Influential Books

I talk about books that influenced my game designs. I talk about each book specifically and then how they influenced my design in general.

Videos I reference:

[JohnnyTheWolf-dp]

I am sure you might be aware of it, Tim, but for those who do not know, STALKER even features the Gauss Rifle from Fallout!

[swivelskittle]

I knew you'd mention Roadside Picnic! Literally my favorite book

[JHawking]

I saw Book of the New Sun on the thumbnail and audibly let out "holy shit"; it's my all-time favorite series, I'm glad to see it get some spotlight.

[endyy]

Iain M Banks is so top tier - thanks for the recommendations, I will be checking a few of these out

[_jared]

This was such a fun video to watch. I loved hearing about your influences, and I also love your taste in science fiction. Have you ever read Neal Stephenson? He's one of my favorite living science fiction writers, and I think he touches on many of the themes you mentioned (often has one or two really big ideas, writes stories which are epic in scope, etc.)

[urthofthenewsun]

6:10 In your first read of BoTNS, it feels like you are reading a fantasy novel. On a second read, you realise the first ranged weapon described in the novel is a laser pistol.

[endlessmatt]

For the first 9 minutes of the video, all I was thinking was "Tim would love Ursula K. Le Guin", then the prophecy came true. Thank you for the recommendations! Time to hit up the local used book store.

[jerrypocalypse]

I'm so glad you mentioned Roadside Picnic!

[mellit]

Good morning, Tim! Thank you, adding these to my reading list

[salty-horse]

Yay! I'm reading Excession now, as part of a Culture readalong with friends. I love that you put a picture of an omnibus with Tale of the Troika as an easter egg :D
Given your list, I think you would like the Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. It's one of my favorites.

[JReed]

Fred Saberhagen wrote the Lost Swords books hoping they'd be adapted into a videogame. It would be awesome to play a game based on those swords. Ive read all the Lost Swords books twice in my life.

[VaultDweller]

Tim, I have been waiting for this exact sort of video! I've always appreciated your work immensely, and I love to read, so this is great. Would be great to learn about the films that influenced you as well! Thank you.

[aviussabes]

Thank you for this channel. Your sage and honest words have inspired me to stop being all talk and actually sit down and learn coding. It wasn't until this year that I realized you are responsible for so much of the moments I love most in gaming. Thank you again and keep being you.

[jasonnealreed]

10/10 recommendations! I've read maybe a third of these, soon reading the rest

Alistair Reynolds is so underrated. I really liked Chasm City and the Dreyfuss books, in addition to the excellent Revelation Space trilogy

[sconeeeestuff]

Hi Tim, I've been watching your content for a couple of years now and I just want to say how appreciative I am to be able to watch these videos on a consistent basis to be able to listen and think about the kinds of influences and stories a creative person like you has to talk about. I've played many of the games you've worked on without knowing about you, but with the knowledge and point of view I now have from watching your content I am compelled to express my gratitude to you for making such a positive impact on the gaming industry and culture at large. Without your influence, a lot of innovative and creative ways to tell stories would not exist, and your philosophy transcends all of those mediums that allows people to continue the kind of passionate storytelling we so desperately need nowadays.

[ToyokaX]

YESSS! Olaf Stepledon is a great author. I loved reading Star Maker, and I really wanted to read "Last and First Men". You've convinced me to go look for it now! You suggest some other great sci-fi novels that I'm now interested in. Thanks for the list! Other authors I'd like to mention are of course, the trifecta.. the ABCs! Asimov (often mixes science with fiction, loved his "I, Robot" short story books, and some of his other books, Foundation series included), Bradbury (his short stories are also great little nuggets of inspiration, especially "The Martian Chronicles" and "A Sound of Thunder"), and Clarke who has quite a formidable catalogue ("Childhood's End" was quite a read, I must say). Special mention to Dan Simmon's Hyperion Cantos as - although It's kinda cheesy and has some weird prose and choice of words and actions from characters (I've only read the first two books so far) - it still also has an interesting world that got my mind going places when reading the series.

[DamianReloaded]

Jack Vance is out of this world. The Demon Princes definitely a Must Read if you're up for adventure. And Iain Banks omg.

[bradenwest]

Thank you Tim for your videos, I’ve been loving them all. You’re a good person

[grumpyhouse]

lol yeah unreliable narrator is Gene' Wolfe's calling card. What's even more amazing is how he manages to never let it go stale. Each time he uses it, he finds ways to make his narrator unreliable in a completely different way. Another fun trick I've seen him pull off is writing in second person. Not a thing I've seen much of before outside of mayyybe Choose Your Own Adventure?

[DeepMoon]

My guy holy hell you have such great taste!!! I love the very clear love you have for the Dying Earth genre 😂 I recently bought and now own a collection of Hodgson's stories including The Night Land which I absolutely love the sound of and I'm in the middle of reading The Dying Earth stories by Vance! All incredible picks on here, so cool to see! Hope you are doing well, Tim! :)