Sunday, November 9, 2008

Original Grim Fandango design document released

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 RevoluciĆ³n, Manuel!

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