This is amazing to read! I really hope that this becomes a reality one day as I will be first in line! Just completed my first play through of Thimbleweed park and its been a wonderful experience and has made me want to replay Monkey 1 & 2 yet again! Thank you!
If I Made Another Monkey Island
Apr 13, 2013
NOTE: Now that Return To Monkey Island has been announced it's important to note that a lot of my views (but not all) in this post have changed. Don't take anything in here as more than a historical moment. Quoting anything in here as canon will just led to tears.
Yeah, I know, that sounds like the title of the O.J. Simpson book. I realized that after I typed it, but I'm not going to change it.
So, before I get into this fanciful post, I want to make one thing perfectly clear... actually, I'm just going to make it my first point. It's probably the most important one. Actually, I'll make it the first two points.
One - I am not making another Monkey Island. I have no plans to make another Monkey Island. I am not formulating plans to make another Monkey Island.
Two - Let me say that again. There is no new Monkey Island in works and I have no plans to make one. I'm just thinking and dreaming and inviting you come along with me. Please your keep your hands inside the boat at all times. No standing or you might get wet.
But, If I made another Monkey Island...
Three - It would be a retro game that harkened back to Monkey Island 1 and 2. I'd do it as "enhanced low-res". Nice crisp retro art, but augmented by the hardware we have today: parallaxing, depth of field, warm glows, etc. All the stuff we wanted to do back in 1990 but couldn't. Monkey Island deserves that. It's authentic. It doesn't need 3D. Yes, I've seen the video, it's very cool, but Monkey Island wants to be what it is. I would want the game to be how we all remember Monkey Island.
Four - It would be a hardcore adventure game driven by what made that era so great. No tutorials or hint systems or pansy-assed puzzles or catering to the mass-market or modernizing. It would be an adventure game for the hardcore. You're going to get stuck. You're going to be frustrated. Some puzzles will be hard, but all the puzzles will be fair. It's one aspect of Monkey Island I am very proud of. Read this.
Five - I would lose the verbs. I love the verbs, I really do, and they would be hard to lose, but they are cruft. It's not as scary as it sounds. I haven't fully worked it out (not that I am working it out, but if I was working it out, which I'm not, I wouldn't have it fully worked out). I might change my mind, but probably not. Mmmmm... verbs.
Six - Full-on inventory. Nice big juicy icons full of pixels. The first version of Monkey Island 1 had text for inventory, a later release and Monkey Island 2 had huge inventory icons and it was nirvana. They will be so nice you'll want to lick them. That's a bullet-point for the box.
Seven - There would be a box. I imagine most copies would be sold digitally, but sometimes you just want to roll around in all your adventure game boxes. I know I do. Besides, where would you store the code wheel?
Eight - There would be dialog puzzles. They weren't really puzzles, but that's what we called them. Being able to tell four jokes at once and meander and getting lost in the humor of a conversation is the staple of Monkey Island. No one has done it better since. Just my opinion.
Nine - I would rebuild SCUMM. Not SCUMM as in the exact same language, but what SCUMM brought to those games. It was a language built around making adventure games and rapid iteration. It did things Lua could never dream of. When Lua was in High School, SCUMM beat it up for lunch money. True story. SCUMM lived and breathed adventure games. I'd build an engine and a language where funny ideas can be laughed about at lunch and be in the game that afternoon. SCUMM did that. It's something that is getting lost today.
Ten - It would be made with a very small team. Not 30 or 20, but 10 or less. It means the game would take longer, but it would be more personal and crafted with love. Monkey love. Wait... that's not what I meant...
Eleven - The only way I would or could make another Monkey Island is if I owned the IP. I've spent too much of my life creating and making things other people own. Not only would I allow you to make Monkey Island fan games, but I would encourage it. Label them as such, respect the world and the characters and don't claim they are canon. Of course, once the lawyers get ahold of that last sentence it will be seven pages long.
Twelve - It would be called Monkey Island 3a. All the games after Monkey Island 2 don't exist in my Monkey Island universe. My apologies to the all talented people who worked on them and the people who loved them, but I'd want to pick up where I left off. Free of baggage. In a carnival. That doesn't mean I won't steal some good ideas or characters from other games. I'm not above that.
Thirteen - It won't be the Monkey Island 3 I was going to make in 1992. I'm not the same person I was back then. I could never make that game now. It is lost to time. Hopefully this one would be better.
Fourteen - The press won't get advanced copies. I know all the reasons they want to get a game in advance, and they are all valid, but I feel they should play it at the same time you do. I hope they won't be mad at me. My Metacritic score hopes they won't be mad it me.
Fifteen - It would have full voice. It's something we dreamed of back then and we can do it now.
Sixteen - If I used Kickstarter, there would be no fancy videos of me trying to look charming (as if I could). No concept art or lofty promises or crazy stretch goals or ridiculous reward tiers. It would be raw and honest. It would be free of hype and distractions that keep me from making the best game I could. True, I wouldn't raise huge sums of money or break any records, but that's not what I want to do. I want to make a game.
Seventeen - The game would be the game I wanted to make. I don't want the pressure of trying to make the game you want me to make. I would vanish for long periods of time. I would not constantly keep you up-to-date or be feeding the hype-machine. I'd show stuff that excited me or amused me. If you let me do those things, you will love the game. That, I promise.
I hope you've had as much fun reading this as I had writing it.
Mimi
Jan 06, 2018
Ben
Jan 19, 2018
Why not make it anyway? Use a little wink wink here and there, a Tybrush Greepwood, Donkey Island, etc. Half kidding but seriously, thank you for an amazing experience.
Alberto
Jan 24, 2018
I understand why it must be frustrating to have your IP taken away from you. I myself am making a game based on my story, and it would suck to no end to have some people own the story and characters i developed with passion and love, and who are pretty much like children to me. ALso, in my personal opinion, other people have no right to decide what is canon to the story; only the creator, no matter if they bought the "rights". I hope, I really do that someday you will manage to get Monkey island back. I love the game. Good luck!
Hector
Apr 05, 2018
I don't want to die without playing it.
Kyrone
May 22, 2018
Why are the comments from 2018? Suspicious
Olgu
May 25, 2018
The Secret of Monkey Island came out a year after I was born. The amount of times I played both monkey games combined is probably more than my age at this point. The true third game lived in my dreams for long years. The year is 2018 and I still can't get point and clicks and Monkey Island out of my head. Well I'm not trying to. In fact I'm writing my master thesis on something close to your point *Five*. Thank you for being a source of inspiration and I hope you get the IP one day to complete the legendary series.
Steve
May 29, 2018
Yeah, this needs to happen. Every person I've introduced the MI games too has fallen in love with them, but without question everyone's favorites were game 1 and 2, and I feel the same. 3a would be a most welcome addition to the true gospel of MI. :)
Jon
Jun 20, 2018
If you made this (and you're not), I would want a special edition that somehow came on 12x3.5" floppy disks - Monkey Island on my Amiga 500 is a cherished childhood memory :)
Fred
Jul 09, 2018
Kickstarter to buy back the ip?
Toni
Aug 18, 2018
Kickstarter to buy back the ip +1
Ben Millen
Aug 31, 2018
Kickstarter to buy back ip +2 or find someone at Disney who played these games as a kid and speak to their better nature to pull some strings..... Kickstarter it is then
Ron Gilbert
Sep 01, 2018
*sigh*
This isn't about money... it's about Disney not wanting to sell. The problem is, the more someone at Disney likes the game, the less they are willing to sell. The best thing that can happen is for everyone to just forget about MI, then maybe Disney will think it's worthless and sell it. The more people buy the old gages and start petitions, the worse it gets.
This isn't about money... it's about Disney not wanting to sell. The problem is, the more someone at Disney likes the game, the less they are willing to sell. The best thing that can happen is for everyone to just forget about MI, then maybe Disney will think it's worthless and sell it. The more people buy the old gages and start petitions, the worse it gets.
Christian
Sep 18, 2018
Played MI1+2 first when i was 12 years on my Amiga 500. Today i am 41 years, still have my original Amiga and playing the games once a year. The Boxes are stored in my shelf, the absolution certificate is at the wall in my office.
I *can not* die before i played MI3a. It is not possible. How about a Kickstarter for getting Ron out of Jail when he releases MI3a without Disney's approval xD ... With luck, i have 25-30 years left. Ron, you have to create this game. Really. The world is lost without MI3a - without RONs MI3a, not Disneys.
I *can not* die before i played MI3a. It is not possible. How about a Kickstarter for getting Ron out of Jail when he releases MI3a without Disney's approval xD ... With luck, i have 25-30 years left. Ron, you have to create this game. Really. The world is lost without MI3a - without RONs MI3a, not Disneys.
Johan Windh
Oct 09, 2018
"The best thing that can happen is for everyone to just forget about MI..."
This means it is never going to happen.
:'(
This means it is never going to happen.
:'(
Matias
Oct 25, 2018
Tybrush Greepwood's idea is awesome. The whole game could be just like that. Governor Melaine Arley would love him.
Jose Juan Llanos
Jan 24, 2019
Agreed with every point.
Regarding verbs, I would still use them, but reduced. Remove push/pull and use Interact or something more generic
Regarding verbs, I would still use them, but reduced. Remove push/pull and use Interact or something more generic
Ale
Mar 02, 2019
Make the game, take your time and make it just the way you want, with the team you want. We the fans will be happy to fund it. Once the game is done, we´ll make Disney realize that there is a huge market out there for your -uncompromised- version of MI3. Then sell the game to Disney for a fair amount of cash so them can sell it to us. I know this doesn´t resolve the problem of the IP, but you get the game you wanted done, and we get to play it.
Tony
May 01, 2019
I hold my breath for so long until you release the game.
No seriously.
I am absolutely thrilled with your text. The points correspond to 100% of my wishes. In my imagination, the box is already on my shelf.
I hope that it will come to that.
P.S. What was this about? I think I forgot what game we're talking about here. (Did you read that, dear Disney staff?)
No seriously.
I am absolutely thrilled with your text. The points correspond to 100% of my wishes. In my imagination, the box is already on my shelf.
I hope that it will come to that.
P.S. What was this about? I think I forgot what game we're talking about here. (Did you read that, dear Disney staff?)
Jordi
Sep 14, 2019
I just jumped of my chair when reading it!
I really wish yo finally can get the Monkey Island IP to make this true!!
I really wish yo finally can get the Monkey Island IP to make this true!!
Brett
Jan 17, 2020
Since disney suck and this will almost definately never happen. Can you please just tell what the damm secret is? To be fair, 30 years is a long time to leave your extremely devoted fanbase hangin'. Just a quick rundown of what you had planned for the true monkey island 3 would be goddamm amazing.
Thom
Jan 18, 2020
http://chng.it/mBw8k4W2d8
Petition to Disney to get the rights back in the hands of the creator. I doubt they'll listen, they don't give a shit about integrity, look at the new Star Wars'. Worth a shot though!
Petition to Disney to get the rights back in the hands of the creator. I doubt they'll listen, they don't give a shit about integrity, look at the new Star Wars'. Worth a shot though!
Souhiro
Jan 20, 2020
*Seventeen* - The game would be the game I wanted to make. I do--n't want the pressure of trying to make the game you want me to make.
But the game I would want you to make is the game that you'd love to make. A game with humor, a game that would get me stuck for hours, and ask my friends "Do you know how to pass the waterfall? A MONKEY? we're from Spain, what is a Monkey Wrench?" and finally, get the joke.
The only ONLY thing I would you suggest, is to improve the sprite framerate: There are some pixel artists that are doing something like this, and looks impresive. It's the best from the past, and the best of our future.
https://twitter.com/LicholasNittle/status/1096146198430396416
What do you think about this?
But the game I would want you to make is the game that you'd love to make. A game with humor, a game that would get me stuck for hours, and ask my friends "Do you know how to pass the waterfall? A MONKEY? we're from Spain, what is a Monkey Wrench?" and finally, get the joke.
The only ONLY thing I would you suggest, is to improve the sprite framerate: There are some pixel artists that are doing something like this, and looks impresive. It's the best from the past, and the best of our future.
https://twitter.com/LicholasNittle/status/1096146198430396416
What do you think about this?
Nathan
Feb 26, 2020
This new CEO sounds like he just wants to focus on big brands...
dimitris
Mar 03, 2020
i would love a monkey island 3
Ariel Bosi
Apr 12, 2020
Hello, Ron.
Considering this post is almost 7 years old and Thimbleweed Park was created in the middle, would you add/modify/delete any of these points?
Considering this post is almost 7 years old and Thimbleweed Park was created in the middle, would you add/modify/delete any of these points?
Kerem
Apr 28, 2020
We all know that Disney has the rights of the game. Isn't it possible to cooperate in the new monkey island project with Disney? Fans have been waiting for very long time.
Joerg
Apr 28, 2020
I would really like a MI3a to happen and whished Ron could arrange a situation with Disney and the IP he is comfortable with.
But if not also another game with the same kind of humor in a fresh positive setting like MI was would be sooo nice! We need your bright stories and art we can fall in love with in these hard times Ron!
But if not also another game with the same kind of humor in a fresh positive setting like MI was would be sooo nice! We need your bright stories and art we can fall in love with in these hard times Ron!
Francesco Favia
May 11, 2020
At the beginning of the Dalores story Ron states he is working on a new adventure game.
He was silent about it, new interface will have no verbs, he already has a small team probably, he said clearly long ago he is not making another adventure due to revenue's reasons but he could change his mind if he would have a great idea... Well ... Is Monkey island 3a coming?
He was silent about it, new interface will have no verbs, he already has a small team probably, he said clearly long ago he is not making another adventure due to revenue's reasons but he could change his mind if he would have a great idea... Well ... Is Monkey island 3a coming?
Sam B
May 22, 2020
Seven years later and returning to this shrine to quixotic retro gaming nostalgia. I won't let Covid take me before I'm holding my Monkey Island 3a floppy!
Panos
May 23, 2020
Looking back at it, I am trying to make a small tech demo with godot for an adventure game, and recently played the Delores Thimbleweed tech demo. I see that in the Delores, you nailed what you were writing here.
I've played games for over 30 years, and your adventures played the pivotal part of defining some aspects of my life. I am 40 now. I know due to the Disney stuff, there will be no coming back to the IP for Monkey Island in the near future (I sure hope it isn't so!) but this document is awesome. Keep up the good work, I am waiting for your next game :)
I've played games for over 30 years, and your adventures played the pivotal part of defining some aspects of my life. I am 40 now. I know due to the Disney stuff, there will be no coming back to the IP for Monkey Island in the near future (I sure hope it isn't so!) but this document is awesome. Keep up the good work, I am waiting for your next game :)
Adam
Jul 13, 2020
If I ever came into big money (whoop) I would pay Ron well, to create this game, in a hole somewhere, without disruption, as he says, the way it was supposed to be. It would one day appear on Pirate Bay with no one at Disney aware of what happened. Nameless. But there. The final piece of a puzzle that may never be. Eugh, where are these MI millionaires hiding and what is taking them so long.
Reto
Oct 18, 2020
Wouldn't it be possible to just change the name slightly. Just so, that the old crowd, thirsty for another adventure, recognize the connection, but legaly on the safe side?
Robert wagner
Nov 05, 2020
Aww man, Monkey Island 1 and 2 were my all time favourite games and the memories they bring back thinking about playing them on my Amiga... Man what I would do to play a proper sequel to those! Ho hum...
Jonathan Dickinson
Nov 24, 2020
I've just started Monkey Island 2 again and yeah, I'm stuck pretty much instantly... but that's the enjoyment modern gamers don't understand. Being frustrated for days, then trying the most random thing and feeling that elation when it works and you find out what happens next. Young gamers won't put up with that nowadays, they either want their hand holding or want to blow shit up. I wish AAA titles were diverse games that brought the most joy not the most money for the publisher. There's no personality in popular games anymore, it's just about the return. Monkey Island 3 would be the game to change that.
Santiago Dutil
Mar 01, 2021
Dear Ron, I can't get tired of reading this post, is like a manifesto of how to work with love. If it ever happens, I know so many will be so happy. Now I am 43 and seeing how much love you have put in MI I understand why it was so important to the 12 years old me. We all need to put love in what we do, we probably never know, but it will change someone's life.
Sergio
Dec 15, 2021
Well, every now and then I read this again... Every time I realize more and more that a new MI game is not going to happen.
But maybe it's for the better. A good game like Thimbleweed Park is better than a bad Monkey Island... although I don't think you could do a bad MI.
Thanks for everything you added to the gaming world. You changed many lives, that's for sure.
But maybe it's for the better. A good game like Thimbleweed Park is better than a bad Monkey Island... although I don't think you could do a bad MI.
Thanks for everything you added to the gaming world. You changed many lives, that's for sure.
Jeff
Dec 17, 2021
I am now replaying the MI games with my granddaughter that I enjoyed so much starting in junior high. I just want to say thank you for this gift.
Asher
Dec 22, 2021
I would definitely miss the verbs if this would ever exist. But I would be happy nonetheless.😊
Basti
Jan 03, 2022
Hy Ron...read this Post again, and must Smile again...it would be soo great to Play another MI designed by you!...im Now 39 years old, and Play MI 1 and 2 once a year...or more:)...i grow up with it, and need a MI 3...so please, make it, and sell it on Disney, or Change the Names...i think Tybrush Greepwood would Love it!!!...PS. sorry für my Bad English, im German:D
Rho Watson
Mar 09, 2022
I had no idea that I pretty much had the same thoughts regarding a sequel as the actual creator. I agree with all of these points, specifically about the art. The handpainted backgrounds and the icons were what I remember filling me with the most wonder as a kid playing the game. The icons specifically did an incredible job of looking interesting and aesthetically pleasing in such a small space. To this day its some of the prettiest and most thoughtful pixel art I've seen in a game and its something I think a potential MI3A would need to preserve. I enjoyed the Special Editions, but I feel the best way to experience them is with the old graphics and voice acting turned on. The smooth art and paperdoll animation just removes a lot of the charm.
Again, if you were ever able to actually move forward with this, I would be first in line to apply. I know the art style to MI2 like the back of my hand and would love the opportunity to create something authentic in its style.
Again, if you were ever able to actually move forward with this, I would be first in line to apply. I know the art style to MI2 like the back of my hand and would love the opportunity to create something authentic in its style.
Sigurd Thomassen
Mar 12, 2022
100% agree to this. The art in MI2 has this impressionistic quality, that triggers emotions and fantasy. Its just too bad that Disney is stopping mi3a from happening. Maybe George Lucas would understand why this needs to happen? Anyone got his number?
David
Mar 14, 2022
I'm back on this post after a group of volunteers decided to (unofficially) translate Monkey Island 1 into Catalan. Being immersed in the translation for days made me fall in love with the game again, which led me back to MI2, which made me think about this post. It's been commented already, but after playing Thimbleweed Park I have no doubts whatsoever that MI3a would look and feel just like the original MI games did. I hope you're doing well, Ron.
Pijin Pastrana
Mar 30, 2022
I'm from Cuba and that's a place as removed from the gaming world as a palm tree is from the artic and yet Monkey Island is known here and revered by a not too big but faithfull fan base. Please Ron, make the game you want to do and as others said, change the names. We don't care, we'll know what the real names are. Just make the game before is too late and I'm gone from this world. I'm 50 years old and graphic adventures are my passion. Thanks for the legacy!!!
Felix Nikolaus
Apr 04, 2022
IT'S HAPPENING *quiet sobbing noises of joy*!
Martin
Apr 04, 2022
What a joy to read this after today's announcement. I hope it's as good as he describes above.
Steve
Apr 04, 2022
Thanks. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you for making it real.
RexSonic
Apr 04, 2022
This aged really well
Jan
Apr 04, 2022
OH YES. The news about Return to Monkey Island absolutely made my day!
Rea
Apr 04, 2022
Looking forward to RtMI!!!!!! This year too, amazing!
On this list though: Points 3 and 11 seem to not have held up, I wonder about the rest.
On this list though: Points 3 and 11 seem to not have held up, I wonder about the rest.
Apollo
Apr 04, 2022
Really interesting to read this again after today ;)
Looking forward to what you come up with!
Looking forward to what you come up with!
Josh Luckhurst
Apr 04, 2022
I am beyond happy that we're getting another game!
Nestor
Apr 04, 2022
huzzah!
Matias
Apr 04, 2022
Coming back to this post after all these years fills me with joy.
Karjala
Apr 04, 2022
Murray is back - glad you didn't remove him =)
Stilly
Apr 04, 2022
I can't believe it's finally actually happening
SirRuso
Apr 04, 2022
"Ron Gilbert told he´d never make another Monkey Island game unless..."
Murray Dixit
Murray Dixit
Kadoiera
Apr 04, 2022
I'm glad to hear you attended your family reunion!
Juan
Apr 04, 2022
Oh yesssshhh!!!!
Thank You Ron
Thank You Ron
David
Apr 04, 2022
Wow! - So excited..
Even more so if you also bring it out as a Mac OSX release - or even a iPADos touch version. Playing a high quality adventure game on the go would have been a dream back in 1992!
Even more so if you also bring it out as a Mac OSX release - or even a iPADos touch version. Playing a high quality adventure game on the go would have been a dream back in 1992!
Beja Martins
Apr 04, 2022
Ron Gilbert told me he'd never make another Monkey Island unless...
Martell90
Apr 04, 2022
So excited for the new installment! I do hope point 3 stands, and you include the option to "downgrade" to pixel art of the Amiga days.
So, SO, excited.
So, SO, excited.
Nef
Apr 04, 2022
This graphic artist is very excited about. But not about the teaser look. But well... its ron. Its MI
jodudeit
Apr 04, 2022
It will be interesting to see how much of this list makes it into Return to Monkey Island!
Alex Biso
Apr 04, 2022
O.M.G.
I hope this part will come true:
"I'd do it as "enhanced low-res". Nice crisp retro art, but augmented by the hardware we have today: parallaxing, depth of field, warm glows, etc. All the stuff we wanted to do back in 1990 but couldn't."
But given the trailer, probably not...
In any case, O.M.G.!!
I hope this part will come true:
"I'd do it as "enhanced low-res". Nice crisp retro art, but augmented by the hardware we have today: parallaxing, depth of field, warm glows, etc. All the stuff we wanted to do back in 1990 but couldn't."
But given the trailer, probably not...
In any case, O.M.G.!!
Goybrush
Apr 04, 2022
Unless...
Tamm Ruab
Apr 04, 2022
Played Monkey Island the first week of release with a buddy. Laughed so hard the popcorn and Mtdew kept spilling all over. Now seem to own multiple copies of the complete series although after revenge I only played through once each. 3a? Sure! Bring it on!
Cap'n Cameron Cole
Apr 04, 2022
SQUEEEE!! Thats's right, I am a pirate who squees, and I am squeeing really hard right now.
The Dread Pirate La Brush
Apr 04, 2022
Long live Monkey Island!
The Dread Pirate La Brush
Apr 04, 2022
Long live Monkey Island!
Thomas
Apr 04, 2022
Thank you, Ron Gilbert, for promising to give me the chance to experience a new classic Monkey Island game for the first time, now that I have children of my own with whom I can share the experience. I'm looking forward to them meeting my old friend Guybrush.
And, I can't fail to say it expressly: Thank you for assuring that Dominic Armato voices Guybrush. He IS inseparable from Guybrush in my head, and seeing that he will be so in a new original Ron Gilbert Monkey Island game (a sentence I am typing in 2022!) just enshrines this perfectly.
And, I can't fail to say it expressly: Thank you for assuring that Dominic Armato voices Guybrush. He IS inseparable from Guybrush in my head, and seeing that he will be so in a new original Ron Gilbert Monkey Island game (a sentence I am typing in 2022!) just enshrines this perfectly.
Endigo
Apr 04, 2022
The prophecy came true.
Welcome back king.
Welcome back king.
Dex
Apr 04, 2022
And for the next part of this prophecy. OJ kills again.
residentgrigo
Apr 04, 2022
Ah yeah, the old "design document" somehow returned.
Timo
Apr 04, 2022
Heard today about you making MI III. Makes it a good day, in a mad world and time. Love it! I + II were the best games of my youth, absolutly!!!
sophocles.s
Apr 04, 2022
I have no words with how happy and excited I am. thank you
Liam
Apr 04, 2022
You make a grown man cry.
Steve
Apr 04, 2022
Return to Monkey Island? That's the second greatest video game announcement that I've ever seen!
Man of low moral fibre
Apr 04, 2022
I'm shaking, I'm shaking!
And sobbing a bit too. Swab the decks!
And sobbing a bit too. Swab the decks!
SunDancer
Apr 04, 2022
This is so exciting! Box! With map! And Codewheel!
HUZZAH!
HUZZAH!
Gins
Apr 04, 2022
If you violate any of the other rules, it is only to satisfy the most important rule:
"Seventeen - The game would be the game I wanted to make. I don't want the pressure of trying to make the game you want me to make. I would vanish for long periods of time. I would not constantly keep you up-to-date or be feeding the hype-machine. I'd show stuff that excited me or amused me. If you let me do those things, you will love the game. That, I promise."
I can't believe it's happening :)
"Seventeen - The game would be the game I wanted to make. I don't want the pressure of trying to make the game you want me to make. I would vanish for long periods of time. I would not constantly keep you up-to-date or be feeding the hype-machine. I'd show stuff that excited me or amused me. If you let me do those things, you will love the game. That, I promise."
I can't believe it's happening :)
max
Apr 04, 2022
So... I can start working on my fan game?
Angbor3d
Apr 04, 2022
For once a blog post that aged well. Thanks for some good news in those f-ed up times.
Guybrush threepwood
Apr 04, 2022
And here we are, some years later Monkey Island 3 is happening and you didn't keep one of the most important things: the game doesn't look retro, it looks like a common mobile game with the vector graphics and so... but well, I guess we'll have to live with it.
Welcome back, master.
Welcome back, master.
Murrysfoot
Apr 04, 2022
best news of 2022! I just love monkey island
kristian
Apr 04, 2022
LFGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Invariel
Apr 04, 2022
Amazing. Simply amazing. I can wait, and I will wait, but I am brimming with excitement.
Edit: It's unfortunate that the captcha does not accept the word forms for answers.
Edit: It's unfortunate that the captcha does not accept the word forms for answers.
Flo (Peritus)
Apr 04, 2022
I am so hyped. I was born 2003 and yet I love and adore your work and the two Monkey Island games were the only ones I could thoroughly enjoy
Wally
Apr 04, 2022
Ron Gilbert. Delivering the dreams of our childhood to experience with our childs. Also wanted for questioning regarding the disappearance of prescription eyewear.
blombo
Apr 04, 2022
This is exciting, but already a mixed bag.
Sadly it seems point number Three ("It would be a retro game that harkened back to Monkey Island 1 and 2") won't materialise. This seems to have modern graphics (which sadly I'm not digging at all), à la MI3 and Tales of Monkey Island, which were certainly not bad, but had nothing to do, graphics-wise, with MI1 and MI2.
Also Ron said MI3 is canon, so it seems point Twelve (picking up from the carnival) too isn't happening, and that's a major bummer, because we know that what happens in MI3 is not what Ron had in mind. I wanted to see MI3a, i.e. his version of the story, as he says, "free of baggage".
It would have been wonderful to be able to pick up exactly where MI2 ended, with a game that looked like the first two, but it seems like it won't be so.
Let's hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid I won't be.
Sadly it seems point number Three ("It would be a retro game that harkened back to Monkey Island 1 and 2") won't materialise. This seems to have modern graphics (which sadly I'm not digging at all), à la MI3 and Tales of Monkey Island, which were certainly not bad, but had nothing to do, graphics-wise, with MI1 and MI2.
Also Ron said MI3 is canon, so it seems point Twelve (picking up from the carnival) too isn't happening, and that's a major bummer, because we know that what happens in MI3 is not what Ron had in mind. I wanted to see MI3a, i.e. his version of the story, as he says, "free of baggage".
It would have been wonderful to be able to pick up exactly where MI2 ended, with a game that looked like the first two, but it seems like it won't be so.
Let's hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid I won't be.
YouFightLikeADairyFarmer
Apr 05, 2022
I was having a bad week, but now it's all better.
Wally
Apr 05, 2022
I hope the "I beat the Swordmaster of Melee Island" T-shirt still fits...Holy crap???!!
A real sequel to LeChuck's Revenge?
This year?
Please, don't go all Star Wars on us Ron. Make this real.
Make Guybrush Great Again!
A real sequel to LeChuck's Revenge?
This year?
Please, don't go all Star Wars on us Ron. Make this real.
Make Guybrush Great Again!
Aaron
Apr 05, 2022
So looking forward to this! Some of my favourite gaming memories are playing Ron Gilbert games, all the way back to Zak McKracken and the Alien Mind Benders! I even still had the box in decent condition in 2014 when Ron visited Australia so I got him to sign it! Unfortunately it was destroyed in the recent floods along with most of my game box collection :(
So with that in mind, PLEASE release a box for Return to Monkey Island!!!
Also in reply to others, this can very much still be a sequel to the second game, he said he would borrow and steal from the others so Murray could come in that way.
So with that in mind, PLEASE release a box for Return to Monkey Island!!!
Also in reply to others, this can very much still be a sequel to the second game, he said he would borrow and steal from the others so Murray could come in that way.
Niels
Apr 05, 2022
Really cool to read this a day after Return to Monkey Island was announced. I'm sure some things will have changed.
I3arana
Apr 05, 2022
So all the direct celebration about this I join in on.
This does also, mean one thing.
ScummVM is going to get one Frehekinominal update.
And Ill still be able to play this on my NextGen ppc Amiga under workbench 4.1.x if Ron strays to far from his roots :) with my own copy ofcourse
This does also, mean one thing.
ScummVM is going to get one Frehekinominal update.
And Ill still be able to play this on my NextGen ppc Amiga under workbench 4.1.x if Ron strays to far from his roots :) with my own copy ofcourse
AgeofCalculon
Apr 05, 2022
(verblessly) "Fire cannon at canon"
galangaton
Apr 05, 2022
Guys.. he knows we know he knows we know.
I have faith in Ron, whatever the graphics might look like. I'm sure that his stubbornness and grumpiness hasn't just vanished into nothing. If he decided to make the game it's because it's going to live up to his impossible standards.
Also, we already got the pixellated retro graphics in thimbleweed park, I appreciate if this is going to be an evolution from that and going to include the new mechanics introduced in Delores. Ok bye
I have faith in Ron, whatever the graphics might look like. I'm sure that his stubbornness and grumpiness hasn't just vanished into nothing. If he decided to make the game it's because it's going to live up to his impossible standards.
Also, we already got the pixellated retro graphics in thimbleweed park, I appreciate if this is going to be an evolution from that and going to include the new mechanics introduced in Delores. Ok bye
Mike
Apr 05, 2022
This is a great list, but for what it's worth, Ron, I think it's okay if you break your own rules. :)
Palido Domingo Rodrigues
Apr 06, 2022
So excited for this! My journey in MI started with CMI, and I played the first two games a few years ago when they were released on Steam. I do see some differences in the how the story is being told, and that the canon of the 2 first games are much better than the later ones, especially the dreaded 4th game ...
The episodic Tales series I think was actually quite good. Looking forward to see what will become of this, I have faith in you, Ron!
Now I'm off to finally play through Thimbleweed Park ;)
The episodic Tales series I think was actually quite good. Looking forward to see what will become of this, I have faith in you, Ron!
Now I'm off to finally play through Thimbleweed Park ;)
davic
Apr 06, 2022
And remember... Never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game ;)
AplastaP
Apr 06, 2022
As Ron said in the 13th point. "It won't be the Monkey Island 3 I was going to make in 1992" I think it won't be the game you probably made in 2013 and i think it's fair. 10 years it's quite a lot of time none of us are the same person we were 10 nor 30 years back. I'm just happy it's happening. Monkey Island was my first videogame and never stopped playing games after that. I honestly though i never would see a Monkey Island by Ron again and i couldn't be happier with the news. My only wish for you Ron is that this Monkey Island would be the game you want to make now, as you said free of baggage not the game you would make in 92 nor 2013. Thanks for everything, don't want to be an *ss kisser but i'm honestly grateful. And this game brought my father and i back to talking about videogames and wanted to play together again. He never touched a videogame after Monkey Island 2.
BASHAR
Apr 06, 2022
I remember reading this blog post back then, feeling sad and also a bit of joy imagining how it would feel like. It seemed impossible to get a Monkey sequel, all things given. But I still held on. On Dec 2020 during the Evening With Ron Gilbert live event, I finally felt this is it for good. I felt like we're getting the fair well. I had tears in my eyes.
God damn you're a star at hiding secrets! I'm going through your blog now, and I can't imagine how insane it must feel to be able to work on your game again after almost 30 years.
God damn you're a star at hiding secrets! I'm going through your blog now, and I can't imagine how insane it must feel to be able to work on your game again after almost 30 years.
FlopeDash
Apr 06, 2022
This aged like rum. In a cask. With some battery acid, some red paint and maybe some chili.
I could not be happier.
I could not be happier.
asterothe
Apr 06, 2022
I hope 4, 7,8 and especially 12 and 17 still hold!
11 sounds so cool but I think LucasFilm still owns it so it's not possible
11 sounds so cool but I think LucasFilm still owns it so it's not possible
Luke
Apr 07, 2022
Please make the graphics pixelated and retro
:(
:(
Ergaleio
Apr 07, 2022
Looking forward to reliving my childhood! I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
MI for ever!
MI for ever!
PicZ
Apr 08, 2022
I just have a few bottles of grog to uncork when the game comes out!
Mayoris
Apr 08, 2022
Ron, please: don't use that stupid design of modern adventure games...
Respect the retro and pixelated art of MI and MI2 (and even of Thimbleweed Park). Thank you.
Just a real fan.
Respect the retro and pixelated art of MI and MI2 (and even of Thimbleweed Park). Thank you.
Just a real fan.
Reggie
Apr 09, 2022
How Appropriate, You Fight Like A Cow!
Threewood
Apr 10, 2022
I'm crying, I was playing as a kid, now can't wait to play this with my kids!
Richard
Apr 11, 2022
I have been waiting 30 years for this moment, and I am so glad you have stuck to your gaming morals, Ron. You are a hero of mine. I do have to say that I can't help wondering what the 1992 version was conceptually like...just because I am a curious person. Monkey Island is finally in the best possible hands!
Zirus Blackheart
Apr 11, 2022
Ron Gilbert has said Curse will be canon, so this means no matter what Return is it will not be the proper "ignoring all other Monkey Islands except 1+2" proper 3rd game/finale of the trilogy we were hopeing for regardless of the fact Return continues directly on from 2......
Return's going to be a good Ron Gilbert game but its only going to be that, nothing more.
Thx for waving a carrot in front of my face then snatching it away and kicking me/us in the balls.
Return's going to be a good Ron Gilbert game but its only going to be that, nothing more.
Thx for waving a carrot in front of my face then snatching it away and kicking me/us in the balls.
Islish Whiteliver
Apr 12, 2022
C'mon, Zirus Blackheart! Way too soon to feel ballkicked, we know nothing yet. I do share your point, because the whole urgency of having Ron himself making another Monkey Island and not Telltale or whoever was because we wished for the proper conclusion to an unfinished trilogy, not "just" a great game. If some Monkey Island 6 is what we get, instead of the real MI 3 which finally reveals the original vision behind it all - yeah, it will be a major let down, after all these years of talking MI 3a. But there might be many clever ways to keep everything intact. Maybe the original Guybrush becomes a novelist and writes Curse, Escape and Tales as his wishful fiction or whatever. Let's just wait and be happy something's coming up - a great game, the longawaited sequel or the most pleasant ball kick ever
Punisha
Apr 13, 2022
AMAZING NEWS! Coincidently I was watching a Mark Ferrari interview two days before there was a new Monkey Island game news! Recently I had a tragic death in my close family and this was the first thing that cheered me up in over a month...
I was just a small kid when I played Monkey Island 1 on my old Amiga 500. Too young to get the jokes, but I sure did get the atmosphere, the adventure... man, in that long gone summer I "lived" on Melee island for months. I was 6 years old, still learning English (this game helped a lot) and was stuck for weeks trying to get Otis out of prison! The feeling when I finally figured to transport grog from mug to mug was unforgettable! :D When I first saw the close up image of Elaine Marley I was in love. When I got endlessly lost in mazes beneath Monkey Island I was genuinely scared. Was wondering for days (real days!) mapping the maze in my notebook before realizing I need the navigator's head ;P
Dear Mr. Gilbert, whatever the amount of magic you manage to bring back, it will be worth. I think I can say for many of us, it was never "just a game", but a part of our identity that we carried in life for 3 decades now. Being older and wiser we realize the business aspect of it, all the nastiness, exploitation of creativity for profit. Even as we know that the nostalgic years of working at the Skywalker's ranch are to always remain in the past, we believed in you. What joy to be a part of this amazing experience, either as a creator, developer or a gamer!
Let's all have amazing days ahead of us!
I was just a small kid when I played Monkey Island 1 on my old Amiga 500. Too young to get the jokes, but I sure did get the atmosphere, the adventure... man, in that long gone summer I "lived" on Melee island for months. I was 6 years old, still learning English (this game helped a lot) and was stuck for weeks trying to get Otis out of prison! The feeling when I finally figured to transport grog from mug to mug was unforgettable! :D When I first saw the close up image of Elaine Marley I was in love. When I got endlessly lost in mazes beneath Monkey Island I was genuinely scared. Was wondering for days (real days!) mapping the maze in my notebook before realizing I need the navigator's head ;P
Dear Mr. Gilbert, whatever the amount of magic you manage to bring back, it will be worth. I think I can say for many of us, it was never "just a game", but a part of our identity that we carried in life for 3 decades now. Being older and wiser we realize the business aspect of it, all the nastiness, exploitation of creativity for profit. Even as we know that the nostalgic years of working at the Skywalker's ranch are to always remain in the past, we believed in you. What joy to be a part of this amazing experience, either as a creator, developer or a gamer!
Let's all have amazing days ahead of us!
Timo
Apr 14, 2022
Amazon Prime made Monkey2 free so I played it through yet again (with the excellent commentary on), not knowing about this announcement. I am so happy for this, Monkey1+2 were a huge part of my childhood.
Special call out to Michael Land for the Adlib music that I recorded to cassette tape straight from the speakers and listened on my Walkman when I was away from home and couldn't play. I still get misty eyed every time I hear it, Adlib or MT-32 (which I can finally afford).
Special call out to Michael Land for the Adlib music that I recorded to cassette tape straight from the speakers and listened on my Walkman when I was away from home and couldn't play. I still get misty eyed every time I hear it, Adlib or MT-32 (which I can finally afford).
Die-hard Murray fan
Apr 15, 2022
This post aged like milk.
Kjeld
Apr 17, 2022
This is a really interesting read after the announcement of Return to Monkey Island. I mostly hope point seventeen still stands for the most part. Obviously after another 9 years since this blog post your views have changed again obviously. Completely fair. I just want this to be the game you want to make now instead of trying to please the fans. That said, I am get the feeling that you are.
I for one absolutely love what I have seen and read about Return to Monkey Island so far. It really looks and sounds like it will be able to stand on its own two feet instead of leaning too far into what has been. Big fan of the art myself, and I really can't wait to see Guybrush in this style.
I for one absolutely love what I have seen and read about Return to Monkey Island so far. It really looks and sounds like it will be able to stand on its own two feet instead of leaning too far into what has been. Big fan of the art myself, and I really can't wait to see Guybrush in this style.
Dennis
Apr 17, 2022
My favorite tee shirt is Rapp Scallion doing Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Marat. But maybe it's all the main characters from MI 1&2 crossing the street ala Beatles' Abbey Road.
That's legacy right there.
That for all the memories and defining love affair.
That's legacy right there.
That for all the memories and defining love affair.
Dennis
Apr 17, 2022
Oh, the gravitas!
[frigate sinking in background...]
*Thanks
[frigate sinking in background...]
*Thanks
e
Apr 23, 2022
e
That is just so great.