DEVS: How about creating a new long Monkey Island game?

It would be great to see a new MI. Its the best game series I've played for a long time (beating CSS etc.). Perhaps using Tales of MI graphics, even more unique puzzles (which allrdy rock), multiple ways to go thru story, able to have sex with Morgan? :D

What do you people think?

Telltale team, think about it.

Comments

  • edited December 2009
    I, for one, like the episodic gaming format and found that Tales is at a good length game because of it.
    simpanssi wrote: »
    able to have sex with Morgan? :D

    No.
  • edited December 2009
    I'm going to ignore that last little bit. But for the rest, I understand what you're saying. Except multiple ways to go through a story? Eh...

    Besides, episodic is the way TellTale does things. I like it.
  • edited December 2009
    ok that would be too much to ask :)
  • edited December 2009
    Don't worry. Signs have been released all abroad that the true secret is a commitment from Lucasarts to be revealed to the fans so I recon we will be seing a final installment of a complete game. Patience.
    Demetris
  • edited December 2009
    I hate these multiple endings things. If a story's worth making, it's worth the developers bothering to decide upon a story and sticking to it :p
  • edited December 2009
    simpanssi wrote: »
    It would be great to see a new MI. Its the best game series I've played for a long time (beating CSS etc.). Perhaps using Tales of MI graphics, even more unique puzzles (which allrdy rock), multiple ways to go thru story, able to have sex with Morgan? :D

    What do you people think?

    Bioware, think about it.
    Fix'd.

    np: Das Bierbeben - Warum Faltest Du Die Hände (Alles Fällt)
  • edited December 2009
    If I might draw this to your attention...
    Telltale released a new Monkey Island game half a month ago.
    I don't think they're going to fritter away their time on this idea.
  • edited December 2009
    Well, if you prefer having a full game, just wait until the last chapter is released and then download and play them all. This way you get the option of playing either way. Personally i think episodic suits MI (tales at least). It builds suspension, and hence immersion in the series, over a five month period.
  • edited December 2009
    simpanssi wrote: »
    multiple ways to go thru story, able to have sex with Morgan? :D

    What kind of game do you think MI is?
    I think if they did things like that it would completely miss what MI is all about.
  • edited December 2009
    Hyvä simpanssi!

    I agree totally with simpanssi except the multiple ways to go through the story thing.

    99.9% of games are released non-episodic so i dont see how can the episodic style of releasing a game be better!? But if its Telltales way to work i guess its alright. When the season ends its still a whole game with chapters like in the previous MI games.
    However, I still would like to see the next (I hope not last) MI game to be that non-episodic 40 hour (minimum :)) adventure game.
    Irishmile wrote: »
    What kind of game do you think MI is?
    I think if they did things like that it would completely miss what MI is all about.

    OMG! Some of you guys have no sense of humor at ALL!
    Simpanssi was clearly just goofing around!
  • edited December 2009
    I wasn't sure how Monkey Island would work as an episodic series when Telltale first made the announcement. But they made it work. And actually, I think I got more out of it than I would have done if we'd just been given one long game. Especially with the online community - remember all those theories everyone was posting between chapters? (especially at the end of chapter 4 - lots to talk about there!)

    I wouldn't object to a long game, but I love episodic gaming for the above reasons. I'm glad the other MI games only have one fixed storyline though. I know it'd make the games more replayable if they had multiple outcomes, but that doesn't seem in spirit with the rest of the series.
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    OMG! Some of you guys have no sense of humor at ALL!
    Simpanssi was clearly just goofing around!

    Don't you mean "fooling around?" Eh? Get it? Fooling around? With Morgan? Not goofing but... Fooling... Aw, forget it.
  • BasBas
    edited December 2009
    Scrawffler wrote: »
    And actually, I think I got more out of it than I would have done if we'd just been given one long game.

    This. As painful as it is to admit, I just don't have the time anymore to pore over long games for months (alright, maybe it was just weeks, but it feels like it was months), but I still find it a waste to finish a new game in a week. Episodic games like these (as in, games that are a month in between, not 'episodic' games like Valve puts out that are years in between) are perfect, I finish each episode in a day or two, three, but the release schedule still makes it feel like I've spent half a year playing the new Monkey Island game.
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    Hyvä simpanssi!

    I agree totally with simpanssi except the multiple ways to go through the story thing.

    99.9% of games are released non-episodic so i dont see how can the episodic style of releasing a game be better!? But if its Telltales way to work i guess its alright. When the season ends its still a whole game with chapters like in the previous MI games.
    However, I still would like to see the next (I hope not last) MI game to be that non-episodic 40 hour (minimum :)) adventure game.



    OMG! Some of you guys have no sense of humor at ALL!
    Simpanssi was clearly just goofing around!
    But 98% of all games (probably) Aren't Point and click adventure games. Therefoe, P&C games can't be any better. I'm sure you will find a fair few people here that will disagree with that.
  • edited December 2009
    While I like multiple story paths, endings and puzzle solutions - if done right - it might be difficult to do in Monkey Island, since the story follows pretty closely on from one game to another. We're already struggling with continuity problems, and many fans refuse to accept parts of the story as "canon". Imagine if they'd have an alternative path where you could choose to leave Elaine and hook up with Morgan instead. Interesting, I'm sure, but in this case I think the continuity of the story is more important.
    Otis wrote: »
    OMG! Some of you guys have no sense of humor at ALL!
    Simpanssi was clearly just goofing around!

    There's been a lot of weird sayings about Morgan around the forums during the season, so it's difficult to tell sometimes. If you ask me, it's starting to get a bit old.
  • edited December 2009
    harald wrote: »
    While I like multiple story paths, endings and puzzle solutions - if done right - it might be difficult to do in Monkey Island, since the story follows pretty closely on from one game to another.

    We already had (minor) multiple endings to "Secret", depending on whether you save your crew or Herman. "Escape" claimed the latter ending was canon.

    I think of "King's Quest VI", my favorite game of all time, which had two main story paths (plus many minor variations). They all end in more-or-less the same place, but with a few VERY key differences that make it unsurprising that the franchise was abandoned before we ever got another Alexander-centric game.
  • edited December 2009
    You're right about Secret's different endings, but in Escape it was obviously just for laughs. It doesn't affect the main storyline. I hadn't even seen the ending with the stranded crew before I played Escape, and that conversation with Otis and Carla was the reason I looked it up on the internet.

    I don't remember any problems with different endings in KQ6 - it was still a happy end, whether you
    save Alex's parents or not
    . But now that you mention it: In one of my favourite games, the Pandora Directive, there are seven different endings (I think three majorly different ones). One is happier than the others, but they are all still proper conclusions to the story. And in the following game (Overseer) I think they just went on from the happy ending, pretending the other ones couldn't happen. So yeah, basically it seems to just cause problems if you put these in a game that later gets a sequel. And I definitely don't think it's something Telltale should aim for, seeing how their schedule seems tight enough as it is.
  • edited December 2009
    Leisure Suit Guybrush - i like it
  • edited December 2009
    Tales is LOOOONG, and Tales is a new MI game.
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    99.9% of games are released non-episodic so i dont see how can the episodic style of releasing a game be better!?

    Bloody hell you're right! Ideas like "episodic gaming" are far too unique, original, and non-standard compared to mainstream gaming to be good. In fact, any ideas which deviate from the mainstream are to be avoided like the plague. In a perfect world everything would be exactly the same; nothing would be any different from anything else. That would be for the best. What's with these jokers thinking that anything non-standard could ever be "better"?

    [/sarcasm]
  • edited December 2009
    Tales is LOOOONG, and Tales is a new MI game.

    Tales is not
    LOOOONG

    Tales is without a doubt the shortest MI game yet. I know that it might be because of some time and/or money related issues. ( one reason that there is so little time is that they have to release a new episode monthly?? )
    Bloody hell you're right! Ideas like "episodic gaming" are far too unique, original, and non-standard compared to mainstream gaming to be good. In fact, any ideas which deviate from the mainstream are to be avoided like the plague. In a perfect world everything would be exactly the same; nothing would be any different from anything else. That would be for the best. What's with these jokers thinking that anything non-standard could ever be "better"?

    [/sarcasm]
    If episodic style is better, dont you think other companies, the rest 99.9% would release their games episodic also?
    (I think these episodic games are great, although i prefer longer non-episodic games.)

    What you are trying to say here is that, if the next MI game would be released all at once, you wouldnt give a shit?

    "Oh my! It would be sooo mainstream. If its not unique, not original and not non-standard, I dont like it"

    If the next game, for some reason will be non-episodic, you guys really think its for the worse?

    [/no sarcasm]
  • edited December 2009
    Epically long, fully qualified post complete with referencing and examples has failed. So, long story short, Tales of Monkey Island is not the shortest MI game to date, The Secret of Monkey Island™ is.

    Oh and also I never said that the episodic format is better but that doesn't make it inherently worse either. It doesn't honestly affect the gameplay that drastically. The first four games were already split into parts. The only difference is now you have to launch each part individually from each other. Oh no, that completely and totally makes the game so horribly, terribly different...oh wait, no it doesn't.
  • edited December 2009
    Each episode is about 3-4 hours long.. theres 5 eps so it's almost 30 hours thats a long game. If your first time through.
  • edited December 2009
    Icedhope wrote: »
    Each episode is about 3-4 hours long.. theres 5 eps so it's almost 30 hours thats a long game.
    Is that "almost 30 hours" for very large values of "15-20 hours"? ;)
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    Tales is without a doubt the shortest MI game yet.

    Except for EfMI. "Monkey Kombat!" (quit)
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    If episodic style is better, dont you think other companies, the rest 99.9% would release their games episodic also?

    Comparing what one company does to what most other companies do isn't exactly a good defense, especially if the company doing something different is successfully pulling off their sales and attention-seeking with their format. But I don't think anyone is specifically arguing that the episodic release is "better" than a single long release, just that they prefer it for this type of game. I believe both kinds of releases have their major pros and cons, anyway.

    I'm sure there is a reason for why this specific company goes for the episodic format. I don't know what it is, but it could be anything from how their budget or deadlines work, so keeping everyone interested via monthly releases might be the best strategy for getting their sales or something.

    Personally, I like the episodic format. It makes the game feel a lot longer and keeps me interested for a very long time. I like to be able to anticipate and discuss the next release. That's one of the things that LeChuck's Revenge and Curse didn't have, as much as I liked them better than Tales; I feel as if they went by too quickly.
  • edited December 2009
    Just say no to non-episodic adventure games.
  • edited December 2009
    I wouldn't say "no" so much as I'd say "not this time maybe later." I'd like a good long adventure game again someday. I haven't heard flattering things about A Vampyre Story and I have never seen it on any store shelves either, otherwise I'd have bought it by now.
  • edited December 2009
    Epically long, fully qualified post complete with referencing and examples has failed. So, long story short, Tales of Monkey Island is not the shortest MI game to date, The Secret of Monkey Island™ is.

    You cant be serious!? You really pull some SMI speedrun link into this?! Of course when someone knows every move of the game and has practised completing the game asap. its not the same thing as playing the ToMI eps. first time after another.
    Atleast it takes me way over 10 hours to recomplete SMI if I dont remember all the puzzles that well.
    Icedhope wrote: »
    Each episode is about 3-4 hours long.. theres 5 eps so it's almost 30 hours thats a long game. If your first time through.

    It took me usually about 2 hours + 30min max. to complete each episode in the first time so the the game was around 10 hours to me and that IS short.
  • edited December 2009
    I very much liked the episodic format. I do not have lots of time to play video games, so I was busy for a week or two with each episode. Then I had another two weeks to look forward to the next one, which was almost as much fun as playing. It was great :).
  • edited December 2009
    simpanssi wrote: »
    able to have sex with Morgan? :D

    Cue "Hot Grog" jokes.

    I actually think the episodic format is much better for games like Monkey Island! Breaking the story into episodes gave you more time to think about what you just saw, and actually made me grow more and more attached to the characters than I would have if Tales had been one long slog. I thought and cared about the story much more than I would have otherwise!
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    You cant be serious!? You really pull some SMI speedrun link into this?! Of course when someone knows every move of the game and has practised completing the game asap. its not the same thing as playing the ToMI eps. first time after another.
    Atleast it takes me way over 10 hours to recomplete SMI if I dont remember all the puzzles that well.



    It took me usually about 2 hours + 30min max. to complete each episode in the first time so the the game was around 10 hours to me and that IS short.

    phoenix-wright-objection.jpg

    If each episode takes about 2:30 episodes max, that's 12 hours and 30 minutes. Also, it didn't take me that short of a time. It took me about 4-5 hours per episode. That's 25 hours total for me. If you know everything in SoMI and try to rush through it, it's about 4 hours, telling by my save file in SoMI:SE for iPhone and iPod Touch. And if you rush through an episode of ToMI (or any other Telltale game), it's about 2 hours, which makes each Telltale episode half a length of SoMI.

    So there. :p
  • jmmjmm
    edited December 2009
    5,002 points for Iron Curtain

    5,000 points for effective use of the "Objection" pict
    0,002 points for the argument :)
  • edited December 2009

    If each episode takes about 2:30 episodes max, that's 12 hours and 30 minutes. Also, it didn't take me that short of a time. It took me about 4-5 hours per episode. That's 25 hours total for me. If you know everything in SoMI and try to rush through it, it's about 4 hours, telling by my save file in SoMI:SE for iPhone and iPod Touch. And if you rush through an episode of ToMI (or any other Telltale game), it's about 2 hours, which makes each Telltale episode half a length of SoMI.

    So there. :p

    max. 2:30 doesnt mean every episode takes me 2:30. For example the first one took me 1:45 and after practising it few times I managed to rush it in 30 min (know everything, skip all the texts and vids)
    However, the structure of SMI and ToMI is completely different so if u really practise speedrunning SMI, it can actually be completed a lot faster than the whole ToMI season. But I think that a huge part of the gaming value of a game is in the first completion, not in speedrunning.

    But, not to get all too distracted from the topic, My answer is yes to creating a new long monkey island game, although the episodes werent too bad either.
  • edited December 2009
    If you actually go through each episode slowly and listen to all the dialogue and explore different objects (which I don't know why you wouldn't, it's half the fun of an adventure game), you'll easily get to 20 hours between all 5 episodes. I think $35 for a 20 hour game is more than reasonable.

    I think if you were to count how many separate puzzles are in each MI game, TMI wouldn't be far behind, if at all. I think MI1 is probably the shortest game in the series, actually.
  • edited December 2009
    Otis wrote: »
    You cant be serious!? You really pull some SMI speedrun link into this?! Of course when someone knows every move of the game and has practised completing the game asap. its not the same thing as playing the ToMI eps. first time after another.
    Atleast it takes me way over 10 hours to recomplete SMI if I dont remember all the puzzles that well.

    Well seeing as I've been playing the game since I was a kid I have every single move necessary to completion pretty well memorized. It's not like it's even difficult. There's honestly not that much that needs to be done.

    Even if someone memorized all the puzzles in ToMI, skipped all skippable cutscenes, stopped the timer for every loading screen and loading up the next chapter...there is absolutely no way it is possible to beat the game in under an hour. Period.

    So yeah, I'm serious. I pulled a speed run into it. If you want to compare the length of the games, let's compare the ACTUAL length of the games instead of your perceived length of the games. Just because the game might feel shorter to you does not mean that it is shorter.
    Otis wrote: »
    It took me usually about 2 hours + 30min max. to complete each episode in the first time so the the game was around 10 hours to me and that IS short

    Again this falls back to your perception vs. reality. Okay so you can work your way through the episodes pretty quickly. That's nice. But it's still not under an hour.

    By your own logic SoMI was a short game. Comparing the actual length of the games, SoMI was the shortest MI game to date. I also thoroughly enjoy the way that you contest the fact that I linked to a speedrun and then in your next post turned around and started going on about how fast you can beat LotSN.

    A point that I touched on in the aforementioned epic post that failed is that even if we compare the locations in the games, ToMI actually has more plotline-relevant locations that SoMI did. I understand SoMI had some very large locations, but much of it was dead space or just completely irrelevant to the actual game. Yes, this produces an atmosphere to the game. I understand that. But large islands full of empty space is not the only way to produce atmosphere.

    ToMI actually focuses less on filler areas and more on locations that actually matter. Of course arguably these filler areas can make the game last longer (to the unbeknownst player) because you have a bunch of red herring areas to explore, but that doesn't make the actual game longer. Once you've familiarized yourself with the game, unless you're intentionally going back to get the "full" experience, there's no reason to even revisit these locations. In my speedrun quite a few of the areas in the game are completely skipped over for this exact reason.

    Besides, the question at hand here isn't whether ToMI was of higher quality, the question being brought forth was the length of the game vs. the original four. Even if we take a look simply at an outline of the plot ToMI is a lot longer and more intricate than SoMI was. There is a lot more to be done in ToMI than in SoMI. This contributes to the actual length of the game. There are more steps to completing ToMI and each of those steps takes time to complete.

    As has been said though, I honestly don't think anybody is arguing that the episodic format is BETTER than the single game format. Again, just like from my last post:
    Oh and also I never said that the episodic format is better but that doesn't make it inherently worse either. It doesn't honestly affect the gameplay that drastically. The first four games were already split into parts. The only difference is now you have to launch each part individually from each other. Oh no, that completely and totally makes the game so horribly, terribly different...oh wait, no it doesn't.

    So (to me at least), make a single game, make episodic games, it makes no difference. As long as it gets made. I'm not demanding it right away though of course. Just don't leave us hanging for 10 years till we get our next Guybrush fix. :D
  • edited December 2009
    I can be wrong about this one, but I believe episodic adventure games have more puzzles by comparison. Because each episode has a quota of puzzles and that must be determined better than a whole game. Tales can be shorter, but I think it's because the puzzles are fairly easier than the first two games of the franchise. A player who knows all the puzzles and skips all the dialouges ("who does a speedrun" is also fine) can complete The Secret of Monkey Island faster than Tales because Secret has less but harder puzzles.
  • edited December 2009
    I'm not entirely sure I agree that all of the puzzles in SoMI were (even on average) more difficult than the puzzles in ToMI (again, on average). When it comes to puzzles this is very much a personal experience. What one person perceives as an "easy" puzzle could actually be the most difficult puzzle in the game for another person. Even if the two people are of similar intelligence the thought processes involved can still be very different.

    I wanted to clarify something though and this also ties in nicely, which is regarding the actual length of the games versus the perceived length, this can also be very much a personal experience. Obviously Otis perceived ToMI to be very short in comparison to the four prior MI games. Myself on the other hand, I perceived ToMI to be of pretty decent length in all respects. Perhaps not as long as say CoMI, but still longer (perceptually) than SoMI.

    Each person's perception of how long the game is will likely be massively impacting to their opinion of how it ranks up in comparison to other games (both the rest of the MI series and just other games in general), but to get an unbiased opinion on the matter one also has to take into account the actual length as well. Which is why I feel that it's important to point out that whatever any individual may perceive about ToMI, it is not actually the shortest MI game to date. :D Just to be a little more clear on that.
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