# Tim Schafer

> American video game designer (born 1967)

**Wikidata**: [Q523191](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q523191)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Schafer)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/tim-schafer

## Summary
Tim Schafer is an American video game designer, programmer, and entrepreneur. He is the owner of Double Fine, an American video game developer, and a recipient of major industry honors including the 2018 Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2018 BAFTA Fellowship.

## Biography
- Born: 1967-07-26, Sonoma
- Nationality: United States
- Education: Sonoma Valley High School; University of California, Berkeley
- Known for: Video game design, producing and writing for video games; ownership and leadership of Double Fine
- Employer(s): Double Fine (owner)
- Field(s): Video game development; computer science; software engineering; screenwriting for games

## Contributions
Tim Schafer has led and shaped commercial video game development primarily through his ownership and leadership of Double Fine, an American video game developer with inception in July 2000 and headquarters in San Francisco (65 employees reported in 2015). At Double Fine he has worked as a video game designer, producer and screenwriter (credited as screenwriter for Brütal Legend). His public recognition includes the Game Developers Choice Award — Lifetime Achievement (2018) and the BAFTA Fellowship (awarded 2018-04-12), marking industry acknowledgement of his long-term creative and leadership contributions. Schafer maintains a prominent public presence online, including the verified Twitter account TimOfLegend (active since 2009-03-15) and a Mastodon address (TimOfLegend@mastodon.gamedev.place, active since 2022-11-21). These roles and honors collectively document his concrete outcomes: ownership of a notable independent studio (Double Fine, 2000), credited creative work on commercial games (screenwriting for Brütal Legend), and multiple major industry awards recognizing a sustained career in game development.

## FAQs
### Q: Who is Tim Schafer?
A: Tim Schafer is an American video game designer, programmer, screenwriter and owner of the game studio Double Fine. He is a recognized industry figure awarded the 2018 Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2018 BAFTA Fellowship.

### Q: What is Double Fine and what is Schafer’s role there?
A: Double Fine is an American video game developer (inception July 2000) headquartered in San Francisco. Tim Schafer is listed as the owner of Double Fine.

### Q: Has Tim Schafer received major awards?
A: Yes. He received the Game Developers Choice Award — Lifetime Achievement in 2018 and was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship on 2018-04-12. He is also associated with a New York Game Awards recognition (2022-02-01).

### Q: Is Tim Schafer active on social media?
A: Yes. He has a verified Twitter account under the handle TimOfLegend (active since 2009-03-15) and a Mastodon address TimOfLegend@mastodon.gamedev.place (active since 2022-11-21).

## Why They Matter
Tim Schafer’s significance stems from a sustained, multi-decade presence in commercial video game development and leadership of an independent studio. As owner of Double Fine (inception 2000) he has been central to producing and guiding creative projects within the video game industry, combining roles as designer, programmer, producer and screenwriter. This multidisciplinary practice is recognized by peer-awarded honors: a 2018 Game Developers Choice Lifetime Achievement Award and the BAFTA Fellowship (2018), both indicating broad industry impact and influence on game creators and studios. Without his leadership at Double Fine, one prominent independent studio with a public history (headquartered in San Francisco and reported to have 65 employees in 2015) would not exist in its current form under his ownership. His public-facing presence (verified Twitter, mastodon account) and international identifiers (ISNI, VIAF, Library of Congress authority) further document a career that has shaped professional standards for creative authorship, studio leadership, and public engagement in the games field.

## Notable For
- Owner of Double Fine, an American video game developer (Double Fine inception: July 2000; headquarters: San Francisco; 65 employees reported in 2015).
- Recipient of the Game Developers Choice Award — Lifetime Achievement (2018).
- Recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship (awarded 2018-04-12).
- Credited as screenwriter for the video game Brütal Legend.
- Public online presence including the verified Twitter account TimOfLegend (active since 2009-03-15) and a Mastodon address (TimOfLegend@mastodon.gamedev.place).

## Body

### Personal and identity data
- Full name and aliases: Timothy John Schafer; also known as Timothy Schafer and variants in other scripts.
- Sex/gender: Male.
- Birth: 1967-07-26 in Sonoma.
- Citizenship: United States.

### Education
- Attended Sonoma Valley High School.
- Attended the University of California, Berkeley.

### Occupation and fields
- Occupations listed: engineer; programmer; computer scientist; video game developer; screenwriter; video game producer; video game designer.
- Fields of practice: video game development, software engineering, computer science.

### Double Fine — ownership and studio data
- Owner_of: Double Fine (explicitly listed).
- Double Fine details from source:
  - Inception: July 2000.
  - Country: United States.
  - Headquarters: San Francisco.
  - Employees: 65 (point in time: 2015).
  - Industry: video game industry.

### Creative credits and roles
- Screenwriter credit: Brütal Legend (listed in occupations as screenwriter with a citation).
- Roles at Double Fine include creative leadership, design, production, and programming (occupational labels in source).

### Awards and honors
- Game Developers Choice Award — Lifetime Achievement (2018).
- BAFTA Fellowship (awarded 2018-04-12; described as part of the 14th British Academy Games Awards).
- New York Game Awards recognition (point in time: 2022-02-01).

### Public profiles and identifiers
- Twitter: TimOfLegend (verified; active since 2009-03-15).
- Mastodon: TimOfLegend@mastodon.gamedev.place (start_time 2022-11-21).
- IMDb ID: nm0769796.
- ISNI: 0000000034758670.
- VIAF and other authority identifiers available (VIAF, Library of Congress, SNAC, MusicBrainz, etc.).
- Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Tim_120A354-crop_(cropped).jpg (point in time: 2016).

### Notation on public metrics
- Social media follower counts are documented at several points (examples in source: 1,044,019 followers as preferred value on 2023-02-11 for a listed account; historical counts for 2020–2022 and small Mastodon follower counts in 2024).

### References in metadata
- Wikipedia page title: Tim Schafer.
- Commons category and gallery: Tim Schafer.
- Multiple authority control identifiers and language links are available as listed in source metadata.

## Schema Markup
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  "nationality": {
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  "birthDate": "1967-07-26",
  "birthPlace": "Sonoma, United States",
  "alumniOf": [
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## References

1. Virtual International Authority File
2. BnF authorities
3. [Source](https://www.gamechoiceawards.com/archive/lifetime)
4. [Tim Schafer to Receive BAFTA Fellowship](https://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/tim-schafer-to-receive-bafta-fellowship/)
5. Awards! All The Winners From The 11th New York Game Awards!
6. MusicBrainz
7. SNAC
8. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
9. Quora
10. [Source](https://www.podchaser.com/creators/tim-schafer-107a4VRi1n/appearances)