Also agree with the comments about Elaine meriting some serious character development in the next game. Elaine has been around for 5 games now, but in just one game Morgan has completely leapfrogged her in terms of character development.
I agree! That's the one thing that really troubled me about Morgan. I mean, she's a great character and all - but she got way too much attention, compared to Elaine. More Elaine would be good, just like Reaper Lyn said in one of the first posts to this thread. And I agree with what she said about the islands from previous games, too.
On the Elaine development thing, while it would be nice to see her more and learn more about her, (I agree that she got way too little screen time in comparison to Morgan) I think I want to learn more about Guybrush first. I feel as if we don't really learn much about the actual characters in the first place. I mean, most of the stuff in MI2 and MI3 were illusions.
I also do like Elaine as a pirate (it's in her blood after all) but it'd be nice to see her governor side come out more often somehow.
I'm still waiting around for Wally to return, too.
And everyone knows I so want a kid to happen as a little sidekick for Guybrush. (and maybe so he has to "rescue" someone other than Elaine for once) But who knows how that might work out and how Lucasarts would feel, so that would just be wishful thinking for a while now.
I'd like to see some time traveling. Like in one chapter, Guybrush travels back in time and creates a paradox which turns him into the Demon Pirate Threepwood, and LeChuck becomes the clumsy, naïve and loveable pirate-wannabe married to Elaine. And in order to set things right, Guybrush has to make Elaine fall in love with his demon self.
I would also like to see in this alternative timeline, Murray as a gentle and humble care keeper of an orphanage (still as a skull), singing the song Edelweiss to the children.
I would also like to see in this alternative timeline, Murray as a gentle and humble care keeper of an orphanage (still as a skull), singing the song Edelweiss to the children.
Telltale will write it well, if they decide to do a second series.
My personal preference would be:
Not many returning characters or places. In S&M I think characters like Sybil and Bosco were great, but being too confined to one place is a no-no for me. Having said this, I do think re-using locations within the season could work well (as with chp1/4 Flotsam). One of the main issues i've picked up on while reading this forum is that people didn't like the uncertainty of having one new episode from a relative unknown, and then being cooped up in a location with just De Singe's house, a ship, a dockway and a forest to investigate. I also think this is an issue most people will forget about when they replay MI101 because they know TTG did a good job with it.
Preferably I would have, perhaps, one base of operation (like an Island, or a village) and then other places throughout the game. For me, EP3's interrogation scene with De Cava, Murray/Santino, Buguye, et al. all on one small boat and with just an ocean for TT to worry about making, made it easy to get on with some good storytelling. The opposite to this, for me, would be Spinner Cay's surrounding islands. They felt samey (especially the forest) probably because of the limited HR, time and overall data-size. For me, this should point conclusively to a game where Guybrush visits a few different locations, but is very much based on one village. This way, the size limit won't be bothered by slightly different-looking mini islands and they can concentrate on making one place look nice, and developing plot rather than feeling obliged to give more locations.
Extricating our hero for episode 2 would be perhaps wise. To ensure the limited time/size etc. don't trip the game up, perhaps Guybrush should be in an underground location or a fortress of some kind, etc. This would allow more sets, but smaller and hence easier/quicker to make and smaller in data-size. It would therefore provide the best value (in terms of atmosphere, interest and story-telling) for input. Ep 3 could re-use Episode 1's base, giving the team all that time to tweak the appearance, add a few things here and there, or perhaps the much needed extra cast (with ep1/2 for me feeling like a ghost-town with so few people). I think you get the idea.
Characters are integral to a good story. SoMI had numerous great characters (especially thinking of what went on to become the core cast, but also supporting chars like Carla and Otis), LCR introduced yet more (including the iconic Largo), and CoMI followed the trend (with no new baddies, but an interesting cabana-boy, pathetic pirates of Danjer Cove, Murray!, etc. - the 2d look helped make a wealth of interesting characters due to the detail available), and EfMI partly failed on this count, but I believe this is as much because they provided such large roles to old characters such as Otis and Carla. Therefore, re-using characters must be kept to a miminum. I would suggest Guybrush, Elaine, LeChuck, Winslow, Murray, Stan, Voodoo Lady. Over 5 episodes i'm fairly confident the two-three who wouldn't play a great part in the game could be given interesting roles, without it feeling forced.
So my ideas for next season? I would not seek an immediate bang. LeChuck is best when he is omnipresent yet unseen. Especially in LCR, LeChuck was always a threat but not seen outside of cut-scenes until nearer the end when we get to the fortress. Therefore, I would introduce a new enemy of some kind (like the Marquis de Singe in the first season) while cut-scenes and perhaps scraps of information, give us the feeling that something bad is continuing to build. Perhaps we need a Moriarty-style baddie who can be used sporadically, to give us relief from one tension, yet never really conclude in a boss-fight like LC/GB always does. Perhaps this new secondary villain can be an entirely different style to LeChuck. Ozzy Mandril in EfMI very nearly made this tandem-evil work, and shows how a contrast in styles can make an opening in the story for another baddie. Perhaps, for the sake of download-size etc., Guybrush, by episode 2/3 can be stuck in a fortress. This can take two eps and therefore allows the team to concentrate on making it atmospheric and story/character driven. This would also allow The Darkness (not the band from Norfolk) to be introduced for the seemingly vampiric MI community.
Morgan would have to be in the game, but she could be used anywhere, and given her prominent role in season1 I would hesitate before bringing her back in season2 in such a vanguard-role. I would have LeChuck introduced perhaps in ep2, early in the fortress bit, and then introduced properly in ep3. So it would be like this:
ep1: Guybrush on a new location, some kind of bad-feck happens, this new moriarty guy is a distant threat
ep2: Guybrush locked up in this guy's fortress. Moriarty type guy is prominent, and LeChuchk is introduced fleetingly
ep3: Guybrush and LeChuck fill the story, in the finale of the fortress.
ep4: Guybrush and moriarty get closer to a resolving confrontation, which is aided by Morgan, who confuses the situation as she is working for this new gentleman-villain (who MUST have a top-hat and monocle, or at least English accent, oh and should be Tim Curry )
ep5: would see this all crushendo. The Morgan confusion, the LeChuck rivalry, the new guy, all in one small melting pot.
Okay, so I ripped off LCR with the fortress, but the more important idea is the direction. I want a secondary villain who is more convincing than the Voodoo Lady, who can take away the antagonism between Guybrush and LeChuck, making a more intricate story (which would still be easy enough to follow for a new player). The Voodoo Lady's antagonism with Guybrush was only really the same story as with LeChuck. I want somebody like Ozzy Mandrill who is just your plain and simple intellectual/middle-class greedy villain, whose animosity with Guybrush can feel entirely different, and be entirely different, to the endless saga over Elaine that the LeChuck antagonism is. I also think enclosed places would be better. The islands of ep2 lacked soul, while the forest of ep1 just didn't feel atmospheric enough (and no, rain wouldn't help! ) because of graphics limitations. Indoor locations can have atmosphere changing from room-to-room etc.
And everyone knows I so want a kid to happen as a little sidekick for Guybrush. (and maybe so he has to "rescue" someone other than Elaine for once) But who knows how that might work out and how Lucasarts would feel, so that would just be wishful thinking for a while now.
I don't know, after hearing all those various lines from Guybrush, especially in Ch. 4, sounds to me that the idea of a kid isn't so farfetched, otherwise why throw them into the story? Aside from the humor, of course.
Suddenly becoming parents would certainly add to character development, wouldn't it?
I think that its time for all to grow up in the series. As much as I love the characters, I would have some pretty dramatic events happening in the second season and I know that I will get a lot of controversy with the following:
First of all I believe that something should happen which will evolve Guybrush into a more mature man including the beard I think that a kid will not be the solution but the death of Elaine in some way will evolve Guybrush in a way not conceivable. I think that Elaines' time in the series is long gone and she should dissapear. I would not recommend a divorce but a death because of some strange event like for example Voodoo Lady manipulating Morgan for example to kill Elaine so she can continue her puppeteer game with Guybrush and Guybrush suddenly realising that Voodoo Lady is the real enemy. The Voodoo ladys' actions in the episodes was clearly to manipulate to get the pox of LeChuck in her possesion for granduer things to come. I really did not like the idea of Vodoo lady being behind all things but that is something we have to accept just like we have to accept that EfMI happened . EfMI had some good material but that ending should never have happened. In any case, Elaine ends up dead at the begining of the episodes so Guybrush starts a hunt to search for revenge. In the process he recall the power of Big Whoop which will be finally explained. Voodoo Lady resurects LeChuck for her own means and to stop Guybrush from reaching her. Guybrush will confine to LeChuck that the Voodoo lady succeeded in killing the woman they both loved and thus perhaps a collaboration between good and evil will finally start to demolish the true enemy for both which is the Voodoo Lady so her plan to stop Guybrush will backfire on her. From there on, characters and events will add up to this dark addition of the series. I would like to see the Voodoo Lady being dragged in the secret of Big Whoop and thus forced to be under a spell for eternity or perhaps a different ending. Finally when the Voodoo lady is destroyed, LeChuck will try to have his revenge with Guybrush and the final confrontation battle will occur which will have Guybrush finally defeating LeChuck for good and ending with Guybrush recalling all the good and bad times he had with everyone and leaving Guybrush on a ship in search for newer adventures keeping of course Elaines' memory deep in his heart as he now is a more mature person and has to move on. Just one of the plots that I would like to see done. I have plenty others as well but I would like to hear peoples' comments.
Demetris
All the Monkey Island stories were basically about Guybrush fighting LeChuck with the help of the Vodoo Lady to stop LeChuck marring Elaine. We never found out WHY LeChuck was so obsessed of Elaine.
The Vodoo Lady told Guybrush that Elaine never trusted the ways of Vodoo. Maybe Elaine has a good reason, as we know that her family is connected to Vodoo, remember, Elain’s Grandfather’s piece of the map helped Guybrush to find Big Whoop, which is a Vodoo treasure, right?
So maybe this conflict isn’t really about Elaine and Guybrush vs. LeChuck, but the Vodoo Lady and Elaine, because Elaine is really hiding a big source of Vodoo, the Vodoo Lady wants to obtain. By the way, this could be the Secret of Monkey Island , Elaine's Vodoo Secret. Because the Vodoo Lady couldn’t get Elaine’s Vodoo Secret on her own, she possessed LeChuck to do the dirty work for her. But that plan didn’t work out, LeChuck turned out to be uncontrollable, the Vodoo Lady needed Guybrush to stop Le Chuck, because LeChuck became a threat to the entire Caribbean. That would explain why she helped Guybrush all over the years.
I would suggest that the Vodoo Lady resurrects LeChuck in the form of Guybrush by using the essence of LeChuck and Guybrush’s hand in the hope that she now has a puppet under her full control to trick Elaine and finally get Elaine’s Vodoo Secret. So we’d have a good Guybrush vs. bad Guybrush. Telltale should split up the story, so that we can play the game from the good Guybrush’s and that bad Guybrush’s view .And it’ll be nice to play the bad Guybrush for a change ;-) Morgan could fall in love with the bad Guybrush, too.
So maybe this conflict isn’t really about Elaine and Guybrush vs. LeChuck, but the Vodoo Lady and Elaine
My words. After TOMI, it's unclear whether it has been LeChuck's own choice to constantly go after Elaine or if this actually is the Voodoo Lady's doing.
Has anyone thought about what would have happened if LeChuck had succeeded in slaying the Voodoo Lady with the Cutlass of Kaflu BEFORE killing Guybrush or marrying Elaine? Wouldn't that have had as a logical consequence that he would immediately lose interest in hunting down Guybrush and finally let Elaine go?
My two cents: To me, Tales was all about trust (you make that case on your own, I'm too apathetic to prove it), and especially Guybrush's. The sequel would probably have to be an evolution of that concept. Setting the series on Elaine seems like the right move. And if any characters return, they have to do it out of necessity. I like Winslow, but bringing him back for a cameo isn't worth applauding. Murray in Leviathan was a good example, as there was no other character who could've filled that role.
Actually, I may have something regarding a second season to show in a few months. You'll just have to wait and see, but I hope you'll like it. It's gotten good responses from the couple of people I've shown it to.
Edit: It's not official. Just a fangame. I want to practise game stuffs. Sorry for any confusion.
Actually, I may have something regarding a second season to show in a few months. You'll just have to wait and see, but I hope you'll like it. It's gotten good responses from the couple of people I've shown it to.
Has anyone thought about what would have happened if LeChuck had succeeded in slaying the Voodoo Lady with the Cutlass of Kaflu BEFORE killing Guybrush or marrying Elaine? Wouldn't that have had as a logical consequence that he would immediately lose interest in hunting down Guybrush and finally let Elaine go?
Good point, but not necessarily. All the Vodoo spells had to be reversed; the last one was to give LaEsponja Grand a little diet.
So even of LeChuck kills the Vodoo Lady before he marries Elaine, he’d still be possessed as long as the Vodoo Lady's spell does not get reversed.
Personally, I don't think De Singe should come back. Each Monkey Island game had it's own supporting antagonist (LeChuck being the primary one,) and they never reprised their roles either.
SMI: Fester Shinetop (yes I know he's really LeChuck, but he still counts)
MI2: Largo Legrande
CMI: Captain René Rottingham
EMI: Pegnose Pete [LeChuck (unfortunately) shares the role of primary villain with Ozzie]
TMI: Marquis De Singe (LeChuck is the primary villain, you just don't know it until the end of Chapter 4)
I'd like to see a real dark game, with a reason to return to Monkey Island, an idea I had would be that with LeChuck officially dead and gone forever (or so people heard), there have been rises in groups of Pirates trying to become the top dog, killing, stealing and destroying anything in their path, this would create a much more sinister pirate feeling to the games. The plot would work out so it ends up a race between three groups to get to Monkey Island, a new pirate bad guy who's as close to LeChuck as can be (possibly voiced by Tim Curry) and he takes his crew and forces them to find Monkey Island because of rumours of Big Whoop, he hopes to pass through the gates as LeChuck once did and become the new LeChuck for all time. A second crew would be hell bent on getting to Monkey Island in hopes of reviving LeChuck for some reason, the twist would be that this group is led by Largo, who's been beaten and tossed aside from the new LeChuck wannabe once before and of course, the final group, led by Guybrush, out to stop all of this, who's now had to take on a leadership role but is still the Guybrush we all know and love. I really do think this kind of story would be interesting as there are lots of areas to exploit and bounce ideas off.
I want to see more more exploration of the characters' pre-SOMI pasts.
For instance, I really enjoyed how Rise of the Pirate God told us more about how LeChuck became a ghost pirate by explaining his journey through the Crossroads.
The important thing is that these revelations don't contradict the established Canon (like with Herman in Ecape). I think that TT has shown with their handling of the Voodoo Lady's character that they would be able to give us new backstory that still harmonizes with all the stories.
It almost like it's a checklist: it has to be dark. It has to be dark. Daarkkk.
Why?
Is it because of LCR? Only one of 5 islands is set in any darkness, literal or figurative. People like to remember it being dark.
I don't care if the tone of something grows from the story. But having a checklist is with DARK, DEATH, DESTRUCTION on it...man, I don't even know. Go listen to a goth record or read a newspaper. Seriously.
Though I like your idea of bands of pirates running around for top dog. There's potential in that.
It almost like it's a checklist: it has to be dark. It has to be dark. Daarkkk.
Why?
Dark like Chapter 4 dark, Dark like Blood Island dark, you can't deny that is when Monkey Island shines best, combining those uneasy feelings whilst still being funny. Imagine if we had a whole game with that kind of atmosphere instead of wasting one fifth of it pissing about with Nipperkin and his LOL PIRATE STORIES!
I like the bright atmosphere. Puerto Pollo's an especially lovely place.
Imagine if we had a whole game with that kind of atmosphere instead of wasting one fifth of it pissing about with Nipperkin and his LOL PIRATE STORIES!
It would get boring very, very, very quickly. I love pizza, but I sure as hell don't wanna eat it every day.
All this darkness humping is making you look like either of these two. You pick your own host body.
Funnily enough my eyes were diverted to the crypt in the background, reminding me of the Goodsoup Family Crypt from Curse. Not exactly darkness humping, just that I feel Monkey Island works best in those situations. Puerto Pollo and the whole of Plunder Island are amazing, it must of been the art style or something because even that Island felt a bit more serious to what we got in Tales, amazing how the artwork affects the mood.
As for LOL Pirate Stories, Nipperkin was killed off for a reason All that stereotypical New Yorker journalist stuff, forcing you to do tasks, walking around with his notebook, ugh, annoying character. He's like the least piratey thing in Tales so it was a shame that he was one of the first new characters we meet in this new location.
I'd like to see a real dark game, with a reason to return to Monkey Island, an idea I had would be that with LeChuck officially dead and gone forever (or so people heard), there have been rises in groups of Pirates trying to become the top dog, killing, stealing and destroying anything in their path, this would create a much more sinister pirate feeling to the games. The plot would work out so it ends up a race between three groups to get to Monkey Island, a new pirate bad guy who's as close to LeChuck as can be (possibly voiced by Tim Curry) and he takes his crew and forces them to find Monkey Island because of rumours of Big Whoop, he hopes to pass through the gates as LeChuck once did and become the new LeChuck for all time. A second crew would be hell bent on getting to Monkey Island in hopes of reviving LeChuck for some reason, the twist would be that this group is led by Largo, who's been beaten and tossed aside from the new LeChuck wannabe once before and of course, the final group, led by Guybrush, out to stop all of this, who's now had to take on a leadership role but is still the Guybrush we all know and love. I really do think this kind of story would be interesting as there are lots of areas to exploit and bounce ideas off.
Marry me?
No kidding, but I'm totally digging this idea.
As for ideas, I've come up with a few since I started this thread...
Firstly, Monkey Island should sink!
That's right, sink!
I don't know how, or even why it should, but it should just sink!
I'm not saying scrap Monkey Island, but a sunken island adds a whole new dimension to the series, the perhaps LeChuck can raise it via voodoo and again use Big Whoop for diabolical puposes.
But back to pirate power vaccuum...
We need a new type of villain to step in for LeChuck, especially if that villain wants to use Big Whoop for their own machinations.
We've had:
SoMI - the bumbling impartial ghost - Bob
LCR - the menacing Caribbean bully - Largo
CoMI - I can't think of anyone, Dingy Dog seemed more incompetent than an actual supporting villain...
EfMI - Australian realtor/Caribbean developer (destroyer) - Ozzie
ToMI - The NOT French metrosexual - DeSinge
ToMI season 2 - I'm a fence-sitter, I sort of don't want the voodoo lady ro be a minor villain, but then again I want her to be a villain who then succumbs to LeChuck ultimately
You think of one?
AS for voice-over, Tim Curry is absolutely pivotal to such a part, so Telltale - go call him, see what he's doing these days, ask does he want to voice yet another villain in an animated thingy.
IMDB says he hasn't done a film/voice-over since 2003, so get him in ASAP!
Bob wasn't a villain to Guybrush, neither was Dinghy Dog. Neither of them were a direct threat to him. Fester Shinetop counts as one, though he was a facade. He still tried to stop Guybrush from getting the idol. Also, Captain Rottingham took Guybrush's map, so that makes him a supporting villain in CMI. You must not have played CMI enough to remember him.
@Griswald Goodsoup
You must not have played CMI enough to remember him.
Curse was my introduction to the Monkey Island franchise, while
Rottingham was no doubt irritating he didn't really have the longevity other supporting villains had. He was sort of a one act interim baddy, and to argue he was important as a supporting villain would be the same argument for other minor villains that in some way impeded Guybrush from rescuing Elaine. E.g. Mr Fossey and LeChimp or King André and Gruff.
CMI really didn't have a supporting villain, I think we'd just like to think it had since EMI had Ozzie, now Tales and DeSinge.
Maybe it's all straw clutching.
But I'm certain since CMI we've seen the importance in secondary villains rise, and we can no doubt expect Telltale to follow on that precedent.
Just if you want to make LeChuck even more terrible than his demon god incarnation please don't ruin it with tusks and hooves. I'd still like to keep the tiniest smidge of pirate lore to the game true, not a pursuit for the totally outrageous and superfluous then explaining it as Voodoo!
I think it's okay to wade into semi-fantasy territory. I can honestly see pixies working very well within Monkey Island, but maybe not 10 storey-tall giants; though, knowing the purists, they'll start bemoaning.
Tales pushed the series into being very tightly plot-driven. The trick is maintaining this forward-moving plot with being piratey, as in getting to do piratey things that actually directly relate to, or stem from, the plot itself. Any fantastical elements need to be tied into that.
I'd still like to keep the tiniest smidge of pirate lore to the game true, not a pursuit for the totally outrageous and superfluous then explaining it as Voodoo!
characters i would like to see again. keep in mind im not saying i want you to squeeze them all in in the season but some would be cool.
Largo Legrand
Wally
Madam Xima
any of the Good Soup family
the Lost Welshman(idk if that was supposed to be him in CH 5 but regardless i would still like to see him)
Blonde Beard! (Santa Clause in Sam and Max is the same voice actor as him, so if you still have access to his voice why not use it?)
Murry
Stan(he is in every game he has to be in it)
Kate Capsize
As for character models. Please make everyone look different from one another PLEASE! Now lets talk locations, Im not apposed to old islands such as Blood or Scabb, in fact i would love to visit them again. but i love seeing new locations so keep up the good work in that area TT. As for story, im not to good at stories but something that pops up in my head is Maybe having Largo return, and he happens across an article of Lechucks clothing, and when he puts it on the voodoo if you will from it takes over part of Largo and throughout the season there is personality battle between Largo and Lechuck, both striving for control of Largos body which could then lead to funny dialogue between the both of them fighting which would appear to be Largo talking to himself. Plus their themes are pretty similar so whenever there is a personality change the theme can morph in between them both. And there is just something about a midget in a Giant pirate hat that sounds like it would look funny. Another thing i would like for season 2 is no mermaid creatures, or weird turtle/fish/seahorse hybrids, or any mythical kinda creatures. Idk why but it just doesn't fit into the world for me . Oh yeah and make it Piratey! PIRATEY! PIRATEY! PIRATEY!:p
So TTG that's all i have for you for now. I hope it helps even a little
Thanks for making an already amazing MI game and for bringing a once seemingly dead franchise back to us.
Who I want back? Wally, Captain Smirk (Maybe as a governor?), I. Cheese, Governor Phatt. And maybe Jambalaya Island without those tourist traps.
I think I'm getting a little tired of LeChuck being the bad guy. I'd like Guybrush to face some powerful Voodoo Loa or someone like Governor Phatt. Some kind of great evil, you know. I'd love Guybrush and LeChuck to work together against something big and huge and evil that threatens the whole world. Maybe some bad guy kidnaps Elaine so they both have to work together and save her?
I can see it now. Governor Phatt wants to take over the Carribean, so his soldiers attack Jambalaya Island. The governor of Jambalaya (Smirk?) asks Mellee Island for help, Elaine and Guybrush go there and get captured by some witch doctor working for Phatt. Guybrush manages to escape somehow, maybe with LeChuck's help and they both agree on working together to find Elaine. Phatt wants to govern the whole Tri-Island Area, while at some point it's revealed that the witch doctor is actually some big bad evil Voodoo Loa with his own big plans. And maybe the H.T. Marley thing is resolved in the game, LeChuck betrays Guybrush and the Voodoo Lady is somehow behind the whole thing.
The only thing I don't like about that (good!) idea is that it would remind me a little too much of Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.
Really? Honestly, I watched those movies atleast 2 times, but looking back I don't remember anything about the story. I remember Sparrow and some crabs, asian pirates, flipping a ship, chasing a jar inside a giant hamster wheel, something about Will's dad, a big storm in the end, you-know-who getting eaten by a kraken. Heck, I even remember some crazy talk about a goddess, but I have no idea what the actuall story was. Strange. It's almost like it was more of a theme park ride than a movie.
Really? Honestly, I watched those movies atleast 2 times, but looking back I don't remember anything about the story. I remember Sparrow and some crabs, asian pirates, flipping a ship, chasing a jar inside a giant hamster wheel, something about Will's dad, a big storm in the end, you-know-who getting eaten by a kraken. Heck, I even remember some crazy talk about a goddess, but I have no idea what the actuall story was. Strange. It's almost like it was more of a theme park ride than a movie.
I guess noone really understood the plot of POTC 3, I was mainly referring to the fact that former enemies (Barbossa, Davy Jones - Will, Jack) agree to work together to achieve who-knows-what.
Comments
I also do like Elaine as a pirate (it's in her blood after all) but it'd be nice to see her governor side come out more often somehow.
I'm still waiting around for Wally to return, too.
And everyone knows I so want a kid to happen as a little sidekick for Guybrush.
This is good. (LeChuck in Tales)
This is bad. (Elaine, Voodoo Lady)
This should be avoided at all costs. (Rise of the Pirate God)
2. No more overreliance on scavenger hunts "Voodoo recipes" as puzzles.
I would also like to see in this alternative timeline, Murray as a gentle and humble care keeper of an orphanage (still as a skull), singing the song Edelweiss to the children.
Unless there's another Edelweiss song that wasn't US-only...
np: Martyn - Is This Insanity? (ft. Spaceape) (Great Lengths)
Good examples. They make alot of sense too from what was done in Tales.
I was taking about Edelweiss from the musical Sound of Music
My personal preference would be:
Not many returning characters or places. In S&M I think characters like Sybil and Bosco were great, but being too confined to one place is a no-no for me. Having said this, I do think re-using locations within the season could work well (as with chp1/4 Flotsam). One of the main issues i've picked up on while reading this forum is that people didn't like the uncertainty of having one new episode from a relative unknown, and then being cooped up in a location with just De Singe's house, a ship, a dockway and a forest to investigate. I also think this is an issue most people will forget about when they replay MI101 because they know TTG did a good job with it.
Preferably I would have, perhaps, one base of operation (like an Island, or a village) and then other places throughout the game. For me, EP3's interrogation scene with De Cava, Murray/Santino, Buguye, et al. all on one small boat and with just an ocean for TT to worry about making, made it easy to get on with some good storytelling. The opposite to this, for me, would be Spinner Cay's surrounding islands. They felt samey (especially the forest) probably because of the limited HR, time and overall data-size. For me, this should point conclusively to a game where Guybrush visits a few different locations, but is very much based on one village. This way, the size limit won't be bothered by slightly different-looking mini islands and they can concentrate on making one place look nice, and developing plot rather than feeling obliged to give more locations.
Extricating our hero for episode 2 would be perhaps wise. To ensure the limited time/size etc. don't trip the game up, perhaps Guybrush should be in an underground location or a fortress of some kind, etc. This would allow more sets, but smaller and hence easier/quicker to make and smaller in data-size. It would therefore provide the best value (in terms of atmosphere, interest and story-telling) for input. Ep 3 could re-use Episode 1's base, giving the team all that time to tweak the appearance, add a few things here and there, or perhaps the much needed extra cast (with ep1/2 for me feeling like a ghost-town with so few people). I think you get the idea.
Characters are integral to a good story. SoMI had numerous great characters (especially thinking of what went on to become the core cast, but also supporting chars like Carla and Otis), LCR introduced yet more (including the iconic Largo), and CoMI followed the trend (with no new baddies, but an interesting cabana-boy, pathetic pirates of Danjer Cove, Murray!, etc. - the 2d look helped make a wealth of interesting characters due to the detail available), and EfMI partly failed on this count, but I believe this is as much because they provided such large roles to old characters such as Otis and Carla. Therefore, re-using characters must be kept to a miminum. I would suggest Guybrush, Elaine, LeChuck, Winslow, Murray, Stan, Voodoo Lady. Over 5 episodes i'm fairly confident the two-three who wouldn't play a great part in the game could be given interesting roles, without it feeling forced.
So my ideas for next season? I would not seek an immediate bang. LeChuck is best when he is omnipresent yet unseen. Especially in LCR, LeChuck was always a threat but not seen outside of cut-scenes until nearer the end when we get to the fortress. Therefore, I would introduce a new enemy of some kind (like the Marquis de Singe in the first season) while cut-scenes and perhaps scraps of information, give us the feeling that something bad is continuing to build. Perhaps we need a Moriarty-style baddie who can be used sporadically, to give us relief from one tension, yet never really conclude in a boss-fight like LC/GB always does. Perhaps this new secondary villain can be an entirely different style to LeChuck. Ozzy Mandril in EfMI very nearly made this tandem-evil work, and shows how a contrast in styles can make an opening in the story for another baddie. Perhaps, for the sake of download-size etc., Guybrush, by episode 2/3 can be stuck in a fortress. This can take two eps and therefore allows the team to concentrate on making it atmospheric and story/character driven. This would also allow The Darkness (not the band from Norfolk) to be introduced for the seemingly vampiric MI community.
Morgan would have to be in the game, but she could be used anywhere, and given her prominent role in season1 I would hesitate before bringing her back in season2 in such a vanguard-role. I would have LeChuck introduced perhaps in ep2, early in the fortress bit, and then introduced properly in ep3. So it would be like this:
ep1: Guybrush on a new location, some kind of bad-feck happens, this new moriarty guy is a distant threat
ep2: Guybrush locked up in this guy's fortress. Moriarty type guy is prominent, and LeChuchk is introduced fleetingly
ep3: Guybrush and LeChuck fill the story, in the finale of the fortress.
ep4: Guybrush and moriarty get closer to a resolving confrontation, which is aided by Morgan, who confuses the situation as she is working for this new gentleman-villain (who MUST have a top-hat and monocle, or at least English accent, oh and should be Tim Curry
ep5: would see this all crushendo. The Morgan confusion, the LeChuck rivalry, the new guy, all in one small melting pot.
Okay, so I ripped off LCR with the fortress, but the more important idea is the direction. I want a secondary villain who is more convincing than the Voodoo Lady, who can take away the antagonism between Guybrush and LeChuck, making a more intricate story (which would still be easy enough to follow for a new player). The Voodoo Lady's antagonism with Guybrush was only really the same story as with LeChuck. I want somebody like Ozzy Mandrill who is just your plain and simple intellectual/middle-class greedy villain, whose animosity with Guybrush can feel entirely different, and be entirely different, to the endless saga over Elaine that the LeChuck antagonism is. I also think enclosed places would be better. The islands of ep2 lacked soul, while the forest of ep1 just didn't feel atmospheric enough (and no, rain wouldn't help!
I don't know, after hearing all those various lines from Guybrush, especially in Ch. 4, sounds to me that the idea of a kid isn't so farfetched, otherwise why throw them into the story? Aside from the humor, of course.
Suddenly becoming parents would certainly add to character development, wouldn't it?
(All I've ever heard about it I found on American sites... not that I care much for it anyway.)
np: Das Bierbeben - Don't Drink The Water (Alles Fällt)
First of all I believe that something should happen which will evolve Guybrush into a more mature man including the beard
Demetris
The Vodoo Lady told Guybrush that Elaine never trusted the ways of Vodoo. Maybe Elaine has a good reason, as we know that her family is connected to Vodoo, remember, Elain’s Grandfather’s piece of the map helped Guybrush to find Big Whoop, which is a Vodoo treasure, right?
So maybe this conflict isn’t really about Elaine and Guybrush vs. LeChuck, but the Vodoo Lady and Elaine, because Elaine is really hiding a big source of Vodoo, the Vodoo Lady wants to obtain. By the way, this could be the Secret of Monkey Island
I would suggest that the Vodoo Lady resurrects LeChuck in the form of Guybrush by using the essence of LeChuck and Guybrush’s hand in the hope that she now has a puppet under her full control to trick Elaine and finally get Elaine’s Vodoo Secret. So we’d have a good Guybrush vs. bad Guybrush. Telltale should split up the story, so that we can play the game from the good Guybrush’s and that bad Guybrush’s view .And it’ll be nice to play the bad Guybrush for a change ;-) Morgan could fall in love with the bad Guybrush, too.
My words. After TOMI, it's unclear whether it has been LeChuck's own choice to constantly go after Elaine or if this actually is the Voodoo Lady's doing.
Has anyone thought about what would have happened if LeChuck had succeeded in slaying the Voodoo Lady with the Cutlass of Kaflu BEFORE killing Guybrush or marrying Elaine? Wouldn't that have had as a logical consequence that he would immediately lose interest in hunting down Guybrush and finally let Elaine go?
Actually, I may have something regarding a second season to show in a few months. You'll just have to wait and see, but I hope you'll like it. It's gotten good responses from the couple of people I've shown it to.
Edit: It's not official. Just a fangame. I want to practise game stuffs. Sorry for any confusion.
Agreed.
Any hints??
I can see that too, trust does recur as a theme an awful lot throughout the episodes.
Hee, it's just a fan-game, actually. My own take on a sequel. I'll have more details later.
I guess my vague wording made it sound like it was somehow something official. It is not. (Sorry for the disappointment.)
Good point, but not necessarily. All the Vodoo spells had to be reversed; the last one was to give LaEsponja Grand a little diet.
So even of LeChuck kills the Vodoo Lady before he marries Elaine, he’d still be possessed as long as the Vodoo Lady's spell does not get reversed.
SMI: Fester Shinetop (yes I know he's really LeChuck, but he still counts)
MI2: Largo Legrande
CMI: Captain René Rottingham
EMI: Pegnose Pete [LeChuck (unfortunately) shares the role of primary villain with Ozzie]
TMI: Marquis De Singe (LeChuck is the primary villain, you just don't know it until the end of Chapter 4)
For instance, I really enjoyed how Rise of the Pirate God told us more about how LeChuck became a ghost pirate by explaining his journey through the Crossroads.
The important thing is that these revelations don't contradict the established Canon (like with Herman in Ecape). I think that TT has shown with their handling of the Voodoo Lady's character that they would be able to give us new backstory that still harmonizes with all the stories.
Why?
It almost like it's a checklist: it has to be dark. It has to be dark. Daarkkk.
Why?
Is it because of LCR? Only one of 5 islands is set in any darkness, literal or figurative. People like to remember it being dark.
I don't care if the tone of something grows from the story. But having a checklist is with DARK, DEATH, DESTRUCTION on it...man, I don't even know. Go listen to a goth record or read a newspaper. Seriously.
Though I like your idea of bands of pirates running around for top dog. There's potential in that.
Just putting Guybrush in LeChuck's shoes was great.
Dark like Chapter 4 dark, Dark like Blood Island dark, you can't deny that is when Monkey Island shines best, combining those uneasy feelings whilst still being funny. Imagine if we had a whole game with that kind of atmosphere instead of wasting one fifth of it pissing about with Nipperkin and his LOL PIRATE STORIES!
DENIED.
See?
I like the bright atmosphere. Puerto Pollo's an especially lovely place.
It would get boring very, very, very quickly. I love pizza, but I sure as hell don't wanna eat it every day.
All this darkness humping is making you look like either of these two. You pick your own host body.
that picture frightens and confuses me!
Funnily enough my eyes were diverted to the crypt in the background, reminding me of the Goodsoup Family Crypt from Curse. Not exactly darkness humping, just that I feel Monkey Island works best in those situations. Puerto Pollo and the whole of Plunder Island are amazing, it must of been the art style or something because even that Island felt a bit more serious to what we got in Tales, amazing how the artwork affects the mood.
As for LOL Pirate Stories, Nipperkin was killed off for a reason
Marry me?
No kidding, but I'm totally digging this idea.
As for ideas, I've come up with a few since I started this thread...
Firstly, Monkey Island should sink!
That's right, sink!
I don't know how, or even why it should, but it should just sink!
I'm not saying scrap Monkey Island, but a sunken island adds a whole new dimension to the series, the perhaps LeChuck can raise it via voodoo and again use Big Whoop for diabolical puposes.
But back to pirate power vaccuum...
We need a new type of villain to step in for LeChuck, especially if that villain wants to use Big Whoop for their own machinations.
We've had:
SoMI - the bumbling impartial ghost - Bob
LCR - the menacing Caribbean bully - Largo
CoMI - I can't think of anyone, Dingy Dog seemed more incompetent than an actual supporting villain...
EfMI - Australian realtor/Caribbean developer (destroyer) - Ozzie
ToMI - The NOT French metrosexual - DeSinge
ToMI season 2 - I'm a fence-sitter, I sort of don't want the voodoo lady ro be a minor villain, but then again I want her to be a villain who then succumbs to LeChuck ultimately
You think of one?
AS for voice-over, Tim Curry is absolutely pivotal to such a part, so Telltale - go call him, see what he's doing these days, ask does he want to voice yet another villain in an animated thingy.
IMDB says he hasn't done a film/voice-over since 2003, so get him in ASAP!
Bob wasn't a villain to Guybrush, neither was Dinghy Dog. Neither of them were a direct threat to him. Fester Shinetop counts as one, though he was a facade. He still tried to stop Guybrush from getting the idol. Also, Captain Rottingham took Guybrush's map, so that makes him a supporting villain in CMI. You must not have played CMI enough to remember him.
sure... Wait, what? Darkness humping? wtf is darkness humping?
For some reason, Max comes to my mind, but I'm not sure why exactly.
Curse was my introduction to the Monkey Island franchise, while
Rottingham was no doubt irritating he didn't really have the longevity other supporting villains had. He was sort of a one act interim baddy, and to argue he was important as a supporting villain would be the same argument for other minor villains that in some way impeded Guybrush from rescuing Elaine. E.g. Mr Fossey and LeChimp or King André and Gruff.
CMI really didn't have a supporting villain, I think we'd just like to think it had since EMI had Ozzie, now Tales and DeSinge.
Maybe it's all straw clutching.
But I'm certain since CMI we've seen the importance in secondary villains rise, and we can no doubt expect Telltale to follow on that precedent.
Just if you want to make LeChuck even more terrible than his demon god incarnation please don't ruin it with tusks and hooves. I'd still like to keep the tiniest smidge of pirate lore to the game true, not a pursuit for the totally outrageous and superfluous then explaining it as Voodoo!
that's my 2 cents worth...
Tales pushed the series into being very tightly plot-driven. The trick is maintaining this forward-moving plot with being piratey, as in getting to do piratey things that actually directly relate to, or stem from, the plot itself. Any fantastical elements need to be tied into that.
agreed.
characters i would like to see again. keep in mind im not saying i want you to squeeze them all in in the season but some would be cool.
Largo Legrand
Wally
Madam Xima
any of the Good Soup family
the Lost Welshman(idk if that was supposed to be him in CH 5 but regardless i would still like to see him)
Blonde Beard! (Santa Clause in Sam and Max is the same voice actor as him, so if you still have access to his voice why not use it?)
Murry
Stan(he is in every game he has to be in it)
Kate Capsize
As for character models. Please make everyone look different from one another PLEASE! Now lets talk locations, Im not apposed to old islands such as Blood or Scabb, in fact i would love to visit them again. but i love seeing new locations so keep up the good work in that area TT. As for story, im not to good at stories but something that pops up in my head is Maybe having Largo return, and he happens across an article of Lechucks clothing, and when he puts it on the voodoo if you will from it takes over part of Largo and throughout the season there is personality battle between Largo and Lechuck, both striving for control of Largos body which could then lead to funny dialogue between the both of them fighting which would appear to be Largo talking to himself. Plus their themes are pretty similar so whenever there is a personality change the theme can morph in between them both. And there is just something about a midget in a Giant pirate hat that sounds like it would look funny. Another thing i would like for season 2 is no mermaid creatures, or weird turtle/fish/seahorse hybrids, or any mythical kinda creatures. Idk why but it just doesn't fit into the world for me
So TTG that's all i have for you for now. I hope it helps even a little
Thanks for making an already amazing MI game and for bringing a once seemingly dead franchise back to us.
I think I'm getting a little tired of LeChuck being the bad guy. I'd like Guybrush to face some powerful Voodoo Loa or someone like Governor Phatt. Some kind of great evil, you know. I'd love Guybrush and LeChuck to work together against something big and huge and evil that threatens the whole world. Maybe some bad guy kidnaps Elaine so they both have to work together and save her?
I can see it now. Governor Phatt wants to take over the Carribean, so his soldiers attack Jambalaya Island. The governor of Jambalaya (Smirk?) asks Mellee Island for help, Elaine and Guybrush go there and get captured by some witch doctor working for Phatt. Guybrush manages to escape somehow, maybe with LeChuck's help and they both agree on working together to find Elaine. Phatt wants to govern the whole Tri-Island Area, while at some point it's revealed that the witch doctor is actually some big bad evil Voodoo Loa with his own big plans. And maybe the H.T. Marley thing is resolved in the game, LeChuck betrays Guybrush and the Voodoo Lady is somehow behind the whole thing.
The only thing I don't like about that (good!) idea is that it would remind me a little too much of Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.
I realize I'm coming in a bit late for this, but I only one thing comes to mind when I think of LOL PIRATE STORIES.
Really? Honestly, I watched those movies atleast 2 times, but looking back I don't remember anything about the story. I remember Sparrow and some crabs, asian pirates, flipping a ship, chasing a jar inside a giant hamster wheel, something about Will's dad, a big storm in the end, you-know-who getting eaten by a kraken. Heck, I even remember some crazy talk about a goddess, but I have no idea what the actuall story was. Strange. It's almost like it was more of a theme park ride than a movie.
I guess noone really understood the plot of POTC 3, I was mainly referring to the fact that former enemies (Barbossa, Davy Jones - Will, Jack) agree to work together to achieve who-knows-what.