Being A Gay Game Developer

Timothy Cain

1 Jun 202320:23

EducationalLearning

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TLDRTim Cain reflects on his 42-year career as an openly gay video game developer, recalling how homophobia and lack of inclusion impacted him over the decades. From witnessing discrimination in the 80s and 90s to receiving a death threat in 2016, he describes his personal struggles and the gradual improvement of attitudes. Cain concludes that while political issues remain, the games industry is much more welcoming now than before, with greater diversity and interesting characters.

Takeaways

😨 He faced discrimination and homophobia throughout his career, from the 80s through today
😊 He was closeted for the first half of his career but came out later
👬 He had positive experiences being out at some companies like Carbine and Obsidian
🏳️‍🌈 He helped feature gay characters in games like Arcanum and Temple of Elemental Evil
😠 He faced backlash for being openly gay, including online harassment and threats
😌 Legal protections and social attitudes improved over time, making it safer to be out
😟 Lack of mentorship from other openly gay developers due to his long career
🤝 Tried to mentor younger LGBTQ devs and be visible to inspire others
🎮 Helped push industry towards more inclusion and diversity over decades
😀 Despite setbacks, he feels things have gotten much better for LGBTQ people overall

Q & A

What was Tim's first job in the game industry and when did he start?
-Tim's first job was at a company called Pegasus that later changed its name to Cybron. He started working there in 1981 while still in high school.
How did Tim feel when a gay designer was hired at his company in the 1980s?
-Tim felt it was great that everyone at the company seemed cool with the designer being gay. It made Tim think that maybe things were more accepting than he realized.
What incident reinforced to Tim that being openly gay was still not safe even in the late 1980s?
-In graduate school, one of Tim's friends came out to his father and lost all financial support. He could no longer afford school and was kicked out of student housing with almost no notice.
What was the environment like at Interplay in the early 1990s regarding homosexuality?
-There was a near constant level of homophobia and microaggressions. People regularly used homophobic slurs casually in conversation.
How did some employees at Interplay react to a transitioning trans woman using the women's restroom?
-Some employees, including managers, complained that it made them uncomfortable. One said Tim just didn't understand why it was an imposition.
Why did Tim remain closeted for most of his time running his own studio Troika?
-He worried that if he came out openly as gay, it might negatively impact contracts and business deals, as the game industry was still very conservative.
What was the environment like at Obsidian Entertainment regarding inclusion and diversity?
-Obsidian was the single most diverse and inclusive place Tim had ever worked. He couldn't recall any homophobic incidents happening there.
Why did Tim decide to start speaking at and organizing gay gaming conferences?
-He wanted to serve as a mentor to others, as he had never had an openly gay mentor himself in over 40 years in the industry.
What does Tim feel has improved regarding homosexuality and the game industry between the 1980s and now?
-Things are much better now in terms of inclusion and acceptance. There are many more openly LGBTQ+ people in the industry who are well received.
What message does Tim want people to take away from his long career as an openly gay game developer?
-Despite negative voices, things have greatly improved for LGBTQ+ people in the games industry and being openly gay does not prevent success.

Outlines

00:00

😞 Early career cloaked in fear amid the AIDS crisis

Paragraph 1 covers Tim's early career in the 80s, including his first job at Pegasus/Cybron while closeted in high school. He discusses the fear around being gay amid the AIDS crisis. A gay coworker faced discrimination, making Tim realize things weren't safe.

05:03

😿 Tragedy - a promising student's dreams destroyed

Paragraph 2 tells the story of a gay graduate school classmate who lost all financial support after coming out to his father in the late 80s. He was forced to leave school and move out suddenly, leaving him devastated.

10:08

😡 Ongoing homophobia and transphobia in the 90s

Paragraph 3 covers Tim's experiences in the 90s at Interplay and later his own studio Troika. There were constant microaggressions and homophobia at Interplay. Later, a transitioning employee at Troika faced backlash. Tim slowly began coming out.

15:09

😃 Finally finding acceptance and speaking out

Paragraph 4 shares Tim's positive experiences coming out at Carbine and later co-founding Obsidian, contrasting with previous decades. A minor incident was quickly addressed at Carbine. He began speaking at conferences to mentor others.

20:10

🌈 Achieving visibility to create change

In paragraph 5, Tim reflects on starting to speak at gaming conferences to increase visibility, wishing he'd had an older LGBTQ+ mentor. He sees signs of positive change in the industry compared to past decades.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Coming Out

Coming out refers to openly declaring one's sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a major theme in the video, as Tim discusses his experiences with coming out as a gay man at different points in his career. He was closeted early on due to fear of discrimination but later became more open. Coming out is shown as a complex personal decision influenced by cultural attitudes and workplace policies.

💡Homophobia

Homophobia refers to discrimination, prejudice, or hostility towards gay people. Tim gives many examples of homophobia he witnessed in game industry workplaces over the years, from microaggressions and jokes to outright threats. He notes how it created a culture where he felt unsafe coming out for many years.

💡AIDS Epidemic

The AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s severely impacted gay communities. Tim mentions how sensationalized media coverage scared his teenage self and reinforced the idea that being gay was dangerous.

💡LGBTQ Representation

Representation of LGBTQ identities in media, including gay video game characters. Tim discusses examples like a lesbian prostitute character that was cut from Temple of Elemental Evil, as well as Bertram the gay pirate in Arcanum which was praised by the gaming press.

💡Company Culture

The overall values, attitudes, and behaviors in a workplace. Tim contrasts more conservative, fraternity-like cultures at companies like Interplay with truly inclusive spaces like Obsidian Entertainment.

💡Censorship

The suppression of certain representations or themes in media products. Tim faced censorship requests over LGBTQ content from game publishers like Atari during development of Temple of Elemental Evil.

💡Mentorship

Guidance and advice provided by experienced people in an industry. Tim discusses his lack of openly LGBTQ mentors in the game industry and why he now speaks publicly about his experiences to support others.

💡Milestones

Important events related to LGBTQ rights and visibility, like the legalization of same-sex marriage. Tim mentions personal milestones like his beach wedding, which contrast with negative incidents like online harassment.

💡Wellbeing

Mental, emotional, and physical health and safety. Homophobia clearly impacted Tim's sense of wellbeing over the years, while positive company cultures promoted it.

💡Progress

Forward motion towards increased equality and acceptance of LGBTQ people in society and specific communities, like the games industry. Tim emphasizes that despite continuing challenges, he has witnessed tangible progress during his 40+ year career.

Highlights

Was closeted and scared in the 80s due to the AIDS crisis and homophobia

Experienced microagressions and constant homophobia while working at Interplay in the 90s

Was worried about coming out at his company Troika in the 2000s, fearing it would impact contracts

Atari wanted to cut a quest about a lesbian prostitute from Temple of Elemental Evil

Came out after Temple and got support, but later got a death threat on Facebook for being gay

Had a great, inclusive experience working at Obsidian with no homophobia

Couldn't donate blood at Obsidian due to outdated policies about gay men

Realized he's never had an openly gay mentor in the industry to provide guidance

Started speaking at conferences to be visible and support younger LGBTQ people entering the industry

Helped interview candidates at Obsidian who were looking for signs it was LGBTQ friendly

Sees more interesting, diverse characters in games now with more LGBTQ creators

Despite political issues, things are much better for LGBTQ people in the industry compared to past decades

Was scared to come out in the 80s due to homophobia and the AIDS crisis

A gay coworker was forced to drop out of college after his father disowned him for coming out

Transitioning employee faced harassment even after specifying which restroom she would use

Transcripts

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