Q&A With the Team

[MarkDarin]

Hi Everyone!
HOLY CRAP! Twelve pages already!? Wow, this part of the forum has really gotten away from me fast!

For those who don't know me, I'm Mark, one of the Lead Designers on Tales of Monkey Island. I've been a Monkey Island fan for as long as I can remember and I'm absolutely THRILLED to be working on this game! I want you to know that I am doing everything thing I can to make sure this is an Authentic Monkey Island experience!

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say Hi and say that if you have any specific questions for me, I'll do my best to answer them!

Thanks everyone! And don't put your lips on anything!

[Jake]

Hey Mark --

What is the secret of Monkey Island?

[Chaka]

I heard that Ron Gilbert worked with you on this project. Did he really works? If it's the case, what did he does?


(Sorry for my english, pirates dont go to school)

[War-overlord]

Just a simple question, but what happend to LeChuck's pistol brace?
For those that have less of a grounding in history, I'm referring to the belt that ran from his rightshoulder to the left of his waist. Belt's like these were often employed to hold several pistols.
As far as I can tell, LeChuck had one of these in every previous incarnation. (Even though it never held a pistol). However I cannot see him wearing one in the trailer.

[hamzie]

Originally Posted by War-overlord

Just a simple question, but what happend to LeChuck's pistol brace?
For those that have less of a grounding in history, I'm referring to the belt that ran from his rightshoulder to the left of his waist. Belt's like these were often employed to hold several pistols.
As far as I can tell, LeChuck had one of these in every previous incarnation. (Even though it never held a pistol). However I cannot see him wearing one in the trailer.

After all these years he realized he didnt have a pistol and therefore decided to take it off?

Thats what im thinking

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Chaka

I heard that Ron Gilbert worked with you on this project. Did he really works? If it's the case, what did he does?

(Sorry for my english, pirates dont go to school)

Ron came in to work with the design team on hammering out parts of the story, coming up with some puzzles, and talking a lot about the feel of the games and sharing his thoughts on the characters and what he thought would be driving them in our story -- what they'd want, what they'd know, what would be important to them, etc. It was an extremely fun time. We opened up by going through our whole story as it stood at the time, Ron picked up on what we were doing immediately, and we started running from there. A lot of the most interesting stuff from those meetings won't be really showing itself until the later parts of the season, when things have of course swung a bit out of everyone's control. Tales of Monkey Island isn't "Ron Gilbert's Monkey Island 3" or anything like that -- this game follows the events of all four previous Monkey games -- but I think Ron's hand will be felt in the design as the story unfolds. I can't wait for you guys to see it

[Junaid]

I also can't wait for you to see us seeing it

I also have a question. Can you tell us anything about how far the music is? I'm really looking forward to the new Michael Land stuff

[Whitheaven]

A map !
Oh, sorry, Hi there .
I just would say that adventure game without map is so sad, Monkey Island game without map is dreadful !! So, I maybe exaggerate but I think that maps with various spots are very important. The map suggests Lady Voodoo's lair, the town with hairdressing salon and restaurant, the beach and more... in Monkey Island 3 for example are very influential in the game's experience. To go swiftly between each place are important I find. The map which is used for moving is crucial, it brings sensation of big size and depth. In the first Sam & Max (Hit the Road), there was some places but with the map to choose, we believed that we went throught the whole of USA.
When there are no map : movings are boring (it's all the more when the game was already finished one time) and, personally, I feel "locked up"...
Anyway, thank you very much for this "sequel" and I'm sorry if my English is too rude.

[seanvanaman]

Originally Posted by Lena_P

Okay, now that I've had time to return to Earth a little bit, I've got a real question. What's the story going to be like?

For when ToMI takes place, Dave Grossman does a bang-up job of explaining where and why Tales takes place in an interview he did with gamespot here: http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210456/ . Basically, we imagine MI5 would be a grand 40 hour epic (if you're here, you probably know 40 hour epics aren't our thang) and TMI takes place after the presupposed events of that story.

This is the most sequential, interconnected story Telltale's ever told. Mike and Mark have a glorious plan for the arc of the entire season and we hope to be revealing as many questions as we do answers to the series' questions every month. I get psyched just thinking about it.

[Junaid]

Originally Posted by seanvanaman

For when ToMI takes place, Dave Grossman does a bang-up job of explaining where and why Tales takes place in an interview he did with gamespot here: http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210456/ . Basically, we imagine MI5 would be a grand 40 hour epic (if you're here, you probably know 40 hour epics aren't our thang) and TMI takes place after the presupposed events of that story.

This is the most sequential, interconnected story Telltale's ever told. Mike and Mark have a glorious plan for the arc of the entire season and we hope to be revealing as many questions as we do answers to the series' questions every month. I get psyched just thinking about it.

So it's basically Lost with monkeys

[fire2box]

Originally Posted by Junaid

So it's basically Lost with monkeys

I don't see anything wrong with that.. in fact Lost can really use guybrush on the island for their final season. I mean if people think Hugo is funny...

[Nemesis2K]

Bring the release date forward for us animals who pre-ordered!! haha

How was it taking on the burden of reviving such an adored franchise, especially after the backlash EFMI received? Did you feel much pressure deciding/making a Monkey Island game knowing it has one of most vocal fan base (when it comes to adventure games)?

Did Ron Gilbert share with you.. the "Secret of Monkey Island"?

Keep up the great work guys!

[CalBearRJ]

Originally Posted by Xocrates

/me imagines what a monkey with a tree for a head looks like.

You two might have just inadvertently written a TOMI Season Two joke.

[Tjibbbe]

Guys, I just want to thank you for this impossible development. For someone who grew up with the Lucasarts adventures, it's just amazing to see Guybrush and Sam & Max appearing in new games again. I have a couple of questions, I'll let you decide if you want to answer them or not.

First off, what was the reasoning behind giving Guybrush his current look? I like the tradition of Guybrush looking different in every game he appears in, and I have to say I'm absolutely in love with how he looks right now. The weird cross between his CMI/MI2-look really works for some reason. But yeah, how many versions of the new Guybrush were there, and what made you decide that this look was the one you wanted?

I also would like to know what the deal is with the MI1 remake. Is this something that came out of the negotiations with Lucasarts about the new episodic series, or is it just coincidence that the two projects developed around the same time? Also, will we be able to buy the remake directly from the Telltale shop, as Lucasarts doesn't have his own download-service? I was going to ask about possible other projects with Lucasarts, possibly even something with tentacles, but I probably couldn't handle the answer. I'm still wrapping my brain around the fact that we're seeing Guybrush again.

I do want to ask you about the role Lucasarts plays in this project. Obviously they own the rights, but do they have some sort of creative input?

Sorry for the long post, but I can't describe how much I love all of you right now. If I ever meet one of you guys in person, I'll buy you a grog. Here's to many seasons of Monkey Madness!

[RockNRoll]

Thanks guys, I just preordered.

So, I'll just be honest. I really feel like the art direction could be so much drastically better. I feel like having that vast, rich, detailed and at times very gritty and creepy monkey island "world" is SO important to the series. This looks plastic and plain and dated to me.

Was that a priority for you guys? Or did budget and convenience win the day?

I guess my question is, are you guys listening to fan criticisms on the general board or from elsewhere? I think in this case there have been some really valid concerns and thoughts not just by serial whiners or haters, but by really smart thoughtful fans who just want the best.

I could easily have asked a really gushing positive question, but I feel like those have all been asked so maybe I'd spice it up a bit.

Thanks guys, this is the best news I've heard in so long!

[Guybrush_Threepwood]

Holy crap! I'm posting in the secret forum!

[Leak]

Originally Posted by Guybrush_Threepwood

Holy crap! I'm posting in the secret forum!

OH NØEZ!

np: Tosca - Birthday (No Hassle (Disc 2))

[johanbcn]

Since the franchise is named "Tales of Monkey Island", will we have the chance to play in other episodes or season as other characters that aren't Guybrush, such as spinoffs or something like that?

Also, will we see ever again Largo LaGrande?

[Shanksworthy]

Okay, I'm about to start a new rumor. I think that Ron Gilbert is going to make a Monkey Island 5, and it's going to "fix" the trajectory of the story arc to include his vision of how the story was supposed to (but ultimately didn't) continue after M.I. 2.

We already have the following info...:

- Ron Gilbert has previously stated that if he had a chance, he'd have done a sequel that "rights all the wrongs" with the story arc.
- Mr. Gilbert was consulted before making Tales, i.e. he participated in brainstorming sessions.
- It has been stated in this very forum by members of the Tales dev team, that the SECRET of Monkey Island is "for Ron Gilbert to tell". Or something to that effect.
- Tales will skip directly to being considered "Part 6". Monkey Island 5 will presumably be an "imaginary" prequel to Tales.

My theory is that this "imaginary prequel" thing will be a convenient device to allow Ron and LucasArts to shoehorn their 40-hour sweeping tale in between part 4 and "Tales".

Please somebody tell me if I'm at least warm.

[Junaid]

If Ron would do that, one of the changes would be to not have Guybrush and Elaine in a relationship

And they are still married in TMI, so I think it's not the case...
Nice theory though