Tim Cain creating "Cain on Games" videos

[SDG]

Is he really gay? I can't even tell. He's just a chill down to earth fuckin dude. If most gay people were like him I wouldn't even be hating. But nah they're mostly screeching psychopaths.

[General Reign]

Yes, we know you have trouble telling the difference between a tranny and a real girl.

[rusty_shackleford]

Blog format:

Hello there! Tim here with a special insomnia edition blog post. It's 3 a.m., and while sleep eludes me, I thought it would be productive to share a bit about the small projects or "toys" as I like to call them that I often work on when boredom sets in.

You may remember the Space Raiders game I introduced previously. It was a nod to Atari's Star Raiders from the '70s. I had a blast creating that game - importing models from the Unity store, designing flying patterns for ships, putting shields on ships, and cracking the optimal way to create a photon torpedo in Unity. The GURPS character editor I unveiled yesterday also garnered quite some attention. I created it in my free time and it eventually led to the development of Fallout. It's always exciting to see where these "toys" can lead.

Recently, I put together a physics-based dice roller using Unity. The aim was to create a six-sided dice model in various colors, roll them, group them, and display what dice rolled to ensure the physics was working as it should. From this fun little exercise, I derived a game called "Dungeons and Dices." Players choose a character class, each with a unique special ability, and roll the dice to attack monsters.

In this game, monsters damage you each round until you defeat them. The dice need to be arranged similarly to Yahtzee patterns. For instance, when facing a rat, I needed a full house — three of one die and two of another. The colors of the dice were irrelevant for this particular monster. After successfully killing the rat, my character leveled up and regained some health. However, damage accumulates with each re-roll.

Another creation of mine is a dungeon generator. It allows me to design a dungeon, then dive into it and navigate my way around. I even tinkered with lighting effects in Unity. The potential for this game is vast but it still needs creatures, character abilities, and props. I've figured out how to incorporate doors, but haven't got around to it yet.

To share a bit about the process, my approach to creating random dungeons starts with a flat surface. Think of it as graph paper. I drop random rooms down, choosing their location, width, and height randomly. If the new room overlaps an existing one, I discard it and keep going until I have around 10 to 20 rooms.

I then treat these rooms as nodes on a graph, connecting them using a method known as Dijkstra's algorithm. This generates a minimum spanning tree connecting all rooms with the fewest hallways possible. However, this makes the dungeon somewhat bland, so I add some edges back to provide multiple routes between rooms. Lastly, I transform this flat surface into a 3D map, using room boundaries to define where floors end and walls begin.

If you're an aspiring game developer, I highly recommend you create these sorts of "toys." They're a great way to turn abstract ideas into tangible experiences and learn along the way. For example, developing the GURPS editor back in the '90s helped me understand Super VGA modes, which informed my later work. Similarly, working with Unity on these games encouraged me to learn Unity UI, physics modeling, and concepts like friction, gravity, and lighting — things I hadn't needed for games like Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny.

Creating "toys" pushes you beyond your comfort zone, helps you evaluate the viability of your ideas, and enhances your ability to refine your concepts. And who knows? One of these projects might even evolve into your next big game.

So, if this has piqued your interest, dive in! There are numerous game engines like Unity, Game

Salad, and Unreal that you can use to sharpen your skills. In fact, I should probably do a video on how to secure a job in the game industry at some point.

Well, that's it from me at this early hour. I hope this post inspires you to realize your own game development ideas. Until next time, have a great day!

Summary:

In the video, game designer Timothy "Tim" Cain shares his late-night game development activities. Struggling with insomnia, Tim finds productive outlets by developing small game projects or "toys" in Unity, a popular game development engine.

He showcases two of his creations:
1. A game called 'Space Raiders', inspired by Atari's Star Raiders from the 70s. Tim integrated models from the Unity store, engineered flying patterns for ships, and developed a mechanism for a photon torpedo in Unity.
2. A 'GURPS character editor' that he developed in his spare time, which was a precursor to the development of Fallout.

He then shares two recent projects:
1. A physics-based dice roller: Tim created a 3D model of a six-sided dice in Unity and worked on creating a dice rolling mechanic. He evolved this project into a game named 'Dungeons and Dices'. The game involves players picking character classes with special abilities, and rolling dice to attack monsters. Players arrange their dice in certain patterns (akin to Yahtzee) to defeat the monsters. The health and XP of the player fluctuates based on their attack strategy and rerolls.
2. A dungeon generator: Tim shares his experiment with creating a random dungeon generator in Unity. He explains that the prototype allows users to generate different dungeon maps and explore them in a first-person perspective. He has yet to add elements such as creatures, character abilities, and props.

To create the dungeon generator, Tim used a technique of randomly placing rooms onto a "flat surface", discarding any rooms that intersect with existing ones. He then used Dijkstra's algorithm to create a minimum spanning tree to determine the least number of hallways needed to connect all rooms. To make it more interesting, he added some additional edges for multiple pathways. He then generated a 3D map where the rooms were turned into floors, and walls were added where rooms stopped.

Throughout the video, Tim emphasizes the value of these experimental game creations. They not only help him step out of his comfort zone, but they also provide him with a platform to test and realize his ideas, which contributes to his learning and development as a game designer. He encourages aspiring game developers to do the same. He suggests using game engines like Unity, Game Salad, or Unreal to bring ideas to life, learn new skills, and eventually refine their own ideas. He ends the video by considering the idea of making a future video on how to get a job in the game industry.

Getting better at proooompting. Simply editing a previous prompt seems to actually keep the pre-edited version in the history too, you need to create an entirely new chat to clear the history.

[rusty_shackleford]

This post is just me optimizing proooompts and getting feedback, no need to read it if you just want the videos.

► Show Spoiler

Summary from the same video, v2(using a different prompt):

In this video, Timothy Cain, renowned game designer, shares his thoughts on game design principles, discusses the challenges encountered during development projects, and provides insight into his creative process.

At the beginning of the video, Tim presents a few personal projects or 'toys' that he creates when he's bored. These projects include a Space Raiders game inspired by Atari's Star Raiders from the 70s, where he worked on models, flying patterns, and photon torpedo development in Unity. He also mentions a GURPS character editor that later influenced the development of Fallout.

He proceeds to demonstrate a recent creation of his: a physics-based dice roller game called Dungeons and Dices. It's a Unity project where players choose a character class, roll dice, and use them to attack monsters. The mechanics require players to arrange dice in patterns similar to Yahtzee. Each successful attack provides experience and health, while failure to defeat a monster results in the player taking damage.

Next, Cain reveals a procedural dungeon generator he built in Unity. This tool creates random dungeons, allowing users to walk through them. He explains the algorithm used to create these dungeons: he randomly generates a set of rooms and then connects them using Dijkstra's algorithm, ensuring there are multiple paths between rooms.

Cain stresses the value of creating these types of 'toys' for aspiring game developers. By doing so, developers can not only realize their ideas but also expand their skill sets. Cain's own experience with these small projects helped him learn about aspects like Unity UI, physics modeling, friction, gravity, and lighting, elements he hadn't used extensively in his past games like Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny.

Further, Cain emphasizes that it's vital for developers to learn to edit their own ideas, a skill he admits took him a while to develop. He encourages budding game designers to pick up game engines like Unity, Unreal, or Game Salad, and learn to refine their ideas through practical application.

Towards the end of the video, he hints at possibly creating future content discussing how to land a job in the gaming industry. He concludes by encouraging viewers to experiment and create, further honing their skills in game development.

Let me know which is worse/better so I know which way to continue.

[edit]
(got feedback on IRC)

V3:

Timothy Cain, a renowned game designer, speaks about his experiences, design principles, challenges, and advice for aspirants in a video titled "Canine Games Insomnia Edition". Dealing with a bout of insomnia, he explores the games and applications he has created during such sleepless nights.

He discusses a game he created called "Space Raiders", a tribute to Atari's Star Raiders from the 70s. This game involved creating models, designing ship flying patterns, and creating a photon torpedo using Unity, a popular game development platform.

Cain also showcases a GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) character editor, a tool he developed in his spare time. He mentions how it eventually led to his work on the classic RPG, Fallout, demonstrating how side projects can often lead to major breakthroughs.

Among his recent creations is a physics-based dice roller game in Unity called "Dungeons and Dices". This game involves character classes, dice rolling, monster battles, and damage management, drawing on mechanics similar to the game Yahtzee. Players have to arrange dice in specific patterns to defeat monsters, with damage dealt each round until the monsters are defeated.

Another intriguing project he mentions is a dungeon generator, a tool capable of randomly creating dungeons. He goes into the technical details of this creation, explaining how he designed it using an algorithm called Dijkstra's algorithm for minimum spanning trees. He hints at future enhancements for this project, like adding creatures and character abilities, emphasizing how these "toys" push him to learn new skills.

Throughout the video, Cain emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience for aspiring game developers. Creating such "toys", he argues, forces one to learn new concepts, test ideas, and step out of one's comfort zone, which aids in professional growth. He also encourages the use of game development platforms like Unity, Game Salad, and Unreal Engine to realize ideas and hone skills. Finally, he mentions a possible future video topic: advice on entering the game industry.

V3, pronoun variant:

Timothy Cain, known for his remarkable contributions to the gaming industry, shared his journey as a game developer in this insightful video. Dealing with bouts of insomnia, he spent the early hours of the morning creating "toys" or simple game models. He shared examples of these models, like a space-based game inspired by Atari's Star Raiders and a character editor for the game GURPS, which later contributed to the development of Fallout.

Tim showcased a couple of his recent creations built using Unity. The first was a physics-based dice roller, which he then expanded into a game called "Dungeons and Dices". This game revolves around rolling dice to attack monsters, which in turn can inflict damage if not defeated quickly. The dice arrangements follow patterns similar to Yahtzee and each character class has a unique ability that can affect the gameplay.

He also shared his exploration into dungeon generation. Using Unity's tools, he created a random dungeon generator. The generated dungeons could be explored in a 3D environment, complete with lighting effects. He spoke about the future potential of this model, suggesting that he might add creatures, abilities, and other props to the dungeons.

Tim also described his dungeon generation process. He used a system of random rooms and hallways to create a unique layout for each dungeon, and Dijkstra's algorithm to connect these rooms and form a coherent map.

Tim emphasized the value of creating such "toys", especially for aspiring game developers. These simple projects push individuals to learn new skills, test ideas, and step out of their comfort zone. He mentioned how building these models helped him learn about super VGA modes and Unity UI, among other things. He ended by urging viewers interested in game development to pick up a game engine like Unity or Unreal, and start turning their ideas into reality.

[rusty_shackleford]

► Summary

Tim discussed his journey and struggles with progressive full-spectrum color blindness and its impact on his work in the gaming industry. A late diagnosis in his early twenties revealed his gradual color perception deterioration, which ultimately affected the way he played and created games.

One of his initial experiences was with a game at Interplay, 'Out of This World,' where pastel color codes for copy protection posed a challenge for his specific color blindness. He noted that such scenarios could make games unplayable for people like him, though this experience seemed not to have much effect on the game's release.

As the years went by, his color perception worsened, losing many reds, greens, and shades of blue. He used an image desaturation experiment to show others the extent of his color blindness, illustrating how similar a full-color image and a desaturated one looked to him.

Despite his condition, Cain had an influential role in game design, including key aspects like the color palette for Fallout. His approach was based on RGB values rather than actual color perception, which led to innovative decisions like the blue and yellow color scheme of the player's vault suit.

While at Obsidian, developing a game called 'Armored Warfare,' Cain faced difficulties distinguishing between friendly and enemy tanks due to the color-coded outlines. A similar issue arose with crafting in World of Warcraft before the inclusion of a colorblind mode.

When creating 'The Outer Worlds,' Cain ensured the UI was initially designed in grayscale to accommodate his color perception. Only after he was able to navigate effectively were colors added, ensuring that the game would be playable for any form of color blindness. As such, they didn't need a separate color blindness setting for this game.

His condition often makes playing new games challenging, especially those heavily reliant on red and green to signify important elements. Despite the struggles, he noted that developers are gradually improving game design to make it more accessible for colorblind people and others with similar disabilities.

Cain emphasized the importance of inclusive design, with attention to aspects like adjustable font sizes and subtitles. Despite the difficulties he faces in everyday life due to his color blindness, he continues to advocate for better design standards to ensure games can be enjoyed by everyone.

[WhiteShark]

Colorblind modes, subtitles, and UI/font scaling are the good kind of "inclusive designs" and should be encouraged. Especially UI/font scaling. I hate it when playing on a higher resolution makes the UI unreadably small. Also interesting that he picked the Fallout colors just by RGB values. I guess if you're colorblind you can operate off of color theory without bias.

[Dead]

Just make a black and white game lmao

[rusty_shackleford]

Big roundup.

Tim shares his personal journey into the gaming industry and offers pragmatic advice to aspiring game designers.

Tim's journey into the gaming industry began with a profound fascination for games, ignited by playing Pong and the Atari VCS during his early years. By the age of 13, he was designing his own games and even sent them to Atari, though he was encouraged to first go to college. His foray into professional game development happened at the age of 16 when his knowledge of extended graphics modes of the Atari 800 computer secured him a job at a local game company.

However, Tim acknowledges that his path into the industry may not be replicable for everyone, and thus provides concrete advice based on his extensive experience in the hiring process. His main advice is simple yet impactful: Make a game. Despite possible initial hesitations for those who might not know coding or game assembly, Tim emphasizes that there are numerous accessible game engines out there, like Unity, Unreal, Godot, and Game Salad, which provide the necessary tools for virtually anyone to make a game.

He explains that individuals who have taken the initiative to realize their ideas into a tangible game automatically stand out in the hiring process. This action demonstrates not just the individual's creativity, but also their ability to realize their ideas, their understanding of what makes a good game, and their capacity to determine which ideas work well together. Tim strongly encourages aspiring game designers to take that extra step to bring their ideas into existence. As such, the strength of a demo game, or even just the quality of the source code, can potentially secure a candidate a job in the gaming industry.

While he acknowledges that there are other ways to get into the industry, such as getting lucky or being significantly more advanced than other candidates, Tim insists that actively making a game is the most reliable and rewarding path to a job in the gaming industry. He concludes his talk with a motivating message, encouraging viewers to go out and secure jobs in the video game industry.

Timothy Cain's inaugural journey in the gaming industry began in 1981, as a high school student employed by a company initially known as Pegasus Software, later renamed to Cybron. Initially, he was hired to develop tools for artists working with the Atari 800's impressive graphics modes. However, he soon became involved in his first shipped game: a bridge card game.

Despite having no personal experience playing bridge, Tim found himself a part of the development team, tasked with translating rules and flowcharts provided by bridge expert Nathan Schneiderman into C code. This task exposed him to the difficulties of game development, the importance of accurate rule implementation, and the challenge of programming unfamiliar game mechanics.

Tim learned a significant amount about C programming during this project, sharing his knowledge with the lead programmer, Fred Klein. This included the power of enumerations, though he found his colleague less receptive to the concept of recursion.

One notable challenge was optimizing the game's card shuffling mechanism. Originally, the system was slow and potentially capable of running indefinitely due to poor design. Tim suggested an improved method known as the Fisher-Yates Shuffle, which resolved the issue and significantly improved game performance.

The bridge game was published by Electronic Arts in 1986. The game was entirely text-based, featuring ASCII characters for graphics. Despite its primitive appearance by modern standards, it was considered visually appealing at the time.

However, upon his return in 1987, Tim found Cybron out of business, leaving him jobless for the summer. Moreover, despite his contributions to the bridge game, he discovered later that his name had been excluded from the game's credits. This was a stark introduction to some of the ethical issues surrounding credit attribution in the game industry, something Tim would strive to handle better in his future projects.

Despite these early trials, Tim's career progressed. He successfully obtained a Master's degree and sent his resume to several companies, leading to an interview with Interplay. Despite initial skepticism about his uncredited work on the bridge game, he was eventually hired, leading to opportunities to work on other titles such as Bard's Tale and Rags to Riches.

In summary, Timothy Cain's early experiences in the gaming industry served as a crucial learning period. He navigated technical challenges, ethical dilemmas, and the unpredictability of the industry, lessons that would shape his future career. Despite early hardships, his passion and persistence eventually led him to become a notable figure in game development.

Tim discusses his experiences in the gaming industry, focusing on play testing in the development of games like The Outer Worlds, Temple of Elemental Evil, and Vampire Bloodlines. He reflects on the importance of diligent and diverse play testing, sharing anecdotes about past mishaps caused by neglecting certain character types during quality assurance (QA).

In Temple of Elemental Evil, an external QA team overlooked the bard character, leading to an uncaught game-crashing bug. A similar issue occurred in Vampire Bloodlines when QA chose not to play the Nosferatu Clan. Cain praised the internal QA team on The Outer Worlds project for their thorough testing, which resulted in a game largely free of bugs at launch. He credited lead QA tester Taylor Swope for maintaining open communication and inventing a program that randomly generated game builds, promoting a diverse range of testing scenarios.

Cain then shared details of his personal playthrough experiences of The Outer Worlds, providing insights into the game's versatility and design. He completed 16 diverse runs of the game, each time adopting a unique play style and character build to test game mechanics, storyline paths, dialogue options, combat effectiveness, and character interactions.

Finally, he emphasized that game design often involves planning for unexpected player choices and managing a wide array of character options and game outcomes. He recommended The Outer Worlds to players seeking a game that allows for a wide variety of play styles and character choices. His closing advice for aspiring game designers centered on understanding player behavior, valuing play testing, and appreciating QA teams' essential role in game development.

Tim shared an insightful journey through his experiences with the gaming industry, particularly highlighting the genesis of reactivity in his computer games which was heavily influenced by early tabletop gaming. He delved into his use of "dumb" characters and flawed characters, connecting these aspects back to his early tabletop experiences with his high school friends.

Cain presented specific stories from his tabletop games that showcased varying player styles and their unexpected actions. These tales, while humorous and captivating, also reflected the challenge and thrill of designing games that can accommodate an array of player choices and strategies. For instance, he talked about a player character who created a complex trap-filled dungeon, another who pursued a quest for gloves of dexterity, and yet another who managed to persist through multiple deaths and reincarnations.

Cain also highlighted his experience running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in grad school. This campaign was distinctive due to its cooperative nature, with players actively sharing resources and applauding each other’s achievements. He pondered if this cooperative spirit could be attributed to the group's composition and shared experiences in grad school.

He recounted an extraordinary storyline involving a player character negotiating with an anti-paladin and a demon, leading to unexpected consequences. This demonstrated the intriguing narrative possibilities provided by dialogue and role-playing elements in games.

Cain finished by distilling valuable game design lessons from his experiences. He highlighted the importance of expecting the unexpected from players, the value of dialogue in creating unique situations, and recognizing that different players have different preferences and styles of play. These experiences significantly influenced his approach to video game design, leading to the introduction of reactivity - the game world's responsive changes based on player actions - in his computer games.

In summary, Timothy Cain's insights underscored the intricacies of game design and the importance of considering player individuality, unpredictability, and creativity. His experiences illuminated his commitment to delivering games that offer immersive and diverse experiences, encapsulating the richness of his journeys in the gaming industry.

Tim shared his journey in creating the seminal game, Fallout, at Interplay, focusing on its development process, the obstacles encountered, and its ultimate success.

He first addressed the misconception that Fallout was not a top-tier project at Interplay. Fallout began as a "B-tier" project, a status Cain and his team appreciated as it allowed them creative freedom and limited management interference. He noted that Fallout's success might not have been possible had it been developed under more rigorous and traditional planning processes.

The team comprised three types of people: inexperienced but eager beginners, quiet powerhouses (talented yet understated), and so-called 'problem' employees, whom Cain found to be valuable contributors. Fallout was almost cancelled multiple times, but Cain successfully advocated for its continuance, arguing that it catered to a unique audience not served by traditional fantasy RPGs.

The project gained internal recognition only when QA staff began playing it voluntarily and Brian Fargo, founder of Interplay, enjoyed a demo version. Post this, marketing began showing interest, but even then, there was no sequel planned until the game was well received internally.

Despite a lack of initial support and facing multiple cancellation attempts, the team persevered. Cain revealed that Fallout was often seen as a stepping stone for the team to work on more 'worthwhile' projects. However, as the game neared completion, others began to recognize its potential.

Fallout was ultimately well-received, sparking interest in a sequel. Yet, Cain wasn't interested in sequels, leading to the creation of a separate team for Fallout 2. Cain ended his talk hinting at why he left Fallout 2 during development, promising to reveal this in his next talk.

His advice for future developers underscored the importance of passion, hard work, belief in your project, and not to fear taking an unorthodox approach to game development. Cain concluded by sharing that despite challenges, he still cherishes his work on Fallout and even its less successful sequel, Temple of Elemental Evil.

[The_Mask]

Just make a black and white game lmao

You laugh, but there are some amazing games that are black and white.

[rusty_shackleford]

Just make a black and white game lmao

You laugh, but there are some amazing games that are black and white.

Black and White was decent.

[GhostCow]

Just make a black and white game lmao

You laugh, but there are some amazing games that are black and white.

Black and White was decent.

It was a lot better than decent. I would kill for a remake or sequel.

[The_Mask]

What the fuck are you 2 idiots talking about?!? ROFLMAO!

B&W was probably the more overhyped piece of shit in the history of videogames. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!

[GhostCow]

What the fuck are you 2 idiots talking about?!? ROFLMAO!

B&W was probably the more overhyped piece of shit in the history of videogames. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!

Everything Peter Molyneux worked on was over hyped. That was his thing. Doesn't mean that his games weren't good.

[KnightoftheWind]

We have faggot Tim Cain's AIDS to thank for such classics as Fallout.

[The_Mask]

Bro... Peter Molyneaux's only good game was Populous 3: The Beginning, and that's it. Toiling 30h so that your pseudo-Tamagochi sprinkles some water on top of some farmland, does not a good videogame make.

And don't even get me started on the suspicious lack of wood pretty much every map had. I don't think Peter ever played his own game(s).

[MadPreacher]

Bro... Peter Molyneaux's only good game was Populous 3: The Beginning, and that's it. Toiling 30h so that your pseudo-Tamagochi sprinkles some water on top of some farmland, does not a good videogame make.

And don't even get me started on the suspicious lack of wood pretty much every map hand. I don't think Peter ever played his own game(s).

I disagree as Populas 1 and 2 were awesome.

[GhostCow]

Bro... Peter Molyneaux's only good game was Populous 3: The Beginning, and that's it. Toiling 30h so that your pseudo-Tamagochi sprinkles some water on top of some farmland, does not a good videogame make.

And don't even get me started on the suspicious lack of wood pretty much every map hand. I don't think Peter ever played his own game(s).

I liked both Black & White games, Dungeon Keeper, and the first Fable

[The_Mask]

I'm not gonna use Chat GPT for summaries. But I have posted this before Rusty has a chance, because the title sounds interesting:

Tim shared deep insights into his experience working on the initial stages of Fallout 2, his struggles, and ultimately his departure from the project.

Cain started by emphasizing how the original design of Fallout 2 was quite similar to the final product, especially concerning the initial locations such as Arroyo, Klamath, The Den, and Modoc. However, some elements diverged significantly from the initial pitch after he left the project early in 1998. For instance, he mentioned the portrayal of The Enclave and the proposed spaceship that didn't make it into the final game.

He emphasized his role in balancing the humor in the original Fallout game, ensuring jokes did not depend on specific cultural knowledge and that they did not break the fourth wall excessively. He felt that this subtlety was lost in Fallout 2, with more overt, less accessible humor that detracted from the game's tone.

Cain also discussed the tumultuous development process and the pressures he faced after the success of Fallout. He expressed his exhaustion after a year of crunching on Fallout, and the prospect of another similar year working on Fallout 2 was daunting. With Fallout's success, there was increased scrutiny and interference from others within the company who had previously ignored the project. He mentioned a specific instance about a dispute over the game's box cover design as an example of this interference.

Furthermore, he disclosed a previously unshared incident regarding the distribution of bonuses after Fallout's successful launch. He had created a detailed and objective system for bonus distribution based on employee salaries, duration on the project, and their unique contributions. However, he discovered that his bonus had been significantly reduced without his knowledge, which he attributed to a disagreement with Brian Fargo, the company's founder, over a bug and a dispute about another team member's bonus.

Feeling devalued and overworked, he drafted a resignation letter. After discussing his decision with his colleagues and handing in his resignation, two other team members also decided to leave the project. Despite the bitter end to his involvement, Cain expressed no ill-will towards the game and encouraged players to enjoy Fallout 2 for the efforts of the dedicated team that completed it.

This discussion provides valuable insights into the challenges of game development, highlighting the importance of proper recognition, open communication, and work-life balance within a project team.

[The_Mask]

Having heard the video several times now, I can only conclude that everyone in upper management at Interplay was a complete tool, that was just very fortunate to have employees smarter and more talented than they were.

The absolute mismanagement was crazy, if even 10% of Tim's saying is true.

[The_Mask]

Hour long video. Enjoy.

[maidenhaver]

[The_Mask]

You can do your thing again, Rusty... I ain't adding summaries.

Game designer Timothy Cain provides insight into the development process of the Fallout series, discussing what's often referred to as 'cut content'. He emphasizes that the question of what content did not make it into the final game fascinates fans. Cain, however, clarifies that he left all original code and design documents with Interplay, his previous company.

Despite not having the original assets, Cain kept detailed notes since grad school, aiding him to construct a timeline for Fallout. He admits that not much content was cut, and that which was cut was either deemed a poor fit for the game or left incomplete due to bugs or time constraints.

He discusses several examples of cut content from Fallout and Fallout 2. These include:

1. Terminator-style robots: Despite a designer's pitch, these were rejected as they didn't match the game's established aesthetic, namely a Robbie the Robot style.
2. Talking animals: Cain had a strong aversion to anthropomorphic creatures in Fallout, leading to the cut of talking raccoons and deathclaws.
3. Various themed gangs: Planned for the LA area, these groups were never fully implemented due to time constraints.
4. The Interplay building: This was meant to feature as a location in the game, but didn't make it to the final cut.
5. The Abbey of Lost Knowledge: This was based on Walter Miller's Canticle for Leibowitz and designed for Fallout 2, featuring a monastery preserving knowledge. However, it was never completed.

Cain highlights the importance of accepting when content needs to be cut, either because it's not ready, it's buggy, or it simply doesn't fit the game. He encourages designers to define clear goals for their games, aiding in making decisions about which ideas suit the game and which don't. This principle, he concludes, applied to much of the cut content from the Fallout series.

[rusty_shackleford]

Cain highlights the importance of accepting when content needs to be cut, either because it's not ready, it's buggy, or it simply doesn't fit the game

A lot of "cut content" mods could learn from this. Sometimes content was cut just because it wasn't wanted, not time constraints.

[GhostCow]

Cain highlights the importance of accepting when content needs to be cut, either because it's not ready, it's buggy, or it simply doesn't fit the game

A lot of "cut content" mods could learn from this. Sometimes content was cut just because it wasn't wanted, not time constraints.

Like when Wesp readded that stupid turnstile in the club in Bloodlines

[Shillitron]

> Tim makes pride month video to discuss his trials and tribulations as a gay man
> Someone posts a comment saying "stick to games - don't care about your personal life"
> This:

[Sweeper]

kek what an absolute fucking faggot

[Shillitron]

I love how snarky and indignant he is.

Tim Cain kinda reminds me of boogie in a way.. he plays the fatso "nice guy".. until you offend him - then he becomes a vindictive little tyrant.

[rusty_shackleford]

skipped the gay video, thought whatever, saw the snarky video he made because someone didn't want to hear about him being a fudgepacker and unsubscribed

only thing of note in the gay video is that he made good games until he was out of the closet then made shitty games

[wndrbr]

he plays the fatso "nice guy".. until you offend him - then he becomes a vindictive little tyrant.

sounds like Fluent

[Segata]

only thing of note in the gay video is that he made good games until he was out of the closet then made shitty games

They often say limitations drive creativity; might be true even on a metaphysical sense.