Tim Cain

• Arcanum 2
• Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (Project Leader/Lead Programmer)
• Bard's Tale Construction Set (Programmer)
• Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game (Additional Programming)
• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game (Producer/Lead Programmer)
• Temple of Elemental Evil (Lead Designer/Project Leader)
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Programmer)

• Tim Cain - A Christmas Lesson on CRPG Design

• Temple of Elemental Evil interview

Arcanum and More with Tim Cain ( Interview )
posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Mon 12 July 2010, 15:44:59
More info on Tim Cain

The 3rd and last part of Matt Chat featuring Tim Cain is now available.

thanks to Fat Dragon.

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Tim Cain on Matt Chat Part II ( Interview )
posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Mon 05 July 2010, 19:23:52
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Following up Part I Matt keeps on chatting with Tim Cain, the man who hasn't forsaken us entirely but loves us from afar instead.

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Tim Cain on Matt Chat ( Interview )
posted by Jason on Mon 28 June 2010, 17:46:23
More info on Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game - More info on Tim Cain

Writer Matt Baron has added Tim Cain to his harem of Matt Chat interviewees. Tim discusses Dungeons & Dragons, Wasteland, Fallout, and the superior graphics of the Atari 800.

Thanks to  phanboy_iv and ksjav for pointing this out

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Tim Cain interviewed by DAC ( Interview )
posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Mon 22 February 2010, 11:32:16
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There's a new interview up with original Fallout creator (and former Troika founder) Tim Cain over yonder at DAC.
He talks about the Fallout series, as well as about his own unreleased design for a sequel to Fallout. In addition, he talks about Troika's mystery post apocalyptic game.

DAC: What are your thoughts and opinions on Fallout 3 and its various DLCs from Bethesda? Did you play/finish the game?

Tim: I played and finished Fallout 3 as soon as it came out. I really enjoyed the game, and I think Bethesda’s designers had really done their homework. The game showed they had a deep understanding and knowledge of the key aspects of the original games. I even replayed it a few times to see how I could have different experiences, and I had fun with that.

Of course, I would have done things differently if I had made it.

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Tim Cain's unnamed MMORPG @ Carbine ( Interview )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 11 October 2009, 04:07:14
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It's MMO but we lub Timmy so without further ado, "Tim Cain on Carbine’s Mystery Project, and a Lifetime of Working and Teaching in the Gaming Industry":

Tim Cain: I’m Timothy Cain, I’m the Design Director. Which means I’m in charge of the design department, which we split into Systems, and World.

Systems is combat, creatures, items… basically everything that requires a specification. World is all the lore, and content.
[...]
Tim Cain: Yes, it’s very possible for a game to be art.
[...]
Tim Cain: That actually is the challenge. That’s one of the things we explore every day. I know how to tell a story in a single player RPG, I’ve done it multiple times. What’s fascinating to me about MMOs, is the first ones that were made were very sandbox.

There were no stories, there really weren’t even quests, the way a lot of people today would view quests.
[...]
I think people have been trained that an MMO has to be a certain way, and that they have to think of their progress as their experience bar. There’s other ways that are equally rewarding that are not necessarily, “You got two thousand experience points for doing this quest.”

That’s what we’re exploring, because I think our game actually begins when you hit the level cap.
[...]
I have all the D&D books from First Edition up to Four, keep dice in my office… in fact, one of the first booth I went to here was the Chessex booth. I don’t need to buy any more dice, I have enough, but for some reason I like looking at it.

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Tim Cain is a Cocktease ( Interview )
posted by baby arm on Mon 20 April 2009, 09:02:15
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MMOs are generally verboten around here (despite the unspoken fact that a full third of all Codexers have had a WoW or Hello Kitty Online addiction at some point), but when Tim Cain starts talking about his latest project for Carbine Studios and throws around words like "Arcanum" and "explosive collars", it's hard to not pay attention.

ZAM: We know that your current project is an original IP with fantasy elements. However, you've previously said that it's not entirely fantasy-based. What else can you tell us about the game's setting?

Tim: Remember my game Arcanum? It postulated a world where magic and science were at odds with each other, and ultimately you had to decide to embrace one or the other, or to forever walk the fine line between. This game is entirely not like that game.

ZAM: Finally, is there anything else you can tell us about your current project?

Tim: Here's a list of some of my favourite things: explosions, zombies, lasers, robots, ambient music, pets, giant monsters, dark humor and moral grey areas. All but one of these things is in my game.

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Tim Cain spills the beans at Edge Online ( Interview )
posted by DarkUnderlord on Sat 25 October 2008, 07:19:53
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What's Tim Cain Up To? Edge Online asked him:

You’ve released some hardcore PC games in the past. But today, how concerned are you with accessibility and mass market appeal with this unannounced Carbine game that you're working on?

TC: We’re very concerned in making it available to the mass market and trying to design a game that would appeal to casual and hardcore players alike. I think the MMO space is big enough that you can design a game that appeals to both of those groups.

What are your impressions of what you’ve seen of Fallout 3? Do you think that they’re doing that franchise justice?

TC: I do like what I’ve seen about Fallout 3. I’ve talked to those guys at Bethesda about it and they know that it’s their IP now and they’ve gone in a certain direction that I find very intriguing. It’s not necessarily the direction I would have gone, but I can tell you I have my Fallout 3 pre-ordered. I want my life-sized Pip-Boy and I’m going to be all ready to play that at the end of the month.

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Tim Cain chooses the Smooth Talker Perk ( Interview )
posted by baby arm on Thu 09 October 2008, 08:10:32
More info on Fallout 3 - More info on Tim Cain

The Edge prodded Tim Cain into putting forth an opinion on Bethesda's upcoming Fallout 3. As you might expect from a currently employed game developer, he took the diplomatic route.

He said in an interview with Edge on Tuesday, "I do like what I've seen about Fallout 3. I've talked to those guys at Bethesda about it. It's their IP now and they've gone in a certain direction and it's very intriguing.
"It's not necessarily the direction I would've gone, but I can tell you I have my Fallout 3 pre-ordered. I want my life-sized Pip-Boy. I'm going to be playing that at the end of the month."

"The biggest problem I have with expanding the game is that the original games were designed to make you feel like you were one of the last people left on Earth. And with Fallout 3 and the online version, I'm curious about how they'll handle making the game not feel too crowded--making it feel like there's not much life left out there after the war."

Computer game developer Carbine Studios(TM) today announced the promotion of industry veteran Tim Cain to design director of the studio's unannounced massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. Located in Orange County, Calif., Carbine Studios is part of NCsoft(R), the world's premier publisher and developer of MMO games.

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Troika's Next: MMORPG ( Interview )
posted by Exitium on Fri 26 November 2004, 18:24:35
More info on Troika Games - More info on Tim Cain

I grabbed this one from DuckAndCover.cx before their site got nixed by some retards, and it mentions an F! True Company Story at FileFront on Troika's upcoming projects that is more or less an interview with Tim Cain and some inside information on Troika. There is some mention of their games, as well as games some of the individuals at Troika have worked on, like Fallout but that is irrelevent. Here's what you want to read:

“I hope Troika Games continues to make quality role-playing games, possibly expanding to three teams,� Cain said.

But most ambitious, he also mentioned venturing into a heavily trodden path, changing it for the better. In short, creating a “true-role playing� MMORPG.

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Troika articlette on FileFront ( Company news )
posted by Saint_Proverbius on Thu 25 November 2004, 21:22:03
More info on Troika Games - More info on Tim Cain

FileFront has posted a brief article about Troika Games salted with a few comments from Tim Cain. Here's a bit about fluids:

Troika’s employees have really felt at ease with the fluidity of company attitudes. The “open door� policy that they instated allows any employee to talk to anyone about anything, whether it is about a game’s design, contract stipulation or even sales figures and royalties. “The company is wide open,� Cain said.

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