such a shame. TOMI ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, so it was obvious that telltale wanted to continue making them. Lets hope things change in the future.
I'm sure this isn't going to be a popular opinion but I'm starting to get the feeling that Telltale shouldn't make another Monkey Island game. After the disappointing experiences that were Back to the Future and Jurassic Park just doesn't seem like they are same company they once were.
Even the Walking Dead, while an improvement on the former two games still isn't up to par. It still suffers from the shallow gameplay, limited environments, and laughably few selectable objects that are present in all the recent Telltale adventures. I mean what if Telltale made another Monkey Island game and it was as unambitious and simple as Back to the Future, babying the player through every linear and limited passage? That would almost be worse than if they did nothing at all. I'd love nothing more than to see a new Monkey Island game but at this point maybe it would be best if it was handled by someone else, like the dream team over at Double Fine or even internally developed at LucasArts by the guys who did the Monkey Island Special Editions. I'd hate to get all excited by a new season of Tales only to encounter same the restrictive, shallow gameplay Telltale seems so fond of these days.
There's a difference, though. Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and the Walking Dead are all based on pretty well-known and wide-spread IPs, so they're trying to get as wide audience as possible. Monkey Island is a very niche IP, and there's no need to oversimplify things there... and you can't really make it much more wide-spread even if you make the game play itself.
So, even though I'm unhappy with BttF/JP myself (haven't played WD so can't say anything about it), I think it's a bit too early to discard TellTale as classic adventure game developers. Let's wait until King's Quest is released.
i doubt it lucasarts started the whole monkey island franchise long ago when dos was i think the mainstay of a computer system till microsoft came along with the windows product line. i mean those of us that can remember that far back originally the only gaming system/console was the atari. then the atari broke off and started making computers. the atari 800 i forgot some of the other atari computer systems the had released. I just remember my first actual pc was an atari 800. then tandy got into the game and started making computers as well as the commodore64 coming out. forgive the history of the pc here lol. i think though since lucasarts gave license to telltale to make some more of the monkey island series i don't think that would limited them to just one or two games. it all comes down to telltale and the developers teaming up with lucasarts and pitching the idea for a season 2 and its storyline to lucasarts and see if they like the idea. thats just my theory on it but its more or less the way of how it would go outside of forum discusssion i would guess.
Funny because i remember running it on my Amiga 500 system when it came out. And we also had real stereo sound using pcm audio while pc users were still stuck with pc speaker.
Damn ! i keep coming back to this thread hoping i can find some good news : (
Same here..
I really wonder why every game company turns into shit when they grow.
I dont see the logical behind them sitting on the monkey island license while not doing anything with it. The current lucasarts does not care about point and click games at all, so why not just sell it to a company that does like telltale?
Was the same with EA. They used to be a innovative company that put out good games and software.
Now that they are big they ruin entire franchises by buying up companies just to kill competition or milk the game titles for all it is worth.
Let's hope that telltale will never become one of these evil corporations.
There's a difference, though. Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and the Walking Dead are all based on pretty well-known and wide-spread IPs, so they're trying to get as wide audience as possible. Monkey Island is a very niche IP, and there's no need to oversimplify things there... and you can't really make it much more wide-spread even if you make the game play itself.
So, even though I'm unhappy with BttF/JP myself (haven't played WD so can't say anything about it), I think it's a bit too early to discard TellTale as classic adventure game developers. Let's wait until King's Quest is released.
All true, however The Devil's Playhouse was arguably the beginning of the downward trail of Telltale putting difficulty on the shelf and that's not a well-known and wide-spread IPs trying to reach as wide audience as possible. It took a huge step back in both difficulty and interactivity from seasons 1 and 2 and used strong story and presentation to hide its lack of gameplay depth.
I'd love for nothing more than to see Telltale turn it around and create the King's Quest game that adventure game fans have been waiting for for over a decade but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting more cynical with every new game they release.
It's getting to the point where these shallow games are not an anomaly, but the pattern. That more than anything is what has me worried.
All true, however The Devil's Playhouse was arguably the beginning of the downward trail of Telltale putting difficulty on the shelf and that's not a well-known and wide-spread IPs trying to reach as wide audience as possible. It took a huge step back in both difficulty and interactivity from seasons 1 and 2 and used strong story and presentation to hide its lack of gameplay depth.
I'm not sure I fully agree with that. The reason I'm saying this is because Season 1 of S&M is just immensely, ridiculously easy. I would even say that it's as easy as Back to the Future. Even though there are, in fact, puzzles (unlike BttF) there and nobody tries to 'walk' you through the game, everything's just incredibly easy to figure out.
I do agree with the statement that Devil's Playhouse took a step backwards from Season 2, though, but only because Season 2 took a ridiculously huge step forwards in difficulty (to the point when sometimes it was just frustrating as hell... something like Sam & Max: Hit the Road probably ).
And even though I consider TDP to be between Season 1 and Season 2 in those terms, I do admit that it is pretty close to Season 1 on that scale (although I'd personally prefer the golden middle or closer to Season 2, but not as randomly difficult as Season 2). However, to me the originality of the episodes and situations is more than enough to make up for that - the whole thing with the cinema reels was very cool, Noir Sam part, and other stuff. And I think that's one of the things that was missing from BttF.
I'm not sure I fully agree with that. The reason I'm saying this is because Season 1 of S&M is just immensely, ridiculously easy. I would even say that it's as easy as Back to the Future. Even though there are, in fact, puzzles (unlike BttF) there and nobody tries to 'walk' you through the game, everything's just incredibly easy to figure out.
I do agree with the statement that Devil's Playhouse took a step backwards from Season 2, though, but only because Season 2 took a ridiculously huge step forwards in difficulty (to the point when sometimes it was just frustrating as hell... something like Sam & Max: Hit the Road probably ).
And even though I consider TDP to be between Season 1 and Season 2 in those terms, I do admit that it is pretty close to Season 1 on that scale (although I'd personally prefer the golden middle or closer to Season 2, but not as randomly difficult as Season 2). However, to me the originality of the episodes and situations is more than enough to make up for that - the whole thing with the cinema reels was very cool, Noir Sam part, and other stuff. And I think that's one of the things that was missing from BttF.
While I don't have a very high opinion of season 1 I do remember it being tricky at times and I would have said it is harder than TDP and miles ahead of BttF, but difficulty is a hard thing to quantify, one person could breeze though a puzzle that it takes another an hour to figure out, so I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.
Diffulcity wasn't the only thing I meant though when I said TDP took a step back. TDP was the first of these Telltale games to incorperate these shallow, limited locations with very few selectable items. I mean it was still no where near as bad as BttF, where you sometimes were in screens where you could only click one thing and any player interactivity was just an illusion, but TDP wasn't a natural progression, or even on par with what we got in season 2.
I feel bad hating on TDP because I did like it, there was just this underlying shallowness that seemed to be the start of a major shift in the way Telltale make games. Something that's still happening and seemingly showing no signs of stopping any time soon. It was the beginning of the death of the adventure game and the birth of the interactive movie.
And I just went through the first episode of Walking Dead... it's immensely better than BttF and JP combined... And even though it's not what I'd want from an adventure game, I was really digging the character-driven narrative, the dialogues and choices, as well as intensity of the few action sequences and, well, choices (which are reinforced by the fact that you can't save the game). I personally had a positive experience (not without complaints, though, but still). I certainly hope that King's Quest will not be anything like Walking Dead, but I think that TellTale is finally finding interesting gameplay things in their new 'interactive movie' type of things which I like.
Lucasarts has an unnamed title for E3! Maybe it will be a Monkey Island title.
This could be a double edge sword. Because all the original creators are in TTG or in Double Fine. I HIGHLY doubt its a monkey island game, because if it is, it could be the return of
This could be a double edge sword. Because all the original creators are in TTG or in Double Fine. I HIGHLY doubt its a monkey island game, because if it is, it could be the return of
I hope they get around to a Monkey Island sequel, after King's Quest!
Telltale would have to perform a complicated and dark voodoo ritual to get LucasArts to license Monkey Island to them again. LucasArts has gone back into "ignore anything that's not Star Wars" mode since they had a change in leadership.
If LucasArts is smart, there will be no way it will sell the IP under any amounts of money (you NEVER do that. EVER. You have to be in shittons of financial trouble to do that). And LA IS smart. They're doing shittons of SW products to gain shittons of money. You may not like it, but you can't deny that it's a smart strategy that maximizes their profit.
LA would have to be dying to even consider letting go of the Monkey Island IP. They would probably like to remain in control of what is undeniably one of the biggest and most influential adventure game IPs in existence, even though adventure games are currently firmly in the "niche" category. The adventure genre may only have a snowball's chance in hell of ever coming back in a big way and re-entering the AAA market, but if it ever does, LucasArts would be in a very, very good position if they still have the Monkey Island IP.
I worry that it's only a matter of time until these forums get put into the archive section. I would very much like to see another season but am losing hope.
Can Telltale even make a game as well done as season one anymore? After barely interactive Jurassic Park I have to wonder. The Walking Dead is a huge improvement over JP granted, but not at the level I would put Monkey Island.
I recently returned to these games (and this forum! Hello!) and after replaying them, a second season is, in my opinion, needed VERY MUCH. Hopefully Lucas Arts'll have a change of heart!
I worry that it's only a matter of time until these forums get put into the archive section.
The most recent forum to be sent to the archive section is Hector, which is a relatively new game, far newer than Monkey Island at any rate. The Hector forums never really sparked. I suppose as long as people are still talking about Monkey Island these forums will stay in the main section but it is true that these forums are less than a shadow of their former selves.
The current president of LucasArts, Paul Meegan, has stepped down (surprising, I know, because LucasArts totally doesn't cycle through presidents every few years, right?). Who knows what this will bode for Monkey Island, but a new president with a soft spot for adventure games would be our best shot at seeing a new title.
But it's likely that we'll get one that will only last a few years at most and shrieks with fear at the very thought of making or publishing a non-Star Wars title, and thus the cycle will continue.
I just hope that TTG at least gets in contact with them.. We've got some pretty loyal fans around here..
We are quite loyal, indeed.
And patient.
Very patient.
I'm not holding my breath, but this news is pretty much our only hope, at least for the next few years. Telltale seemed to have been building up an interesting plot arc involving
The Voodoo Lady
, and I think it'd be lovely for them to have a chance to wrap that up with a second season.
3 Years later...
What if in order to avoid meaningless retcons within the series, we could (like someone said before me) take the Guybrush "Q." Threepwood to patch up the missing links?
He could be a long-lost brother, who perhaps shares their father's first name (like some people do for tradition). They could have the same interests (both be pirates); they could have been separated while too young to remember, the possibilities are endless. Ever wondered why we never learned anything substantial about the Threepwood family? Forget non-canon. Have the other Guybrush take credit!
And most important of all, to refresh that old dust-covered love triangle (that became a rectangle with the addition of Morgan) having another Guybrush could mean Morgan doesn't end up alone (she's too hot for that).
Now... to make the voodoo lady the bad guy... I have no idea how to replace the voodoo component while still keeping her as main antagonist. WE NEED EVIL JU JU CURSES.
We are still in the dark on many subjects, like her name, the truth about big whoop, the secret of monkey island, and why many of the games excluded that same island altogether!
Let's hope we get to have more adventures in the near future. Cheers
Comments
Even the Walking Dead, while an improvement on the former two games still isn't up to par. It still suffers from the shallow gameplay, limited environments, and laughably few selectable objects that are present in all the recent Telltale adventures. I mean what if Telltale made another Monkey Island game and it was as unambitious and simple as Back to the Future, babying the player through every linear and limited passage? That would almost be worse than if they did nothing at all. I'd love nothing more than to see a new Monkey Island game but at this point maybe it would be best if it was handled by someone else, like the dream team over at Double Fine or even internally developed at LucasArts by the guys who did the Monkey Island Special Editions. I'd hate to get all excited by a new season of Tales only to encounter same the restrictive, shallow gameplay Telltale seems so fond of these days.
So, even though I'm unhappy with BttF/JP myself (haven't played WD so can't say anything about it), I think it's a bit too early to discard TellTale as classic adventure game developers. Let's wait until King's Quest is released.
I really wonder why every game company turns into shit when they grow.
I dont see the logical behind them sitting on the monkey island license while not doing anything with it. The current lucasarts does not care about point and click games at all, so why not just sell it to a company that does like telltale?
Was the same with EA. They used to be a innovative company that put out good games and software.
Now that they are big they ruin entire franchises by buying up companies just to kill competition or milk the game titles for all it is worth.
Let's hope that telltale will never become one of these evil corporations.
All true, however The Devil's Playhouse was arguably the beginning of the downward trail of Telltale putting difficulty on the shelf and that's not a well-known and wide-spread IPs trying to reach as wide audience as possible. It took a huge step back in both difficulty and interactivity from seasons 1 and 2 and used strong story and presentation to hide its lack of gameplay depth.
I'd love for nothing more than to see Telltale turn it around and create the King's Quest game that adventure game fans have been waiting for for over a decade but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting more cynical with every new game they release.
It's getting to the point where these shallow games are not an anomaly, but the pattern. That more than anything is what has me worried.
I'm not sure I fully agree with that. The reason I'm saying this is because Season 1 of S&M is just immensely, ridiculously easy. I would even say that it's as easy as Back to the Future. Even though there are, in fact, puzzles (unlike BttF) there and nobody tries to 'walk' you through the game, everything's just incredibly easy to figure out.
I do agree with the statement that Devil's Playhouse took a step backwards from Season 2, though, but only because Season 2 took a ridiculously huge step forwards in difficulty (to the point when sometimes it was just frustrating as hell... something like Sam & Max: Hit the Road probably
And even though I consider TDP to be between Season 1 and Season 2 in those terms, I do admit that it is pretty close to Season 1 on that scale (although I'd personally prefer the golden middle or closer to Season 2, but not as randomly difficult as Season 2). However, to me the originality of the episodes and situations is more than enough to make up for that - the whole thing with the cinema reels was very cool, Noir Sam part, and other stuff. And I think that's one of the things that was missing from BttF.
While I don't have a very high opinion of season 1 I do remember it being tricky at times and I would have said it is harder than TDP and miles ahead of BttF, but difficulty is a hard thing to quantify, one person could breeze though a puzzle that it takes another an hour to figure out, so I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.
Diffulcity wasn't the only thing I meant though when I said TDP took a step back. TDP was the first of these Telltale games to incorperate these shallow, limited locations with very few selectable items. I mean it was still no where near as bad as BttF, where you sometimes were in screens where you could only click one thing and any player interactivity was just an illusion, but TDP wasn't a natural progression, or even on par with what we got in season 2.
I feel bad hating on TDP because I did like it, there was just this underlying shallowness that seemed to be the start of a major shift in the way Telltale make games. Something that's still happening and seemingly showing no signs of stopping any time soon. It was the beginning of the death of the adventure game and the birth of the interactive movie.
I still hope for King's Quest.
And I just went through the first episode of Walking Dead... it's immensely better than BttF and JP combined... And even though it's not what I'd want from an adventure game, I was really digging the character-driven narrative, the dialogues and choices, as well as intensity of the few action sequences and, well, choices (which are reinforced by the fact that you can't save the game). I personally had a positive experience (not without complaints, though, but still). I certainly hope that King's Quest will not be anything like Walking Dead, but I think that TellTale is finally finding interesting gameplay things in their new 'interactive movie' type of things which I like.
This could be a double edge sword. Because all the original creators are in TTG or in Double Fine. I HIGHLY doubt its a monkey island game, because if it is, it could be the return of
MONKEY KOMBAT!!!!
Or CMI HD.
Not for another season of Monkey Island, no
Telltale would have to perform a complicated and dark voodoo ritual to get LucasArts to license Monkey Island to them again. LucasArts has gone back into "ignore anything that's not Star Wars" mode since they had a change in leadership.
Can Telltale even make a game as well done as season one anymore? After barely interactive Jurassic Park I have to wonder. The Walking Dead is a huge improvement over JP granted, but not at the level I would put Monkey Island.
If this section ever goes into the archives - I'll dig it out again myself.
I still have my hopes up that Telltale will acknowledge our demands for an Indiana Jones game.
The most recent forum to be sent to the archive section is Hector, which is a relatively new game, far newer than Monkey Island at any rate. The Hector forums never really sparked. I suppose as long as people are still talking about Monkey Island these forums will stay in the main section but it is true that these forums are less than a shadow of their former selves.
The current president of LucasArts, Paul Meegan, has stepped down (surprising, I know, because LucasArts totally doesn't cycle through presidents every few years, right?). Who knows what this will bode for Monkey Island, but a new president with a soft spot for adventure games would be our best shot at seeing a new title.
But it's likely that we'll get one that will only last a few years at most and shrieks with fear at the very thought of making or publishing a non-Star Wars title, and thus the cycle will continue.
We are quite loyal, indeed.
And patient.
Very patient.
I'm not holding my breath, but this news is pretty much our only hope, at least for the next few years. Telltale seemed to have been building up an interesting plot arc involving
What if in order to avoid meaningless retcons within the series, we could (like someone said before me) take the Guybrush "Q." Threepwood to patch up the missing links?
He could be a long-lost brother, who perhaps shares their father's first name (like some people do for tradition). They could have the same interests (both be pirates); they could have been separated while too young to remember, the possibilities are endless. Ever wondered why we never learned anything substantial about the Threepwood family? Forget non-canon. Have the other Guybrush take credit!
And most important of all, to refresh that old dust-covered love triangle (that became a rectangle with the addition of Morgan) having another Guybrush could mean Morgan doesn't end up alone (she's too hot for that).
Now... to make the voodoo lady the bad guy... I have no idea how to replace the voodoo component while still keeping her as main antagonist. WE NEED EVIL JU JU CURSES.
We are still in the dark on many subjects, like her name, the truth about big whoop, the secret of monkey island, and why many of the games excluded that same island altogether!
Let's hope we get to have more adventures in the near future. Cheers