Editing Day of the Tentacle (section)

== Development ==
{{Further|Maniac Mansion#Development}}
{{Multiple image
| caption_align = center
| footer = Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman co-led development of the sequel to ''Maniac Mansion'', their first time directing a game.
| image1 = Tim Schafer.jpg
| alt1 = Portrait of a smiling man with short dark curly hair. He holds a small jar of Marmite close to his chin while facing left.
| caption1 = [[Tim Schafer]] in 2001
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| image2 = Dave Grossman - 920448657 - barret.jpg
| alt2 = Portrait of a man smiling man with short brown hair facing forward.
| caption2 = [[Dave Grossman (game developer)|Dave Grossman]] in 2007
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Following a string of successful adventure games, LucasArts assigned [[Dave Grossman (game developer)|Dave Grossman]] and [[Tim Schafer]] to lead development of a new game. The two had previously assisted [[Ron Gilbert]] with the creation of ''[[The Secret of Monkey Island]]'' and ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'', and the studio felt that Grossman and Schafer were ready to manage a project. The company believed that the pair's humor matched well with that of ''Maniac Mansion'' and suggested working on a sequel. The two developers agreed and commenced production.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro">{{cite journal |journal=[[GamesTM]] |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |title=Behind the Scenes: Maniac Mansion + Day of the Tentacle |year=2010 |issue=3 |pages=22–27 |series=The Ultimate Retro Companion |issn=1448-2606 |oclc=173412381}}</ref> Gilbert and [[Gary Winnick (game developer)|Gary Winnick]], the creators of ''Maniac Mansion'', collaborated with Grossman and Schafer on the initial planning and writing.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/><ref name="RetroGamer">{{cite journal |journal=Retro Gamer |publisher=Imagine Publishing |location=[[retrogamer]] |title=The Making of Day of the Tentacle |date=December 25, 2014 |url=http://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games90/the-making-of-day-of-the-tentacle/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626165120/http://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games90/the-making-of-day-of-the-tentacle/ |archive-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref> The total budget for the game was about $600,000, according to Schafer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-10-double-fine-adventure-passes-day-of-the-tentacle-budget |title=Double Fine Adventure passes Day of the Tentacle budget |first=Fred |last=Dutton |date=February 10, 2012 |access-date=February 10, 2012 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314075902/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-10-double-fine-adventure-passes-day-of-the-tentacle-budget |archive-date=March 14, 2013}}</ref>

=== Creative design ===
In planning the plot, the four designers considered a number of concepts, eventually choosing an idea of Gilbert's about time travel that they believed was the most interesting. The four discussed what time periods to focus on, settling on the Revolutionary War and the future. The Revolutionary War offered opportunities to craft many puzzles around that period, such as changing the Constitution to affect the future. Grossman noted the appeal of the need to make wide-sweeping changes such as the Constitution just to achieve a small personal goal, believing this captured the essence of adventure games.<ref name="usgamer design"/> The future period allowed them to explore the nature of cause and effect without any historical bounds.<ref name="usgamer design">{{Cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/day-of-the-tentacle-the-oral-history |title=Day of the Tentacle: The Oral History |first=Bob |last=Mackey |date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2016 |work=[[USgamer]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309215914/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/day-of-the-tentacle-the-oral-history |archive-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> Grossman and Schafer decided to carry over previous characters that they felt were the most entertaining. The two considered the Edison family "essential" and chose Bernard because of his "unqualified nerdiness".<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> Bernard was considered "everyone's favorite character" from ''Maniac Mansion'', and was the clear first choice for the protagonists.<ref name="usgamer design"/> The game's other protagonists, Laverne and Hoagie, were based on a [[Mexican people|Mexican]] ex-girlfriend of Grossman's and a [[Megadeth]] roadie named Tony that Schafer had met, respectively.<ref name="Edge">{{cite magazine |title=Master of Unreality: The life and times of Tim Schafer, from metal to LucasArts and Double Fine—and back to metal... |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] |pages=82–87 |date=August 2009 |issue=204 |publisher=[[Future Publishing]] |location=United Kingdom}}</ref> Schafer and Grossman planned to use a character selection system similar to the first game but felt that it would have complicated the design process and increased production costs. Believing that it added little to the gameplay, they removed it early in the process and reduced the number of player characters from six to three.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> The dropped characters included Razor, a female musician from the previous game; Moonglow, a short character in baggy clothes; and Chester, a black [[Beat Generation|beat]] poet. Ideas for Chester, however, morphed into new twin characters in the Edison family.<ref name="RetroMaking">{{cite journal |journal=Retro Gamer |publisher=Imagine Publishing |location=[[Bournemouth]] |title=The Making of Day of the Tentacle |first=Kim |last=Wild |issue=81 |date=September 2010 |pages=84–87 |url=http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1171/making-of-day-of-the-tentacle?o=2 |access-date=February 25, 2011 |issn=1742-3155 |oclc=489477015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603075642/http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1171/making-of-day-of-the-tentacle?o=2 |archive-date=June 3, 2015}}</ref> The smaller number of characters reduced the strain on the game's engine in terms of [[Scripting language|scripting]] and [[Computer animation|animation]].<ref name="GamesTm-Retro-2"/>

The staff collaboratively designed the characters. They first discussed the character personalities, which Larry Ahern used to create concept art. Ahern wanted to make sure that the art style was consistent and the character designs were established early, in contrast to what had happened with ''Monkey Island 2'', in which various artists came in later to help fill in art assets as necessary, creating a disjointed style.<ref name="usgamer art"/> [[Looney Tunes]] animation shorts, particularly the [[Chuck Jones]]-directed ''[[Rabbit of Seville]]'', ''[[What's Opera, Doc?]]'', and ''[[Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century]]'' inspired the artistic design. The cartoonish style also lent itself to providing larger visible faces to enable more expressive characters.<ref name="usgamer art">{{cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/behind-the-art-of-day-of-the-tentacle |title=Behind the Art of Day of the Tentacle |first=Bob |last=Mackey |date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2016 |work=[[USgamer]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309214035/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/behind-the-art-of-day-of-the-tentacle |archive-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> [[Peter Chan (artist)|Peter Chan]] designed backgrounds, spending around two days to progress from concept sketch to final art for each background.<ref name="RetroMaking"/> Chan too used [[Looney Tunes]] as influence for the backgrounds, trying to emulate the style of Jones and [[Maurice Noble]]. Ahern and Chan went back and forth with character and background art to make sure both styles worked together without too much distraction. They further had Jones visit their studio during development to provide input into their developing art.<ref name="usgamer art"/> The choice of art style inspired further ideas from the designers. Grossman cited cartoons featuring [[Pepé Le Pew]], and commented that the gag involving a painted white stripe on [[Penelope Pussycat]] inspired a puzzle in the game. The artists spent a year creating the in-game animations.<ref name="RetroMaking"/>

The script was written in the evening when fewer people were in the office.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/><ref name="RetroMaking"/> Grossman considered it the easiest aspect of production, but encountered difficulties when writing with others around.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/>

{{quote box
| quoted = true
| width = 35%
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| quote = With a time travel story, I leave a bottle of wine somewhere, and it causes a bottle of vinegar to appear in the same place four hundred years later. Same basic idea: I do X over here, and it causes Y over there. Whether ‘over there’ means in the next room or 400 years in the future is irrelevant. I will say that it was really fun to think about the effects of large amounts of time on things like wine bottles and sweaters in dryers, and to imagine how altering fundamentals of history like the Constitution and the flag could be used to accomplish petty, selfish goals like the acquisition of a vacuum and a tentacle costume. We definitely enjoyed ourselves designing that game.
| source = Dave Grossman on designing the game's puzzles<ref name="RetroMaking"/>
}}

Grossman and Schafer brainstormed regularly to devise the time travel puzzles and collaborated with members of the development team as well as other LucasArts employees. They would identify puzzle problems and work towards a solution similar to how the game plays. Most issues were addressed prior to programming, but some details were left unfinished to work on later.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> The staff conceived puzzles involving the [[History of the United States (1776–1789)|U.S.'s early history]] based on their memory of their compulsory education, and using the more legendary aspects of history, such as George Washington cutting down a cherry tree to appeal to international audiences.<ref name="usgamer design"/><ref name="RetroMaking"/> To complete the elements, Grossman researched the period to maintain historical accuracy, visiting libraries and contacting reference librarians. The studio, however, took [[Artistic license|creative license]] towards facts to fit them into the game's design.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/><ref name="RetroMaking"/>

''Day of the Tentacle'' features a four-minute-long animated opening credit sequence, the first LucasArts game to have such. Ahern noted that their previous games would run the credits over primarily still shots which would only last for a few minutes, but with ''Tentacle'', the team had grown so large that they worried this approach would be boring to players.<ref name="usgamer art"/> They assigned [[Kyle Balda]], an intern at CalArts, to create the animated sequence, with Chan helping to create minimalist backgrounds to aid in the animation.<ref name="usgamer art"/> Originally this sequence was around seven minutes long, and included the three characters arriving at the mansion and releasing Purple Tentacle. Another LucasArts designer, Hal Barwood, suggested they cut it in half, leading to the shortened version as in the released game, and having the player take over when they arrive at the mansion.<ref name="usgamer art"/>

=== Technology and audio ===
''Day of the Tentacle'' uses the [[SCUMM]] engine developed for ''Maniac Mansion''.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> LucasArts had gradually modified the engine since its creation. For example, the number of input verbs was reduced and items in the character's inventory are represented by icons rather than text.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro-2"/> While implementing an animation, the designers encountered a problem later discovered to be a limitation of the engine. Upon learning of the limitation, Gilbert reminisced about the file size of the first game. The staff then resolved to include it in the sequel.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/>

''Day of the Tentacle'' was the first LucasArts adventure game to feature voice work on release.{{efn|''[[Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis]]'' predates ''Day of the Tentacle'' by a month, but did not have voice work until an enhanced version released a year later in 1993.}} The game was not originally planned to include voice work, as at the time, the install base for CD-ROM was too low.<ref name="usgamer design"/> As they neared the end of 1992, CD-ROM sales grew significantly. The general manager of LucasArts, Kelly Flock, recognizing that the game would not be done in time by the end of the year to make the holiday release, suggested that the team include voice work for the game, giving them more time.<ref name="usgamer design"/>

Voice director Tamlynn Barra managed that aspect of the game.<ref name="usgamer design"/> Schafer and Grossman described how they imagined the characters' voices and Barra sought audition tapes of voice actors to meet the criteria. She presented the best auditions to the pair. Schafer's sister Ginny was among the auditions, and she was chosen for Nurse Edna. Schafer opted out of the decision for her selection to avoid nepotism.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> Grossman and Schafer encountered difficulty selecting a voice for Bernard.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/><ref name="RetroMaking"/> To aid the process, Grossman commented that the character should sound like [[Les Nessman]] from the television show ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]''. Barra responded that she knew the agent of the character's actor, [[Richard Sanders (actor)|Richard Sanders]], and brought Sanders on the project.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/><ref name="Magic">{{cite book |title=The Magic of Interactive Entertainment |publisher=Sams |first1=Mike |last1=Morrison |first2=Sandie |last2=Morrison |chapter=Interactive Entertainment Today |date=October 1994 |page=19 |isbn=978-0-672-30590-0}}</ref> [[Denny Delk]] and [[Nick Jameson]] were among those hired, and provided voice work for around five characters each.<ref name="GamesTm-Retro"/> Recording for the 4,500 lines of dialog occurred at Studio 222 in Hollywood. Barra directed the voice actors separately from a sound production booth. She provided context for each line and described aspects of the game to aid the actors.<ref name="CGW-108">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Computer Gaming World]] |publisher=Russell Sipe |issue=108 |date=July 1993 |title=Lights, Camera, Interaction |page=44}}</ref> The voice work in Day of the Tentacle was widely praised for its quality and professionalism in comparison to Sierra's [[Talkies (video games)|talkie]] games of the period which suffered from poor audio quality and limited voice acting (some of which consisted of Sierra employees rather than professional talent).

The game's music was composed by [[Peter McConnell]], [[Michael Land]], and [[Clint Bajakian]].<ref name="usgamer music">{{cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/day-of-the-tentacle-composer-peter-mcconnell-on-communicating-cartooniness |title=Day of the Tentacle Composer Peter McConnell on Communicating Cartooniness |work=[[USgamer]] |first=Bob |last=Mackey |date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=March 7, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308193716/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/day-of-the-tentacle-composer-peter-mcconnell-on-communicating-cartooniness |archive-date=March 8, 2016}}</ref> The three had worked together to share the duties equally of composing the music for ''Monkey Island 2'' and ''Fate of Atlantis'', and continued this approach for ''Day of the Tentacle''.<ref name="usgamer music"/> According to McConnell, he had composed most of the music taking place in the game's present, Land for the future, and Bajakian for the past, outside of Dr. Fred's theme for the past which McConnell had done.<ref name="usgamer music"/> The music was composed around the cartoonish nature of the gameplay, further drawing on Looney Tunes' use of parodying classical works of music, and playing on set themes for all of the major characters in the game.<ref name="usgamer music"/> Many of these themes had to be composed to take into account different processing speeds of computers at the time, managed by the [[iMUSE]] music interface; such themes would include shorter repeating patterns that would play while the game's screen scrolled across, and then once the screen was at the proper place, the music would continue on to a more dramatic phrase.<ref name="usgamer music"/>

''Day of the Tentacle'' was one of the first games concurrently released on CD-ROM and floppy disk.<ref name="CGW-108"/> A floppy disk version was created to accommodate consumers that had yet to purchase CD-ROM drives. The CD-ROM format afforded the addition of audible dialog. The capacity difference between the two formats necessitated alterations to the floppy disk version. Grossman spent several weeks reducing files sizes and removing files such as the audio dialog to fit the game onto six diskettes.<ref name="RetroMaking"/>