Tim Schafer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tim Schafer
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Schafer in 2016
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Timothy John Schafer
July 26, 1967 Sonoma, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Game designer, game programmer, game writer |
| Spouse(s) | Rachael Schafer |
Timothy John Schafer (born July 26, 1967) is an American video game designer. He started his own company, Double Fine Productions, in July 2000. Before that, he worked at LucasArts for over ten years.
Schafer is well-known for designing popular games like Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, and Broken Age. He also helped design Day of the Tentacle and the Monkey Island games. He is famous in the video game world for his amazing stories and funny writing style. He has received special honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Choice Awards and a BAFTA Fellowship, for all his contributions to the gaming industry.
Contents
Tim Schafer's Journey in Gaming
Early Days and LucasArts (1989–2000)
Tim Schafer was born on July 26, 1967, in Sonoma, California. He was the youngest of five children. While studying computer science at UC Berkeley, Tim became very interested in writing. He was inspired by authors who wrote stories in their free time.
He applied for jobs at big tech companies but didn't get hired. Then, he saw a job opening at Lucasfilm Games (which later became LucasArts). They were looking for programmers who could also write game dialogue. This sounded perfect for him!
During his job interview, he accidentally called a game by the wrong name. To make up for it, Tim sent a funny comic strip. It showed him applying for the job and getting it, like a text adventure game. This creative move helped him get hired by LucasArts in 1989.
His first job was to help implement ideas for games using LucasArts' special game engine called SCUMM. He helped test games and worked on the NES version of Maniac Mansion. Tim and another designer, Dave Grossman, learned how to use the game engine from Ron Gilbert, a famous game creator.
Later, Ron Gilbert asked Tim and Dave to work on his new pirate-themed adventure game. This game became the highly praised The Secret of Monkey Island. Tim and Dave wrote a lot of the dialogue for this game. They then worked together on the sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
Tim Schafer's first main role on a game was co-designing Day of the Tentacle with Dave Grossman. This was a funny time-travel adventure game. After that, Tim worked alone on Full Throttle, a biker adventure game released in 1995.
He then designed the very popular Grim Fandango. This was a mystery adventure game inspired by Mexican traditions. Grim Fandango won many awards, including Game of the Year in 1998.
Starting Double Fine Productions (2000–Present)
Tim Schafer left LucasArts in January 2000 to start his own company, Double Fine Productions. His first game there was the platform game Psychonauts, released in 2005. Even though critics loved Psychonauts, it didn't sell well at first. However, Double Fine later got the rights back to the game. After that, it started selling much better.
Tim has also hosted the annual Game Developers Choice Awards multiple times. In 2007 and 2009, he hosted the event, and Double Fine even released a free online game about him hosting it!
Schafer then led the creation of Brütal Legend, released in 2009. This game was a tribute to heavy metal music and art. It featured the voice of actor Jack Black and even real rock musicians like Lemmy Kilmister and Ozzy Osbourne. Tim said he always saw a connection between medieval battles and heavy metal music.
During the development of Brütal Legend, Tim started a special tradition called "Amnesia Fortnights." Once a year, his team would take two weeks to work on small, new game ideas. This helped them come up with fresh concepts. After Brütal Legend was released, Double Fine used these ideas to create smaller, successful games like Costume Quest, Stacking, and Iron Brigade. These games helped the company stay strong financially.
In 2012, Tim Schafer directed Double Fine Happy Action Theater. He created this game so he could play something fun with his young daughter.
In February 2012, Tim Schafer launched a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter for a new adventure game. He called it "Double Fine Adventure." He wanted to see if players were interested in funding an adventure game directly. The project quickly raised much more money than expected, becoming one of the most successful Kickstarter projects at the time. This project eventually became Broken Age, released in two parts in 2014 and 2015.
Double Fine also worked with The Walt Disney Company to get the rights to Tim's older LucasArts games: Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango. Double Fine then released updated, remastered versions of these classic games.
In 2015, Schafer helped create a new crowdfunding platform called Fig. Through Fig, he announced the sequel to Psychonauts, called Psychonauts 2, in December 2015.
In June 2019, Microsoft announced that it had bought Double Fine. Tim Schafer said this was a great opportunity. It would allow Double Fine to keep its creative freedom and give them the financial support needed to make high-quality games. With Microsoft's help, Psychonauts 2 was released in August 2021 to great reviews.
Tim Schafer's Game Design Ideas
In an interview, Tim Schafer shared his approach to making games. He tries to weave the story directly into the gameplay. His goal is to create games without any separate movie-like scenes (called cutscenes). He also often starts by building an interesting world for his games.
He once said that the world itself can be the first idea for a game. For example, he heard stories about a biker bar in Alaska with unique people. He thought, "Wow, what a wild world that is!" This idea then led to the game Full Throttle.
Awards and Recognition
Psychonauts won the Game Critics Award for Best Original Game at the E3 trade show in 2002. A TV show called Icons even made an hour-long episode about Tim Schafer's career and the making of Psychonauts.
At the 2006 Game Developers Choice Awards, Tim Schafer won an award for Best Writing for Psychonauts. He also won an award for Best New Studio for Double Fine. In October 2006, he received a BAFTA video game award for Best Screenplay for Psychonauts.
In 2012, an exhibition called "Game Masters" featured Tim Schafer as a visionary designer. He was recognized for pushing the limits of game design and storytelling. In 2015, he won the Vanguard Award at a festival in Spain.
Tim Schafer received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Choice Awards in March 2018. He also received a BAFTA Fellowship in April 2018, recognized as "a true pioneer of game design." In February 2023, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
Games Tim Schafer Worked On
| Game Name | Year | His Role | Publisher |
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| 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 |
| 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 |
| Double Fine Happy Action Theater | 2012 | Director | Double Fine, Microsoft Studios |
| Broken Age | 2014 | Director, writer | Double Fine |
| Grim Fandango Remastered | 2015 | Creative director | Double Fine |
| Day of the Tentacle Remastered | 2016 | Creative director | Double Fine |
| Full Throttle Remastered | 2017 | Creative director | Double Fine |
| Psychonauts 2 | 2021 | Creative director, writer | Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios |
Images for kids
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Schafer in 2016
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Schafer and other game developers at a BAFTA event in Los Angeles in July 2011. From left: Rod Humble, Louis Castle, David Perry, Brenda Brathwaite, John Romero, Will Wright, Tim Schafer, Chris Hecker.
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Schafer and 2 Player Productions at PAX Prime 2012
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Schafer has frequently served as host of the Game Developers Choice Awards, including in 2019.
See also
In Spanish: Tim Schafer para niños
