Obviously, Tim Schafer did not wake up from a dream one night with the script of Grim Fandango fully-formed. Great design evolves, so go with the flow. Beware of your own amazing arguments getting in the way of a practical usable design.ĥ.
Tim admits in retrospect that while it was a great argument, the more cumbersome control scheme might not have been the right choice. While that sounds psychologically compelling, in reality it’s a huge pain to control. Tim felt this control style was preferable than passive point and click interaction. Players would identify as Manny and take on his perspective during play. When using tank controls, a player must use the character as central reference for movement. Tim talks a lot about how hard he fought for tank controls to help create a bond between player and on screen characters. Just because you make a persuasive argument, doesn't mean it’s right. So go out there, live some adventures and make some memories! You never know what might ignite your creative spark.Ĥ. The Grim Fandango team developed a game filled with true-life experience that gives it a foundation of authenticity. While we may not have known directly, adding real experiences and characters into the game made it richer and more detailed. Grim Fandango includes a girl from Tim’s fourth grade class, a puzzle based on a college prank, his plucky production manager, and his darkest fear -winged spiders. Put a little bit (or a lot) of yourself in your designs. Creating good designs means understanding yours tools and making them work to your advantage.ģ. The debonair skeletal protagonist, was an elegant solution to a practical design limitation. The rounded torsos of the skeletons with painted on ribs would be perfect for their new 3D graphic style. It’s hard to engage players when your characters are basic geometric shapes with rough textures…or is it? Tim explained that seeing a paper-mâché skeleton got him thinking creatively. I listened to challenges the Grim Fandango team faced due to basic 3D graphics available at the time.
Good designers rise to the challenge of working with limitations. Inspire yourself and then inspire others by making something great when you’re done.Ģ. Having varied sources of inspiration will not only make for richer worlds, but it makes your design research more fun. To name a few examples, Tim admits the game takes styling cues from Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, has sets based on the 1969 children’s cartoon Frosty the Snowman, iconic costumes inspired by Casablanca, countless archetypes from other gritty film noir classics and even nod to Popeye the Sailor. During the commentary, design guru- Tim Schafer - cites a variety of amazing references in Grim Fandango. You can make your design better by standing on the shoulders of giants. Here are the top five favorite game design tips learned while playing Grim Fandango Remastered :ġ.
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