From [lock-on] 004: I am ready to take you now.
But, ultimately, the inevitability of all living beings.
Particular cultures were rarely explored.
Until 1998, when Tim Schafer’s second solo venture crossed over and hit the stores.
If there’s a list, it’s a good bet that Grim Fandango will be on it.
However, despite these bountiful accolades, the initial profits sadly did not echo the praise.
Impossible, one would imagine.
The approach was not “How can this theme be fitted into the narrative?”
but rather “What kind of world-building and storytelling techniques would best explore this theme recognisably and respectfully?”
Subsequently, the static backgrounds and character animations were moulded to accommodate them.
No exciting noir adventure is complete without death, of course, even in the Land of the Dead!
But how would the dead die in the underworld with no earthly bodies to suffer wounds or illness?
Here, another cultural melding was used to exemplary effect.
An adventure itself is often about the journey, the events that occurred throughout the passage of time.
However, in most adventure games, the passing of time was seldom integrated into the central narrative itself.
Plana helped flesh out much of Manny and other characters' dialogue.
From this foundational fluidity came organic humour and interactions - conversational gold for an adventure game!
For many, it is too much and they lose faith in the existence of the paradise beyond.
From this was sparked the idea that these souls take up jobs and vocations within this noir limbo.
Even the most adventurous soul can feel a degree of comfort from habitual things and find humour in them.
The Mexican…is familiar with death.
[He] jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it.
It is one of his favourite toys and his most steadfast love."
At any point, it could have been sprouted and disappeared for good.
But developers kept to their course with their own Excelsior Lines and pressed on.
The taste for the genre was reignited; Grim Fandango and adventure games were reborn.
