Call me a bad Tim Schafer stan, but until today I had no idea that the man behind classics like Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Stacking and Psychonauts also had a credit on the 1999 hit, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer. I’m constantly learning!
Earlier today, a Twitter user by the name of @TruckleChuckle pointed out that Schafer features in the game’s credits in a fairly unusual fashion. During the “special thanks” portion of the game’s credits run, the Double Fine founder’s name appears with the title of “Never actively tried to sabotage the project.” Which is already an amusing thing to learn in and of itself, but Tim has come to the party with something of an explanation for this inclusion.
In a response, Schafer says:
“The Podracing team sat right next to the Grim team at LucasArts. Once, hanging out in their office, I asked, “What credit are you going to give me on Podracer?”
“Why would we give you a credit? You didn’t do anything to help make this project!”
I said, “True, but on the other hand, I did nothing to hurt it.” They just couldn’t shake the logic I guess!”
So there it is. Until someone from the game’s original development team steps in to correct Tim’s account of events, it looks like sometimes all it takes to get your name in a video game is to sit quietly next to the people making it and not actively fuck it up.
The Podracing team sat right next to the Grim team at LucasArts. Once, hanging out in their office, I asked, "What credit are you going to give me on Podracer?"
"Why would we give you a credit? You didn't do anything to help make this project!"
I said, "True, but on the other… https://t.co/qmZYPtQ3wO
— TimOfLegend (@TimOfLegend) May 18, 2023
The original tweet that sparked this also highlights that the discovery was made while playing Episode 1: Racer on an Xbox, where the game is currently one of the two included titles in Xbox Games With Gold benefits, so if this has sparked your interest and you’re an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber you can grab the game now and play it for yourself!
