Tim Schafer Quotes

Powerful Tim Schafer for Daily Growth

About Tim Schafer

Timothy John Schafer, born on March 29, 1967, in Taylor, Michigan, is an iconic American video game developer, animator, voice actor, and screenwriter. Known for his humorous storytelling and innovative design, Schafer has significantly influenced the gaming industry since the late 1980s. Inspired by LucasArts adventure games like Maniac Mansion and Indiana Jones, Schafer began his career as a concept artist for Lucasfilm's computer graphics division before joining their game development division in 1990. His first major project was co-designing the classic graphic adventure game Loom (1990). In 1992, Schafer moved to LucasArts' story team, where he worked on several influential games such as The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (1997) and Full Throttle (1995), for which he served as project leader. These games showcased his distinctive blend of humor, character development, and puzzle design that have become trademarks of his work. In 2000, Schafer founded his own game development studio, Double Fine Productions. Their debut game, Psychonauts (2005), was a critical success, with its unique blend of platforming action, exploration, and humor earning it a cult following. Schafer's other notable works at Double Fine include Brutal Legend (2009) and Broken Age (2014). Quotes: - "The key to good adventure game design is the ratio of fun to frustration." - "There are two types of games: good ones and ones that have not been made yet." - "I'm a big believer in the power of dreams. They're what we've got as humans to try out our craziest ideas before we waste resources making them a reality." Tim Schafer continues to push boundaries in game development, proving that humor and creativity can make games more than just entertainment - they can be works of art.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"There's nothing wrong with your television set. The signal is perfect." - Psychonauts

This quote from Tim Schafer, creator of the video game Psychonauts, serves as a metaphorical reminder that sometimes our problems may not lie within our circumstances or environment (in this case, the television set), but within ourselves and our perception of those circumstances. The "signal" here symbolizes our experiences, and the perfection implies that despite our struggles or perceived imperfections in life, we should strive to find a positive outlook, understanding that our inner perspective plays a significant role in how we interpret and navigate our lives.


"It's a very special day for me, because it's my birthday and I've decided to grow exactly one year older." - Full Throttle

This quote by Tim Schafer, from his game "Full Throttle," humorously emphasizes the arbitrary nature of age and time. He cleverly uses sarcasm to express that while it's technically his birthday and he's 'growing older,' he has control over this process, implying a playful disregard for societal norms surrounding aging. This quote is insightful as it encourages the reader to consider personal growth, not just age-related changes, as something within our control, and that celebrating one's life journey is more significant than simply counting years.


"I want the game to feel like a movie that you are in control of." - Grim Fandango

This quote by Tim Schafer, from Grim Fandango, emphasizes his creative intent for video games to emulate the immersive experience of watching a film while providing players with control over the narrative. It suggests that he desires gameplay to be seamless and cinematic, yet still allow for player interaction and agency in shaping the storyline and outcomes. Essentially, it's about creating a captivating, engaging world within a game that feels like being part of a movie, but where the audience (the player) has the unique power to influence events as they unfold.


"If you can dream it, you can do it. Unless your dream is to be an octopus." - Brutal Legend

This quote by Tim Schafer from "Brutal Legend" suggests that while most dreams or aspirations are achievable with enough determination, effort, and planning (as the saying goes, if you can dream it, you can do it), there may be exceptions to this rule - such as the unattainable dream of becoming an octopus. In a more metaphorical sense, it implies that while we can achieve many things with our human capabilities, there are some realities or limitations that cannot be overcome, and we must accept these natural boundaries in our pursuit of dreams.


"The game is over, man. Game over!" - Day of the Tentacle

The quote "The game is over, man. Game over!" from Tim Schafer in Day of the Tentacle signifies an ending or conclusion, usually within a game context. However, it can also be interpreted as a broader statement about accepting the inevitable or acknowledging that something has come to its natural end. It emphasizes acceptance and moving forward, even when faced with adversity or the end of a cherished experience.


After 'Psychonauts,' we could have laid off half our team so that we'd have more money and time to sign 'Brutal Legend.' But doing so would have meant breaking up a team that had just learned how to work well together. And what message would that have sent to our employees? It would say that we're not loyal to them, and that we don't care.

- Tim Schafer

Doing, Sign, Half, Legend

There was a 'magic rock' my mom would lift up, and under the rock was a bunch of bugs. Roly-poly bugs and worms. Somehow I thought that it was a magical world of insects, and I wanted to go there. It was the same impulse as 'Pikmin' - I wanted to go into that world.

- Tim Schafer

Magic, Thought, Go, Worms

I guess I didn't have a lot of friends, so that's what made videogames so important. They played back. I could do them myself. Solitaire can't surprise you; there's no AI. But videogames play back with you.

- Tim Schafer

Surprise, Play, Made, AI

I've always been a proponent of the idea that technology doesn't matter to game design. The example I always like to point out is 'Tetris,' one of the greatest games ever made.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Always, Been, Proponent

I've always hated superheroes. I cannot stand them. I love Norse mythology, but I hate superheroes. They ruined movies, then comics, and now games.

- Tim Schafer

Love, Always, Comics, Superheroes

The Internet has allowed a lot of access - people feel entitled to change the ending of games, for example. So there are a lot more voices coming at you all the time, which I think has its effect on creative decision making and possibly makes people more afraid to take risks.

- Tim Schafer

Access, I Think, Entitled, Possibly

Kinect is such a great new entry into the field because it takes away one of the big barriers to little kids to playing a game, which is the controller. You can't hand a basic video game controller to a child and expect them to understand what a left bumper is and to click in the right stick.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Big, Away, Video Game

I always think the recipe for success for a game or any sort of a fantasy experience is to think of a character that hasn't really been explored before, who is unique and has special abilities that not everybody has, and plop them into whatever is the most interesting situation to plop them into.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Been, Everybody, Explored

I love studying folklore and legends. The stories that people passed down for a thousand years without any sort of marketing support are obviously saying something appealing about the basic human condition.

- Tim Schafer

Love, Human Condition, About, Folklore

I would like to reach non-gamers. It's always great when guys come up to me who are gamers and represent my usual audience, but they'll say, 'You know, Psychonauts is the only game I can actually get my girlfriend to play with me.'

- Tim Schafer

Game, Play, Reach, Represent

People talk about games and loneliness - it's a lonely activity. I didn't understand that. 'Gears of War' was the first multiplayer game for me that I enjoyed. But I wasn't sad. I liked being alone. I liked playing games by myself. I had lots of companionship at the house.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Activity, About, Gears

The last time I really got into new music that wasn't heavy metal was probably like... TV on the Radio? I think that was it. That's the last time.

- Tim Schafer

Think, New, TV, New Music

Adventure games are all about details - if you happen to take this one object and use it with this other object, in a really weird place, at a weird time. If you happen to write a really funny dialogue line for that, even if it didn't solve the puzzle, people will appreciate that.

- Tim Schafer

Other, Line, Use, Object

What I learned at LucasArts was, you don't make your bets on ideas: ideas are cheap. You make your bets on people.

- Tim Schafer

Ideas, Your, Learned, Bets

When I'm playing 'Rock Band,' I'm like, 'Man, someday, later on in life when I'm a famous rock star...' Which gets a little harder to convince myself of as I reach middle age, but it still happens a lot.

- Tim Schafer

Life, Reach, Rock Star, Middle Age

Before 'Final Fantasy VII,' I would have told you that I had zero interest in RPGs with turn-based combat. But that game was so well done, I didn't care what genre it was. Any genre can be done poorly or done well.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Fantasy, Poorly, Care

I like any good game. I don't care what the genre is.

- Tim Schafer

Game, Like, Any, Genre

I enjoy everything. I actually do listen to everything. In high school, I listened to a lot of metal and punk rock.

- Tim Schafer

Enjoy, Punk Rock, Metal

Publishers are very risk-averse, so they lean towards licenses and sequels. But the fact is that even those are not guaranteed hits. So, if 'playing it safe' does not guarantee hits, they might as well leave it up to the really creative, risk-taking people, because they couldn't do any worse.

- Tim Schafer

Fact, Very, Sequels, Risk-Taking

A huge part of what a kid learns when they're growing up is social and emotional development. As adults, we take it for granted that other people have emotions that are different from ours, and we can identify what they are, but those are skills that children have to learn.

- Tim Schafer

Kid, Other, Part, Granted

For every character, I think about who they are, their story, what they are, and who they were before their game started. What was their life like? Where did they grow up? What were their parents like?

- Tim Schafer

Game, Think, I Think, Grow Up

If you're not loyal to your team, you can get by for a while, but eventually you will need to rely on their loyalty to you, and it just won't be there.

- Tim Schafer

Will, Need, Loyal, Loyalty

If I had done a sequel to 'Day of the Tentacle,' there probably wouldn't have been a 'Full Throttle.' If I did a 'Full Throttle' sequel, there wouldn't have been a 'Grim Fandango.' It's important to make new stuff up.

- Tim Schafer

New, Been, Had, Grim

I've now met, I would say, almost every single one of my rock idols. I feel like I should just drive off a cliff now.

- Tim Schafer

Feel, Like, Almost, Cliff

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