Grim Fandango
by Tim Schafer, Designer

Saturday, August 20, 1995 [cont.]

But there IS actually an upside, believe it or not, at least for the first couple of weeks. There is something satisfying about working with intensity and focus, especially when you're not normally an intense, focused individual. Game production schedules are like flying jumbo jets: It's very intense at the takeoff and landing, but in the middle there's this long lull. Crunch mode means, at least, that the lull is over and the end is coming up. When the whole team is staying late, and you're eating Chinese food in a conference room together, it kind of galvanizes the bond between you (or at least it galvanizes the team's hatred for you, the one who's making them stay late). I find myself valuing this time with them because I realize that soon they will all move on to other projects and our little family will be no more <sniff>.

And it's such a relief to say no more planning, no more thinking of the future. It's time to wrap this game up and throw it out the window, and then stomp on its fingers until it lets go of the ledge. Then my energy level goes up, and I think the writing gets better and the characters really start to gel. Then again, so are the dishes in my sink back home, but who has the time to wash them? I don't have the time for anything. What am I doing writing this designer diary? I should be writing dialogue for the game! Aaaaaaahhh!

Anyway... I said I was going to write about the game proposal process, not complain about how hard my namby-pamby job is.

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