This is how Monkey Island:SE shoud have looked like!!

[Sphaa]

This guy is simply amazing. I don't know anything about him, but he sure have some skills and a passion for Monkey Island!!

Look at the backgrounds at the bottom of this page:

http://patrikspacek.blogspot.com/

Edit:
here is the direct link to the photos:
http://patrikspacek.blogspot.com/2008/11/secret-of-monkey-island-remake.html

[LuigiHann]

Wow, I remember that site. He only had a couple images up, the last time I looked. Cool stuff

[Sphaa]

They are amazing, aren't they?!

here are the direct link with some more photos:

http://patrikspacek.blogspot.com/2008/11/secret-of-monkey-island-remake.html

[Ahoy De Fancypants]

I like it, it's realistic but at the same time it's not super realistic [see every FPS out in the last three years, especially one Crysis...].

The grassy clifftop is abit meh, though, coming from me who watched someone play the original SOMI and who beat SOMI: SE fairly recently. It just doesn't feel needed, all that extra hullabaloo.

[OCKi]

meh.. I prefer the existing style! They're pretty nice done, though.. just not... Monkey Island.. :)

[Fury]

Those are ok, but Special Edition is better. Still, better than the original.

[PariahKing]

I like the special edition because it actually got made and then turned a profit.

[Spiffy]

This is nice work, indeed, and I wouldn't be dissapointed with them at all.

But would they have fit in the SE? In the SE, they just copied everything and put new drawings over them, as far as I know. Even the pixel-animations are the same as in the original SofM.

I don't know much (if anything) about graphic design, but would a TOO high-rendered picture be possible to implement in what they've done with SoMI:SE?

Still, these renderings are great. Especcialy the interiors.

[Ecto Cooler]

Amazing!!!

[pilouuuu]

I like them a lot, but aren't they too realistic for MI? I think that cartoony characters would look a bit out of place in them.

I don't think MI SE had bad backdrops, it's just that some of them looked rushed and too much like flash animation backdrops.

[Secret Fawful]

What everyone else said. They're just a mix mash of elements cut out of photos and placed together to resemble Monkey Island backgrounds.

[StarEye]

I can see this style fitting MI2 perfectly - LucasArts should hire this guy for MI2:SE.

[Sphaa]

I like them a lot, but aren't they too realistic for MI? I think that cartoony characters would look a bit out of place in them.

I don't think MI SE had bad backdrops, it's just that some of them looked rushed and too much like flash animation backdrops.

I disagree.
One of the things I liked about monkey Island was that it was realistic graphics. It was a place I could dream myself into, it was a real place (I was 11-12 when I played it).
All that is gone in the SE, I can't dream myself into a cartoon world (and now I'm 28 so I can't really dream myself into any wold)

Of course the MI universe is a wierd goofy place, but it was realistic to look at.

I would love to see MI remade more realistic than the SE

Edit:
Of course all characters had to be remade to fit into the background I linked to. A cartoon character in a real world would not be right

Edit2:
I totally agree with you Stareye


Sorry for bad engligh

[Irishmile]

I think its cool but a little too The Adventure Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_Company) for my liking.... not that they make bad games it just that they all have that specific look and it is not quite right for a MI game.

[Edgy_McSpoon]

I think what really throws off the designs is the lack of selective lighting and requiring the use of directional colour. The modeling work is nicely done but I think this would GREATLY benefit from a pro-lighting and environment artist.

If it wouldn't be out of line I'd like to pose a hypothetical in regards to the following image. I chose it randomly out of the ones there, just to make a point, and some things applying here may not apply elsewhere.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lwOPj9Q6ric/SSTG5gppEwI/AAAAAAAAACg/ybViy5hA6kM/s1600-h/Pic020-final.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lwOPj9Q6ric/SSTG5gppEwI/AAAAAAAAACg/ybViy5hA6kM/s1600/Pic020-final.jpg

If you look at the tree leaves, they're a little over-saturated in the foreground and in the background, outside of being realistic, almost. They don't seem to fit. That goes for the blues, even though they're *close* to the MI colour pallet, still they don't do anything when contrasted against the harsh yellows. The yellows begin to look green in nature when paired with such over-abundant yellows.

The entrance of the building is not selectively toned enough to actually realize it is there. We focus all our attention on the yellow, because of it's contrast. If anything, the chimney, roof, windows and even the bricks on the outside should be dulled down, de-saturated so we build up a focal point.

The tombstone sticks out as it's the lightest and brightest thing in the image. Sure, it's right underneath a street lamp, but it feels too cold and too "bright" to actually reflect the street lamp's light. The same for the foreground tree leaves, they're much too bright and take up all my interest, they need to be subtle and have more sense of direction.

These are just a few little things that could help out the composition. I find with the original Lucas Arts games and general layout painting, is that we need the scene to support the character and the intentions of the characters. Pair this idea with Ron Gilbert's rules of adventure games, and I think we all can learn something.

http://xbox360media.gamespy.com/xbox360/image/article/100/1001528/the-secret-of-monkey-island-special-edition-20090707083857599.jpg

whereas, I feel even though the colours are really saturated and bright (true to the series of course), the windows and the boards do not compete against each other. They are matched a little more accurately, (but not completely!)

Please take this post only as opinion. I'm using my own knowledge of how things work colour-wise and compositionally wise, and my own sensibilities to critique the two screenshots. My opinion may not make things better or make things worse, as nothing is really a "rule" but a reflection of what feels right (very illusive too).

Thanks for posting the images too!

update:

http://www.squishydreams.com/andrew/3d_work.jpg

just because I don't like making comments without providing some sort of illustration I'm including this little edited image I put together quickly to illustrate a point. It is purposefully small and highly compressed because I didn't want to reproduce the quality of the rightful owner's image. If I have offended the original artist, I will remove this post and the images within it. Thanks.

[hplikelike]

I disagree.
One of the things I liked about monkey Island was that it was realistic graphics. It was a place I could dream myself into, it was a real place (I was 11-12 when I played it).
All that is gone in the SE, I can't dream myself into a cartoon world (and now I'm 28 so I can't really dream myself into any wold)

Of course the MI universe is a wierd goofy place, but it was realistic to look at.

I would love to see MI remade more realistic than the SE

Edit:
Of course all characters had to be remade to fit into the background I linked to. A cartoon character in a real world would not be right

Edit2:
I totally agree with you Stareye


Sorry for bad engligh

Yeah, Monkey island has always been ultra realistic and NEVER cartoony.

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/stan.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/bobdancing.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/tattootalking.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images
/guybrushparents.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/guybrushspitting.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/barkeeper.gif

http://www.milegend.com/animations/images/rappscallionressur.gif

Yup, safe to say that Monkey Island has always been cartoon free. Telltale, I won't be satisfied till we have a game so realistic, the PS3's hardrive can't handle it.

[/sarcasm] gifs ripped from milegend.co

[Fury]

Monkey Island was NEVER realisitic lol.

[Bagge]

The drawings are fine, but very generic and bland. SMI:SE has a much better art style.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/smise_01.gif

>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/Pic001-final.jpg

[youmaycallmemurray]

Yeah, Monkey island has always been ultra realistic and NEVER cartoony.
[/sarcasm]
Imo the two first were slighty more realistic although still cartoony like all scumm games. In the later games it's more exaggerated. Compare the ships at the scummbar to the screaming narwhal.

[jortlaban]

While the ambience of the fan-made remake is very good, I don't like the overall look for a Monkey Island game...

It would be a perfect set of backgrounds for a semi-realistic RPG type game.

For a SMI remake it would be better to have a MI2 type layout with pumped up graphics or more like CoMI.

These backgrouds are still very beautiful though.

[Spadge]

No offense, but these seem kind of bland. They are too generic for my taste. As far as 2D backgrounds go, I would have enjoyed the CMI style alot more.

[Spacecat]

The SE art style is an absolutely infuriating pile of amateurish bollocks, powered by hydrocephalic characters, smudged out backgrounds, and a complete disregard for what has become the common Monkey Island art direction (since MI3 anyway). That the game has an utterly borked interface apparently designed by people who have never played an adventure game before (mousewheel through 9 verbs? killer. Require a keypress to access inventor? mental.) doesn't make it any better. In my mind, SE barely even exists. Good to see others putting in effort to put that right.

[Bagge]

The SE art style is an absolutely infuriating pile of amateurish bollocks, powered by hydrocephalic characters, smudged out backgrounds, and a complete disregard for what has become the common Monkey Island art direction (since MI3 anyway). That the game has an utterly borked interface apparently designed by people who have never played an adventure game before (mousewheel through 9 verbs? killer. Require a keypress to access inventor? mental.) doesn't make it any better. In my mind, SE barely even exists. Good to see others putting in effort to put that right.

What? If anything, those pictures are much less like CMI (and beyond) than the SMI:SE artwork.

I agree that the controls were pretty bad, but the backgrounds in SMI:SE were mostly quite good, and very true to the original art style.

[der_ketzer]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/Pic001-final.jpg

This really doesn't look like Monkey Island. I wouldn't even recognize it should be MI when someone showed me this. It looks like a mod for Oblivion. Not like something adventurerelated at all.

[Edgy_McSpoon]

I can see how some opinions of SE backgrounds say they're amateurish. I would only say this if it weren't an *almost* exact replica of the actual BGs. It would have been great if they added an extra level of style or maybe spent time refining them. They all pretty much look like colour sketches to me, which accomplishes what is needed, but doesn't go far to try and "impress" with something more detailed and refined.

So in a way, the 3d stuff goes too far in refining of textures, making them ultra-realistic, and the SE backgrounds don't seem to spend anytime at all, just giving us a clearer image of what was there. If you're not picky about the smaller things, SE backgrounds are perfectly fine the way they are.

[Sphaa]

I see many of you try to mock me for thinking the originale Monkey Island graphics are realistic. But you have to remember, I was 11 years old when I first played it. And nomatter how many cartoon "evidence" you bring to the table you will not change my memory of this game.

[Bagge]

I think it is obvious which of the two pictures best captures the look, feel and striking palette from the original.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/SMI_01.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/smise_01_small.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/Bagge/Pic001-final_small.gif

[Sphaa]

You're right about the lookout scene bagge, but that's the only scene where I feel Patrik took too much liberty.
My opinion only, so on need to shoot me

[Bagge]

Hey, now. Don't take things personal.

[Sphaa]

I don't take things personal. Maybe it sounds like it, but that's just because my english sucks and its not always easy to find the words im looking for:)

[pilouuuu]

This really doesn't look like Monkey Island. I wouldn't even recognize it should be MI when someone showed me this. It looks like a mod for Oblivion. Not like something adventurerelated at all.

Is this from Simon the Sorcerer?

[jortlaban]

I see many of you try to mock me for thinking the originale Monkey Island graphics are realistic. But you have to remember, I was 11 years old when I first played it. And nomatter how many cartoon "evidence" you bring to the table you will not change my memory of this game.

It is kinda weird that when you were 11, you experienced MI as realistic and now that you're 28 you have trouble imaging being in another world.

I played it on first release when I was about the same age as you were when you played it first and I enjoyed it because of the cartoony style and ingame jokes.

[Armand1880]

For a fan made item, this looks great! A year ago, if someone made a Monkey Island that looked like this, it would be amazing!
But...I agree that I do get an Adventure Company feel with these pictures (great way of describing them by the way!)
Also, does anyone else get a Broken Sword feel looking at some of those pictures?

[SHODANFreeman]

Yeah, Monkey island has always been ultra realistic and NEVER cartoony.

Yup, safe to say that Monkey Island has always been cartoon free. Telltale, I won't be satisfied till we have a game so realistic, the PS3's hardrive can't handle it.

[/sarcasm] gifs ripped from milegend.co

I love how people actually still think MI1 and 2 weren't cartoony, it's pretty hilarious to me.

I like the special edition because it actually got made and then turned a profit.

Also, this ^