View source for Tim Schafer

{{Short description|American video game designer}}
{{Distinguish|Tim Schaffer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Tim Schafer
| image       = Tim 120A354-crop (cropped).jpg
| caption     = Schafer in 2016
| birth_name  = Timothy John Schafer
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1967|7|26|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Sonoma, California]], U.S.
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| occupation  = [[Game designer]], [[game programmer]], [[video game writer|game writer]]
| spouse      = Rachael Schafer
}}
'''Timothy John Schafer'''<ref name="FullName">{{cite AV media|last1=Schafer |first1=Tim |last2=Bush |first2=Josh |date=March 23, 2014 |title=DFGameClub – Broken Age, Act 1 |medium=Podcast |url=http://www.twitch.tv/dfgameclub/b/513397398 |access-date=March 23, 2014 |time=1:27:30 |publisher=Twitch |quote=Like The Secret of Monkey Island, is it more exciting if I keep it a secret forever? Yeah, my full name is Timothy John Schafer. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323015755/http://www.twitch.tv/dfgameclub/b/513397398 |archive-date=March 23, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="FullName2">{{cite interview|last=Schafer |first=Tim |interviewer=Josh Bush |title=Cheese talks to: Tim Schafer (as a part of the Double Fine Game Club) |url=http://cheesetalks.twolofbees.com/dfgc_timschafer.php#wikipedia |work=DFGameClub |date=March 23, 2014 |access-date=March 31, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709205111/http://cheesetalks.twolofbees.com/dfgc_timschafer.php |archive-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref> (born July 26, 1967)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.doublefine.com/about/tim | title=Tim Schafer }}</ref> is an American [[video game designer]]. He founded [[Double Fine Productions]] in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at [[LucasArts]]. Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed games ''[[Full Throttle (1995 video game)|Full Throttle]]'', ''[[Grim Fandango]]'', ''[[Psychonauts]]'', ''[[Brütal Legend]]'' and ''[[Broken Age]]'', co-designer of ''[[Day of the Tentacle]]'', and assistant designer on ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]'' and ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]''. He is well known in the video game industry for his storytelling and comedic writing style,<ref name="Sunday Herald 2012" /> and has been given both a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]], and a [[BAFTA Fellowship]] for his contributions to the industry.

==Career==

===College and LucasArts (1989–2000)===
Tim Schafer was born on July 26, 1967, in [[Sonoma, California]], the youngest of five children. His father was a doctor and his mother was a nurse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/pre-game-interview-tim-schafer/ |title=Tim Schafer |date=June 14, 2011 |last=Warren |first=Jamin |website=Kill Screen |access-date=March 17, 2012}}</ref> While studying computer science at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], Schafer became interested in writing, and took inspiration from [[Kurt Vonnegut]], who while a publicist at [[General Electric]] wrote short stories in the evenings. Schafer opted for a similar course, interning to help develop [[database]]s for small companies while trying to position himself for an opening in a larger corporation such as [[Atari, Inc.|Atari]] and [[Hewlett-Packard]], but he was rejected by these.<ref name="usgamer interview" /> He saw an offering at [[Lucasfilm Games]], looking for programmers who could also write game dialog, which piqued his interest.<ref name="usgamer interview" /> 

During his application process for the job, he had a somewhat disastrous phone interview with [[David Fox (game designer)|David Fox]] in which he mentioned being a fan of ''Ballblaster''. Fox informed him that the Lucasfilm Games title was ''[[Ballblazer]]'', and that only the pirated version was known as ''Ballblaster'', but despite the misstep, Fox asked Schafer to submit his resume for further consideration.<ref name="usgamer interview" /><ref name="Rogue Leaders pg. 54">''Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts'' pg. 54</ref> To make up for the phone interview, Schafer sent in a comic of himself applying for and getting the job at Lucasfilm Games, drawn as a text adventure.<ref name="usgamer interview">{{Cite web|url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/Tim_Schafer_Interview/ |title="I Don't Know if a Duck is Going to Swallow me Whole." The Tim Schafer Interview. |first=Jaz |last=Ringell |date=June 22, 2015 |access-date=June 22, 2015 |publisher=[[USgamer]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623001928/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/Tim_Schafer_Interview/ |archive-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Rogue Leaders pg. 54" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doublefine.com/site/comments/twenty_years_only_a_few_tears/ |title=Double Fine – Action News |publisher=[[Double Fine Productions]] |date=September 27, 2009 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001152733/http://www.doublefine.com/site/comments/twenty_years_only_a_few_tears |archive-date=October 1, 2009}}</ref>

Schafer was hired by LucasArts in 1989, and his first position was as a "scummlet", a programmer who helped to implement features and ideas proposed by the lead game developers within the LucasArts [[SCUMM]] engine. He, alongside [[Dave Grossman (game developer)|Dave Grossman]], helped to playtest ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game]]'' and implement the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] version of ''[[Maniac Mansion]]''. Schafer and Grossman, along with two others, were taught by [[Ron Gilbert]] as part of a "SCUMM University" on how to use the engine to set up rooms and puzzles.<ref name="usgamer interview" /> 

Later, Gilbert approached Schafer and Grossman, offering them the chance to work on his new project, which would ultimately become the pirate-themed [[adventure game]] ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]''.<ref name="usgamer interview" />

According to series creator Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman were responsible for about two thirds of the game's dialogue.<ref name="ADVENTURER">{{cite news|url=http://www.scummbar.com/resources/articles/index.php?newssniffer=readarticle&article=1033 |title=The Secret of Creating Monkey Island – An Interview With Ron Gilbert |year=1990 |access-date=December 24, 2006 |work=LucasFilm Adventurer vol. 1, number 1 (online transcript) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610212241/http://www.scummbar.com/resources/articles/index.php?newssniffer=readarticle&article=1033 |archive-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref> ''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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/back-in-the-water-the-monkey-island-interview |title=Back in the Water: The Monkey Island Interview |date=July 6, 2009 |last=Remo |first=Chris |website=[[Gamasutra]] |access-date=December 10, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214135420/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4070/back_in_the_water_the_monkey_.php?print=1 |archive-date=February 14, 2011}}</ref>

In his first lead role on a game project, Schafer co-designed (with Dave Grossman) ''[[Day of the Tentacle]]'', a time-travel comedy adventure and the sequel to Ron Gilbert's ''Maniac Mansion''.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro">{{cite journal |journal=[[GamesTM]] |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |title=Behind the Scenes: Maniac Mansion + Day of the Tentacle |year=2010 |issue=3 |pages=22–27 |series=The Ultimate Retro Companion |issn=1448-2606 |oclc=173412381}}</ref> Schafer's first solo project, the biker adventure ''[[Full Throttle (1995 video game)|Full Throttle]]'', was released in 1995.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/full-throttles-tim-schafer-on-mark-hamill-and-being-asked-not-to-touch-george-lucas-122561/ |title=Full Throttle's Tim Schafer on Mark Hamill and Being Asked Not to Touch George Lucas |last=Suellentrop |first=Chris |date=April 15, 2017 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=April 15, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206184605/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/full-throttles-tim-schafer-on-mark-hamill-and-being-asked-not-to-touch-george-lucas-122561/ |archive-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref> He went on to design the highly acclaimed ''[[Grim Fandango]]'', a [[noir fiction|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, including [[GameSpot]]'s Game of the Year award of 1998,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/gameofyear2.html |title=Best and Worst of 1998: Game of the Year |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=March 27, 2008 |year=1999 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005144227/http://www.gamespot.com/features/awards1998/gameofyear2.html |archive-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> and [[D.I.C.E. Award for Adventure Game of the Year|Computer Adventure Game of the Year]] at the [[2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=1999&idGame=628 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Grim Fandango |publisher=[[Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] |website=interactive.org |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>

===Double Fine Productions (2000–present)===
[[File:BAFTA2011 GameDevs.jpg|thumb|Schafer and other game developers at a [[BAFTA]] event in Los Angeles in July 2011. From left: [[Rod Humble]], [[Louis Castle]], [[David Perry (game developer)|David Perry]], [[Brenda Brathwaite]], [[John Romero]], [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]], Tim Schafer, [[Chris Hecker]].]]
Schafer worked on an unannounced [[PlayStation 2]] action-adventure game at LucasArts, but it never entered production.<ref name="Sunday Herald 2012" /> Prior to his departure, a number of other developers were leaving LucasArts as the studio shifted away from adventure games. Schafer was approached by his colleagues with the idea of leaving the company to develop PlayStation 2 games on their own; Schafer was initially wary of this believing he felt secure in his position at LucasArts.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gamestm.co.uk/interviews/10-years-of-psychonauts-in-conversation-with-tim-schafer/ | title = 10 years of Psychonauts – In conversation with Tim Schafer | work = [[GamesTM]] | date = June 2, 2015 |access-date=August 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806004203/http://www.gamestm.co.uk/interviews/10-years-of-psychonauts-in-conversation-with-tim-schafer/ |archive-date=August 6, 2015}}</ref> He left the company in January 2000,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tim-schafer-leaves-lucasarts/1100-2460348/ | title = Tim Schafer Leaves LucasArts | first = Michael | last = Mullen | date = January 7, 2000 |access-date=August 26, 2015 | publisher = [[GameSpot]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406200955/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/tim-schafer-leaves-lucasarts/1100-2460348/ |archive-date=April 6, 2017}}</ref> to found [[Double Fine Productions]], where he created the [[platform game]] ''[[Psychonauts]]''.<ref name="Sunday Herald 2012" /> The game was first released on Xbox in North America on April 19, 2005. While the game was met with critical acclaim, including a [[List of Game of the Year awards|Game of the Year]] award from [[Eurogamer]], it sold poorly at its initial release and led to financial troubles for its publisher [[Majesco Entertainment]].<ref name="Psychonauts sales">{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_123/2619-Life-After-Shelf-Death |title=Life After Shelf Death |last=Adkins |first=John |date=November 12, 2007 |work=The Escapist |access-date=November 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115174409/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_123/2619-Life-After-Shelf-Death |archive-date=November 15, 2007}}</ref> Double Fine reacquired full rights to ''Psychonauts'' by 2012, allowing them to release the game with improvements for modern systems, and in that year, Schafer stated that "We made more on ''Psychonauts'' [in 2012] than we ever have before."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/features/2012/12/13/3726930/double-fine-double-feature-tim-schafer-dracogen-kickstarter | title = Double Fine Double Feature | date = December 13, 2012 | access-date = February 5, 2013 | website = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref>

On March 7, 2007, he 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2009/03/double-fine-unv/ |title=Double Fine Unveils Tim Schafer Flash Game |last=Cavalli |first=Earnest |date=March 24, 2009 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=March 24, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408221130/https://www.wired.com/2009/03/double-fine-unv/ |archive-date=April 8, 2014}}</ref>

Schafer led the development of Double Fine's next game, ''[[Brütal Legend]]'', released on October 13, 2009, after a tortuous development route due to having its original publisher [[Vivendi Games]] drop the title following its merge with [[Activision]] in 2008 to be picked up later by [[Electronic Arts]].<ref name="brutal_pr">{{cite press release | 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 = October 19, 2007 |access-date=March 30, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324122214/http://www.doublefine.com/news.php/projects/brutallegend |archive-date=March 24, 2008}}</ref> The game was Schafer's tribute to the music and art of [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and featured voice acting from actor/musician [[Jack Black]] and cameos from rock musicians including [[Lemmy Kilmister]], [[Rob Halford]], [[Ozzy Osbourne]] and [[Lita Ford]]. Schafer said "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 = April 16, 2009 | season = 2 | number = 5}}</ref>

During ''Brütal Legend''{{'s}} development, Schafer had Double Fine's staff take two weeks away from the game's development to participate in Amnesia Fortnights once a year starting in 2007. This was an internal [[game jam]] where the company was split into four teams to make a pitchable game prototype, an idea he compared to what film director [[Wong Kar-Wai]] had used previously. After ''Brütal Legend''{{'s}} release, the game had generally positive reviews but did not perform as well as expected, and Electronic Arts cancelled the preliminary work Double Fine had started on the sequel.<ref>{{cite web | title = Tim Schafer confirms Brutal Legend 2 canceled, announces four games | url = http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tim-schafer-confirms-brutal-legend-2-canceled-announces-four-games/1100-6269142/ | date = November 5, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224185440/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tim-schafer-confirms-brutal-legend-2-canceled-announces-four-games/1100-6269142/ |archive-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref> To keep Double Fine above water financially, Schafer went back to the past Amnesia Fortnight projects and selected games they could reasonably expand into full releases. From these, four smaller games were picked up by publishers, and were the first games in Double Fine's history to have project leaders other than Schafer: ''[[Costume Quest]]'', ''[[Stacking (video game)|Stacking]]'', ''[[Iron Brigade (video game)|Iron Brigade]]'' and ''[[Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster|Once upon a Monster]]''. The titles helped to keep Double Fine financially stable, and Schafer has continued to implement the Amnesia Fortnight as a yearly process; most of the games that result from these are led by someone other than Schafer.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/happy-action-happy-developer-tim-schafer-on-reimagining-double-fine | title = Happy Action, Happy Developer: Tim Schafer on Reimagining Double Fine | first = Frank | last = Cifaldi | date = February 3, 2012 | access-date = February 3, 2012 | website = Gamasutra | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205090633/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6691/happy_action_happy_developer_tim_.php | archive-date = February 5, 2012 | url-status = live}}</ref>

On February 1, 2012, Schafer returned to the role of director in the [[Kinect]]-based ''[[Double Fine Happy Action Theater]]'', a game concept he devised based on ''Once Upon a Monster'' to be able to play a game with his two-year-old daughter that she would be able to enjoy as well.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1217143p1.html | title = Talking Happy Action Theater with Double Fine | date = January 24, 2012 |access-date=January 31, 2012 | first = Tina | last = Palacios | publisher = [[IGN]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129015821/http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1217143p1.html |archive-date=January 29, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Tim Schafer and 2PP at PAX Prime 2012.jpg|thumb|Schafer and [[2 Player Productions]] at [[Penny Arcade Expo|PAX]] Prime 2012]]
In February 2012, Schafer launched a [[crowdfunding|crowdfunded]] project for an unnamed [[adventure game]] via the crowd-sourced [[Kickstarter]], using the placeholder title "Double Fine Adventure"; Schafer stated that he had found publishers extremely wary of an adventure in the current video game industry, and decided to turn to crowdfunding to seek player interest. The game and accompanying documentary were projected to cost {{USD|400,000 dollars}}. Contributions exceeded that amount by more than three times in less than 24 hours, making it the first Kickstarter project to reach a $2 million figure, and the second most successful project on the website at the time.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/10/when-making-a-game-is-a-game-in-itself/?hpt=hp_t3 | title = When making a game is a game in itself | date = February 10, 2012 | work = cnn.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213033143/http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/10/when-making-a-game-is-a-game-in-itself/?hpt=hp_t3 |archive-date=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure?ref=spotlight |title=Double Fine Adventure |website=Kickstarter |access-date=March 17, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211124831/http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66710809/double-fine-adventure?ref=spotlight |archive-date=February 11, 2012}}</ref> When the project ended on March 13, funding reached a level of $3,336,371 in Kickstarter<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/double-fine-day |title=Double Fine Day |date=March 14, 2012 |website=Kickstarter |access-date=March 17, 2012}}</ref> with an additional $110,000 from premium pledges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/the_partys_over_but_the_adventure_has_just_begun |title=Double Fine™ – Action News |work=doublefine.com |access-date=March 17, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317144055/http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/the_partys_over_but_the_adventure_has_just_begun/ |archive-date=March 17, 2012}}</ref> Ultimately, the project culminated in ''[[Broken Age]]'', released in two acts over 2014 and 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=PAX: Double Fine's adventure game is called Broken Age |newspaper=Destructoid |url=http://www.destructoid.com/pax-double-fine-s-adventure-game-is-called-broken-age-249519.phtml |date=November 5, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105104311/http://www.destructoid.com/pax-double-fine-s-adventure-game-is-called-broken-age-249519.phtml |archive-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref>

Schafer and Double Fine had been able to negotiate with [[The Walt Disney Company]], who acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, to obtain the rights to three of the titles that Schafer had directed there: ''Day of the Tentacle'', ''Full Throttle'', and ''Grim Fandango'', by 2014. Double Fine subsequently released remastered versions of all three games over the following years.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.vg247.com/2014/06/10/grim-fandango-remastered-e32014-ps4-vita/ | title = Grim Fandango remastered coming to PlayStation | first = Stephany | last = Nunnely | date = June 9, 2014 |access-date=June 9, 2014 | publisher = [[VG247]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614002635/http://www.vg247.com/2014/06/10/grim-fandango-remastered-e32014-ps4-vita/ |archive-date=June 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/e3-2014/2014/6/9/5795458/grim-fandango-ps4-ps-vita | title = Grim Fandango is coming to PS4 and PS Vita (update) | first = Emily | last = Gera | date = June 9, 2014 |access-date=June 10, 2014 | publisher = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613090553/http://www.polygon.com/e3-2014/2014/6/9/5795458/grim-fandango-ps4-ps-vita |archive-date=June 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name="psblog remake">{{Cite web | url = http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/06/10/a-closer-look-at-grim-fandangos-surprise-revival | title = A Closer Look at Grim Fandango's Surprise Revival | first = Asif | last = Siddiky | publisher = [[PlayStation Blog]] | date = June 10, 2014 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813064108/http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/06/10/a-closer-look-at-grim-fandangos-surprise-revival/ |archive-date=August 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/06/day-of-the-tentacle-special-edition-announced | title = DAY OF THE TENTACLE SPECIAL EDITION ANNOUNCED | first = Brian | last = Albert | date = December 6, 2014 |access-date=December 6, 2014 | publisher = [[IGN]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208184126/http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/06/day-of-the-tentacle-special-edition-announced |archive-date=December 8, 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Tim schafer 2019 gdca.jpg|thumb|right|Schafer has frequently served as host of the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]], including in 2019.]]
Schafer stood in support of [[Anita Sarkeesian]] and other game developers that were being harassed by supporters of [[Gamergate_(harassment_campaign)|Gamergate]], a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, that started in August 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/01/how-to-attack-a-woman-who-works-in-video-games | title = How to attack a woman who works in video gaming | first = Jenn | last = Frank | date = September 1, 2014 | access-date = November 27, 2017 | work = [[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/10/these-geek-icons-are-breaking-gamergates-heart/ | title = These 7 Geek Icons Have Had Enough of #Gamergate. Here's How They're Fighting Back. | first = Rebecca | last = Conen | date = October 18, 2014 | access-date = November 29, 2017 | work = [[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]}}</ref> 

Schafer hosted the 2015 Game Developer’s Choice Awards on March 5; during the event one of his jokes referenced the #NotYourShield tag connected to the harassment Campaign. [[Gamergate_(harassment_campaign)|Gamergate]] supporters claimed #NotYourShield was used to demonstrate women and minorities supported their cause, but Schafer's remarks spoke to the wider assessment that the tag's use was largely composed of [[Sockpuppet (Internet)|sockpuppets]]. Following the event, Gamergate supporters targeted Schafer for harassment by claiming he had been making a joke that mocked the minorities using this hashtag.<ref name="SchaferProfile">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/28/tim-schafer-broken-age-kickstarter-double-fine | title = Tim Schafer on his Broken Age Kickstarter adventure: 'I'd do it again' | first = Emily | last = Gera | date = April 28, 2015 | work = [[The Guardian]] |access-date=June 25, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626135912/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/28/tim-schafer-broken-age-kickstarter-double-fine |archive-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref><ref name="BelfastTelegraph">{{cite web | last = Griffin | first = Andrew | url = http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/technology/gamergate-tim-schafer-provokes-rage-with-not-your-shield-joke-about-online-gaming-activists-at-industry-awards-31044871.html | title = Gamergate: Tim Schafer Provokes Rage with 'Not your Shield' Joke About Online Gaming Activists at Industry Awards | work = [[Belfast Telegraph]] | date = March 5, 2015|access-date=September 7, 2015}}</ref> 

Gamergate supporters also found other opportunities to target Schafer for harassment, including a decision to expand the scope of ''Broken Age'' after its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign raised far more than the amount asked for, and a later decision to seek additional funding for the studio by offering the game's first half for sale on [[early access]]. Since then he continues to be an occasional target of harassment from either GamerGate supporters or those who were swayed by the campaign's claims.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://mic.com/articles/184731/gamergate-harassment-developers-charles-randall#.vgPoxrZbr | title = Why is video game development so secretive? Online harassment, one developer says. | first = Tim | last = Mulkerin | date = September 26, 2017 | access-date = November 29, 2017 | work = [[Mic (magazine)|Mic]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/gamers-have-become-the-new-religious-right-8069235 | title = Gamers Have Become the New Religious Right | first = Jef | last = Rouner | date = January 26, 2016 | access-date = November 30, 2017 | work = [[Houston Press]]}}</ref>

Schafer joined with other industry leaders with crowdfunding experience to help create the crowdfunding platform [[Fig (company)|Fig]] in August 2015, serving on its advisory board until March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-07 |title=Tim Schafer on why he chose Fig to crowdfund Psychonauts 2 |url=https://siliconangle.com/2015/12/07/tim-schafer-on-why-he-chose-fig-to-crowdfund-psychonauts-2/ |access-date=2024-03-02 |website=SiliconANGLE |language=en-US}}</ref> Through Fig, Schafer announced the sequel ''[[Psychonauts 2]]'' in December 2015.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.polygon.com/features/2015/12/3/9845122/psychonauts-2-double-fine-crowdfunding-fig | title = Psychonauts 2 is in Development, and Anyone Can Profit from its Success | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = December 3, 2015 | access-date = December 6, 2015 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref>

In June 2019, [[Microsoft]] announced that it had acquired Double Fine as part of [[Xbox Game Studios]]. Schafer stated that while he had not been looking to be acquired, he found the opportunity in his talks with Microsoft to be promising; the acquisition would not affect Double Fine's independence and would still allow the company to publish its pending titles on its own choice of platforms, and would provide the financial security needed for Double Fine to be able to concentrate on developing a quality product.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/06/23/tim-schafer-on-microsoft-acquisition-and-the-future-of-double-fine | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190623235546/https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/06/23/tim-schafer-on-microsoft-acquisition-and-the-future-of-double-fine | url-status = live | archive-date = June 23, 2019 | title = Tim Schafer On Microsoft Acquisition And The Future Of Double Fine | first= Elise | last= Favis | date = June 23, 2019 | access-date = January 11, 2021 | magazine = [[Game Informer]] }}</ref> Through this support, Double Fine was able to retain several gameplay elements within ''Psychonauts 2'',<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-07-09-how-minecraft-and-mojang-taught-xbox-how-to-buy-studios | title = How Minecraft and Mojang taught Xbox how to buy studios | first=  Christopher | last = Dring | date = July 9, 2020 | access-date = July 9, 2020 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] }}</ref> which was eventually released on August 25, 2021, to critical praise.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/psychonauts-2-is-vintage-double-fine-in-strengths-and-flaws-critical-consensus | title=Psychonauts 2 is vintage Double Fine in strengths and flaws &#124; Critical Consensus | date=August 24, 2021 }}</ref>

==Influences and philosophy==
In an interview at the [[Game Developers Conference]] in 2003, Schafer stated that he strives for integrating story into the gameplay, setting a creative goal of someday creating a video game without any [[cutscenes]] at all.<ref name="gamestudies">{{cite web |title=A Conversation with Tim Schafer |url=http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/pearce/ |author=Celia Pearce |date=March 7, 2003 |publisher=Game Studies |access-date=November 6, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914232305/http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/pearce/ |archive-date=September 14, 2013}}</ref> Furthermore, he said he often sets a story in an established world:

<blockquote>"[O]ften, the world is the initial inspiration for the game. One day I was listening to someone tell me their stories of spending the summer in Alaska. They had hung around this one biker bar, with these people with names like Smilin' Rick and Big Phil. And I thought, 'Wow, what a crazy world that is.' It's so apart from everybody's life, and yet it's right there, it's so mundane in a way. And that's where Full Throttle came from."<ref name="gamestudies" /></blockquote>

==Recognition==
The press first previewed ''Psychonauts'' at the [[E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)|E3]] trade show in 2002, where it won the Game Critics Award for Best Original Game.<ref>{{cite web|title=Winners 2002 |url=http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/2002winners.html |publisher=Game Critics Awards |access-date=March 27, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410064402/http://gamecriticsawards.com/2002winners.html |archive-date=April 10, 2008 }}</ref>
An hour-long episode of ''[[Icons (TV series)|Icons]]'' on the [[G4 (U.S. TV channel)|G4 Network]] documented the last week of the production of ''Psychonauts'' and explored Schafer's career.<ref name="g4_icons">{{cite web |title=Icons: Tim Schafer Recap |publisher=[[TV.com]] |url=http://www.tv.com/icons/tim-schafer/episode/418951/recap.html |access-date=March 30, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221203619/http://www.tv.com/icons/tim-schafer/episode/418951/recap.html |archive-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref> At the 2006 [[Game Developers Choice Awards]], Schafer and [[Erik Wolpaw]] won the award for Best Writing for ''Psychonauts''. Schafer and Double Fine Executive Producer & COO Caroline Esmurdoc also won the award for Best New Studio. In October 2006, 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 |publisher=BAFTA |access-date=March 27, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220123035/http://www.bafta.org/awards/video-games/nominations/?year=2006 |archive-date=December 20, 2008}}</ref> In 2012, the [[Australian Centre for the Moving Image]] (ACMI) organized the "Game Masters" exhibition, where Schafer was featured as the creator of ''Grim Fandango'', among a few other visionary designers, credited for having "pushed the boundaries of game design and storytelling, introducing new genres, creating our best-loved characters and revolutionising the way we understand and play games"<ref name="Sunday Herald 2012">{{cite news |title= Let the Games Begin|newspaper=Sunday Herald Sun |location= Australia|date=June 24, 2012 |page= 12 – "Play" section}}</ref> In 2015, he won the Vanguard Award at Bilbao's [[Fun & Serious Game Festival]].<ref name="hobbyconsolas.com">{{cite news |title=Tim Schafer recibirá el premio honorífico del festival |newspaper=Hobby Consolas |date=April 25, 2015|url=https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/noticias/fun-serious-game-festival-2015-tim-schafer-recibira-premio-honorifico-festival-115944}}</ref> Schafer received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] in March 2018.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/313891/Nolan_Bushnell_Tim_Schafer_and_Rami_Ismail_to_be_honored_at_the_2018_GDC_Awards.php | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180130230101/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/313891/Nolan_Bushnell_Tim_Schafer_and_Rami_Ismail_to_be_honored_at_the_2018_GDC_Awards.php | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 30, 2018 | title = Nolan Bushnell, Tim Schafer, and Rami Ismail to be honored at the 2018 GDC Awards! | date = January 30, 2018 | access-date = January 30, 2018 | work = Gamasutra }}</ref> He received a [[BAFTA Fellowship]] as "a true pioneer of game design, who has pushed the boundaries of the medium through his extraordinary talents" at the [[British Academy Games Awards]] in April 2018.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-02-21-tim-schafer-to-receive-bafta-fellowship | title = Tim Schafer to receive BAFTA Fellowship | first = Matthew | last= Handrahan | date = February 21, 2018 | access-date = February 21, 2018 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/apr/24/tim-schafer-career-video-games-bafta-fellowship | title = Tim Schafer: 'There were so many occasions when I thought my career in games was over' | first= Keith |last= Stuart | date = April 24, 2018 | access-date = March 24, 2019 | work = [[The Guardian]] }}</ref> In February 2023, Schafer was recognized as "a beacon of creativity and innovation in the games industry" by being selected as a Hall of Fame Inductee at the [[26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards]] by the [[Academy_of_Interactive_Arts_%26_Sciences|Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.interactive.org/awards/double_fines_tim_schafer_hall_of_fame.asp | title = Double Fine Productions' Tim Schafer Selected as Hall of Fame Inductee at the 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | work = [[Academy_of_Interactive_Arts_%26_Sciences|Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences]] }}</ref>

==Ludography==
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Credited With
! scope="col" | Publisher
|-
| ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]'' || [[1990 in video gaming|1990]] || co-writer, programmer, assistant designer || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'' || [[1991 in video gaming|1991]] || co-writer, programmer, assistant designer || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Day of the Tentacle]]'' || [[1993 in video gaming|1993]] || co-designer, co-producer, co-director, co-writer || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Full Throttle (1995 video game)|Full Throttle]]'' || [[1995 in video gaming|1995]] || project leader, writer, designer || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' || [[1997 in video gaming|1997]] || additional design || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Grim Fandango]]'' || [[1998 in video gaming|1998]] || project leader, writer, designer, programmer || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Star Wars Episode I: Racer]]'' || [[1999 in video gaming|1999]] || "never actively tried to sabotage the project"<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1659011047653806082 |user=TimOfLegend |title=The Podracing team sat right next to the Grim team at LucasArts. Once, hanging out in their office, I asked, "What credit are you going to give me on Podracer?" "Why would we give you a credit? You didn't do anything to help make this project!" I said, "True, but on the other hand, I did nothing to hurt it." They just couldn't shake the logic I guess! |first=Tim |last=Schafer |date=May 17, 2023}}</ref> || LucasArts
|-
| ''[[Psychonauts]]'' || [[2005 in video gaming|2005]] || creative director, co-writer, designer || Double Fine, Majesco
|-
| ''[[Brütal Legend]]'' || [[2009 in video gaming|2009]] || creative director, writer, co-designer || Double Fine, Electronic Arts
|-
| ''[[Costume Quest]]'' || [[2010 in video gaming|2010]] || studio creative director, co-writer || Double Fine, THQ
|-
| ''[[Stacking (video game)|Stacking]]'' || [[2011 in video gaming|2011]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, THQ
|-
| ''[[Iron Brigade (video game)|Iron Brigade]]'' || [[2011 in video gaming|2011]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
|-
| ''[[Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster]]'' || [[2011 in video gaming|2011]] || studio creative director, writer || Double Fine, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
|-
| ''[[Haunt (video game)|Haunt]]'' || [[2012 in video gaming|2012]] || voice actor<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/nanaon-sha-changing-the-world-of-games |title=NanaOn-Sha: Changing The World Of Games |last=Sheffield |first=Brandon |date=December 29, 2011 |work=Gamasutra |access-date=January 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126212348/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6581/nanaonsha_changing_the_world_of_.php?page=4 |archive-date=January 26, 2012}}</ref> || [[NanaOn-Sha]], [[Zoë Mode]], Microsoft Studios
|-
| ''[[Double Fine Happy Action Theater]]'' || [[2012 in video gaming|2012]] || director || Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
|-
| ''[[Middle Manager of Justice]]'' || [[2012 in video gaming|2012]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Dracogen
|-
| ''[[Kinect Party]]'' || [[2012 in video gaming|2012]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Microsoft Studios
|-
| ''[[The Cave (video game)|The Cave]]'' || [[2013 in video gaming|2013]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Sega
|-
| ''[[Dropchord]]'' || [[2013 in video gaming|2013]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Dracogen
|-
| ''[[Broken Age]]'' || [[2014 in video gaming|2014]] || director, writer || Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Spacebase DF-9]]'' || [[2014 in video gaming|2014]] || studio creative director || Double Fine, Indie Fund
|-
| ''[[Grim Fandango#Remastered version|Grim Fandango Remastered]]'' || [[2015 in video gaming|2015]] || creative director ||Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Massive Chalice]]'' || [[2015 in video gaming|2015]] || studio creative director || Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Day of the Tentacle#Remastered|Day of the Tentacle Remastered]]'' || [[2016 in video gaming|2016]] || creative director ||Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Headlander]]'' || [[2016 in video gaming|2016]] || studio creative director ||Double Fine, Adult Swim Games
|-
| ''[[Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin]]'' || [[2017 in video gaming|2017]] || studio creative director, writer ||Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Full Throttle (1995 video game)#Remastered|Full Throttle Remastered]]'' || [[2017 in video gaming|2017]] || creative director ||Double Fine
|-
| ''[[Psychonauts 2]]'' || [[2021 in video gaming|2021]] || creative director, writer ||Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tim Schafer}}
* {{moby developer|id=1365|name=Tim Schafer}}
* [http://www.doublefine.com/ Double Fine Productions] Schafer's game development studio
* [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bitter-medicine-what-does-the-game-industry-have-against-innovation/1100-6141519/ What does the game industry have against innovation?] (a news feature centered on Psychonauts, with comments from Schafer)
* [http://www.gamespy.com/articles/585/585524p1.html "Tim Schafer on Taking Risks"] (D.I.C.E. Summit 2005)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060814022020/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10216 "Tim Schafer on Memorable Character Design"] ([[Game Developers Conference|GDC]] 2004, audio recording)
* [http://www.miwiki.net/Tim_Schafer Tim Schafer] on the [http://miwiki.net ''Monkey Island'' Wiki]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015217/http://www.mixnmojo.com/features/read.php?article=doublefine2001 Trip to Double Fine] from [http://www.mixnmojo.com/ The International House of Mojo]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015336/http://www.mixnmojo.com/features/read.php?article=psychonautspreview Return to Double Fine] from [http://www.mixnmojo.com/ The International House of Mojo]
* [http://www.gamespot.com/features/btg_y2k/p17_01.html Millennium Gaming: 20 Gaming Visionaries Usher In The Next Millennium of Gaming] at [[GameSpot]] (1999)
* [http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/pearce/ A Conversation with Tim Schafer by Celia Pearce] at GameStudies (2003)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061005063525/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3149196 Rebel With a Cause: Traveling through the mind of Tim Schafer] at [[1UP.com]] (2006)
* [http://www.g4tv.com/videos/57332/double-fine-adventure-preview-with-tim-schafer/ Tim Schafer's KickStarter Project Interview] at DICE (2012)

{{Tim Schafer}}
{{LucasArts adventure games}}
{{Double Fine}}
{{Xbox Game Studios}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Tim}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:American video game directors]]
[[Category:American video game programmers]]
[[Category:BAFTA fellows]]
[[Category:Double Fine people]]
[[Category:Game Developers Conference Lifetime Achievement Award recipients]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Lucasfilm people]]
[[Category:Microsoft employees]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:American video game writers]]
[[Category:Xbox Game Studios]]
[[Category:People from Sonoma, California]]