costume Quest,Stacking,Iron BrigadeandOnce upon a Monster.The titles helped to keep Double Fine financially stable, and Schafer has continued to implement the Amnesia Fortnight as a yearly process; most of the games that result from these are led by someone other than Schafer.[21]

On February 1, 2012, Schafer returned to the role of director in theKinect-basedDouble Fine Happy Action Theater,a game concept he devised based onOnce Upon a Monsterto be able to play a game with his two-year-old daughter that she would be able to enjoy as well.[22]

Schafer and2 Player ProductionsatPAXPrime 2012

In February 2012, Schafer launched acrowdfundedproject for an unnamedadventure gamevia the crowd-sourcedKickstarter,using the placeholder title "Double Fine Adventure"; Schafer stated that he had found publishers extremely wary of an adventure in the current video game industry, and decided to turn to crowdfunding to seek player interest. The game and accompanying documentary were projected to costUS$400,000 dollars.Contributions exceeded that amount by more than three times in less than 24 hours, making it the first Kickstarter project to reach a $2 million figure, and the second most successful project on the website at the time.[23][24]When the project ended on March 13, funding reached a level of $3,336,371 in Kickstarter[25]with an additional $110,000 from premium pledges.[26]Ultimately, the project culminated inBroken Age,released in two acts over 2014 and 2015.[27]

Schafer and Double Fine had been able to negotiate withThe Walt Disney Company,who acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, to obtain the rights to three of the titles that Schafer had directed there:Day of the Tentacle,Full Throttle,andGrim Fandango,by 2014. Double Fine subsequently released remastered versions of all three games over the following years.[28][29][30][31]

Schafer has frequently served as host of theGame Developers Choice Awards,including in 2019.

Schafer stood in support ofAnita Sarkeesianand other game developers that were being harassed by supporters ofGamergate,a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, that started in August 2014.[32][33]

Schafer hosted the 2015 Game Developer’s Choice Awards on March 5; during the event one of his jokes referenced the #NotYourShield tag connected to the harassment Campaign.Gamergatesupporters claimed #NotYourShield was used to demonstrate women and minorities supported their cause, but Schafer's remarks spoke to the wider assessment that the tag's use was largely composed ofsockpuppets,which was later proven to be true.[34]Following the event, Gamergate supporters targeted Schafer for harassment by claiming he had been making a joke that mocked the minorities using this hashtag.[35][36]

Gamergate supporters also found other opportunities to target Schafer for harassment, including a decision to expand the scope ofBroken Ageafter its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign raised far more than the amount asked for, and a later decision to seek additional funding for the studio by offering the game's first half for sale onearly access.Since then he continues to be an occasional target of harassment from either GamerGate supporters or those who were swayed by the campaign's claims.[37][38]

Schafer joined with other industry leaders with crowdfunding experience to help create the crowdfunding platformFigin August 2015, serving on its advisory board until March 2020.[39]Through Fig, Schafer announced the sequelPsychonauts 2in December 2015.[40]

In June 2019,Microsoftannounced that it had acquired Double Fine as part ofXbox Game Studios.Schafer stated that while he had not been looking to be acquired, he found the opportunity in his talks with Microsoft to be promising; the acquisition would not affect Double Fine's independence and would still allow the company to publish its pending titles on its own choice of platforms, and would provide the financial security needed for Double Fine to be able to concentrate on developing a quality product.[41]Through this support, Double Fine was able to retain several gameplay elements withinPsychonauts 2,[42]which was eventually released on August 25, 2021, to critical praise.[43]

Influences and philosophy

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In an interview at theGame Developers Conferencein 2003, Schafer stated that he strives for integrating story into the gameplay, setting a creative goal of someday creating a video game without anycutscenesat all.[44]Furthermore, he said he often sets a story in an established world:

"[O]ften, the world is the initial inspiration for the game. One day I was listening to someone tell me their stories of spending the summer in Alaska. They had hung around this one biker bar, with these people with names like Smilin' Rick and Big Phil. And I thought, 'Wow, what a crazy world that is.' It's so apart from everybody's life, and yet it's right there, it's so mundane in a way. And that's where Full Throttle came from."[44]

Recognition

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The press first previewedPsychonautsat theE3trade show in 2002, where it won the Game Critics Award for Best Original Game.[45] An hour-long episode ofIconson theG4 Networkdocumented the last week of the production ofPsychonautsand explored Schafer's career.[46]At the 2006Game Developers Choice Awards,Schafer andErik Wolpawwon the award for Best Writing forPsychonauts.Schafer and Double Fine Executive Producer & COO Caroline Esmurdoc also won the award for Best New Studio. In October 2006, Schafer received aBAFTAvideo game Best Screenplay award forPsychonauts.[47]In 2012, theAustralian Centre for the Moving Image(ACMI) organized the "Game Masters" exhibition, where Schafer was featured as the creator ofGrim Fandango,among a few other visionary designers, credited for having "pushed the boundaries of game design and storytelling, introducing new genres, creating our best-loved characters and revolutionising the way we understand and play games"[3]In 2015, he won the Vanguard Award at Bilbao'sFun & Serious Game Festival.[48]Schafer received the Lifetime Achievement Award from theGame Developers Choice Awardsin March 2018.[49]He received aBAFTA Fellowshipas "a true pioneer of game design, who has pushed the boundaries of the medium through his extraordinary talents" at theBritish Academy Games Awardsin April 2018.[50][51]In February 2023, Schafer was recognized as "a beacon of creativity and innovation in the games industry" by being selected as a Hall of Fame Inductee at the26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awardsby theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[52]

Ludography

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Name Year Credited With Publisher
The Secret of Monkey Island 1990 co-writer, programmer, assistant designer LucasArts
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge 1991 co-writer, programmer, assistant designer LucasArts
Day of the Tentacle 1993 co-designer, co-producer, co-director, co-writer LucasArts
Full Throttle 1995 project leader, writer, designer LucasArts
The Curse of Monkey Island 1997 additional design LucasArts
Grim Fandango 1998 project leader, writer, designer, programmer LucasArts
Star Wars Episode I: Racer 1999 "never actively tried to sabotage the project"[53] LucasArts
Psychonauts 2005 creative director, co-writer, designer Double Fine, Majesco
Brütal Legend 2009 creative director, writer, co-designer Double Fine, Electronic Arts
Costume Quest 2010 studio creative director, co-writer Double Fine, THQ
Stacking 2011 studio creative director Double Fine, THQ
Iron Brigade 2011 studio creative director Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster 2011 studio creative director, writer Double Fine, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Haunt 2012 voice actor[54] NanaOn-Sha,Zoë Mode,Microsoft Studios
Double Fine Happy Action Theater 2012 director Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
Middle Manager of Justice 2012 studio creative director Double Fine, Dracogen
Kinect Party 2012 studio creative director Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
The Cave 2013 studio creative director Double Fine, Sega
Dropchord 2013 studio creative director Double Fine, Dracogen
Broken Age 2014 director, writer Double Fine
Spacebase DF-9 2014 studio creative director Double Fine, Indie Fund
Grim Fandango Remastered 2015 creative director Double Fine
Massive Chalice 2015 studio creative director Double Fine
Day of the Tentacle Remastered 2016 creative director Double Fine
Headlander 2016 studio creative director Double Fine, Adult Swim Games
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin 2017 studio creative director, writer Double Fine
Full Throttle Remastered 2017 creative director Double Fine
Psychonauts 2 2021 creative director, writer Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios

References

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  1. ^Schafer, Tim; Bush, Josh (March 23, 2014).DFGameClub – Broken Age, Act 1(Podcast). Twitch. Event occurs at 1:27:30. Archived fromthe originalon March 23, 2014.RetrievedMarch 23,2014.Like The Secret of Monkey Island, is it more exciting if I keep it a secret forever? Yeah, my full name is Timothy John Schafer.
  2. ^Schafer, Tim (March 23, 2014)."Cheese talks to: Tim Schafer (as a part of the Double Fine Game Club)".DFGameClub(Interview). Interviewed by Josh Bush.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2014.RetrievedMarch 31,2014.
  3. ^abcd"Let the Games Begin".Sunday Herald Sun.Australia. June 24, 2012. p. 12 – "Play" section.
  4. ^Warren, Jamin (June 14, 2011)."Tim Schafer".Kill Screen.RetrievedMarch 17,2012.
  5. ^abcdefRingell, Jaz (June 22, 2015).""I Don't Know if a Duck is Going to Swallow me Whole." The Tim Schafer Interview ".USgamer.Archivedfrom the original on June 23, 2015.RetrievedJune 22,2015.
  6. ^abRogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArtspg. 54
  7. ^"Double Fine – Action News".Double Fine Productions.September 27, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on October 1, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 26,2012.
  8. ^"The Secret of Creating Monkey Island – An Interview With Ron Gilbert".LucasFilm Adventurer vol. 1, number 1 (online transcript).1990.Archivedfrom the original on June 10, 2011.RetrievedDecember 24,2006.
  9. ^Remo, Chris (July 6, 2009)."Back in the Water: The Monkey Island Interview".Gamasutra.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2011.RetrievedDecember 10,2010.
  10. ^"Behind the Scenes: Maniac Mansion + Day of the Tentacle".GamesTM.The Ultimate Retro Companion (3).Imagine Publishing:22–27. 2010.ISSN1448-2606.OCLC173412381.
  11. ^Suellentrop, Chris (April 15, 2017)."Full Throttle's Tim Schafer on Mark Hamill and Being Asked Not to Touch George Lucas".Rolling Stone.Archivedfrom the original on December 6, 2018.RetrievedApril 15,2017.
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  18. ^"Sierra Entertainment and Double Fine Productions unearth ancient tome and decrypt Brütal Legend"(Press release).Double Fine Productions.October 19, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2008.RetrievedMarch 30,2008.
  19. ^"James Gunn & Brutal Legend".The Jace Hall Show.Season 2. Episode 5. April 16, 2009.
  20. ^"Tim Schafer confirms Brutal Legend 2 canceled, announces four games".November 5, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2015.
  21. ^Cifaldi, Frank (February 3, 2012)."Happy Action, Happy Developer: Tim Schafer on Reimagining Double Fine".Gamasutra.Archivedfrom the original on February 5, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 3,2012.
  22. ^Palacios, Tina (January 24, 2012)."Talking Happy Action Theater with Double Fine".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on January 29, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 31,2012.
  23. ^"When making a game is a game in itself".cnn.com.February 10, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on February 13, 2012.
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  28. ^Nunnely, Stephany (June 9, 2014)."Grim Fandango remastered coming to PlayStation".VG247.Archivedfrom the original on June 14, 2014.RetrievedJune 9,2014.
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  30. ^Siddiky, Asif (June 10, 2014)."A Closer Look at Grim Fandango's Surprise Revival".PlayStation Blog.Archivedfrom the original on August 13, 2014.RetrievedJune 10,2014.
  31. ^Albert, Brian (December 6, 2014)."DAY OF THE TENTACLE SPECIAL EDITION ANNOUNCED".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on December 8, 2014.RetrievedDecember 6,2014.
  32. ^Frank, Jenn (September 1, 2014)."How to attack a woman who works in video gaming".The Guardian.RetrievedNovember 27,2017.
  33. ^Conen, Rebecca (October 18, 2014)."These 7 Geek Icons Have Had Enough of #Gamergate. Here's How They're Fighting Back".Mother Jones.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
  34. ^Johnston, Casey (September 9, 2014)."Chat logs show how 4chan users created #GamerGate controversy".
  35. ^Gera, Emily (April 28, 2015)."Tim Schafer on his Broken Age Kickstarter adventure: 'I'd do it again'".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on June 26, 2015.RetrievedJune 25,2015.
  36. ^Griffin, Andrew (March 5, 2015)."Gamergate: Tim Schafer Provokes Rage with 'Not your Shield' Joke About Online Gaming Activists at Industry Awards".Belfast Telegraph.RetrievedSeptember 7,2015.
  37. ^Mulkerin, Tim (September 26, 2017)."Why is video game development so secretive? Online harassment, one developer says".Mic.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
  38. ^Rouner, Jef (January 26, 2016)."Gamers Have Become the New Religious Right".Houston Press.RetrievedNovember 30,2017.
  39. ^"Tim Schafer on why he chose Fig to crowdfund Psychonauts 2".SiliconANGLE.December 7, 2015.RetrievedMarch 2,2024.
  40. ^Hall, Charlie (December 3, 2015)."Psychonauts 2 is in Development, and Anyone Can Profit from its Success".Polygon.RetrievedDecember 6,2015.
  41. ^Favis, Elise (June 23, 2019)."Tim Schafer On Microsoft Acquisition And The Future Of Double Fine".Game Informer.RetrievedJanuary 11,2021.
  42. ^Dring, Christopher (July 9, 2020)."How Minecraft and Mojang taught Xbox how to buy studios".GamesIndustry.biz.RetrievedJuly 9,2020.
  43. ^"Psychonauts 2 is vintage Double Fine in strengths and flaws | Critical Consensus".August 24, 2021.
  44. ^abCelia Pearce (March 7, 2003)."A Conversation with Tim Schafer".Game Studies.Archivedfrom the original on September 14, 2013.RetrievedNovember 6,2014.
  45. ^"Winners 2002".Game Critics Awards.Archivedfrom the original on April 10, 2008.RetrievedMarch 27,2008.
  46. ^"Icons: Tim Schafer Recap".TV.com.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2008.RetrievedMarch 30,2008.
  47. ^"Games Nominations 2006".BAFTA.Archivedfrom the original on December 20, 2008.RetrievedMarch 27,2008.
  48. ^"Tim Schafer recibirá el premio honorífico del festival".Hobby Consolas.April 25, 2015.
  49. ^"Nolan Bushnell, Tim Schafer, and Rami Ismail to be honored at the 2018 GDC Awards!".Gamasutra.January 30, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 30,2018.
  50. ^Handrahan, Matthew (February 21, 2018)."Tim Schafer to receive BAFTA Fellowship".GamesIndustry.biz.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
  51. ^Stuart, Keith (April 24, 2018)."Tim Schafer: 'There were so many occasions when I thought my career in games was over'".The Guardian.RetrievedMarch 24,2019.
  52. ^"Double Fine Productions' Tim Schafer Selected as Hall of Fame Inductee at the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards".Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
  53. ^Schafer, Tim [@TimOfLegend] (May 17, 2023)."The Podracing team sat right next to the Grim team at LucasArts. Once, hanging out in their office, I asked," What credit are you going to give me on Podracer? "" Why would we give you a credit? You didn't do anything to help make this project! "I said," True, but on the other hand, I did nothing to hurt it. "They just couldn't shake the logic I guess!"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  54. ^Sheffield, Brandon (December 29, 2011)."NanaOn-Sha: Changing The World Of Games".Gamasutra.Archivedfrom the original on January 26, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 27,2012.
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