Grim Fandango
A LucasArts point and click adventure set in the Land of the Dead.
Where Grim Fandango comes up1 episode or test
Grim Fandango is cited as a cautionary example in adventure puzzle design. Manny calls the pneumatic tube 'locked', pushing players toward keys or force when the answer is sliding in a card. It also uses generic failure lines like 'Nope, those don't work together'. Lesson: make hint text point at the real solution, and explain why a wrong attempt fails, as Day of the Tentacle does.
- 1Examine the pneumatic tubePlayer checks the puzzle object
- 2Manny says it's lockedNo hint about a card slot
- 3Player hunts for a keyOr tries to break the lock
- 4Real answer: slide a cardThe card goes into a slot
From Game Maker's Toolkit on Grim Fandango
What was said about Grim Fandango
Grim Fandango's vague 'locked' line points players at the wrong solution. Manny says only that the pneumatic tube is locked. That suggests a key or breaking the lock, when the answer is sliding a card into a slot.
Game Maker's Toolkit uses it as an example of poor signposting, which leaves players unsure what a puzzle is asking and sends them down the wrong path. Its advice is to make examine text point at the real solution, not a false one.
Grim Fandango answers failed item combinations with generic refusal lines. Failed combinations get lines like 'Nope, those don't work together', which the video calls infuriating when the attempt made logical sense.
The video's alternative is a specific reason the combination is flawed, plus a small nudge toward the real solution. It says a puzzle should help solve itself by confirming when you are on the right track and rebuffing you when you are not.
Point and Click Puzzle Design
Manny's vague line that the pneumatic tube is 'locked' misleads players toward keys or breaking it, when the answer is sliding a card into a slot. It also uses generic failure lines.
Grim Fandango's vague 'locked' line points players at the wrong solution. Manny says only that the pneumatic tube is locked. That suggests a key or breaking the lock, when the answer is sliding a card into a slot.
Game Maker's Toolkit uses it as an example of poor signposting, which leaves players unsure what a puzzle is asking and sends them down the wrong path. Its advice is to make examine text point at the real solution, not a false one.
Grim Fandango answers failed item combinations with generic refusal lines. Failed combinations get lines like 'Nope, those don't work together', which the video calls infuriating when the attempt made logical sense.
The video's alternative is a specific reason the combination is flawed, plus a small nudge toward the real solution. It says a puzzle should help solve itself by confirming when you are on the right track and rebuffing you when you are not.
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