Q&A With the Team

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Comments

  • edited June 2009
    Actually, too many "joyful"-looking daytime scenes was one of the many reasons I didn't like EMI. In fact if I look back, I have a lingering impression of the entire setting being barren, bland, and dry daylit scenes with zero atmosphere. (As I've said before, jokes are important, but atmosphere needs to be there as well otherwise the entire thing feels disposable).

    Of course I'm not judging TMI by the few screenshots that have been released -- way to early for that. I'm just hoping those screenshots don't represent the tone of the entire game though. ***Edit*** Not that the current tone is bad (I just watched some gameplay footage from E3 and it's looking very Monkey Island-y) -- just saying I hope we get some nightlife is all.


    oh yes... the dark atmosphere in parts of the first and second monkey island game was great, so we hope to see many nightlife-locations in tales of mi !!!


    on other places you wrote that the downloadable episodes don`t have
    audiolines in other languages (german...) - but i hope a german underline
    and menue (like actually w&g series) was in there ???
  • edited June 2009
    bizarro wrote: »
    5) What chapter and game should i download from my free episode option, since i preordered?

    If you don't own the Sam & Max games my favourite is "Reality 2.0", although as a Season 1 episode it has a weak version of the engine.

    If you have a wide-screen my number two pick would be "Night of the Raving Dead".

    If you own S&M my favourite Strong Bad episode is "Dangeresque 3", but I think that might also be a free episode—I have two copies for some reason—in which case I'd recommend "8-Bit is Enough" because its ending is Epic.
  • edited June 2009
    K, just wanted to say biiig thanks.
  • edited June 2009
    You guys are gods, that's it, nothing less. You're gods.

    So, will this have a season 2?

    (Sorry if this has been asked before, I just can't be bothered to flick through 19 pages XD)
  • edited June 2009
    Zomantic wrote: »
    Never thought about that, but it does make a lot of sense. Guybrush's world as issued by his desires, by his dreams... Mulholland Drive, anyone? (I remember with pleasure that article in The Scumm Bar where MI2 was described as having a slight David Lynch touch.)

    I recall something Bill Watterson (the cartoonist behind Calvin and Hobbes) said. Everyone tries to give a rational explanation about Hobbes' life: he's not real, he's real only in Calvin's imagination. Watterson gave a different explanation, much deeper:
    "When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I'm juxtaposing the "grown-up" version of reality with Calvin's version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer."
    Which is a perfect way to accept both the ending of Monkey 2 AND whatever Monkey Island story anyone can come up with afterwards. :D
  • edited June 2009
    Diduz wrote: »
    "When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I'm juxtaposing the "grown-up" version of reality with Calvin's version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer."

    There's Guybrush's vision of reality, then there's everyone else's? I like it.
  • edited June 2009
    Just skimmed through those 19 pages and stopped only at a telltale logo, so I don't know if anybody already asked:
    Will there be a gimmick like the song "The Pirate I Was Meant to Be" in CMI?

    And, of course, kudos to you for taking that quest - er - treasure hunt! Maybe you discover the real Secret of Monkey Island (TM) by yourselves after finishing season 3. ;-)
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    LuigiHann wrote: »
    This is not a question: Stan needs to be in the game. You can keep it a surprise if you want, but he'd better appear in at least one episode, because really, he and the Voodoo Lady are the only non-main characters to appear in each game so far, and he deserves to maintain that status as much as she does.

    I'd say Stan is the funnier of the two, really.

    Has there been a Monkey Island game without Stan?
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    Has there been a Monkey Island game without Stan?

    Not yet there hasn't :D

    Glad to see we're on the same page ;)
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    It's a near certainty that the game will be localized into other languages eventually, but the release on July 7th will be English language only (though anyone in the world can buy it of course!).

    Ok, that sounds fine to me. But how will this work exactly then? Will the localized versions be on the DVD then or will there be an update for download to get the other languages later? Or will I have to buy another version if I want to get the localized version later?

    PS: Thanks for the very fast reply... ;)
  • edited June 2009
    Stan needs to be in the game pretty much, also if you could make the textures in his coat not mode when his hands are moving that'd be great.

    And yeah Stan has appeared in all 4 Monkey Islands. Stan, the Voodoo Lady and Herman Toothrot appeared in every Monkey Island game.
  • edited June 2009
    Herman Toothrot did not appear in CMI (Unless you count the animatronic version in the rollercoaster)
  • edited June 2009
    Well, Toothrot's only in CMI animatronically.

    This might be bordering on the spoilerish, but will we actually visit Monkey Island at some point during the series?

    (Hey, it's not a complete gimme... Didn't go there in MI2. Well, technically, I guess Guybrush was on Monkey Island when he emerged from the tunnels, as retconned by CMI, but still.)

    ETA: Damnit, someone beat me to the Herman thing.

    E(again)TA: proper grammar.
  • edited June 2009
    I would say visiting Monkey Island eventually in the game is almost a sure thing.

    And I hope they emphatize the mystic quality of the place ( a thing I thought they did quite well in parts of EFMI), being this unique island were all sorts of crazy stuff happens (just getting there requires all sorts of mumbo jumbo) and where a gateway to the netherworld is located.
  • edited June 2009
    I can never thank you enough for bringing back MI. I've just been diagnosed with cancer, and this news is the first thing that's made me smile all week. Now I have a reason to put up with chemo!!!

    One question and one question only: What would it take to get Earl Boen back as LeChuck?
  • edited June 2009
    Not a question, just a big THANK YOU to the gang for bringing MI back to life. It'll wash the bad taste of Pirates of the Caribbean out of my mouth.

    Now, a plea: PLEASE make the game playable with the mouse solely, as an option at least. I'm disabled, and using a keyboard isn't an option. (The screen keyboard doesn't send the codes to signal that a key is depressed, only upon release.) So that's another vote for point-n-click.
  • edited June 2009
    Are there any indoor or nighttime locations in TMI?
  • edited June 2009
    Is Michael Land working with Jared on this, or is it just his show?
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    |nephron| wrote: »
    Ok, that sounds fine to me. But how will this work exactly then? Will the localized versions be on the DVD then or will there be an update for download to get the other languages later? Or will I have to buy another version if I want to get the localized version later?

    PS: Thanks for the very fast reply... ;)

    I can't answer that because I honestly don't know at all. Localization has been handled differently with almost every product we've done.
    Is Michael Land working with Jared on this, or is it just his show?

    As of now it's all Michael Land. Jared's keeping busy full time doing the music for Wallace & Gromit episodes 3 and 4, and I think he'll be busy scoring something that rhymes with schmam and schmax schmeasson schmee, but who knows if he'll come in on the assist as we get further down the road.
  • edited June 2009
    Ry Guy wrote: »
    Well, we took into account the way people responded to the previous looks of Guybrush. Most people really dug his blue jacket and look from 2. Many people didn't like the tall lanky version from 3, but we still wanted to stylize and have it feel like Guybrush. His real personality, for me, came out when he finally had a spoken voice. We also wanted to have him seem older because this is essentially after MI5. He just came across as creepy with a beard. I had fun drawing him regardless the way he looks. I have a sheet of old Guybrush drawings laying around here I'll see about posting. Once Guybrush was designed, he served as something to gauge everyone else off of (i.e. Elaine compliments his shape)


    Another question directed to nobody in particular... but, Why did you guys choose to make it MI6 (for all intents and purposes) why did you skip 5?

    I have a snarky suspicion lucas had something to do with it..... eh?
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    That's really just a joke. It took hold far more strongly than anyone had expected it to. Some time has passed between Escape from Monkey Island and Tales of Monkey Island, but that's it really :) Well, Tales does open with the finale to an adventure we'll never see, but it sets many things in motion which are important in this game... sorta like the beginning of a Bond movie, or Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • edited June 2009
    KB57 wrote: »
    I can never thank you enough for bringing back MI. I've just been diagnosed with cancer, and this news is the first thing that's made me smile all week. Now I have a reason to put up with chemo!!!

    I wish you all the best with the chemo. I'm sure the writers are going to bring us something special with MI.
  • edited June 2009
    You guys are awesome, I'm a die-hard MI fan, Telltale brought back Sam and Max, and now this! You guys are amazing. What's next a new Space Quest? (please say yes).
  • edited June 2009
    I hope the humour and dialogues will be strong, as I'm kinda still in love with the MI3 graphics :)
    At least it's Mr. Armato's voice again ^.^
  • edited June 2009
    Any plans to support Novint Falcon?
  • edited June 2009
    Jayel wrote: »
    Any plans to support Novint Falcon?

    It doesn't seem like it would be a game to support something like that.
  • edited June 2009
    Here's a little something to chew on: The title of the first episode is NOT "It's the End of LeChuck as We Know It (And I Feel Sick)", but mostly because R.E.M. really isn't all that pirate-y.

    Oooh, that does give me a really horrible idea though :)
    Stemmle
    Please tell Jared Emerson-Johnson to make a song of this. Pleeeeeease.
  • Ry GuyRy Guy Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Are there any indoor or nighttime locations in TMI?

    You bet! Just wait and see what can be dark and spooky and smell of corn chowder.
  • edited June 2009
    Just got another question in mind. How long will it take me approximately to get through one of the episodes? (just want to know, how long I'll have fun each month... ;))
    And will there be 2 difficultys? Just as back in the days of MI3?
  • edited June 2009
    |nephron| wrote: »
    Just got another question in mind. How long will it take me approximately to get through one of the episodes? (just want to know, how long I'll have fun each month... ;))
    And will there be 2 difficultys? Just as back in the days of MI3?
    already answered

    My deep deep deep deep calculations said 4 - 8 hours said

    but in a website they said 2 - 4 hours

    i just hope im right :)
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    hamzie wrote: »
    already answered

    My deep deep deep deep calculations said 4 - 8 hours said

    but in a website they said 2 - 4 hours

    i just hope im right :)

    Probably somewhere in-between.
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    That's really just a joke. It took hold far more strongly than anyone had expected it to.

    Haha, seriously. The internet always amazes me like that. People are already speculating about you making this big, epic Monkey Island 5 if this one is succesfull. This could become bigger than the (kind of weird, imo) hype around what the secret actually is.

    I have another question for the devs, actually. Since Sam & Max Season 2, there has been a development structure at Telltale where there's a different lead designer for every episode. Considering the fact that the overarching story is much more important now, how has this process been changed?
  • edited June 2009
    and I think [Jared]'ll be busy scoring something that rhymes with schmam and schmax schmeasson schmee, but who knows if he'll come in on the assist as we get further down the road.

    Ooh, bonus! Tacit confirmation of Sam & Max Season 3 being visible on the horizon. I must admit that I haven't frequented that part of the forum, so, is this news? I mean, I don't think there was much doubt that there was going to be a season 3, but this makes it sound like it's very much in the pipeline right now, in a way where development would overlap with the later episodes of TMI. Maybe even a late 2009 premiere?

    Or am I reading to much into things here?
  • edited June 2009
    KB57 wrote: »
    I can never thank you enough for bringing back MI. I've just been diagnosed with cancer, and this news is the first thing that's made me smile all week. Now I have a reason to put up with chemo!!!

    I wish you good luck, pal. Be strong.
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    As of now it's all Michael Land. Jared's keeping busy full time doing the music for Wallace & Gromit episodes 3 and 4, and I think he'll be busy scoring something that rhymes with schmam and schmax schmeasson schmee, but who knows if he'll come in on the assist as we get further down the road.
    Might be the perfect opportunity to have Michael on as a "guest composer" for some tracks on the S&M3 score... reviving some of his themes from "Hit the Road" ;)
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    Probably somewhere in-between.

    More on the Sam&Max side (~5 hours) or on the W&G side (less than 3)? Please, be honest about it, Telltale! No more "beefy", disappointing promises... :(
    Jake wrote: »
    That's really just a joke. It took hold far more strongly than anyone had expected it to. Some time has passed between Escape from Monkey Island and Tales of Monkey Island, but that's it really :) Well, Tales does open with the finale to an adventure we'll never see, but it sets many things in motion which are important in this game... sorta like the beginning of a Bond movie, or Raiders of the Lost Ark.

    I've never thought of it as a guarantee for a MI5 to be made; nevertheless, considered what the rest of the team stated here and elsewhere, I find that calling it a simple "joke" may be excessive. It's a good way to prevent wacky fans reactions, and a great storytelling device to kick in this epic - yet, somewhat - in a true Monkey Island fashion - minor, series of adventures.

    About the music, a theme that I'd really love to see back is the love tune from SoMI and LeChuck's Revenge...
  • edited June 2009
    I'd like to know, do you guys think the complete season will measure up to the size / difficuly / epic nature of the previous games?

    Or do you see TFMI as like a TV spin off to a movie franchise?

    I suspect the latter, but no complaints form me!
  • edited June 2009
    Will there be any plot or dialogue reffers to previous game?:)
  • edited June 2009
    Have you ever thought of doing those episodic games over DSiWare or any other portable handheld devices, even iPhone? I'm sure Monkey Island or even Sam & Max and Wallace & Grommit could be really interesting on those platforms.
  • edited June 2009
    I just see the Monkey Island 5 business as being along the same lines as 'Insert disc #23', or for anyone that saw it, like the very similar jokes in the most Red Dwarf special about the none existent seasons 9 and 10.

    That some people are no doubt going to think they really missed a game, is already making me chuckle.
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