Tim Cain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tim Cain
Cain on the GDC Online 2010
Born	Timothy Cain
Nationality	American
Occupation	Programmer, designer, producer
Employer	Obsidian Entertainment
Known for	Creator of Fallout series
Spouse(s)	Robert Land ​ (m. 2011)​

Timothy Cain is an American video game developer and YouTuber. He is famous for creating, producing, and designing the 1997 video game Fallout. In 2009, IGN named him one of the top 100 game creators ever.

Early life and education

Tim Cain went to college at the University of Virginia. He then attended graduate school in California. While studying, he helped a friend program a card game called Grand Slam Bridge. This game was released in 1986. In 1989, he earned a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine.

Career in game development

Starting at Interplay Entertainment

In 1994, Tim Cain was the only person working on a new game for a few months. This game later became the well-known post-apocalyptic RPG called Fallout. He created the main idea for the game. He also started programming its special top-down game engine.

The development of Fallout took three and a half years. The game was finally released in 1997. During this time, Tim also helped with programming for other games. He was a consultant for Stonekeep (1995) and helped code Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1997).

When Fallout 2 was being made, Tim Cain felt that the sales and marketing teams had too much say. He believed this made the game lose some of its original vision. He later shared that he felt unhappy when he left the company.

Founding Troika Games

Tim Cain (middle) with the two other co-founders of Troika Games: Jason Anderson (left) and Leonard Boyarsky (right).

After leaving Interplay, Tim Cain co-founded a new company called Troika Games. Here, he worked on a game based on Dungeons & Dragons. This game was The Temple of Elemental Evil, released in 2003. He was the project leader and lead designer. Even though he enjoyed making the game, he was a bit disappointed with the final result.

In 2004, another company, Bethesda, gained the rights to the Fallout games. Tim Cain expressed his disappointment about this change.

He had mixed feelings about Fallout 3, which Bethesda made. He liked that Bethesda understood the Fallout story. He also liked how they adapted the "S. P. E. C. I. A. L." system for a FPS-RPG. However, he thought the humor was not quite right. He also felt it reused too many story ideas from earlier Fallout games.

Tim Cain also helped program Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines in 2004. This was a horror RPG and the last game Troika made. He tried to get funding for another post-apocalyptic RPG, but no company would support it. Because of this, Troika Games had to close in February 2005.

Working at Carbine Studios and Obsidian Entertainment

After Troika Games, Tim Cain joined Carbine Studios. He worked there as a programming director on a fantasy online game. He was later promoted to design director. He left Carbine Studios in 2011.

In 2011, Tim Cain joined Obsidian Entertainment as a senior programmer. He worked on Pillars of Eternity, a game funded by fans through Kickstarter. He also helped direct The Outer Worlds. Since June 2020, Tim Cain has worked for Obsidian on a contract basis. He is helping with the sequel to The Outer Worlds. He also works for two other companies.

Personal life

Tim Cain has color blindness, which means he sees fewer colors than most people. He enjoys cooking, especially Japanese and Chinese cuisine. His favorite dishes include garlic chicken fried rice and chicken karaage. He married his husband, Robert Land, on July 14, 2011.

Games Tim Cain worked on

See also

In Spanish: Tim Cain para niños