Grim Fandango occupies a unique place in LucasArts' timeline. It was the company's first project to incorporate 3D graphics, and at the same time, the beginning of the end for an entire genre. The original version hit shelves in 1998, but it's always worth revisiting its most notable aspects. With that in mind, today I want to recommend the "Puzzle Document" of Grim Fandango, created by none other than Tim Schafer and his team, two years before the official release.
When Grim Fandango made its debut on October 30, 1998 (a little before the Day of the Dead), public opinions were more or less in the same direction: a solid story, wonderful art, and good use of 3D graphics (for the time)... all diminished by an uncomfortable interface, strange angles, and frustrating puzzles in some sections.
In the end, Grim Fandango sold half the units compared to Full Throttle. Technically, the game met commercial expectations, but in October '98, the gaming world was already flirting with titles like Unreal and StarCraft. Even so, Grim Fandango managed to become something very special, 'the "last great classic" of LucasArts', with an enormous legacy. Would you like to know more? If the answer is yes, you need to explore the "Puzzle Document" of Grim Fandango, created by Tim Schafer, Peter Tsacle, Eric Ingerson, Bret Mogilefsky, and Peter Chan in April 1996.
Grim Fandango: A Story of Souls and Odd Puzzles
The document sets the comedic tone of its content on the first page, quoting Winston Churchill: "This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read." It's 72 pages full of details, perfectly separated by years (remember the game is divided into "four years"). Under each year we find the complete list of characters, the basic structure of the puzzles, a location diagram, and most importantly, advanced descriptions of the solutions.
Now, not all content made it to the final version, and through the document we can see various crossed-out elements. I also want to highlight the art of Peter Chan and Peter Tsacle, despite the low quality of the scan. In short, the "Puzzle Document" of Grim Fandango not only has great historical value, but also invites us to return to the Land of the Dead, functioning as a kind of "developer commentary".
Now, what happened to the last censored paragraph? That was explained by Schafer himself: the last puzzle hadn't been designed yet, so he ended up writing two nonsensical paragraphs, overlapped to create the illusion of a printing error, and meet the deadline. He cheated. XD
Access the document: Click here.
Source: The Gameshelf.
