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Grim Fandango in the Escapist


Metallus

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Today, the Escapist Magazine released a 3-page article about Grim Fandango and its fan community called Walk, Don't Run.

 

It's a pretty nice feature, and includes interviews of: Ryan, AKA Thrik, the guy running this joint; James Isaac, who runs the DoD; Matt, alias MJ, the Nightlight Productions dude; and myself (yeah, I'm not sure why, either). Check it out!

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the title reminded me how I couldn't hold the shift key for too long or windows would pop up with that message error because it thought something was wrong with my computer.

You mean Sticky Keys? Lovely feature, I spent hours (well, not really but you catch my drift) locking sounds on that shift key on school/university computers. What a horrible on-board sound that's giving :p

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Nice to see it's still noticed. We are not alone in thinking that this game is very special indeed. It's inspiring, from the music to the characters to the setting to the story. Grim Fandango impresses on every level. And I feel that it is a true injustice that no sequel has been made.

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^Perhaps...however, in a sequel, the first's legacy can be tarnished (maybe not in everyone's minds, but others may think differently)...I'd rather they let Tim Schafer do it, or no one do it at all...I'm fine with playing it over and over again b/c it never will get old for me...

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^Perhaps...however, in a sequel, the first's legacy can be tarnished (maybe not in everyone's minds, but others may think differently)...I'd rather they let Tim Schafer do it, or no one do it at all...I'm fine with playing it over and over again b/c it never will get old for me...

 

I understand. But what I want is not another Manny story. That would ruin it. He's gone somewhere we cannot follow. But I like this game so much I just want something new to do with it, something to anticipate, something to look forward to. Hell, even a comic book or something would be acceptable. It holds a lot of fond memories to many players and I believe that something to break the silence would be a real treat. Especially as this is hailed as one of the best games ever made. I ask you, in what sane world is a game as good as this ignored? As though it never happened.

Even a special edition or something! It doesn't matter! Just give us something! :(

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At the very least, I wish they'd release special compatibility version, one that can specially work over a wide range of 3D cards and hardware, over all OS platforms. It's getting harder and harder to run this game that should be placed in an equivalent to something like the National Archives.

 

If they did make some sort of prequel (sequel is out of the question) I doubt they would still be able to include Manny or any one else considering how difficult it might be to round up the voice talent, plus doing prequels always some how ends up retconning something the wrong way.

 

However I fully support anything that at least takes place in the same verse, Mexican flavor and all. They very setting of GF could hold so many stories.

 

Also, I would oppose any attempt to make the game "with better graphics." GF is one of those few games whose graphics are literally timeless, thanks to the distinctive style Tim came up with for the world in resembling the paper mache dolls associated with the Day of the Dead. The only change I'd ask for is to make the invisible walls where Manny can't move beyond a little more distinct and far less buggy, but beyond that "updating" anything else would be sacrilegious.

 

No matter how good the graphics in games will get, you will always be able look at GF and say that it's beautiful

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It's probably worth clarifying that when I said I'd like to see a remaster, I didn't mean recreating the art or music. Remastering would be more along the lines of re-rendering the 3D background art at HD resolutions, allowing the game to run at HD+ resolutions, touching up the character models/textures to match the higher resolution, re-encoding the music so it's not so compressed (there's a huge quality difference between the soundtrack CD and the in-game music), etc.

 

I'd too hate to see an actual remake of Grim Fandango, which is why I'm always careful to use the term 'remaster'. :D

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I wouldn't mind a sequel at all, provided that it was about someone else than Manny. The world of GF is so deep and intriguing that it's a downright shame no other stories have been set there. We only get to see a small portion of the Land of the Dead and there's so much potential for more. Even if you decided to use the exact same locations, there's still room for a great story.

 

I think someone started a fanfic about one of Hector's goons and what happened to him after Manny defeated his boss. I think that could be an excellent starting point for a game because it would let us see things from a different perspective and there's lots of potential for an interesting story and character development. Why was this person working for Hector? Maybe he just died and just wanted a job, not knowing what he was getting himself into. What will he do now that Hector is down? Will some other crime boss try to step up and take Hector's place? Will the corruption come back? What will the LSA do? Include a cast of new characters, cameos from some old faces (Eva, Maximino, Membrillo, Toto etc.), some plots twists and an intriguing plot about crime and corruption and you've got another brilliant game at your hands.

 

Even if it sucked, I don't see how it could ever ruin the brilliance of the original in any way.

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When people try to make a sequel to a game, very often it is because some company wants to repeat the exact same success the original had. This is what causes them to turn out unoriginal crap because they have no interest in producing something original, all they want is the profit from the original and more, like EA. But I would doubt that would happen with GF considering the success of the first one, so who ever would try to make a sequel of it would be very likely doing it out of a labor of love.

 

In fact, I'd be happy to hear if Tim is not behind the sequel. I respect his wish to keep working on original stuff (a mentality completely opposite to LucasArts), plus it would be interesting to see a different person's take on the verse, so long as the for-profit mentality is not solely backing their interest. This happened with Homeworld where a different studio made what was at first considered a non canon sequel to the game, but turned out to be really fun for fans with such an interesting story that the fan base made it canon. Instead the original studio's "real" sequel turned out to be a rushed game with just better graphics, but had no soul like the previous two.

 

The only thing I could imagine that would most annoy me in a sequel is if they made it faaar too cartoony. That's what was amazing about GF, that it kept this amazing balance between cartoony and noir such that it was silly enough to enjoy the comedy but serious enough to enjoy the drama.

 

However I'm not really worried about this. The game is so removed in time and has grown to such a mythical status that I don't think it's possible to tarnish it, and if someone managed to it wouldn't be as bad as this :xp:. So I don't see a reason why someone shouldn't take a risk in try to do a sequel.

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