Tim Cain describes 70+ hour weeks while making the original Fallout

Pcgamer reports that in a new video on his YouTube channel, Fallout lead Tim Cain described his average daily schedule while working on the original Fallout at Interplay Entertainment and reflected on the grueling pace of work and why it felt acceptable in 1995. Cain said his composite day in 1995 — about a year into development, distinct from earlier preproduction and the even more intense seven-days-a-week final stretch in 1997 — began with waking at 6:00 AM, caring for his cat, then arriving at the office by 7:00 AM with a homemade loaf of bread.

He described midmorning check-ins, returning home each day for lunch because he was living paycheck to paycheck while paying a mortgage in Southern California, and working until about 7:00 or 7:30 PM on coding or in meetings. Assistant producer Fred Hatch rented a room from Cain during development, saying, "I need a little extra money … and he needed a place.

So it worked out great for both of us." Cain also said he typically worked eight hours on Saturdays — jokingly called "Timmy Time" — to build tools or features, and that some QA testers stayed late without collecting overtime simply to play the game.

Key Topics

Culture, Tim Cain, Fallout, Interplay Entertainment, Fred Hatch, Southern California