One month ago today, Sony dropped what was (for most) the most unexpected news to come out of E3. In partnership with Double Fine, the highly lauded cult classic adventure game Grim Fandango would be getting an "exclusive" re-release on PlayStation 4 and Playstation Vita.
At the same time as the announcement, Tim Schafer (original creator of Grim Fandango and founder of Double Fine) tweeted clarification that this updated version of the game would also be launching on "other platforms" to be announced soon, quelling some of the distraught outrage at the insinuation that Grim would not be returning to its original home on PCs.
Those "other platforms" have turned out to include a Linux alongside Mac and Windows, which will all be getting a simultaneous release alongside the Sony platforms.
For anybody unfamiliar with the game, Grim Fandango is a dark, noir styled comedy, influenced heavily by Día de Muertos, telling the tale of Department of Death travel agent Manuel Calavera, who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy as he attempts to save an innocent traveler from a dangerous journey across the Land of the Dead.
This re-release signals the first signs of older LucasArts IP being given proper attention since Darrell Rodriguez (responsible for the special Editions of the first two Monkey Island games) left in 2010, and offers hope that Disney (who own the now defunct studio's intellectual property) might be willing to negotiate giving some other much loved classics the opportunity to be experienced again.
Grim Fandango is currently playable on Linux via ResidualVM (a cousin of ScummVM), which attempts to natively implement the GrimE engine (and also has a point-and-click mod available), but unfortunately, new copies of Grim Fandango can not currently be purchased.
Below is a retrospective video looking at the game's history, towards the end of which, Tim mentions that they are hoping to work with the communities which have been keeping Grim Fandango alive over the past 16 years to incorporate some of those efforts, continuing Double Fine's trend of increasing community focus, and giving recognition to a decade and a half's worth of passion, hard work and love.
There is currently no release date set for Grim Fandango's re-release, though it does appear that work has already begun. Today's news post on the Double Fine website has this to offer:
¡Viva la Revolución!
(for anybody hunting for a slightly larger version of the tagline image I created for this article, it can be found here) Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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At the same time as the announcement, Tim Schafer (original creator of Grim Fandango and founder of Double Fine) tweeted clarification that this updated version of the game would also be launching on "other platforms" to be announced soon, quelling some of the distraught outrage at the insinuation that Grim would not be returning to its original home on PCs.
Those "other platforms" have turned out to include a Linux alongside Mac and Windows, which will all be getting a simultaneous release alongside the Sony platforms.
For anybody unfamiliar with the game, Grim Fandango is a dark, noir styled comedy, influenced heavily by Día de Muertos, telling the tale of Department of Death travel agent Manuel Calavera, who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy as he attempts to save an innocent traveler from a dangerous journey across the Land of the Dead.
This re-release signals the first signs of older LucasArts IP being given proper attention since Darrell Rodriguez (responsible for the special Editions of the first two Monkey Island games) left in 2010, and offers hope that Disney (who own the now defunct studio's intellectual property) might be willing to negotiate giving some other much loved classics the opportunity to be experienced again.
Grim Fandango is currently playable on Linux via ResidualVM (a cousin of ScummVM), which attempts to natively implement the GrimE engine (and also has a point-and-click mod available), but unfortunately, new copies of Grim Fandango can not currently be purchased.
Below is a retrospective video looking at the game's history, towards the end of which, Tim mentions that they are hoping to work with the communities which have been keeping Grim Fandango alive over the past 16 years to incorporate some of those efforts, continuing Double Fine's trend of increasing community focus, and giving recognition to a decade and a half's worth of passion, hard work and love.
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Direct Link
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There is currently no release date set for Grim Fandango's re-release, though it does appear that work has already begun. Today's news post on the Double Fine website has this to offer:
QuoteBut hopefully, after all those years of patience, you can hold out just a BIT longer.
¡Viva la Revolución!
(for anybody hunting for a slightly larger version of the tagline image I created for this article, it can be found here) Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: Segata SanshiroThing is, it wasn't down to him, the game was owned by LucasArts which he left many years ago - hence him saying about not owning it legally and having to negotiate with Disney to be able to make the game now.Obviously LucasArts own the rights, but I know many game developers/programmers who keep assets from projects they're worked on even if actual right sold to some 3rd-party company long time ago.
Quoting: CheesenessIt's difficult to come up with a different interpretation of Tim's comments towards the end of that video. He does say that it's something that they're trying to do, so whether or not that's successful is another matter.Still I doubt he mean they're going to use GPLed code in their project. :S:
Only time will tell...
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Cheeseness Jul 11, 2014
Quoting: SXXStill I doubt he mean they're going to use GPLed code in their project. :SRight, but that's not what I was saying in the post that you quoted...
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oldrocker99 Jul 11, 2014
What great news! GF is one of the most stylish, and funniest, adventure games of all time. It's wonderful to see it return, and for Linux, too!
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I never got to play this game, and I'd like to. Really good news.
There's other means of collaboration than sharing code. The reverse engineering done by the ResidualVM devs can be useful. When doing software archeology, sources, tools and docs get often partially or completely lost.
There's other means of collaboration than sharing code. The reverse engineering done by the ResidualVM devs can be useful. When doing software archeology, sources, tools and docs get often partially or completely lost.
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I never played this game but have heard about it. I can't wait!
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Currently working on Winter's Wake, a first person text adventure thing and its engine Icicle. Also making a little bee themed base builder called Hive Time :)
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