Also, if the time taken to program that takes away from the time to program special DVD goodies, well, lets just say I've got a top team of pirate ichin' for a fight. And if that doesn't work
I'll send in the lawyers.
[/joking], just in case... you can never be sure on a forum
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
You are probably right there, Dave. The episodes may have these intro sequences before even showing the chapter screen; and combined, that would maybe look kinda goofy.
But just to look at the other side of this coin; The other MI games had some cliffhangers at the end of the chapters as well. The best example, I believe, is in CMI when Guybrush shipwrecks on Blood Island. That left the player with some suspense, and then.. the chapter IV screen came rolling.. I mean.. How great was that?!
I have to agree that wanting to play it as a big game all at once is the worst of both worlds. It's all the issues of shoving pieces not meant to click together into a single block without all the benefit of the pieces as individual parts of a story.
Dear Telltalers, now I have a question!
About the title »Tales of Monkey Island«.
Are these »Tales« adventures of/from/about the island or of the game »Monkey Island«? I was wondering, because the island itself made sense in every game-title.
Part 1: The Secret of Monkey Island was about the secret of Monkey Island.
Part 2: Monkey Island 2 was nothing about the island, therefor the main title was »LeChuck’s Revenge«.
Part 3: The Curse came from LeChuck, but you can see him metaphoric to the island, so »The Curse of Monkey Island« fits.
Part 4: And in the fourth game Guybrush has to escape from the island.
Probably the tales are just tales of the game Monkey Island, it makes sense in a way, because it’s episodic and from TellTale Games. But I was so happy when I finally found a question in my brain, so I had to ask!
Sorry if this question has been asked before, but i'm not in the mood the read 53 pages :-(
A FAQ in the first post would be great!?
So...
How will the game controls be like? Will they be like Sam & Max (completely controlled with mouse) or will they be like Wallace & Gromit (Keyboard & Mouse)??
I definitely prefer the first method, so which kind of control will TMI have?
Part 3: The Curse came from LeChuck, but you can see him metaphoric to the island, so »The Curse of Monkey Island« fits.
I'd say that this doesn't fit at all. But if you think LeChuck counts, then Tales of Monkey Island will count because there's LeChuck all over everything.
(Although if LeChuck counts, then why wasn't MI2 "Revenge of Monkey Island"?)
Simply clicking escape, (or backspace, or space, or ctrl+alt+del or whatever it takes to get rid of credits) and clicking on another icon will take all of about 30 seconds.
Actually on my compy it takes several minutes, for some reason it takes a loooong time for my games to show the Telltale window when they exit, during which the computer is extremely slow and already launching the next game would be suicide.
But I also don't think having the episodes separate is a problem.
I agree that having the episodes seperate is fine, or even prefered, but a launcher with a single icon would be nice to keep your desktop (or game folder) clean.
The mouse control scheme: There's a divide among PC adventure gamers between those that like W, A, S, D plus mouse and space bar and those that only want to use the mouse. Telltale has experience with both in their point-and-click adventures work—and a keyboard-only control scheme in Wallace and Grommet —but for Monkey Island, they're looking for a compromise. Right now, you can use the keyboard to move around, but you still need the mouse to click stuff and manipulate your inventory. The alternative is to click and hold the left mouse button to bring up a red direction arrow over Guybrush. Dragging the mouse in this mode will make Guybrush walk steadily in whatever direction the mouse is moving toward. It's still a bit twitchy, and it would be nice if you didn't have to hold the left button down; but there's still plenty of time for the development team to figure it out.
What kotaku describe doesn't seem to great to be honest, though I understand it's still a work in progress. Is there a problem with using the same style of control interface as CMI in 3D, as that seemed pretty much perfect. Conversely, I had a great deal of trouble with the interface in EMI.
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
This is a great reason for including individual chapters on the DVD, but not a good reason for not creating a "play all" type option. Most people playing the game on the DVD will have played the episodes already, since the DVD is released well after all the episodes have been released individually. Most of what you have said, no longer applies when you are playing the game (or watching the series) again as you already know how the situation will be resolved.
When replaying the game, watching the credits and "previously" bits can be tedious and repetitive when you just want to continue the story. The cliffhanger that has been presented at this moment, doesn't have the same effect, as you know how the situation is resolved. A ten second (plus any additional loading time that is required) chapter screen is a more reasonable way of adding a pause to break these two parts of the story.
I do understand that it is not as simple as "cut and paste" to create this option, and I will not complain if it costs too much time or money, but I still believe that there is great value in including this option.
If you wish to discourage people from using the "play all" type option, then add it as the last option in the launcher. You would be surprised at how well something as simple as this can influence peoples behaviour.
So, as the release draws near, I have to make sure... When exactly will the first episode be available for download? Since I'm in Australia, it will be quite a bit later for me, and I'd love to still actually be playing on July 7 and not have to wait until the next day due to the difference or something. I haven't gotten a Telltale game on release day before, so I don't really know how you do it. Are the releases at midnight, and in what time zone?
So, as the release draws near, I have to make sure... When exactly will the first episode be available for download? Since I'm in Australia, it will be quite a bit later for me, and I'd love to still actually be playing on July 7 and not have to wait until the next day due to the difference or something. I haven't gotten a Telltale game on release day before, so I don't really know how you do it. Are the releases at midnight, and in what time zone?
From what I've read about releases from TTGs, it's most likely going to be released at roughly 4am on July 8th for us (I imagine AEST).
When replaying the game, watching the credits and "previously" bits can be tedious and repetitive when you just want to continue the story. The cliffhanger that has been presented at this moment, doesn't have the same effect, as you know how the situation is resolved. A ten second (plus any additional loading time that is required) chapter screen is a more reasonable way of adding a pause to break these two parts of the story.
Yep, I totally agree. We all know and love episodic gaming as it is, but when all the chapters will be collected on a single disc their fruition will by necessity be different (whether you have played them previously or not). I hope Telltale will seriously consider adopting this feature for ToMI.
Dear Telltalers, now I have a question!
About the title »Tales of Monkey Island«.
Are these »Tales« adventures of/from/about the island or of the game »Monkey Island«? I was wondering, because the island itself made sense in every game-title.
Part 1: The Secret of Monkey Island was about the secret of Monkey Island.
Part 2: Monkey Island 2 was nothing about the island, therefor the main title was »LeChuck’s Revenge«.
Part 3: The Curse came from LeChuck, but you can see him metaphoric to the island, so »The Curse of Monkey Island« fits.
Part 4: And in the fourth game Guybrush has to escape from the island.
Probably the tales are just tales of the game Monkey Island, it makes sense in a way, because it’s episodic and from TellTale Games. But I was so happy when I finally found a question in my brain, so I had to ask!
It's definitely tales in the world of Monkey Island, not tales of the island itself (though that would be cool!). For me it's about trying to bring out all of the different swirling stories the series' characters have found themselves in, and see what happens when their lives and goals collide in new and interesting ways, against a pastiche of classic pirate and sea-type stories. Tales all 'round! I don't know how other people on the team see it, but as a fan of the legacy of Monkey Island and of good pirate stories in general, that's what interests me!
How will the game controls be like? Will they be like Sam & Max (completely controlled with mouse) or will they be like Wallace & Gromit (Keyboard & Mouse)??
I definitely prefer the first method, so which kind of control will TMI have?
As discussed in recent previews, there's a mouse-only option as well as keyboard and mouse. Both exist The mouse controls are a bit different than Sam & Max's but definitely brings back the relaxing "slouch back into your chair" comfortable controls you get from mouse-only. Final controls are still being tweaked and cleaned up, even as I write this, but cool stuff is afoot.
I've got a question for Dave Grossman (or anyone else could probably answer I guess)
In the Facebook Q&A he did, he said about LeChuck's voice actor being a she, and I took it as a joke, but then in this thread people seem a little confused.
As I have read in diffrent news outlet, the game is controlled with a mix of Keyboard and mouse (E3 build), Will the option to control the game with only the mouse (sam & max way), keyboard (Wallace and Gromit) and both be optional?
I would like it to be chosen in the options menu, however I know it's hard implementing the choices so late in the development. I would prefer only mouse, as I've stood by it since the 1990s (the year I was born)
As I have read in diffrent news outlet, the game is controlled with a mix of Keyboard and mouse (E3 build), Will the option to control the game with only the mouse (sam & max way), keyboard (Wallace and Gromit) and both be optional?
I would like it to be chosen in the options menu, however I know it's hard implementing the choices so late in the development. I would prefer only mouse, as I've stood by it since the 1990s (the year I was born)
You should read Jake's post one page back. I even quoted part of it at the top of this page.
From the post, we have Keyboard+Mouse and Just Mouse control. The Just Mouse control isn't Sam and Max. There's two ways to do mouse control, click and drag to walk and click to activate "Walk", drag the mouse without having to hold down the button, and then click to "Deactivate Walk".
You should read Jake's post one page back. I even quoted part of it at the top of this page.
From the post, we have Keyboard+Mouse and Just Mouse control. The Just Mouse control isn't Sam and Max. There's two ways to do mouse control, click and drag to walk and click to activate "Walk", drag the mouse without having to hold down the button, and then click to "Deactivate Walk".
Yeah, sorry. My excitement to finnaly getting the money to preorder the item and reading through all this stuff made me ask my question before checking if had been asked before (Can you really blame me? )
I would like to ask more general questions about the games industry, specifically getting into it.
First off, I would like to know if age is a major factor when considering a possible recruit for a games company. I ask because I'm currently a 2nd year university student in England (just finished my 2nd year actually) and if everything goes according to plan I will graduate when I'm around 30 (a small point to consider for myself is that if everything does go to plan I will have already have a year's experience in working at a games company before I graduate and if that doesn't happen I'll be graduating near my 29th birthday - of course there's always the possibility I'll fail my degree course but that's not an option I'm considering).
Secondly, what sort of skills does the average games company (I know there probably isn't any such thing as an average games company but that's the best description I can think of) look for in potential employees, specifically in programmers.
And finally are there any tips that anyone can give me about trying to get a placement position (I believe internship is the terminology used in America) for a year at a games company and what sort of programs I should look into developing in my final year at university which would be useful in getting myself full time employment as a games progammer (in the final year of the course I'm doing students are expected to create something which shows off their skills for their practical project which commands a fairly high percentage of their final grade in most cases).
I'd also like to apologise for the length of this post (I tend to ramble a bit when I'm uncertain I should do something) and I understand if my questions remain unanswered.
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath. Cool idea, though.
Will it help at all if I just wave my arms around saying "cool game designer?"
.....no. Really? It won't?
So I'm just sitting here at my computer flailing wildly and shouting at the screen for nothing? Bummer.
Here's a question that I don't recall it's been asked:
Does the title Tales of Monkey Island make any sense with the plot? It would obviously fit like a glove if the episodes were separate stories, but you've ruled this out.
That means either that somewhere in the game you come across some Tales about Monkey Island (and they are vital to the plot), or you just thought the name sounded cool and there are no significant tales whatsoever.
Each episode is supposed to have its own beginning and end. But more than their previous episodic games, they're working to make each "Tale" fit more into a large, epic story that makes sense rather than tying mostly separate stories together at the end(or, in the case of SBCG4AP, sort of partially linking a couple of them together a bit).
At least, that's the way I've always understood it.
The way I was looking at it is that the door is being left open for future seasons. Season 1 is a Tale of Monkey Island, then if there's a second season that's another Tale of Monkey Island, and so on.
I've said this before but it's useful to bear in mind that this approach to monkey island storytelling has been used before, in a less overt fashion:
in the Secret of Monkey Island, Part One is the story of how guybrush completes the three trials to become a pirate, with a cliffhanger at the end to lead us into the next part, and so on.
It's even clearer in Curse of Monkey Island - spoiler warning of course for anyone who hasn't played
In Part One it's the story of how guybrush reunites with elaine and lechuck, culminating in the marriage proposal which of course goes wrong, turning elaine into a statue.
Part Two is a classic monkey island map/ship/crew quest, ending in them setting sail for Blood Island
Part Three is all about getting the map back, culminating in the shipwreck on blood island
Part Four is the story of Blood Island and the quest for the ring, (and I've forgotten how that ends)
Part Five is the return to the carnival and the final defeat of LeChuck
So you can see how all of the sections tell their own story, completely seperate gameplay/location-wise but linked by the running plot of the cursed ring.
I expect Tales of Monkey Island will adopt a similar approach to storytelling, except that:
1) Each part will be of more consistent length
2) The individual story/theme of each part will be more overtly spelled out, as will the lead-in to the next part.
Apart from that, though, this is really what we're already used to.
I noticed you didn't mention a keyboard-only option a la Wallace and Gromit. Is that off the table for this game, then?
Monkey doesn't support keyboard only, I'm sorry to say for those who preferred that. The "what the character is looking at appears in the top corner of the screen where you can then use it or combine it with inventory" system built for W&G isn't in the Monkey codebase. That's one of those things that happens when you have projects with staggered/overlapping schedules. I imagine if the game ends up on XBLA we'll give that stuff a look again (don't quote me on that though as I'm just thinking out loud here), but the game on PC is keyboard/mouse hybrid or mouse only.
Here's a question that I don't recall it's been asked:
Does the title Tales of Monkey Island make any sense with the plot? It would obviously fit like a glove if the episodes were separate stories, but you've ruled this out.
That means either that somewhere in the game you come across some Tales about Monkey Island (and they are vital to the plot), or you just thought the name sounded cool and there are no significant tales whatsoever.
I did my best to answer this question (or at least my personal take on an answer) just one page back!
I noticed you didn't mention a keyboard-only option a la Wallace and Gromit. Is that off the table for this game, then?
According to Kotaku the developers used me and another guy here on the forum's combined effort to create a do-able mouse only control that still requires drive mechanics like WASD.
So I gotta say.... thanks for reading your forums.... and thanks for using my evolved Idea. I think more than one person on this forum will be happy... especially those with disabilities because there are a few.
Same question for the voodoo lady: In part 1 and 2 she had green eyes, now she has brown eyes in the new ones. I loved the magical atmosphere of the eyes, they fit so well in the dark room.
the game on PC is keyboard/mouse hybrid or mouse only.
That'd better be a sweet sweet mouse-only control scheme! I do not prefer keyboard over mouse, it's just that the hybrid solution in W&G was far too intricate for simple adventureing: if the newly designed mouse system works well and allows a smooth single-handed enjoyment of the game, well, count me in!
Comments
I'll send in the lawyers.
[/joking], just in case... you can never be sure on a forum
You are probably right there, Dave. The episodes may have these intro sequences before even showing the chapter screen; and combined, that would maybe look kinda goofy.
But just to look at the other side of this coin; The other MI games had some cliffhangers at the end of the chapters as well. The best example, I believe, is in CMI when Guybrush shipwrecks on Blood Island. That left the player with some suspense, and then.. the chapter IV screen came rolling.. I mean.. How great was that?!
About the title »Tales of Monkey Island«.
Are these »Tales« adventures of/from/about the island or of the game »Monkey Island«? I was wondering, because the island itself made sense in every game-title.
Part 1: The Secret of Monkey Island was about the secret of Monkey Island.
Part 2: Monkey Island 2 was nothing about the island, therefor the main title was »LeChuck’s Revenge«.
Part 3: The Curse came from LeChuck, but you can see him metaphoric to the island, so »The Curse of Monkey Island« fits.
Part 4: And in the fourth game Guybrush has to escape from the island.
Probably the tales are just tales of the game Monkey Island, it makes sense in a way, because it’s episodic and from TellTale Games. But I was so happy when I finally found a question in my brain, so I had to ask!
A FAQ in the first post would be great!?
So...
How will the game controls be like? Will they be like Sam & Max (completely controlled with mouse) or will they be like Wallace & Gromit (Keyboard & Mouse)??
I definitely prefer the first method, so which kind of control will TMI have?
Wouldn't that be... "metonymyc to the island"?
I'd say that this doesn't fit at all. But if you think LeChuck counts, then Tales of Monkey Island will count because there's LeChuck all over everything.
(Although if LeChuck counts, then why wasn't MI2 "Revenge of Monkey Island"?)
Actually on my compy it takes several minutes, for some reason it takes a loooong time for my games to show the Telltale window when they exit, during which the computer is extremely slow and already launching the next game would be suicide.
But I also don't think having the episodes separate is a problem.
What kotaku describe doesn't seem to great to be honest, though I understand it's still a work in progress. Is there a problem with using the same style of control interface as CMI in 3D, as that seemed pretty much perfect. Conversely, I had a great deal of trouble with the interface in EMI.
This is a great reason for including individual chapters on the DVD, but not a good reason for not creating a "play all" type option. Most people playing the game on the DVD will have played the episodes already, since the DVD is released well after all the episodes have been released individually. Most of what you have said, no longer applies when you are playing the game (or watching the series) again as you already know how the situation will be resolved.
When replaying the game, watching the credits and "previously" bits can be tedious and repetitive when you just want to continue the story. The cliffhanger that has been presented at this moment, doesn't have the same effect, as you know how the situation is resolved. A ten second (plus any additional loading time that is required) chapter screen is a more reasonable way of adding a pause to break these two parts of the story.
I do understand that it is not as simple as "cut and paste" to create this option, and I will not complain if it costs too much time or money, but I still believe that there is great value in including this option.
If you wish to discourage people from using the "play all" type option, then add it as the last option in the launcher. You would be surprised at how well something as simple as this can influence peoples behaviour.
Wow, an Italian criticizing a German on his English? Man, you foreign people are critical. [/joking]
that's what i wanted to know, thanks! :-)
We help each other out to make you understand us. Capisci? Verstanden?
From what I've read about releases from TTGs, it's most likely going to be released at roughly 4am on July 8th for us (I imagine AEST).
Yep, I totally agree. We all know and love episodic gaming as it is, but when all the chapters will be collected on a single disc their fruition will by necessity be different (whether you have played them previously or not). I hope Telltale will seriously consider adopting this feature for ToMI.
It's definitely tales in the world of Monkey Island, not tales of the island itself (though that would be cool!). For me it's about trying to bring out all of the different swirling stories the series' characters have found themselves in, and see what happens when their lives and goals collide in new and interesting ways, against a pastiche of classic pirate and sea-type stories. Tales all 'round! I don't know how other people on the team see it, but as a fan of the legacy of Monkey Island and of good pirate stories in general, that's what interests me!
As discussed in recent previews, there's a mouse-only option as well as keyboard and mouse. Both exist
In the Facebook Q&A he did, he said about LeChuck's voice actor being a she, and I took it as a joke, but then in this thread people seem a little confused.
Is LeChuck really a girl?
I would like it to be chosen in the options menu, however I know it's hard implementing the choices so late in the development. I would prefer only mouse, as I've stood by it since the 1990s (the year I was born)
From the post, we have Keyboard+Mouse and Just Mouse control. The Just Mouse control isn't Sam and Max. There's two ways to do mouse control, click and drag to walk and click to activate "Walk", drag the mouse without having to hold down the button, and then click to "Deactivate Walk".
HAHA
But I'm actually shocked the Voice Actor for Le Chuck is a girl. He doesn't sound as a girl AT ALL
You've never met Yorkshire lasses, clearly :-)
Yeah, sorry. My excitement to finnaly getting the money to preorder the item and reading through all this stuff made me ask my question before checking if had been asked before (Can you really blame me?
First off, I would like to know if age is a major factor when considering a possible recruit for a games company. I ask because I'm currently a 2nd year university student in England (just finished my 2nd year actually) and if everything goes according to plan I will graduate when I'm around 30 (a small point to consider for myself is that if everything does go to plan I will have already have a year's experience in working at a games company before I graduate and if that doesn't happen I'll be graduating near my 29th birthday - of course there's always the possibility I'll fail my degree course but that's not an option I'm considering).
Secondly, what sort of skills does the average games company (I know there probably isn't any such thing as an average games company but that's the best description I can think of) look for in potential employees, specifically in programmers.
And finally are there any tips that anyone can give me about trying to get a placement position (I believe internship is the terminology used in America) for a year at a games company and what sort of programs I should look into developing in my final year at university which would be useful in getting myself full time employment as a games progammer (in the final year of the course I'm doing students are expected to create something which shows off their skills for their practical project which commands a fairly high percentage of their final grade in most cases).
I'd also like to apologise for the length of this post (I tend to ramble a bit when I'm uncertain I should do something) and I understand if my questions remain unanswered.
Will it help at all if I just wave my arms around saying "cool game designer?"
.....no. Really? It won't?
So I'm just sitting here at my computer flailing wildly and shouting at the screen for nothing? Bummer.
Sigh...oh well. Cool game designer.
I'd preorder 2 seasons ^^
Does the title Tales of Monkey Island make any sense with the plot? It would obviously fit like a glove if the episodes were separate stories, but you've ruled this out.
That means either that somewhere in the game you come across some Tales about Monkey Island (and they are vital to the plot), or you just thought the name sounded cool and there are no significant tales whatsoever.
Which is it?
Love you. Keep being awesome.
At least, that's the way I've always understood it.
That's what I got out of it anyway.
in the Secret of Monkey Island, Part One is the story of how guybrush completes the three trials to become a pirate, with a cliffhanger at the end to lead us into the next part, and so on.
It's even clearer in Curse of Monkey Island - spoiler warning of course for anyone who hasn't played
In Part One it's the story of how guybrush reunites with elaine and lechuck, culminating in the marriage proposal which of course goes wrong, turning elaine into a statue.
Part Two is a classic monkey island map/ship/crew quest, ending in them setting sail for Blood Island
Part Three is all about getting the map back, culminating in the shipwreck on blood island
Part Four is the story of Blood Island and the quest for the ring, (and I've forgotten how that ends)
Part Five is the return to the carnival and the final defeat of LeChuck
So you can see how all of the sections tell their own story, completely seperate gameplay/location-wise but linked by the running plot of the cursed ring.
I expect Tales of Monkey Island will adopt a similar approach to storytelling, except that:
1) Each part will be of more consistent length
2) The individual story/theme of each part will be more overtly spelled out, as will the lead-in to the next part.
Apart from that, though, this is really what we're already used to.
Monkey doesn't support keyboard only, I'm sorry to say for those who preferred that. The "what the character is looking at appears in the top corner of the screen where you can then use it or combine it with inventory" system built for W&G isn't in the Monkey codebase. That's one of those things that happens when you have projects with staggered/overlapping schedules. I imagine if the game ends up on XBLA we'll give that stuff a look again (don't quote me on that though as I'm just thinking out loud here), but the game on PC is keyboard/mouse hybrid or mouse only.
I did my best to answer this question (or at least my personal take on an answer) just one page back!
According to Kotaku the developers used me and another guy here on the forum's combined effort to create a do-able mouse only control that still requires drive mechanics like WASD.
So I gotta say.... thanks for reading your forums.... and thanks for using my evolved Idea. I think more than one person on this forum will be happy... especially those with disabilities because there are a few.
Monkey Island IS in the game is it not? It would seem strange if it wasn't in there at least as a plot device of some sort.
That'd better be a sweet sweet mouse-only control scheme!