5 ms·

I think one understated problem Grim Fandango had is that it's too adult. Today "adult" often means "there's sex and/or gore", but the content is still simple

I think one understated problem Grim Fandango had is that it's too adult. Today "adult" often means "there's sex and/or gore", but the content is still simple and juvenile. But Grim Fandango isn't like that, it's just full of themes that probably confused the heck out of almost every kid that tried to play it. Like the very first chapter throws you right into office politics. You deal with stealing a job from another salesman, sabotage a pneumatic tube messaging system, and sneak into your boss' office. It all makes perfect sense for adults familiar with office work and all the movies it references. But I recall I tried it when I was maybe 14 and I couldn't make head nor tails of it. I didn't even realize the pneumatic tubes were actually a thing. Things like Monkey Island and even Full Throttle are far more accessible.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
wenc 2y ago
That's a really interesting perspective. I grew up around when adventure games were popular, and I learned a lot about the grown-up world (and in fact, American world) through adventure games. Sam and Max had so much Americana that, playing as a non-American, got me into the deep cuts of American culture. I think a lot of it was contextual. I didn't get all the references at first (e.g. who's John Muir for instance), but the context made it possible for me to figure it out.
- nanna 2y ago
  I got completely stuck in the Beavis and Butthead adventure game when one of the voice acted characters told me to get a "vee-hickul". As a teenager sitting at my family PC in London, I had no idea what the hell the Texan (?) was saying. Only several years later would I figure it out. The only other thing I remember from that game is the hock-a-loogie minigame, which I mastered. I wonder if my parents had any idea what I was up to on the computer?
  - dgfitz 2y ago
    Anecdote: the word ‘vehicle’ is referenced aty day job a lot. I had a PM who always, always said ‘vee-hickle’ and I honestly always thought he was full of shit. On day when he was really mad about $(thing I predicted) he just comes out and says ‘vehicle’ like it’s spelled. I don’t remember feeling smug or annoyed, mostly just kind of bummed at the farce.
    - kaashif 2y ago
      > he just comes out and says ‘vehicle’ like it’s spelled What do you mean by this? In what what is "ve hicle" not pronouncing it as it's spelled but "ve icle" is? Isn't the one including an h more faithful?
      - praptak 2y ago
        I'm a non-native speaker I remember I couldn't figure out how to pronounce "vehicle" just from how it's spelled. It's not like I pronounced it wrong (as is often the case with other words), I just couldn't figure out how to pronounce it at all until I looked it up. Edit: I guess my point is that "as it's spelled" may be non obvious in case of vehicle.
        kaashif 2y ago
        That's partially my point too: pronouncing something "as it's spelled" is meaningless in English - most of the time there's more than one "obvious" pronunciation. And the right one could be a less obvious one.
        fknorangesite 2y ago
        > the right one One of the many right ones.
        moomin 2y ago
        I insist on calling Roblox “rob-l-ox” when talking to my kids. It’s a dumb joke, but it also emphasises to them that spelling is a guide and not always a useful one.
- mrob 2y ago
  Day of the Tentacle is also very American, in both style and content. I'm glad I didn't play it as a child because I wouldn't have understood or appreciated it, even though I knew it existed and I played Maniac Mansion. Day of the Tentacle was completely different than what I imagined and much better.
  - wenc 2y ago
    DOTT was great and yes also lots of American references like the George Washington story and the Pony Express. But in Asia we were immersed enough in American culture through books and Saturday morning cartoons that it didn’t feel that foreign.
thefaux 2y ago
I agree about the accessibility, but Full Throttle is by far my least favorite lucasarts graphical adventure. It's really quite depressing and I deeply dislike the main character.
kevml 2y ago
This is a great assessment that I never realized until you said it. There are so many games from that era that I played that fit that mold. I was playing Leisure Suit Larry as a 10 year old! I can’t imagine parents these days letting their kids play that at all!
- viraptor 2y ago
  My parents couldn't understand enough English to really get why I shouldn't be playing Larry (almost all the screens are just fine) and I was too young to understand the actual theme. Perfect combination... Kind of like Police Quest 1 too. Although it did teach me to type "use handcuffs" fast enough. Also the spelling of "briefcase" and other longer words.
  - hibikir 2y ago
    Police quest was just way too tough for the foreigner unused to American procedures. "Administer sobriety test" is not the easiest of commands without a very broad vocabulary.
    - wenc 2y ago
      I don't know. My friends and I growing up in Asia played Police Quest I as 8 year olds. We learned about the Miranda rights, and the PR-24 nightstick. I remember the sobriety test part. We didn't know what a "field sobriety test" was exactly, but we knew it was something to do with drunk drivers. Somehow we managed to finish the game. I think most people can pick up a lot of clues from context alone.
      - viraptor 2y ago
        You finished it as an 8yo? Congrats! It's a serious achievement.
- kylebenzle 2y ago
  In many cases lazy "single mothers" let kids use TicTok and SnapChat in lieu of a baby sitter or actually spending time with their own children these days. The things my kids have seen and knew before 6 years old was 1,000 times worse than anything in Leisure Suit Larry. Our daughter was repeating racial and sexual slurs she learned in the cheap "after-school" shes forced to attend. American parents or society doesn't care about their kids at all in general (did we ever?) and growing up in this broken society is far more mentally damaging for kids than 20-30 years ago.
cholantesh 2y ago
The tank controls also put me off of it for years.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
jamal-kumar 2y ago
I thought this game was up there in my favorites as a kid, don't think me or my younger sibling noticed personally, but the puzzles were really hard for sure. Either way we beat it between each other taking turns I remember. Oh yeah, the tank controls were a little less shit with a gamepad - back when there was a dedicated port for those no less I also remember these games easier to beat before the internet was so pervasive and these kinds of things were the best way to pass rainy days, we'd draw out notes and maps on paper and all sorts of stuff to beat them - different times now, people's attention is way more scattered
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  We also had fewer games available. I did play a lot of demos and shareware though, thanks to disks from gaming magazines, including GF.
- astrostl 2y ago
  I punted on it almost immediately because I hated the controls.
nanna 2y ago
I'm about the same age but personally I had the opposite experience. For me it was refreshing to play something more mature, more 'intellectual', even if I'm sure a lot of the jokes washed over me.
makmanalp 2y ago
Here's the thing - I remember playing it as a kid and so many things, arguably most of it, went way over my head: the whole travel agent thing and getting ahead in the office, dia de los muertos, the references to noir, the weird but gorgeous mexican art deco combo, I knew nothing about any of it. But I still loved every second of it. It made the world feel very rich and real even if I didn't fully get it, in a way that other games around the time just were not. Also this is not too dissimilar to how adult life that surrounds every child is to a child. You're sort of used to living in a world that has workings beyond your comprehension and just going along with it. I didn't get what exactly was going on but I did understand /something/ was. I'm listening to a review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) which has a similar ethos, as did other content targeting young people from that era. Also I recall picking up books as a kid that were certainly not meant for children and adults back then didn't even blink, and I think it stoked my curiosity and interests and pushed the boundaries of my understanding, as well as prepared me for growing up. I don't think I ended up being a worse person or being traumatized in any way. Part of me wonders if kids' content being much more sanitized these days is a mistake.
- rubslopes 2y ago
  I also played it as a kid and vividly remember that plot about a secret political revolution feeling so cool and new to me. I had never encountered anything like it before.I remember 'Viva la revolución!' becoming a catchphrase for me and a friend at that time. The sense of sneaking into an adult world, even a fantasy one, might be what made the game feel so special to me.
  - makmanalp 2y ago
    > The sense of sneaking into an adult world, even a fantasy one, might be what made the game feel so special to me Brilliant observation that never occurred to me. Around that age being allowed to sit with and listen in on adults having normal adult conversations - being one of them - felt special.
- kylebenzle 2y ago
  You are correct! The user above you has a strange opinion about what media kids should consume.
ajkjk 2y ago
Agree that it adult stuff in it but loved that as a kid. I always hated 'kid' content, it felt fake.
libraryofbabel 2y ago
And most of all, the classic movie Casablanca. I played Grim Fandango as a 15 year old kid and I when I eventually saw Casablanca many years later it was like, this feels familiar, why… oh wait! That said, like others here as a kid I loved the adult culture references even when I didn’t fully get all of them.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
GuB-42 2y ago
> Today "adult" often means "there's sex and/or gore", but the content is still simple and juvenile. That's indeed an unfortunate fact. In fact, most "adult" stuff is actually for teens or young adults. Teens love sex and gore, they want to be edgy, they want to prove they are not children anymore. Actual adults, the kind with jobs and families, are usually passed that. They may still enjoy their sex and gore, but it is just one theme like another. I think a good way to make a difference between "teen adult" and "actual adult" is to look at the age and environment of the protagonists. Is the main character a teenager or young adult? Does it involve a school of some kind? Then it is probably for teens. Is the main character middle aged? Does it involve work, especially office work? Are there parents among the protagonists? Then it is probably for adults. Sex and violence are secondary.
- mdp2021 2y ago
  Look, that is also a twisted perspective. "Adult" = "involving maturity". It is not the topic, it is how it is processed - with developed vs juvenile abilities. And "adult" is not a janus word, representing both the mature trait and its lack thereof: the second is just given by severe misunderstandings of maturity because of deficiency or twisted incentive. The same works for other words, such as "art".
m463 2y ago
Maybe it needed a Leisure Suit Larry style age verification: All politicians are a. hardworking. b. honest. c. ethical. d. on the public payroll. Correct answer: d. "Gone With The Wind" is about a. outer space. b. a bank robbery. c. four hours long. d. dust. Correct answer: c. Two bits is a. all it takes to consume a "Big Mac." b. computer talk. c. about a dollar. d. the former cost for a shave and a haircut. Correct answer: d. https://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.html https://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.ht...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

wenc 2y ago

That's a really interesting perspective. I grew up around when adventure games were popular, and I learned a lot about the grown-up world (and in fact, American world) through adventure games. Sam and Max had so much Americana that, playing as a non-American, got me into the deep cuts of American culture. I think a lot of it was contextual. I didn't get all the references at first (e.g. who's John Muir for instance), but the context made it possible for me to figure it out.

nanna 2y ago
I got completely stuck in the Beavis and Butthead adventure game when one of the voice acted characters told me to get a "vee-hickul". As a teenager sitting at my family PC in London, I had no idea what the hell the Texan (?) was saying. Only several years later would I figure it out. The only other thing I remember from that game is the hock-a-loogie minigame, which I mastered. I wonder if my parents had any idea what I was up to on the computer?
- dgfitz 2y ago
  Anecdote: the word ‘vehicle’ is referenced aty day job a lot. I had a PM who always, always said ‘vee-hickle’ and I honestly always thought he was full of shit. On day when he was really mad about $(thing I predicted) he just comes out and says ‘vehicle’ like it’s spelled. I don’t remember feeling smug or annoyed, mostly just kind of bummed at the farce.
  - kaashif 2y ago
    > he just comes out and says ‘vehicle’ like it’s spelled What do you mean by this? In what what is "ve hicle" not pronouncing it as it's spelled but "ve icle" is? Isn't the one including an h more faithful?
    - praptak 2y ago
      I'm a non-native speaker I remember I couldn't figure out how to pronounce "vehicle" just from how it's spelled. It's not like I pronounced it wrong (as is often the case with other words), I just couldn't figure out how to pronounce it at all until I looked it up. Edit: I guess my point is that "as it's spelled" may be non obvious in case of vehicle.
      - kaashif 2y ago
        That's partially my point too: pronouncing something "as it's spelled" is meaningless in English - most of the time there's more than one "obvious" pronunciation. And the right one could be a less obvious one.
        fknorangesite 2y ago
        > the right one One of the many right ones.
        moomin 2y ago
        I insist on calling Roblox “rob-l-ox” when talking to my kids. It’s a dumb joke, but it also emphasises to them that spelling is a guide and not always a useful one.
mrob 2y ago
Day of the Tentacle is also very American, in both style and content. I'm glad I didn't play it as a child because I wouldn't have understood or appreciated it, even though I knew it existed and I played Maniac Mansion. Day of the Tentacle was completely different than what I imagined and much better.
- wenc 2y ago
  DOTT was great and yes also lots of American references like the George Washington story and the Pony Express. But in Asia we were immersed enough in American culture through books and Saturday morning cartoons that it didn’t feel that foreign.

thefaux 2y ago

I agree about the accessibility, but Full Throttle is by far my least favorite lucasarts graphical adventure. It's really quite depressing and I deeply dislike the main character.

kevml 2y ago

This is a great assessment that I never realized until you said it. There are so many games from that era that I played that fit that mold. I was playing Leisure Suit Larry as a 10 year old! I can’t imagine parents these days letting their kids play that at all!

viraptor 2y ago
My parents couldn't understand enough English to really get why I shouldn't be playing Larry (almost all the screens are just fine) and I was too young to understand the actual theme. Perfect combination... Kind of like Police Quest 1 too. Although it did teach me to type "use handcuffs" fast enough. Also the spelling of "briefcase" and other longer words.
- hibikir 2y ago
  Police quest was just way too tough for the foreigner unused to American procedures. "Administer sobriety test" is not the easiest of commands without a very broad vocabulary.
  - wenc 2y ago
    I don't know. My friends and I growing up in Asia played Police Quest I as 8 year olds. We learned about the Miranda rights, and the PR-24 nightstick. I remember the sobriety test part. We didn't know what a "field sobriety test" was exactly, but we knew it was something to do with drunk drivers. Somehow we managed to finish the game. I think most people can pick up a lot of clues from context alone.
    - viraptor 2y ago
      You finished it as an 8yo? Congrats! It's a serious achievement.
kylebenzle 2y ago
In many cases lazy "single mothers" let kids use TicTok and SnapChat in lieu of a baby sitter or actually spending time with their own children these days. The things my kids have seen and knew before 6 years old was 1,000 times worse than anything in Leisure Suit Larry. Our daughter was repeating racial and sexual slurs she learned in the cheap "after-school" shes forced to attend. American parents or society doesn't care about their kids at all in general (did we ever?) and growing up in this broken society is far more mentally damaging for kids than 20-30 years ago.

cholantesh 2y ago

The tank controls also put me off of it for years.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

jamal-kumar 2y ago

I thought this game was up there in my favorites as a kid, don't think me or my younger sibling noticed personally, but the puzzles were really hard for sure. Either way we beat it between each other taking turns I remember. Oh yeah, the tank controls were a little less shit with a gamepad - back when there was a dedicated port for those no less I also remember these games easier to beat before the internet was so pervasive and these kinds of things were the best way to pass rainy days, we'd draw out notes and maps on paper and all sorts of stuff to beat them - different times now, people's attention is way more scattered

paulryanrogers 2y ago
We also had fewer games available. I did play a lot of demos and shareware though, thanks to disks from gaming magazines, including GF.
astrostl 2y ago
I punted on it almost immediately because I hated the controls.

nanna 2y ago

I'm about the same age but personally I had the opposite experience. For me it was refreshing to play something more mature, more 'intellectual', even if I'm sure a lot of the jokes washed over me.

makmanalp 2y ago

Here's the thing - I remember playing it as a kid and so many things, arguably most of it, went way over my head: the whole travel agent thing and getting ahead in the office, dia de los muertos, the references to noir, the weird but gorgeous mexican art deco combo, I knew nothing about any of it. But I still loved every second of it. It made the world feel very rich and real even if I didn't fully get it, in a way that other games around the time just were not. Also this is not too dissimilar to how adult life that surrounds every child is to a child. You're sort of used to living in a world that has workings beyond your comprehension and just going along with it. I didn't get what exactly was going on but I did understand /something/ was. I'm listening to a review of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) which has a similar ethos, as did other content targeting young people from that era. Also I recall picking up books as a kid that were certainly not meant for children and adults back then didn't even blink, and I think it stoked my curiosity and interests and pushed the boundaries of my understanding, as well as prepared me for growing up. I don't think I ended up being a worse person or being traumatized in any way. Part of me wonders if kids' content being much more sanitized these days is a mistake.

rubslopes 2y ago
I also played it as a kid and vividly remember that plot about a secret political revolution feeling so cool and new to me. I had never encountered anything like it before.I remember 'Viva la revolución!' becoming a catchphrase for me and a friend at that time. The sense of sneaking into an adult world, even a fantasy one, might be what made the game feel so special to me.
- makmanalp 2y ago
  > The sense of sneaking into an adult world, even a fantasy one, might be what made the game feel so special to me Brilliant observation that never occurred to me. Around that age being allowed to sit with and listen in on adults having normal adult conversations - being one of them - felt special.
kylebenzle 2y ago
You are correct! The user above you has a strange opinion about what media kids should consume.

ajkjk 2y ago

Agree that it adult stuff in it but loved that as a kid. I always hated 'kid' content, it felt fake.

libraryofbabel 2y ago

And most of all, the classic movie Casablanca. I played Grim Fandango as a 15 year old kid and I when I eventually saw Casablanca many years later it was like, this feels familiar, why… oh wait! That said, like others here as a kid I loved the adult culture references even when I didn’t fully get all of them.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

GuB-42 2y ago

> Today "adult" often means "there's sex and/or gore", but the content is still simple and juvenile. That's indeed an unfortunate fact. In fact, most "adult" stuff is actually for teens or young adults. Teens love sex and gore, they want to be edgy, they want to prove they are not children anymore. Actual adults, the kind with jobs and families, are usually passed that. They may still enjoy their sex and gore, but it is just one theme like another. I think a good way to make a difference between "teen adult" and "actual adult" is to look at the age and environment of the protagonists. Is the main character a teenager or young adult? Does it involve a school of some kind? Then it is probably for teens. Is the main character middle aged? Does it involve work, especially office work? Are there parents among the protagonists? Then it is probably for adults. Sex and violence are secondary.

mdp2021 2y ago
Look, that is also a twisted perspective. "Adult" = "involving maturity". It is not the topic, it is how it is processed - with developed vs juvenile abilities. And "adult" is not a janus word, representing both the mature trait and its lack thereof: the second is just given by severe misunderstandings of maturity because of deficiency or twisted incentive. The same works for other words, such as "art".

m463 2y ago

Maybe it needed a Leisure Suit Larry style age verification: All politicians are a. hardworking. b. honest. c. ethical. d. on the public payroll. Correct answer: d. "Gone With The Wind" is about a. outer space. b. a bank robbery. c. four hours long. d. dust. Correct answer: c. Two bits is a. all it takes to consume a "Big Mac." b. computer talk. c. about a dollar. d. the former cost for a shave and a haircut. Correct answer: d. https://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.html https://allowe.com/games/larry/tips-manuals/lsl1-age-quiz.ht...