Original Grim Fandango design document released

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 6th November 2008
Comments (15) Stumble
Original Grim Fandango design document released

Grim Fandango was one of the last truly great Lucasart adventure games and a utter classic of PC gaming.

This news post is perhaps a little indulgent as we don't exactly keep it a secret that we're big fans of the old Lucasarts adventure games, but what the hell. It turns out that not only is today the first day for a new President Elect, but it's also something much more important - the ten year anniversary for the release of Grim Fandango.

To help celebrate the fact Tim Schafer, the lead designer for the game and now head of Double Fine Studios, has released the original design document for the game as a 72 page .PDF.

The document details every single stage that was ever seriously planned for the full game and is full of information about bits that were cut from the final release - extra puzzles, plot twists, characters and locations. It's also strewn with juicy bits of backstory, dialog and so on.

"Look how much stuff we had to cut just to get that game done in three years. The Pizza Demon! Giraffe Lady! Bernard, and my beloved Dillopede. And the five-puzzle action climax with Hector LeMans," exclaimed the ever-excited Shafer.

"If only we had one or two more years! Well, reading about them ten years later is just as good, right?"

Grim Fandango was one of the last truly great adventure games released by Lucasarts and is often regarded as one of the latest and greatest games released before the adventure game genre was abandoned by major studios. Set in the Mexican Land of the Dead, the game centers around salesman Manny Calvera who must rescue the accidentally damned soul of a nun and crush a crime syndicate that is thriving in the lawless realm of purgatory.

You can pick up a copy of the design document over on the official Double Fine site, but be sure to share your nostalgia in the forums - Viva La Revolución, Manuel!
Quote Leitchy 6th November 2008, 11:18
Ha ha, brilliance
Quote Xir 6th November 2008, 11:52
Would it still run on XP? ;-)
Quote CardJoe 6th November 2008, 12:01
On XP, I think it would be fine. I think it can do Vista too, if you patch it right. IIRC there are some issues with the cutscenes, but nothing crippling.
Quote Rexxie 6th November 2008, 12:35
Man this game is awesome. I wanna play it again now.
LOL at the last page of the document.
Quote Loom 6th November 2008, 13:06
"not only is today the first day for a new President Elect, but it's also something much more important - the ten year anniversary for the release of Grim Fandango"

ROFL!
Quote Blademrk 6th November 2008, 13:11
I'm gonna have to break this out and play it.
Quote karx11erx 6th November 2008, 13:58
Absolutely hilarious. I wouldn't have solved more than two or three of these puzzles though, which would have left me unspeakably frustrated.
Quote johnnyboy700 6th November 2008, 14:01
Gawd, is it really ten years?
Its a totally brillianty game and I have to say that I still think that Glotis is one of the best sidekicks ever. Two simply brilliant moments that spring to mind are the first time you get to see the pimped up car and much later on the way he deals with the booby trapped car.
Quote Tyrmot 6th November 2008, 15:26
What I liked most about this was that he faked a printer error on the last puzzle cos they hadn't figured it out by the deadline! Nice work...
Quote Red 5 6th November 2008, 22:03
I picked up Grim Fandango a few years back in a package with Sam & Max, The Dig and Full Throttle. I gave up on it when a bug at the racetrack corrupted my save. A bug which the patch was supposed to have fixed. The puzzles were so difficult for me up to that point that I didn't feel like going through them again, even though the answers were fresh in my mind. I'll give it another go someday as it was pretty good up to then.

Ugly Betty brought a smile to my face the first time I watched it.
Quote Blademrk 7th November 2008, 10:25
^^ that's the same boxset I bought (DOTT was in it as well). twas in the bargin bin in game for £10
Quote Xir 7th November 2008, 11:20
Well the Demo doesn't run properly...
Have to see if I can get a full version somewhere (beeing 10 years old it's dissapeared from the bargain bins)
Hmmm, this and full throttle, that would be something for Good Old Games...
Quote Red 5 7th November 2008, 21:54
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blademrk
^^ that's the same boxset I bought (DOTT was in it as well). twas in the bargin bin in game for £10

Ooh, no, I didn't get DOTT. Let's see, I got (looks behind me)... 'The Entertainment Pack'. Come to think of It, I recently saw Sam & Max: Hit The Road for sale by itself in Zavvi. There was another old Lucasarts game too, but I can't remember what. I think it may have been The Dig. They were certainly a strange sight, sitting there brand new on a shelf.
Quote CardJoe 7th November 2008, 23:07
I was looking at buying a signed copy of Psychonauts earlier today from the double fine store. Excellent game.
Quote kenco_uk 8th November 2008, 23:14
I reckon I could wait two or three more years for a sequel :)
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