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Q&A With the Team

JakeJake Telltale Alumni
edited July 2009 in Private Pirates Club
Welcome to the secret forum! As a thank you for pre-ordering, we've created this little backstage area where you can hang out with the development team, keep an eye on the development of Tales of Monkey Island, and hopefully get your hands on things before we go wide with them to the public.

First off, though, let's start a Q&A thread!

Any questions you've got for the development team, ask 'em here!
We'll try to dogpile this thread with high quality facts and higher quality lies conversation!
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Comments

  • adg1034adg1034
    edited June 2009
    My blind fanaticism for the MI series has me foaming at the mouth right now, but my (much smaller) saner side is having nightmarish flashbacks to Escape from Monkey Island. I don't know- maybe it's just the art style. (And Guybrush with a beard? Really?)

    But all of that is irrelevant. Telltale (and Lucasarts, grudgingly), I now love you for even more forever than I did previously. Now don't screw this up.
  • ErwinErwin
    edited June 2009
    The only thing I'm wondering at the moment is how on earth you managed to keep this quiet for so long.
  • BaggeBagge
    edited June 2009
    Holy cripes on toast! This was huge news. I'm still grinning, even though it's been a couple of hours since I found out about Tales of Monkey Island.

    I have some questions for the dev team:

    1: Will you be using a mouse-based (aka. Sam & Max) interface or a keyboard/gamepad-based interfaced (aka. W&G) for the PC version of TMI?

    2: Are we going to visit any familiar islands from the other games, or will TMI feature all new locations?

    3: How will TMI deal with some of the controversies from EMI (such as Herman being Elaine's father and the stone monkey head on Monkey Island being a huge robot)? Will this be treated as canon, or will you silently ignore these things?


    Thanks!
  • NojhNojh
    edited June 2009
    I've liked every Monkey Island game that has come out although LeChuck's Revenge still holds the title rank, likely because it was the first I played. Each game was true to the spirit and had its own quirks as well and I have faith all of you (given who you are) know exactly how to proceed with this (and already have, if the trailer is any indication).

    So let the questions begin!

    General
    1. Who talked to who first? TellTale or Lucas Arts?
    2. How did you guys manage to not tell anybody about this for so long? Really?
    3. How much input does Lucas Arts have vs Tell Tale and any other 3rd parties involved in the series? In areas of story, game play, music and concept art design. Is this is TellTale production with Lucas Art's permission, or a Lucas Arts production with TellTale's programming and distribution?
    4. What are you allowed to tell us about Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition?

    Developer Specific
    1. So how many of the past games have you played? (Time to prove your cred!)
    2. Which was your favorite Monkey Island game (if applicable) or favorite adventure game that you haven't worked on?

    Umm... when I think of more I'll post.

    Nojh
  • Scar TrekScar Trek
    edited June 2009
    Is that Jake Rodkin from Idle Thumbs? Best podcast ever, this thread should be full of hot scoops so we ought to lay down some tarp, but I digress.

    My first on-topic question is, can you promise us no godawful minigames akin to Monkey Kombat?

    Second, are you angling to make games based on any other beloved old Lucasarts properties? I'm sure you can't say much more than yes or no, but it would be enough to instill hope in the shrivelled, blackened hearts of early 90s computer gamers everywhere.

    Third, unlike Sam & Max which was a single game, Monkey Island has a bit of a heritage. Are you going to be bringing back a lot of recurring characters and locales, or aiming more towards a fresh experience?

    Finally, have you made sure everyone in the office has suffered Monkey Island 4 and understood just what the hell went wrong?
  • KilianValkhofKilianValkhof
    edited June 2009
    Awesome! You've used MI 3's tune as the music for the trailer, am I right? I have it as my ring tone :D

    Also: favorite line from the series?
  • talon2000uktalon2000uk
    edited June 2009
    I also really want to know about the control system, not a big fan of the Wallace and Gromit one. To Xboxified in my opinion. :D
  • jannar85jannar85
    edited June 2009
    When does this episodic series take place? Is it after the 4th game? Or somewhere in the middle?
  • LuigiHannLuigiHann
    edited June 2009
    July 7th? Announced barely a month from release? Am I allowed to say "You crafty bastards" here? If not, feel free to censor that.

    Also, if I'm interpreting the screens and concept art right, it looks like their pirate ship will become a "hub area," which is a pretty clever solution for combining a swashbuckling adventure with a grounded episodic feel. Very nice.

    I'm happy Dominic is there, but did you get Earl Boen as well? I thought he had retired, but it looks like he retired from screen acting in favor of... game and cartoon voice-overs. So no excuses there :p I suppose the fact that I can't tell from the trailer means it ultimately doesn't matter, but still, Dr. Silberman demands respect.

    When does this take place within the series? Almost looks like you're going for something between 2 and 3, which would be odd but could work...
  • adurdinadurdin
    edited June 2009
    Congratulations on developing the next Monkey Island games. I eagerly look forward to whatever advance information you can leak, although I have only one question:

    Do you have Dominic Armato doing the voice of Guybrush?
  • LaserschwertLaserschwert
    edited June 2009
    When are we going to hear some samples of Michael Land's work for the new series? I think the trailer just used music from 3 and 4, so I'm REALLY looking forward to get some new MI-music AT LAST. Furthermore, with you guys releasing soundtracks for all your game-series, this (hopefully) appears to be the first officially released "Monkey Island"-soundtrack, which makes me drooooooool...

    (Although today's double MI-news made me drool since then anyway...)
  • danstudanstu
    edited June 2009
    Thank you Telltale... This is the best E3 present ever. I preordered before I finished reading the announcement.
  • mikemaniamikemania
    edited June 2009
    Bagge wrote: »
    3: How will TMI deal with some of the controversies from EMI (such as Herman being Elaine's father and the stone monkey head on Monkey Island being a huge robot)? Will this be treated as canon, or will you silently ignore these things?

    Ooh, good question.

    Um... are we allowed to ask whether the Secret of Monkey Island will be revealed? :D
  • bookwo3107bookwo3107
    edited June 2009
    I'll skip the gushing and go straight to the questions. (this is of course, very difficult, as all I've been doing since I've read the announcement is gush)

    (1) Will the Wii see a disc release for the season like Sam & Max did? I've already pre-ordered for the PC (obviously) but I'd be willing to double-dip if I can get a disc for the Wii.

    (2) I know that this is something that's probably going to be laughed off since season one hasn't even began, but is there a chance for Season Two or is the license deal just for one season?

    (3) Will each individual episode function like the Sam & Max seasons where each episode is relatively self-sufficient but works together to form an overarching story, or like the individual chapters in the Monkey Island games where each chapter needs the one before it to inform what is happening in it?
  • figmentPezfigmentPez
    edited June 2009
    Is Murray (the demonic skull) going to make an appearance?
  • WintherWinther
    edited June 2009
    I'm sorry, just, right up front, I need to let this out:

    OMGOMGZOMGOMFGWTFHOLYCRUD!!!111!!1!!1!! (And I usually NEVER use internet acronyms...)

    Right. Questions... questions... I realize that in the coming months you'll probably be sick of various "Will we be seeing such-and-such make a return from the previous games"-questions, but I just have one, really.

    Insult swordfighting, yes?

    ...

    OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG---
  • fhqwhgadsfhqwhgads
    edited June 2009
    OK, why don't you guys just take ALL my money, and then you can just send me whatever you release in the future upfront. Really. No need to convince me anymore.
  • DoubtedEdwardoDoubtedEdwardo
    edited June 2009
    I just want to know if these games will contain the Ron Gilbert-endorsed Secret of Monkey Island(tm)!
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    DoubtedEdwardo wrote: »
    I just want to know if these games will contain the Ron Gilbert-endorsed Secret of Monkey Island(tm)!

    Though they might be Ron Gilbert-endorsed, they won't contain the Secret of Monkey Island. Unless we put it in by accident. :) There's going to be some good stuff in here, though, for people who have been following these characters for all this time.
  • DoubtedEdwardoDoubtedEdwardo
    edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    ...we put it in...
    Oh really? CONCLUSIONS HAVE BEEN JUMPED TO!
  • UttarUttar
    edited June 2009
    Putting it in by accident, heh? Are you suggesting you'll hide it somewhere we could find it by a hex editor, or are you just trying to get people to waste the rest of their life on that? :)

    Also, congratulations and thanks a lot for the hard work! I've only got one real question: can you reveal whether you got the license for only one game, or did you purchase it in advance for multiple ones? ;)
  • mighty_piratemighty_pirate
    edited June 2009
    You and Lucas Arts made my day. Thank you for that. And by the way: I want an iPhone version (for everey MI part)! ;)
  • UdvarnokyUdvarnoky
    edited June 2009
    Erwin wrote: »
    The only thing I'm wondering at the moment is how on earth you managed to keep this quiet for so long.

    This. You guys have clearly been working on this for awhile, and the first episode is out in July. How did Tales of MI manage to be the best kept secret in the industry?
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Udvarnoky wrote: »
    This. You guys have clearly been working on this for awhile, and the first episode is out in July. How did Tales of MI manage to be the best kept secret in the industry?

    It turns out that a surprising number of people seemed to know about it, but everyone was into the idea of keeping it a secret, so they did. It's pretty cool to be able to announce a new Monkey Island game which will start coming out in only ~36 days.
  • BaggeBagge
    edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    It turns out that a surprising number of people seemed to know about it, but everyone was into the idea of keeping it a secret, so they did. It's pretty cool to be able to announce a new Monkey Island game which will start coming out in only ~36 days.

    THAT's the secret of monkey island.
  • alldogshipalldogship
    edited June 2009
    Winther wrote: »
    I'm sorry, just, right up front, I need to let this out:

    OMGOMGZOMGOMFGWTFHOLYCRUD!!!111!!1!!1!! (And I usually NEVER use internet acronyms...)

    What he said.

    Anyway, is the control style of this one be like the old Sam & Max or the new Wallace & Gromit? I'm not a big fan of the new WASD control style but it's not like I won't buy the game or anything (proof, I'm here already).
  • NojhNojh
    edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    It turns out that a surprising number of people seemed to know about it, but everyone was into the idea of keeping it a secret, so they did. It's pretty cool to be able to announce a new Monkey Island game which will start coming out in only ~36 days.

    This is definitely a moment that needs a timer. Ya'll should consider putting a countdown timer on the website.
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Nojh wrote: »
    This is definitely a moment that needs a timer. Ya'll should consider putting a countdown timer on the website.

    Hopefully we will :)
  • BlackMageJBlackMageJ
    edited June 2009
    I know you've said you've got Ron Gilbert's input on the story, but did he contribute any plot ideas himself?

    Might we find out how he originally intended to resolve the cliffhanger at the end of MI2? Do you know?
  • taoataoa
    edited June 2009
    I have a couple of questions I'm pretty sure I won't have an answer to ^^ no matter, I'm cheeky.

    1) Are you hiring programmers from overseas? I am one. I am toilet trained. And I'd like working on Monkey Island series, very much so. Or Sam & Max. Or anything you guys do, really.

    2) I've lost my previous job due to some dubious moves from Lucas Arts, as a publisher. Aren't you afraid of working with them, knowing they're very good at ending abruptly some very well going and sometimes massively big projects? (Yeah... I doubt I'll have an answer to that question, there might be journalists about)

    3) Will we have a bit of 320x200, 16 colours, full 2D moment in one of the episodes of the game? For old times sake?
    Or more simply, in this bit in The Curse Of Monkey Island, when Guybrush looks through a hole in the ceiling of a cave (or similar, fading memories you see...) and says "Whoa, you should see that, full realistic 3D". Now, in one of the new 3D episodes, we could see the 2D head of an old-style guybrush popping out of the ground saying that same thing again. A little wink to the old fan(rt)s.

    Cheers!
  • SeetherSeether
    edited June 2009
    First off, thanks for being apart of resurrecting a great franchise.

    1. How exciting was it the dev team to be handed the torch for this series and run with it?

    2. Is there a lot of "written down" lore and background history for the various characters, or is it more of a what you can be learned about them from their various game incarnations?
  • Capt_Jack_DoicyCapt_Jack_Doicy
    edited June 2009
    Is there gonna be any reference to the pirates of the Caribbean movies stealing Guybrush's act?
  • Capt_Jack_DoicyCapt_Jack_Doicy
    edited June 2009
    What characters are going to comeback? Stan, Murray, the Barbary coast singers?
  • stannumstannum
    edited June 2009
    I am looking forward to Stan. :D
  • oldbushieoldbushie
    edited June 2009
    Can I use my coupon for Texas Hold Em? I already bought every other game episode available, and Texas Hold Em is a similar price to episode prices...
  • karibukaribu
    edited June 2009
    My english beeing a bit rusty ^^, i would like to know if a french version (subtitles for example) is in your box.
    I hope, because language in MIs contains a lot of jokes which can be missed for non english-speakin people.
    Did you understand me ? :)
  • JeazJeaz
    edited June 2009
    I've been stuck with an old laptop over the weekend and for a day or two more still, so haven't been able to satisfy my gaming addiction at all but this made up for it well and beyond.

    This isn't just MI related, but:
    How "far away" are you from doing Mac versions? Is it even considered or is it something we might be seeing in the future? (Even if it's not this season of MI)
  • bearlikemousebearlikemouse
    edited June 2009
    My only question: Will Murray and Stan return?
  • OnCallDocOnCallDoc
    edited June 2009
    stannum wrote: »
    I am looking forward to Stan. :D

    Yeah, will Stan be in it?
    Most importantly, will Murray be in it? He's gotta be in it... Is it too much to hope for the same voice actor? Maybe he can literally phone it in.... I dunno.
  • HakkesshuHakkesshu
    edited June 2009
    I'm so happy! Jake, you and Telltale are completely effing awesome. Monkey Island is one of my all-time favorite franchises, and I was afraid we'd never see a new chapter. I couldn't have asked for a better team to handle it.

    This is so WIZARD

    I'm just curious as to what kind of voice acting talent you're looking for. I'm exceedingly glad you got Dominic Armato back, but what about the rest of the cast? Considering we've only had two voice-acted MI games (minus the remake), I'm not exactly clamoring for a return of everyone who worked on Curse/Escape, but the overall quality of the voicework in those games were absolutely stupendous. I don't suppose you could reveal some more of the cast?
This discussion has been closed.