Why I Directed One Last Time

1. The Carbine Trauma

After leaving Carbine Studios, Tim was so demoralized by his experience on WildStar that he declared he would never direct a game again. He describes this period as the most documented yet least revisited part of his career — he doesn't even like looking at his own notes about it.

2. Five Happy Years of Coding (2011–2016)

Tim joined Obsidian on what was supposed to be a temporary, pure coding job. Within months he was asked to lead a combat strike team (which he declined), then went on to code on South Park: The Stick of Truth, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny.

He settled into an 80/20 to 90/10 split of coding versus design work and was genuinely content. He learned PS3 console programming, picked up Unity, and returned to professional C++ development. The stress was gone and he enjoyed wearing multiple hats without the crushing responsibility of directing.

3. The New IP Push

Obsidian wanted to create an original, large-scale first-person IP. Meetings were held, various ideas pitched, but nothing gained traction. It turned out the Obsidian founders already had a concept they wanted to pursue: "Fallout in space."

Tim's reaction was immediate — his brain lit up with possibilities — but his answer to directing it was an equally immediate no.

4. Why He Understood the Cost

Tim had watched other directors at Obsidian deal with the role's demands. He saw the meetings he was glad to skip, the email chains he was relieved not to answer. His description of the director role: "Everything below comes up to you and everything above comes down to you. You're this fulcrum of stress."

He'd been there. He didn't need to go back. And Obsidian had other people who could do it.

5. What Changed

The other candidates either didn't want the job or weren't ready for it. Tim's metaphor: "You need to spend more time in the game development oven. You need to get browned around the edges a little bit."

The founders came back to him and asked: "What would it take?"

Tim gave an honest list of conditions. Some were met, some weren't. But one condition he considered the dealbreaker — the thing he was certain they couldn't deliver, giving him a graceful exit back to his coding desk:

Hire Leonard Boyarsky.

6. The Boyarsky Factor

Tim and Leonard's partnership spanned Fallout, Arcanum, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Their working relationship was built on complementary strengths and deep trust:

• Tim gravitated toward coding and systems design
• Leonard gravitated toward art and narrative design
• Both loved discussing setting, story beats, and high-level creative direction
• Each trusted the other to own their domain without interference

Their daily work involved detailed, iterative discussions — hashing out design problems by drawing on shared history across multiple shipped games. Tim notes that some people mistook these conversations for arguments, but they were simply thorough creative discourse: "These things have to happen. If you think they don't happen, they do. They just don't happen with you."

7. The Outcome

To Tim's surprise, Obsidian made it happen. Leonard joined, they shared an office, and what started as "Fallout in space" became The Outer Worlds.

Tim's conclusion is unequivocal: "The Outer Worlds happened because of Leonard Boyarsky. If they had not brought him on board, I would not have done it. In fact, I could not have done it."

8. References

• Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTHUBI8Pzjk