Abstract
Problem: Why do companies treat consumers poorly, and who bears responsibility for the state of modern capitalism?
Approach: Tim Cain reflects on personal experiences — accusations of being paid to attend the Fallout TV premiere, running Troika Games as an employer, and watching the airline industry evolve since the 1980s — to explore how consumer and employee behavior shapes corporate practices.
Findings: Many of the worst corporate behaviors (removing airline meals, charging for luggage, spam, microtransactions) were enabled or triggered by consumers themselves choosing the cheapest option and then complaining about consequences. People project their own willingness to behave badly onto others, and blanket hostility toward all employers ignores the nuance of individual situations.
Key insight: Vote with your wallet. If you decry a practice but participate in it anyway, you're part of the problem — and collective consumer behavior is what teaches companies how to treat us.
The Projection Revelation
Tim opens with a story about commenters accusing him of being paid to attend the Fallout TV show premiere. In reality, he paid for his own flights, hotel, and transportation — the invitation only included a theater ticket. A friend even questioned whether it was worth spending that money just to see it 48 hours early on IMAX.
The accusations led Tim to a realization: people assume he was paid because that's what they would have done in his position. They would have demanded payment and wouldn't have attended without it. This lens of projection extends to other accusations he's faced over the years — people claiming he got others fired, stole source code, or took the biggest bonus. Many accusers are simply projecting what they themselves would do given the opportunity.
The Employer's Dilemma
As co-founder of Troika Games (with Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson), Tim tried hard to be a good employer: equal pay, big bonuses, on-site daycare, free food, and other perks. Yet online comments consistently place 100% of workplace blame on employers — if an employee doesn't finish work, it must be the owner's fault for poor estimation, motivation, or pay.
This created a dispiriting thought: if he'd be lumped in with bad employers regardless, why not just have been a bad employer? It would have been easier and more lucrative to skip explanations, pay less, and tell people they're lucky to have a job. Tim doesn't endorse this — but he recognizes the perverse incentive structure that blanket hostility toward employers creates.
The Airline Parable
Tim uses the airline industry as his primary example of how consumer behavior drives corporate policy. Having started flying in 1987, he witnessed the entire transformation firsthand:
Bereavement Fares
Airlines once offered discounted fares for family emergencies — the lowest available price regardless of seat class. People abused this by lying about deaths, forcing airlines to require death certificates. When Tim's own father died in the early '90s, he had to present a death certificate just to rebook a flight.
Meals
When online ticket booking arrived, consumers consistently chose the cheapest fare — even if it was only $10 less and excluded meals. They complained about meal quality anyway. Airlines responded logically: if nobody's willing to pay for meals, stop providing them. The same consumers then complained about the absence of meals.
Checked Luggage
Airlines offered cheaper fares by charging separately for checked bags. Passengers chose the cheap tickets and carried everything on. Overhead bins filled up, flights got delayed, bags had to be gate-checked anyway. Consumers blamed airlines for a problem their own bargain-hunting created. Once airlines realized checked bag fees were profitable, of course they kept them — but the behavior started with passengers.
Vote With Your Wallet
Tim extends this to the games industry. He's previously advised people: if you don't like a game, don't buy it. The common retort — "that only works if everybody does it" — is technically true but misses the point. The same logic applies to spam: the very first spam email (green card lawyers in the early '90s) could have died immediately if nobody responded. A few people did, and spam became permanent.
Microtransactions are the same story. Everyone decries them, but many critics still buy them, reasoning that one purchase doesn't matter. But that's exactly how you become part of the problem. If you believe others should boycott but won't do it yourself, you don't actually hold the belief you claim to.
Both Sides
Tim closes by noting his unique vantage point: he's been inside and outside game development, been a company owner, manager, and employee. He's seen bad behavior on every side, which makes it impossible for him to point fingers and assign 100% blame to any single party. The capitalist society we live in is one we all collectively created through our individual choices.
The simplest, most effective form of protest is refusing to buy. Yes, it requires many people acting together — but if you won't act because you assume others won't either, you're just perpetuating the cycle.