Tim Schafer: Difference between revisions
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'''Tim Schafer''' (born July 26, 1967) is an American [[computer game designer]]. He founded [[Double Fine Productions]] in January 2000, after having spent over a decade at [[LucasArts]]. |
'''Tim Schafer''' (born July 26, 1967) is an American [[computer game designer]]. He founded [[Double Fine Productions]] in January 2000, after having spent over a decade at [[LucasArts]]. |
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Schafer |
Schafer recently directed a game for the [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Xbox 360]] called ''[[Brütal Legend]]''. Schafer is best known in the video game industry for his story-telling and comedy-writing abilities. |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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On March 7, 2007, Tim Schafer hosted the annual [[Game Developers Choice Awards]]. He later hosted it again in 2009. To coincide, Double Fine released a free [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] [[minigame]] entitled ''[[Host 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. |
On March 7, 2007, Tim Schafer hosted the annual [[Game Developers Choice Awards]]. He later hosted it again in 2009. To coincide, Double Fine released a free [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] [[minigame]] entitled ''[[Host 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. |
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| ⚫ | In fall 2009, Schafer wrapped on a new game called ''[[Brütal Legend]]''. The game is slated for an October 2009 release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.<ref name="brutal_pr">{{cite pressrelease|title=Sierra Entertainment and Double Fine Productions unearth ancient tome and decrypt Brütal Legend|publisher=[[Double Fine Productions]]|url=http://www.doublefine.com/news.php/projects/brutallegend|date= 2007-10-19|accessdate=2008-03-30}}</ref> In an April 2009 interview on ''The [[Jace Hall]] Show'', Schafer had this to say about ''Brütal Legend'': "For Brütal 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 about [[Orcs]]. 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."<ref>{{cite episode | title = James Gunn & Brutal Legend | series = The Jace Hall Show | airdate = 20089-04-16 | season = 2 | number = 5}}</ref> |
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==Recognition== |
==Recognition== |
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*In October 2006, Tim Schafer received a [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] video game Best Screenplay award for ''Psychonauts''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Games Nominations 2006|url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/video-games/nominations/?year=2006| |
*In October 2006, Tim Schafer received a [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] video game Best Screenplay award for ''Psychonauts''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Games Nominations 2006|url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/video-games/nominations/?year=2006| |
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publisher=BAFTA|accessdate=2008-03-27}}</ref> |
publisher=BAFTA|accessdate=2008-03-27}}</ref> |
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==Future== |
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==Games== |
==Games== |
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Revision as of 01:32, 3 October 2009
Tim Schafer | |
|---|---|
 Tim Schafer in 2001 | |
| Born | July 26, 1967 |
| Occupation | Game designer |
| Spouse | Rachael Schafer |
Tim Schafer (born July 26, 1967) is an American computer game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in January 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts.
Schafer recently directed a game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 called Brütal Legend. Schafer is best known in the video game industry for his story-telling and comedy-writing abilities.
Career
While studying computer science at UC Berkeley, Tim Schafer worked at George Lucas' game production company LucasArts (then called Lucasfilm Games and located at Skywalker Ranch). During his application process for the job, he had a somewhat disastrous phone interview in which he mentioned he was a fan of Ballblaster - at which point the interviewer, David Fox, informed him that this was the pirated version of Ballblazer.[1] He was still permitted to send in his resume and a cover letter, so to make up for the phone interview, he sent in a comic of himself applying for and getting the job at Lucasfilm Games, drawn as a text adventure[2][3].
After play testing the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade action game and assisting with the NES version of Maniac Mansion, Schafer was assigned as a writer and programmer to the production of the pirate-themed adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island.
According to series creator Ron Gilbert, Schafer and fellow writer-programmer Dave Grossman were responsible for about two thirds of the game's dialogs. [4] Monkey Island is noted for its humorous story, though was originally conceived as having a more serious tone; Schafer and Grossman wrote much more humorous placeholder dialog, which persuaded Gilbert to turn it into a comedy. The Secret of Monkey Island became one of the most acclaimed games of its kind. The same team created the sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
In his first lead role on a game project, Schafer co-designed (with Dave Grossman) Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, a time-travel comedy adventure and the sequel of Ron Gilbert's Maniac Mansion. Schafer's first solo project, the biker adventure Full Throttle, was released in 1995. He went on to design the highly acclaimed Grim Fandango, a noir adventure game set in the Aztec afterlife featuring characters similar to the papier-mâché skeleton decorations from the Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos. Grim Fandango won many awards, most notably GameSpot's Game of the Year award of 1998.[5]
Schafer worked on an unannounced PlayStation 2 action-adventure game at LucasArts, but it never entered production. He left the company in January 2000 to found Double Fine Productions, where he created the platform game Psychonauts. The game was first released on Xbox in North America on April 19, 2005. It won much critical acclaim, including a Game of the Year award from Eurogamer.
In a message posted on his company blog on June 13, 2006, Schafer asked fans to e-mail Microsoft in an attempt to get Psychonauts added to the list of Xbox 360-compatible Xbox games.[6] The story got picked up by many video game news sites.[7][8] A Microsoft employee working on the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility soon posted on the IGN Insider forum that "rest assured, we are working on Psychonauts" though gave no indication when the software emulation would be finished. Half a year later, on December 12 2006, the Xbox 360 became backwards compatible with Psychonauts. And a year after that, on December 4, 2007, Microsoft made Psychonauts one of the initial launch titles made available for direct download through their Xbox Originals program.
On March 7, 2007, Tim Schafer hosted the annual Game Developers Choice Awards. He later hosted it again in 2009. To coincide, Double Fine released a free Flash minigame entitled Host 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.
In fall 2009, Schafer wrapped on a new game called Brütal Legend. The game is slated for an October 2009 release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[9] In an April 2009 interview on The Jace Hall Show, Schafer had this to say about Brütal Legend: "For Brütal 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 about Orcs. 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."[10]
Recognition
- The press first previewed Psychonauts at the E3 trade show of 2002, where it won the Game Critics Award for Best Original Game.[11]
- An hour-long episode of Icons on the G4 Network documented the last week of Psychonauts' production and explored Tim Schafer's career. (Original airdate: April 28, 2005).[12]
- At the 2006 Game Developers Choice Awards, Tim Schafer and Erik Wolpaw won the award for Best Writing for Psychonauts. Tim Schafer and Double Fine Executive Producer & COO Caroline Esmurdoc also won the award for Best New Studio.
- In October 2006, Tim Schafer received a BAFTA video game Best Screenplay award for Psychonauts.[13]
Games
- Template:Vgy Maniac Mansion, tools programmer, SCUMM (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy The Secret of Monkey Island, co-writer (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, co-designer, co-writer (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle, co-designer, co-producer, co-director, co-writer (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy Full Throttle, writer, designer, project leader (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy Grim Fandango, project leader, writer, designer (LucasArts)
- Template:Vgy Psychonauts, creative director, co-writer, designer (Double Fine, Majesco)
- Template:Vgy Brütal Legend, (Double Fine, Electronic Arts)
References
- ^ Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts pg. 54
- ^ Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts pg. 54
- ^ http://www.doublefine.com/site/comments/twenty_years_only_a_few_tears/
- ^ "The Secret of Creating Monkey Island - An Interview With Ron Gilbert". LucasFilm Adventurer vol. 1, number 1 (online transcript). 1990. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
- ^ "Best and Worst of 1998: Game of the Year". GameSpot. 1999. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ Tim Schafer (2006-06-13). "PSYCHONAUTS ON THE XBOX 360!!!". Double Fine Productions, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ Tim Surette (2006-06-14). "Double Fine demands 360-compatible Psychonauts". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ Ross Miller (2006-06-14). "Tim Schafer wants Psychonauts on Xbox 360. Now". Joystiq. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Sierra Entertainment and Double Fine Productions unearth ancient tome and decrypt Brütal Legend" (Press release). Double Fine Productions. 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ "James Gunn & Brutal Legend". The Jace Hall Show. Season 2. Episode 5. 20089-04-16.
{{cite episode}}: Check date values in:|airdate=(help) - ^ "Winners 2002". Game Critics Awards. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
- ^ "Icons: Tim Schafer Recap". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ "Games Nominations 2006". BAFTA. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
External links
- Tim Schafer at MobyGames
- Tim Schafer's company weblog
- What does the game industry have against innovation? (a news feature centered on Psychonauts, with comments from Schafer)
- "Tim Schafer on Taking Risks" (D.I.C.E. Summit 2005)
- "Tim Schafer on Memorable Character Design" (GDC 2004, audio recording)
- Trip to Double Fine from The International House of Mojo
- Return to Double Fine from The International House of Mojo