Questions for Dominic Armato!

[ninpou90]

Wow. I never knew that all I want in life is a Guybrush Threepwood voice for GPS. But now I do.

[Majus]

Hey, wait a second… these are no GPS-directions by Dominic! It sounds like… dancing lessons!

[leo-the-red]

hmmm...... Should I ask a question. I shall!!!!

Which of the episodes/previous games are have been the most fun to do?

[Leak]

Originally Posted by leo-the-red

hmmm...... Should I ask a question. I shall!!!!

Which of the episodes are have been the most fun to do?

Isn't that question like a few months too early?

np: Evil Nine - Feed On You (They Live!)

[leo-the-red]

Originally Posted by Leak

Isn't that question like a few months too early?

np: Evil Nine - Feed On You (They Live!)

Well they'll have done a couple already and it includes CMI, EFMI and SMISE

[jpgneves]

Originally Posted by ninpou90

Wow. I never knew that all I want in life is a Guybrush Threepwood voice for GPS. But now I do.

+1

I even feel uncomfortable knowing I haven't got this yet.

[Vandalis]

Im glad they got you back to do the voice of guybrush. It wouldnt be the same without you.

Do you know if Murray will return in this one? I hope the voive acter for him does it.

I think your best line is from MI3, not sure if i got this right. "Hey this quicksand is sucking all the cool stuff out of my pants... Now THERES an odd sensation.." xD

[Tolkoto]

Dominic, a long time ago (back in the mIRC days) you recorded a birthday message for my younger brother as Guybrush. I just wanted to let you know how much that meant to him, and how cool it was for all of us. Thanks again! So happy you're back!

[Kyote]

great to have you on board again man, you ARE Guybrush!


but i'm sad that Earl Boen is not doing LeChuck

[Super Bosco]

Originally Posted by Tolkoto

Dominic, a long time ago (back in the mIRC days) you recorded a birthday message for my younger brother as Guybrush. I just wanted to let you know how much that meant to him, and how cool it was for all of us. Thanks again! So happy you're back!

That must have been so EPIC. I wish that had happened to me...

[Tolkoto]

Originally Posted by Super Bosco

That must have been so EPIC. I wish that had happened to me...

I can't lie, it was pretty awesome.

[MightyWally]

Domo arigato, Mr. Armato! as the ultimate monkey island fan(and crewmember) you are, you must know where to get merchandise?

i printed my own posters from artwork that was released, but no action figures, bumper stickers or stamp lickers are to be found :/

Any response is greatly appreciated(if it's dominic, it doesnt even have to be on topic!)

[Alucard]

Hey Dom did you ever hang out on IRC back in the day? There was this person who claimed to be you... even posted some voice clips which sounded pretty accurate.

[CalBearRJ]

Originally Posted by Majus

Hey, wait a second… these are no GPS-directions by Dominic! It sounds like… dancing lessons!

Haha, nice!

Or it could be like this:

[singing]The I-5's connected to...580.
The 580's connect to...I-80.
I-80's connected to the...Bay Bridge.
Ba-dum, ba-dum ba da dum.

[Shinyswords]

Originally Posted by Dmnkly

*deep breath*
(P.S. If anybody can or has an in with somebody who can accelerate time to get us to July 7th a little quicker, drop me a line, K? I'm impatient.)

Whew... It took me a while but I did it. I was working for weeks on this time machine but I finally got it working. Sorry for the delay Dom, but I could only get the time machine to go forward at normal speed. But we are finally here. 2009.07.07 Now to figure out how to turn it off.

[Shinyswords]

Originally Posted by MightyWally

you must know where to get merchandise
I printed my own posters from artwork that was released, but no action figures, bumper stickers or stamp lickers are to be found :/
Any response is greatly appreciated

Well, according to pvponline.com creator Scott R. Kurtz Reaper Miniatures http://www.reapermini.com/ can make anything. I did find another post

Originally Posted by Tjibbbe

Well, I've got good news for you, man:
http://www.symbiotestudios.com/blog/?p=1407

Now they say that http://shop.starwars.com/ and http://www.lucasarts.com/ are in charge of making the toys. SO.... Try begging Telltale games to make a contract with all/any of them and we can all get legally sanctioned miniatures of our favorite characters, and even play RPG (roll playing games) with them. Or just put them on our desks at work for conversation pieces, and create more fans of Monkey Island games. Then with enough fans they will have to make an animated movie (MI3 format please), and Dom and the whole crew will make millions and my kids will grow up being able to play with MI toys and DVDs and POSTERS....eh hem... sorry I got carried away there. But seriously WE ALL WANT TOYS!!! (I want a miniture of Guybrush with a cutlass in one hand raised to the heavens and Elaine pulled close with the other arm and his foot on a treasure chest that has a small but readable plaque on the front of the chest engraved with "BIG WHOOP")

[Shinyswords]

You know, come to think of it, if I were to MAKE a miniture of Guybrush with a cutlass in one hand raised to the heavens and Elaine pulled close with the other arm and his foot on a treasure chest that has a small but readable plaque on the front of the chest engraved with "BIG WHOOP". Where should I send it to make sure Dominic Armato gets it? Because I want one so badly now I will make one for myself and one for Dominic if he lets me know where to send it.

[Dmnkly]

Release day!!!

Hopefully by the time you read this, it’ll be alongside some awesome reviews. I hope you all enjoy Episode 1 and I imagine a bunch more questions will be incoming here shortly :-)

As usual, if I didn’t answer your question, that means I already did upthread... I think.

Originally Posted by dumpling321

what do you think of Emily's comment on the first page of the "Questions for Mike Stemmle" thread when she says that

"While the Q&A with the team thread is quite possibly the coolest thread in the history of Telltale's forum"

isn't it quite obvious that this topic is about 1,000,000,000,0...(insert random amount of zeros here) times cooler then the Q&A!?

Modesty prevents me from saying “of course.”

Oops.

Originally Posted by GaryCXJk

Don't know if anybody asked before, but did you actually pre-order the game to gain access to this board? To answer the questions directed to you?

Heh... no, the Telltale folks were kind enough to add Monkey Island to my Telltale account and grant me access to the forum so I could answer questions.

They think I’m doing them the favor. *shhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

Given that both Sam & Max Season DVDs got audio-commentary tracks on the cutscene-reels, would you be interested in doing an "actor's commentary", or even an in-character "Guybrush-commentary" for the DVD? And don't wind out with a "let's wait until there's actually a DVD to do commentaries for"-answer...

I didn’t see them, but that’d be awesome! In-character would be tricky. There isn’t much call for improv in VO, so it isn’t something I have a lot of practice with. I couldn’t imagine a better character to do it with than Guybrush, though.

Originally Posted by PariahKing

If a MI2:SE was ever released, what would you think would be challenging about it, considering it's occasionally darker yet humorous tone?

For me, not much. As Dave (Grossman) has pointed out in a couple of interviews, Guybrush is pretty constant. The tone may change, but Guybrush is pretty much the same.

Originally Posted by aloronbunny

I guess you were mad they didn't get you the role. Don't worry, Orlando Bloom has nothing on you. ...stupid elf pirate...

No, it’s not that. I suffer under no illusions that I belong on the big screen. It was mostly just frustration over the fact that it was Monkey Island, but not Monkey Island, and would have been so much better if it WAS Monkey Island.

Okay, and the fact that I might’ve had a shot at it if it had been an animated MI movie :-)

Originally Posted by aloronbunny

Nerd Question #1: Who would win in a fight. Guybrush, or Bernard Bernoulli?

I’m pained to admit that MM and DOTT are among the few old school LucasArts adventure games I haven’t played. Totally unqualified to comment.

Originally Posted by aloronbunny

Nerd Question #2: Admittingly, to this date I still can't make sense of the ending of MI2. no, not the one with Tom Cruise, the one with monkeys. ...I said the one without Cruise! Anyway, I'm betting they ended it scoobydoo-like cause they didn't expect to continue the series, but have you ever heard of how the whole 'it was a mask, I'm your brother, hey parents!' thing worked?

Nope. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe better. I think Ron may have told a few people, but my security clearance doesn’t run that high up the ladder.

Originally Posted by Scrawffler

Hey, Dominic! Other than the VO (obviously) what's the most noticeable trait (physical or personality) you and Guybrush have in common?

Floopy hair.

Originally Posted by Scrawffler

Also, have you ever tried to hold your breath for 10 minutes? ... not that I recommend it...

...
...
...
...
*gasp*

Yeah, not happening.

Originally Posted by Tuftecake

And on a more personal note, what's your favorite food?

Totally unfair question. You don’t ask somebody who’s a hardcore enthusiast about something to pick a singular favorite. My go-to lazy cooking night comfort food is Rigatoni all’Amatriciana, so that’s probably the closest I could come to naming a favorite, but... totally unfair.

Originally Posted by Weeblerjake

Dominic, do you have any old videos of your commercials?

Nope. Not a one.

Originally Posted by thatdude98

Hey, do you think Guybrush will ever say something like fricking?

I hope not. I’m already embarrassed by how much I’ve said it.

Originally Posted by martymcfly

4. Finally, I am a student journalist and adventure game reviewer for several sites, can I possibly contact you sometime for a quick interview? (I thought it was better to ask this way after parting with my cold hard cash, rather than doing a murray style demand and laughing manically...ah what the hell BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Gotta love that demonic skull

My E-mail address is no secret... drop me a line :-)

Originally Posted by Regge_Brother2

2. In Tales Of Monkey Island are there any more voice actors who are returning to their roles they have done in previous Monkey Island games.

The only one I’m aware of is Alexandra Boyd, who voiced Elaine for CMI.

Originally Posted by Regge_Brother2

4. Is this monkey island 5.

I think this may have been addressed in the developers’ Q&A thread? Short answer, I don’t know. But really, it’s a matter of semantics. The writers are going to squeeze in a story where they feel it will best fit. The number assigned to it is just details.

Originally Posted by Regge_Brother2

5. How many years dose Tales of Monkey Island take plase after Monkey 4?

Another one where I’m not really sure. Some comfortable but not extensive length of time after the conclusion of EMI. The developers and writers could give you a better answer than I can.

Originally Posted by The Crimson Clown

Have you ever had a dream in which you were Guybrush in the game and woke up only to disappointingly realize you're not a swashbuckling pirate in the real word?

All the time. Except I’m not sleeping.

Originally Posted by Johnny Fiveaces

Do you know where the remote is? I looked all over the house.

I think you left it on the kitchen counter when you went in to grab a soda.

Originally Posted by Slanzinger

What sort of comedy do you like most? (Dark? Monty Python/Mel Brooks? Etc.?)

I adore Monty Python, of course, but not to the memorize every line and inflection degree. The Christopher Guest crew absolutely kills me. I guess I appreciate and crave the twisted and bizarre, but there’s nothing like comedy that’s character-driven.

Originally Posted by Zethos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alvNS...47D7A7&index=0

I was wondering if you ever heard their version of the monkey island theme before? It was one of my favorites.

I have! It’s a great cover!

Originally Posted by scorkla

Hey, just thought I'd jump in and ask a little question:
What are you eating on the 4th of July? Since you're a chef I didn't know if you were just going to do the traditional hot dogs or steak or whatever.
Yeah, stupid question, I know. But I had to ask something!!!

Stupid or not, one I’m happy to answer :-)

This year was a little atypical, actually, since we JUST arrived at our new house on Friday, making the 4th our first full day in our new home. There wasn’t really time to prepare much of anything. As it happened, that was my first night behind the new stove, so I busted out the default comfort food – rapidly becoming the official family dish – Rigatoni all’Amatriciana. Olive oil, pancetta (guanciale if I can get it – haven’t found my source here yet), onion, touch of garlic (non-canonical), tomato, crushed red pepper and pecorino. Quick, simple, awesome. And completely inappropriate for the 4th.

Originally Posted by scorkla

Also, how tall do you think Guybrush is?

5’4”? 6’6”? Seems to change every game. He should list that under holding his breath for ten minutes on his skills list. Frankly, it’s more impressive.

Originally Posted by Teh Masterer

"I can't die, I've got a five-game contract with LucasArts!"
- Guybrush Threepwood

Did you really believe in this line prior to the TMI announcement?

Nope. You hope and pray, but I always figured the odds were against it. Thrilled to be proven wrong.

Originally Posted by Teh Masterer

On a side note, I think of TMI as Monkey Island 6, seeing as that's the setting (set after an imaginary MI5) so I believe that Telltale/LucasArts will eventually make a "MI5" game. What do you think?

I’d love it. But that probably goes without saying. Telltale has an incredible business model, I think they’re right that this is how adventure games are going to have to be made for the foreseeable future, and they’ve demonstrated that it can be done. That said, it sure would be fun to do another full-fledged big-budget blockbuster adventure game. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen one of those. Whether or not it’ll happen? Eh... my hopes may exceed the realities of the marketplace. But hopefully adventure games will be back on top in the not-too-distant future and we can look back at what Telltale is doing as a turning point in ushering in an adventure game Renaissance.

Originally Posted by meander

My somewhat random questions for you: How long can VO recording sessions be before you start to get a sore voice or go raspy? Is there some kind of union standard? And speaking of funny voices, did you actually inhale helium for CMI or was that a digital effect?

Nah, totally digital. Not that I wouldn’t have sucked balloons until I passed out had that been required. Amusing related anecdote, one of my favorite sessions was for War of the Ring, an RTS based on the Lord of the Rings novels. I voiced Frodo (naturally), but also some of the nazgul. It was a REALLY heavy, echoey, freaky process. If I recall correctly, I asked the engineer if he could run the process live through my headphones, and he did. Very strange making little breathing and mouth sounds that come out as insane otherworldly snarls and screeches. And a ton of fun.

Originally Posted by ninpou90

What are your thoughts on porcelain?

Personally, I don’t see what Guybrush’s problem is. I can see how it might inspire mild revulsion, but abject terror seems a little extreme. Clearly, he has some issues.

Originally Posted by Knetan

is it such a detached experience in the voice booth that you can easily sit down and play the game despite hearing your own performance through the character on screen? I get the feeling you're not self-concious about your voice but then again you really can't be if you decide to go into voice acting?

No, you’re right, I’m not self-conscious about my voice unless it’s work that I’m not happy with. I don’t know anybody in VO who is. Though I’ve known a few who won’t listen to themselves. Not because they’re not comfortable hearing themselves, but because they feel it adversely affects their read. They feel they start adjusting in unnatural ways, I think.

Originally Posted by Allysdelta

It looks as though Telltale is toning MI's notoriously challenging puzzles down a few notches, so there will be fewer hair-ripping frustrations. Do you think that this will do anything towards making the series more accessible?

Hope so! I like difficulty, but I don’t think anything will be lost if those grade A bang-your-head-against-the-wall braintwisters become a thing of the past. They’re really not good for much beyond the implied merit badge you earn for finally figuring them out.

Originally Posted by djchallis

2) How do you feel about the fact that Ron Gilbert's expressed dislike at some of the story decisions? You said you were ok with Guybrush and Elaine getting married (if I remember correctly), but there's a certain sense that the definitive story's been lost with the shift in script-writers. What do you think?

I think it was probably really, really hard for Ron to watch the series go on without him. I know how I’d feel if somebody else played Guybrush in future games. And like other fans of the series, I’d love to see what he’d originally planned for MI3. But I also worry that sometimes a kind of narrow focus sets in, where anything other than what was originally planned isn’t allowed to succeed no matter how good it may be. Heck, for all we know, MI fans might have hated what RG had originally planned for MI3. I doubt it, but we don’t know and the point is that I feel like I can get tied up over the lack of singular oversight in the storyline, or I can be thankful that such a great universe and set of characters has managed to stick around for so long, and approach each installment on its own terms. Doesn’t make my approach any more right. But I probably enjoy the games a lot more that way :-)

Originally Posted by djchallis

3) In an interview with David Hayter (voice of Solid Snake, aka Metal Gear Solid), he said he's often found that he's recorded all the lines for one of the games and then when he played it later he wished he'd recorded the line differently. Presumably all about the context of the line (you were talking about that earlier). Does this happen to you much, or are your Directors too good?

Happens all the time. When it’s in context with the game, it’s easy to know exactly how it should have been read. And sometimes an awkward read sneaks through. But in general, the directors I’ve worked with have done a pretty good job of staying on top of things and making sure I understand the context. And if they don’t offer, I try to ask whenever I’m unsure. But I agree – most of the lines I’d like to take back aren’t because I’m unhappy with the performance, but because the performance was based on a false impression of the line’s context.

Originally Posted by Sir Pantalones

So, uh... You ever thought of recording a Guybrush GPS voice? ._.

I always kinda wanted a Mr. T GPS, myself.

Originally Posted by MightyWally

Domo arigato, Mr. Armato! as the ultimate monkey island fan(and crewmember) you are, you must know where to get merchandise?

I think there’s a page at the LucasArts Company Store that FINALLY has some MI merchandise. I was always bitter about the lack of MI swag. Nice to see some cool stuff this time around. I hope to purchase mine on the presidio next week!

Originally Posted by Alucard

Hey Dom did you ever hang out on IRC back in the day? There was this person who claimed to be you... even posted some voice clips which sounded pretty accurate.

I did, and that was totally me.

Originally Posted by CalBearRJ

Haha, nice!

Or it could be like this:

[singing]The I-5's connected to...580.
The 580's connect to...I-80.
I-80's connected to the...Bay Bridge.
Ba-dum, ba-dum ba da dum.

Great. Now I’m going to be singing this all day. Not a bad tune to have stuck in your head, I suppose.

Since I haven’t in a while, thanks again for all of the kind words, folks. It really means a lot. And they’ll get me through tomorrow if the reviewers decide I’m all washed up and have forgotten how to act since EMI :-)

[Scrawffler]

Heya, thanks for answering! Am looking forward to episode 1 and good luck with the upcoming reviews, though I doubt you need luck after hearing what a great job you've done in the in-game video Telltale released a while back! Thanks again, and now I'd better stop before I spam this huge thread with yet another comment...

... whoops, too late.

[Arykles]

Welcome back soldier,
I've got a question for you:
Has somebody ever recognized you as the voice of Guybrush at the street or somewhere and asked you if you could say a line from series? What would you do in a situation like that?

And I have to tell you that my all-time favourite conversation in the Monkey Island is series is the one between you...(ahem) I mean Guybrush and Mort the Gravedigger (and Murray, of course!) when Guybrush is trapped in the tomb in CMI.

I hope Your Greatness will bother to read my humble reply and Your Greatness will even have a thought on the matter that He might possibly answer to my small question.

Cheers.