Timelessness

tim-cain game-design content-creation cultural-references humor longevity channel-philosophy

Abstract

Problem: How can game developers and content creators make work that remains relevant and valuable years or decades after creation, rather than being anchored to the fleeting concerns of the moment?

Approach: Tim Cain reflects on his deliberate efforts to keep both his YouTube channel and his games timeless, using a surprisingly mundane catalyst — discovering that everything he knew about doing laundry was outdated — to illustrate how even "permanent" knowledge has a shelf life.

Findings: Timelessness in games and content comes from focusing on enduring topics (process, methodology, human dynamics, design principles) rather than current drama, trending games, or cultural references. When cultural references are used, they should be subtle enough that someone who doesn't recognize them won't even notice they're there.

Key insight: Just because you can't make something perfectly timeless doesn't mean you shouldn't try — the journey toward timelessness itself produces better, more enduring work.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3jMBT_2mU

The Laundry Epiphany

Tim opens with an unexpected catalyst for the video: he recently changed how he does laundry. After doing laundry the same way for half a century — separating darks and lights, washing in hot and cold respectively, using dryer sheets — he discovered that none of this has been necessary for at least 15 years. Modern clothing dyes are completely colorfast, modern detergents use enzymatic cleaners and surfactants designed for cold water, and wool dryer balls outperform dryer sheets without depositing microplastics into the environment.

The point isn't about laundry — it's that something he assumed was permanent and timeless turned out to have changed fundamentally without him noticing. This realization prompted him to think deeply about what actually endures.

Making a Channel Timeless

Tim's explicit goal is for his YouTube channel to remain useful and applicable 5, 10, or even 20 years from now, long after he stops making videos. To achieve this, he focuses on topics he believes will still be true in years to come:

  • The game development process
  • Design methodology
  • Stories of actual development experiences
  • How to work with other people and pick good collaborators
  • How to handle stress
  • The nature of game development as neither pure art nor pure science, but "some kind of weird Frankenstein of the two"
  • Timeless industry issues like preserving game assets, stress, unfairness in power and wealth structures

What He Deliberately Avoids

  • Current industry drama and headlines
  • Game reviews or opinions on specific games (he has an entire video explaining why, and links to it more than any other)
  • Being an "industry pundit"
  • Reacting to whatever is trending

Tim illustrates the ephemeral nature of drama with pointed examples: "Are any of you still angry about Unity's pricing structure? Are any of you still shocked about certain sexy bear cinematics in Baldur's Gate 3? Do a lot of you not know what I'm talking about? That's my point."

He notes that even when people just want his subjective thoughts on a game, the internet transforms those thoughts into a "review," which then diverts productive discussions about game methodology into endless subjective arguments.

Making Games Timeless

Tim acknowledges this is inherently harder than making content timeless. Many elements of games are impossible to future-proof: resolutions change, hardware changes, UI/UX standards improve dramatically, tastes shift, and genres cycle in and out of fashion.

Despite these challenges, he points to proof that timeless games exist — people still play Tetris, and many games from 20-30 years ago remain popular.

The Cultural Reference Problem

A key strategy for timeless games is avoiding references to timely things: products, services, songs, movies, TV shows, celebrities, and politics. Tim has observed that games heavily rooted in the cultural moment of their creation become confusing or alienating even 5-10 years later. Players encounter NPC dialogue and wonder: "Should I be laughing right now? Should I be taking something away from what that NPC just said?"

Tim's Humor Rule Applied to Cultural References

Tim's approach to humor in games doubles as advice for cultural references: if people don't get the reference, they shouldn't even know that a reference is being made. You can still "wink" at something cultural, but it should be subtle enough that those who don't recognize it experience no disruption. Making cultural references too obvious risks the game feeling "horrible in the moment and worse in five or 10 years, especially if you pick the wrong side of the cultural shift."

The Core Philosophy

Tim closes by reiterating that the pursuit of timelessness is itself valuable, even when perfection is impossible: "Just because you can't succeed at something doesn't mean you shouldn't try. The actual journey is the important part, not the goal." He asks viewers to support this approach by not pressuring him into covering news and trending topics — understanding that these requests come from a good place, but that fulfilling them would undermine the channel's long-term value.

References