It was four days of panels, hotly contested tournaments, mystic bananas, gentrifying doughnuts, and barf-themed competitions. In other words, Fantastic Arcade was a complete success. However, if the festival was a popularity contest, then surely Tim Schafer would be prom king. The theatre was a fire marshal’s nightmare with fans awaiting the man behind such classics as Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle, not to mention modern cult faves like the Jack Black-voiced Brütal Legend.
The always affable Schafer sat down with local game developer George Royer to talk about Schafer’s 1998 Aztec/art deco adventure game Grim Fandango. The obvious inspirations for the game are Día de los Muertos and noir film classics with Schafer singling out Casablanca as one of his favorites. Many in the crowd of devotees were interested in the upcoming remaster of Grim. Schafer responded, “The digital archaeology going on is really intense.” Apparently going back to former co-workers and asking them if they stole hard drives with content from the game is a little awkward. Schafer stuck around to provide commentary for the Gang Beasts tournament, and the crowd got a taste of the humor that made him a legend.
This article appears in September 26 • 2014.
