the cutting room mirror

Grim Fandango

To do:

  • There are some unused camera angles present in the files. The link might also have some pre-release bits to document.
  • Version differences - the downloadable patch, different disc releases, Grim Fandango Remastered (an enhanced port, so can be directly compared)
  • Bugs (the patch fixes some bugs. Remastered fixes some bugs but apparently adds some too - but all/mostly just avoidable softlocks?)
  • You can't talk to Domino at the end of the game if you talk to him at the start. This was apparently a bug and was fixed in Grim Fandango Remastered, but not in the downloadable patch. Is there any original version that this bug isn't present in? (12)

Grim Fandango is a LucasArts adventure game, taking place in the land of the dead where souls need to travel to reach their final destination. It is their second-to-last adventure game, with the game shifting over to a 2.5D world (pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D character models). A remastered version was released for multiple platforms in 2015.

The game contains a scythe, a useful tool for cutting things.

Debug Mode#

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC\Grim Fandango\v1.0 should have a string value good_times set to true.

If running the game under ScummVM, it is enabled by editing %APPDATA%\ScummVM\scummvm.ini, under section [grim-win] and changing game_devel_mode=true

The immediate effect is enabling windowed mode, and skipping the CD media check.

The most interesting hot keys:

  • Ctrl-G: Jump to set (moves to a different area).
  • Ctrl-I: Toggle walk boxes (allows walking through walls).
  • Alt-N and Alt-P: Cycles between viewpoints.
  • Shift-O: Toggle object names.

(Source: ScummVM Wiki - GrimE/Grim Fandango Debug Mode)

Unused Camera Angles#

Thanks to the Debug Mode, it's possible to switch the camera angle in-game by pressing Alt+N or Alt+P.

Almost all of the scenes in the game have an unused top-down camera angle. In most scenes, this camera angle will show a strange background: it's a very basic drawing of a dog house with the name 'Glottis' written on it. This drawing is also used as a background in the test room. Grim_Fandango_Glottis_dog_house.png

Not every room has this image as a background: for example, Manny's Office has a top-down view of his office. Grim_Fandango_Manny's_Office_Overhead.png

(Source: Original TCRF research)