Tim Schaefer releases Grim Fandango concept document

Bossk128

Bossk128

Bossk128

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Brilliant! Harking back to when LucasArts couldn't make a bad game, here's a link to the design document for Grim Fandango.

Major spoilers obviously, so don't read it if you plan to play this at some point, which is well worth doing. It should be dead cheap to buy these days and could probably be run in a Win98 virtual machine if it doesn't work on Windows XP/Vista (ScummVM has unofficial support, I've never tried it).
 
Metalface Mark said:
Ive still got the original of this in its cardboard double foldout thing, last time i tried it though, it ran terribly.
Click to expand...

The game was designed with slow, constant velocity cd drives in mind. The new ones we have these days that spin up and down cause problems. This can be resolved by copying certain files from the CD to the game directory. I can't remember which files they are off the top of my head but a quick google will net you the answer.
 
Bossk128 said:
I guess this could also be resolved by making ISO images of the discs and running them as virtual CDs?
Click to expand...

I imagine so!

The problem with the game was that it streamed data from the disk as you played, while the game could cope with newer drives that would spin up, read data then slow down, it resulted in the game speeding up and slowing down itself here and there. I remember i hunted for the solution to this problem when i got stuck on a certain time based puzzle due to the game going into hyper-drive when the disk span up thus making the puzzle impossible.
 
This was the first LucasArts game I played. It was like being thrown in at the deep end trying to 'get' how the designers wanted you to solve the problems. I loved it!
 
Metalface Mark said:
Ive still got the original of this in its cardboard double foldout thing, last time i tried it though, it ran terribly.
Click to expand...

Streeteh said:
The game was designed with slow, constant velocity cd drives in mind. The new ones we have these days that spin up and down cause problems. This can be resolved by copying certain files from the CD to the game directory. I can't remember which files they are off the top of my head but a quick google will net you the answer.
Click to expand...

This is what you're after:

http://quick.mixnmojo.com/grim-fandango-launcher
 
It ran fine for me under XP but the sound didn't work until I checked compatability mode for win 98.
Great game, only played it for the first time just recently.
 
No its a 72 page PUZZLE DOCUMENT.

main words, first page...


As im currently writing a design doc for my own game, the rest of the documentation would be an interesting read. (obviously times have changed since it was released so no, I wouldnt c&p it as it wouldnt fit/be relevant at all, before anyone jumps on my back)
 
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Good game,

Think it doesn't run to well with dual cores in XP if I remember correctly, so ya have to set it to use only one core.

Or something!
 
It's interesting how... unofficial that document is. It's written like an email to a mate would be, loads of little jokes and ramblings. Things really aren't done that way anymore, maybe it's a bad thing that they aren't? I can safely say i haven't played a game with that sort of character since... well actually Little Big Planet, but before that it had been years.

Little Big Planet is another example of people who get along well making a game though, tiny English company with an office above a Bath Store. Loads of in-jokes, usually involving beavers (the animal!)
 
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