Tim Schafer and Double Fine celebrate 25 years of Grim Fandango and thank fans for their memories: 'I'll keep them next to where my heart used to be!'
Grim Fandango released on October 30, 1998, and so yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of arguably the greatest adventure game LucasArts ever made. Yeah OK, OK, simmer down Monkey Island fans: it's Manny Calavera's time to shine. And to mark the occasion Double Fine, the studio founded by Grim Fandango writer Tim Schafer, has published a compilation of reminiscences from fans and the developers and collected some of the finest cosplay and other bits people have made inspired by the game.
«Manny Calavera arrived on the scene in 1998 and immediately charmed folks with his dry wit and gritty determination,» writes Double Fine. «The Land of the Dead teemed with flaming beavers, dazzling casinos and hot rod driving elemental companions. Grim was a bright flash in the adventure game pan right before the genre went into an extended hibernation. Even so, it left a deep mark on players and its influence can be felt in games today.»
Double Fine ran a survey of fans where one of the first questions was about their favourite character, and no prizes for guessing the winner:
Hurray for the Balloon Animal Clown! Manny got around 46% of the vote which is not really surprising, because he's great. And now is probably the time to mention that if you've never played Grim Fandango, Double Fine re-acquired the rights to the game and released a great remastered version in 2015 (there was also a cast readthrough marking the 20th anniversary).
The anniversary post on Double Fine's site includes a fan art gallery, a cosplay gallery, heck even a tattoo gallery for your viewing pleasure. Towards the end it gets a little philosophical about stuff.
«It's hard to really comprehend how time works,» says community manager Harper Jay. «It's weird
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