Brushes With Famous People

tim-cain stories celebrities interplay fallout temple-of-elemental-evil troika obsidian game-awards

Abstract

Problem: What happens when a veteran game developer spends decades in the industry — who do you end up crossing paths with?

Approach: Tim Cain shares a roughly chronological tour of celebrity encounters across his career at Interplay, Troika, Carbine, Obsidian, and beyond — from voice recording sessions to launch parties to Disneyland.

Findings: The encounters range from surreal (Steven Spielberg popping into his office) to deeply meaningful (a 45-minute phone call with Gary Gygax about Temple of Elemental Evil lore), with a recurring theme of Tim being too starstruck to actually approach the celebrities he admires.

Key insight: A long career in game development puts you in surprisingly close proximity to famous people — and Tim's consistent regret is not saying hello more often.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8T255IglJw

1. Steven Spielberg at Interplay

While Tim was working at Interplay on Fallout, his office mate Mark stepped out. About 30 seconds later, Steven Spielberg's head popped into the doorway. Spielberg looked around at the posters and bookcase, then asked Tim: "Are you a programmer?" and "Is this a typical programmer's office?" Tim said yes, Spielberg said "okay thanks" and left. He was researching what a programmer's workspace looked like for an upcoming movie (Tim believes it was called Hacker, possibly starring Billy Baldwin). When Mark returned and asked "Did I miss anything?" — Tim had quite the story.

2. David Warner Recording Morpheus

During Fallout's voice recording sessions, Tim got to watch David Warner (known for The Omen, Time Bandits, and Star Trek V) perform the role of Morpheus. Tim describes watching him perform as mesmerizing. He got to briefly explain the character to Warner — "yes, it was evil" — and found the whole experience deeply cool.

3. Gary Gygax and Temple of Elemental Evil

While making Temple of Elemental Evil at Troika, Tim called Gary Gygax to resolve lore questions he couldn't answer from the source material. The biggest puzzle: why was Prince Thrommel, listed as a lawful good paladin, carrying Fragarach — an intelligent chaotic good sword whose description explicitly states it life-drains anyone who isn't chaotic good who touches it?

Gygax explained on the phone that he'd been considering introducing chaotic good paladins, which was beyond the scope of what Tim could implement in the game. Gygax agreed the sword alignment should be changed. He also revealed that the Temple was originally supposed to go much deeper, with an elemental elder god at the bottom — which is why it was called the Temple of Elemental Evil, despite the various priests worshipping a demon.

Tim describes Gygax as "so incredibly nice" and the conversation (roughly 30–60 minutes) as a "culmination of a childhood dream." He had met Gygax once before at a convention in LA called OrcCon, where Gygax signed his DM's Guide, but this phone call was the real interaction.

4. Richard Garriott at Carbine

During Tim's interview process at Carbine Studios, Richard Garriott flew out as part of the NCSoft Austin group for the final confirmation of Tim's hiring as programming director. Over lunch, the two hit it off immediately — Tim told Garriott how Ultima III was probably why he wanted to make RPGs, and Garriott said he liked Fallout. Tim describes it as feeling like two old friends reuniting rather than a first meeting. Producer Eric DeMilt (who had also produced Fallout 2 and would later produce The Outer Worlds) had to lean over and tell them: "Hey, can you guys cut the nerd chat? This is a lunch interview."

5. Fallout 3 Launch Party

At the Fallout 3 launch party, Tim experienced what he calls his first real "celebrity — do not approach" moment:

  • Lynda Carter — Tim saw her but couldn't bring himself to say hello, despite having helped make the game. He notes she is "crazy gorgeous in person," even more so than in photos.
  • David Spade — Spotted at one of the bars, no interaction.
  • Will Sasso — Standing about 10 feet away, they exchanged a look and a nod. Tim regrets not going over to chat, suspecting Sasso would have been friendly. "Mr. Sasso, I'm sorry I didn't come over."

6. Will Wheaton at PAX West

At PAX West (likely 2010), Tim and friends were eating at a sushi bar when Wil Wheaton walked up on the sidewalk outside the window, looking at his phone. Just before Tim could alert his friends, Wheaton sneezed into his hand, wiped it, and went back to his phone. Tim's friends missed it but later got Wheaton's autograph and told him the story. Wheaton wrote Tim a note about the incident, which Tim still has.

7. Fallout 4 Launch Party

At the Fallout 4 launch party, Tim couldn't access the VIP section. While waiting in line, he spotted Aaron Bleyaert (the guy who played video games with Conan O'Brien) about 10 people ahead, wearing a Vault suit. Tim's observation: "Those Vault suits are tight. They leave very little to the imagination. Congratulations, Mr. Bleyaert."

8. Game Awards 2018 — Rivers Cuomo

When Tim and Leonard Boyarsky were backstage about to announce The Outer Worlds, the person queued to speak after them was Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. Tim didn't say anything — someone with Cuomo gave off a "back off" vibe. After returning to his seat, Tim texted his niece, who was mortified he hadn't gotten an autograph.

9. Fallout TV Premiere

At the Fallout TV show premiere, Tim met Aaron Moten (Maximus), director Jonathan Nolan, and showrunner Graham Wagner. He had hoped to meet Walton Goggins to ask how he kept a straight face during the Community episode where he played the lawyer reading Pierce's will, but Goggins wasn't there. He saw Kyle MacLachlan but didn't get to speak with him.

10. Disneyland Encounters

Living in Tustin, just a 10-minute drive from Disneyland, Tim was a regular visitor:

  • David Hasselhoff — Tim spotted him with an entourage near Splash Mountain. His sister Dena refused to look, thinking Tim was making it up, and by the time she turned, Hasselhoff had rounded the corner.
  • Eddie Murphy — Tim and his husband Robert were exiting Pirates of the Caribbean when Eddie Murphy and his kids were being led in through the exit by a cast member, presumably to skip the line. Tim and Murphy exchanged a look. Tim jokes: "I'm sure he remembers this. He probably said, 'Hey, it's that Tim Cain who made Fallout.'"

11. References