Q&A With the Team

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  • edited June 2009
    Ry Guy wrote: »
    ... We figured, since this is actually after MI5, he has to be older.....

    Wait, MI5? I thought "Tales of Monkey Island" was supposed to be MI5 in an episodic form because there are only 4 Monkey Island Games at the Moment. Is there another Monkey Island - game planed, which will take place between EMI and Tales of Monkey Island?
  • edited June 2009
    No but story wise they're assuming MI5 happened in everyone's head and it starts with the end of it
  • edited June 2009
    Junaid wrote: »
    No but story wise they're assuming MI5 happened in everyone's head and it starts with the end of it

    if that's the case is anything that happens in tales of monkey island cannon? Anyways I will be considering Tales of Monkey Island to be Monkey Island 5, thats if the episodes all link together which I am praying they will.
  • edited June 2009
    They will, it's one big story :)
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »
    We've traditionally localized our games into other languages by the time they end up in a box at retail. I don't know what our plans for Monkey are, but localized releases down the road wouldn't surprise me.

    That sounds good. The Question is if the Box we become with our
    Pre-Order will have multilanguage (german,...) Speech? i think that
    will be a good service for the pre-order customizers from other countrys
    because so we dont have to buy a second box?!

    So the Best was when the downloadable Episodes at first have german
    and other subtitles and the box after release of all episodes have multilanguage speech... ;-)
  • edited June 2009
    So I have a PC.. But its old, I think it will play the game.. But, will it go on my Mac ?

    Please :)
  • NickTTGNickTTG Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Orestes wrote: »
    So I have a PC.. But its old, I think it will play the game.. But, will it go on my Mac ?

    Please :)

    All our games are currently PC only. I guess the best I can do is recommend boot camp :( sorry
    Lena_P wrote: »
    Okay, now that I've had time to return to Earth a little bit, I've got a real question. What's the story going to be like? Is there going to be more of an overarching narrative, with a beginning, middle and end, or is it going to be more like random and exciting adventures as they complete their search for the fabled macguffin, where the final resolution just resets the world back to zero. I'm fine with either, really. Fine with either, but honestly I want the gripping adventure yarn with a story arc. So which shall it be, ye Telltale Captains of Gamery? Will ye be revealing the narrative style, or shall I be left waiting 'til the 7th of July to find out? Arr ... ptui *splonch*. It be hard to get the tobaccy juice in the spitoon when ye wear an eye patch. No depth perception.

    Umm i'm sure there's someone around here who can better answer this question, but I'll step up for now. Tales has an overarching plot. And the episodes have a great sense of connectivity as you progress through the season. It's not gonna feel like the Sam and Max episodes where the plot stops and starts as the episodes begin and end.
  • edited June 2009
    I'm installing Boot Camp on my Mac purely to play the new Monkey Island games. I am so freaking stoked about this!

    Is there any chance it may come to Xbox Live Arcade? I see that the Secret of Monkey Island remake is going to be on Live Arcade, so why not TMI? Is it a resources sort of thing, where you might get to it once you're done with the PC and Wii versions?
  • edited June 2009
    First I have to say, having loved every one of the previous MI games, I too pre-ordered this series having just seen the title. Until now I had put a new Monkey Island game off my list of dream games along with Duke Nukem Forever and Diablo 3 :) Now I can have a great new Monkey Island game and Bliz is working on D3 which also looks superb. I guess dreams can come true!

    Also, I loved the Bone games so I am confident that TTG has everything covered in the storytelling department. I am really liking the concept art that I've seen. That "Lab" artwork is my favorite, the Vitruvian Pirate on the side is simply awesome! However, I do have a couple concern's/questions about ToMI:

    First: ToMI can you hear me? Can you feel me near you?
    ToMI can you feel me? Can I help to cheer you?

    Second: The screenshots I have seen of some outdoor 'rooms' look a little empty outside of the 'important spots' that just seems a little too baron to me. There are a couple screenshots showing some dock areas, I'd like to see some pirate ships in the background, maybe even battling other ships passing in and out of frame? I hope that type of stuff is in there as I realize still shots of an animated game world are rarely representative of the actual moving game.

    Lastly: The only other gripe I have is the texture resolution on the character models seems a bit low compared to the game world. Like Guybrush's jacket or LeChuck's hat for instance. Are the textures in the screenshots in a certain detail setting, will the final game have higher resolution textures than what we have seen?

    Either way I am really excited about the new MI games and am very pleased to have the guys at TTG working on this. I know it's going to be a lot of fun!

    Thanks!
    ~Andrew
  • BasBas
    edited June 2009
    Guys what about the ropesack?
  • edited June 2009
    Okay, so I feel like being annoying so here are a couple questions for the team :) (which hopefully haven't been asked/answered yet)

    1) What was the biggest challenge in making ToMI a reality?

    2) What's the highest quality lie regarding ToMI's development?
  • edited June 2009
    The opening screen for TMI better be AT LEAST as awesome as it was in CMI! With the Monkey Island theme. I demands it!

    :(
  • edited June 2009
    For how long has the game bin under development?
  • edited June 2009
    EFMI wasn't terrible, it just merrily disregarded a lot of things that MI fans hold sacred (the insane back-story that was revealed that didn't make a jot of sense, for example -- the altering of Melee Island, etc, etc.), I hope you guys have learned your lesson! ;)

    Interesting question: Will Elaine have her (superior, IMO) EFMI voice or her British COMI accent?
  • edited June 2009
    Jake wrote: »

    this

    is

    geek

    pr0n

    <3
  • edited June 2009
    Since the developers are answering questions: What was the deal with Flint's bullet with "Max" written on it in Hit the Road? :p Was it a frustrated artist or just an in-joke?
  • edited June 2009
    You've never heard the expression "a bullet with your name on it"?
  • edited June 2009
    Every question I wanted to ask has already been asked but I'll just re-emphasise the one I'm most curious in: Will the music/long sound file bug that plagued S&M for people on 64-bit Windows platforms still be a problem? Music has always been an important part of my Monkey Island-ing experience (or adventuring experience in general) so it'd be great if like... That bug didn't pop up no more. D:

    Also, in regards to taking all four games as canon - you mean all THREE games, don't you? Since there was never, ever a fourth one. Ever. Aha. Ahahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
  • edited June 2009
    Hey Devs, beware of the three head monkey behind you !

    Basically, that one must come back ;)
  • edited June 2009
    Candyghost wrote: »
    Hey Devs, beware of the tree head monkey behind you !
    /me imagines what a monkey with a tree for a head looks like.
  • edited June 2009
    Xocrates wrote: »
    /me imagines what a monkey with a tree for a head looks like.

    woups. :confused: Edited now :p
  • MarkDarinMarkDarin Former Telltale Staff
    edited June 2009
    Hi Everyone!
    HOLY CRAP! Twelve pages already!? Wow, this part of the forum has really gotten away from me fast!

    For those who don't know me, I'm Mark, one of the Lead Designers on Tales of Monkey Island. I've been a Monkey Island fan for as long as I can remember and I'm absolutely THRILLED to be working on this game! I want you to know that I am doing everything thing I can to make sure this is an Authentic Monkey Island experience!

    Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say Hi and say that if you have any specific questions for me, I'll do my best to answer them!

    Thanks everyone! And don't put your lips on anything!
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Hey Mark --

    What is the secret of Monkey Island?
  • edited June 2009
    I heard that Ron Gilbert worked with you on this project. Did he really works? If it's the case, what did he does?


    (Sorry for my english, pirates dont go to school)
  • edited June 2009
    Just a simple question, but what happend to LeChuck's pistol brace?
    For those that have less of a grounding in history, I'm referring to the belt that ran from his rightshoulder to the left of his waist. Belt's like these were often employed to hold several pistols.
    As far as I can tell, LeChuck had one of these in every previous incarnation. (Even though it never held a pistol). However I cannot see him wearing one in the trailer.
  • edited June 2009
    Just a simple question, but what happend to LeChuck's pistol brace?
    For those that have less of a grounding in history, I'm referring to the belt that ran from his rightshoulder to the left of his waist. Belt's like these were often employed to hold several pistols.
    As far as I can tell, LeChuck had one of these in every previous incarnation. (Even though it never held a pistol). However I cannot see him wearing one in the trailer.

    After all these years he realized he didnt have a pistol and therefore decided to take it off?

    Thats what im thinking
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Chaka wrote: »
    I heard that Ron Gilbert worked with you on this project. Did he really works? If it's the case, what did he does?

    (Sorry for my english, pirates dont go to school)

    Ron came in to work with the design team on hammering out parts of the story, coming up with some puzzles, and talking a lot about the feel of the games and sharing his thoughts on the characters and what he thought would be driving them in our story -- what they'd want, what they'd know, what would be important to them, etc. It was an extremely fun time. We opened up by going through our whole story as it stood at the time, Ron picked up on what we were doing immediately, and we started running from there. A lot of the most interesting stuff from those meetings won't be really showing itself until the later parts of the season, when things have of course swung a bit out of everyone's control. Tales of Monkey Island isn't "Ron Gilbert's Monkey Island 3" or anything like that -- this game follows the events of all four previous Monkey games -- but I think Ron's hand will be felt in the design as the story unfolds. I can't wait for you guys to see it :)
  • edited June 2009
    I also can't wait for you to see us seeing it :)

    I also have a question. Can you tell us anything about how far the music is? I'm really looking forward to the new Michael Land stuff
  • edited June 2009
    A map !
    Oh, sorry, Hi there :).
    I just would say that adventure game without map is so sad, Monkey Island game without map is dreadful !! So, I maybe exaggerate but I think that maps with various spots are very important. The map suggests Lady Voodoo's lair, the town with hairdressing salon and restaurant, the beach and more... in Monkey Island 3 for example are very influential in the game's experience. To go swiftly between each place are important I find. The map which is used for moving is crucial, it brings sensation of big size and depth. In the first Sam & Max (Hit the Road), there was some places but with the map to choose, we believed that we went throught the whole of USA.
    When there are no map : movings are boring (it's all the more when the game was already finished one time) and, personally, I feel "locked up"...
    Anyway, thank you very much for this "sequel" and I'm sorry if my English is too rude.
  • seanvanamanseanvanaman Telltale Alumni
    edited June 2009
    Lena_P wrote: »
    Okay, now that I've had time to return to Earth a little bit, I've got a real question. What's the story going to be like?

    For when ToMI takes place, Dave Grossman does a bang-up job of explaining where and why Tales takes place in an interview he did with gamespot here: http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210456/ . Basically, we imagine MI5 would be a grand 40 hour epic (if you're here, you probably know 40 hour epics aren't our thang) and TMI takes place after the presupposed events of that story.

    This is the most sequential, interconnected story Telltale's ever told. Mike and Mark have a glorious plan for the arc of the entire season and we hope to be revealing as many questions as we do answers to the series' questions every month. I get psyched just thinking about it.
  • edited June 2009
    For when ToMI takes place, Dave Grossman does a bang-up job of explaining where and why Tales takes place in an interview he did with gamespot here: http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210456/ . Basically, we imagine MI5 would be a grand 40 hour epic (if you're here, you probably know 40 hour epics aren't our thang) and TMI takes place after the presupposed events of that story.

    This is the most sequential, interconnected story Telltale's ever told. Mike and Mark have a glorious plan for the arc of the entire season and we hope to be revealing as many questions as we do answers to the series' questions every month. I get psyched just thinking about it.

    So it's basically Lost with monkeys
  • edited June 2009
    Junaid wrote: »
    So it's basically Lost with monkeys

    I don't see anything wrong with that.. in fact Lost can really use guybrush on the island for their final season. I mean if people think Hugo is funny...
  • edited June 2009
    Bring the release date forward for us animals who pre-ordered!! haha

    How was it taking on the burden of reviving such an adored franchise, especially after the backlash EFMI received? Did you feel much pressure deciding/making a Monkey Island game knowing it has one of most vocal fan base (when it comes to adventure games)?

    Did Ron Gilbert share with you.. the "Secret of Monkey Island"?

    Keep up the great work guys!
  • edited June 2009
    Xocrates wrote: »
    /me imagines what a monkey with a tree for a head looks like.

    You two might have just inadvertently written a TOMI Season Two joke.
  • edited June 2009
    Guys, I just want to thank you for this impossible development. For someone who grew up with the Lucasarts adventures, it's just amazing to see Guybrush and Sam & Max appearing in new games again. I have a couple of questions, I'll let you decide if you want to answer them or not.

    First off, what was the reasoning behind giving Guybrush his current look? I like the tradition of Guybrush looking different in every game he appears in, and I have to say I'm absolutely in love with how he looks right now. The weird cross between his CMI/MI2-look really works for some reason. But yeah, how many versions of the new Guybrush were there, and what made you decide that this look was the one you wanted?

    I also would like to know what the deal is with the MI1 remake. Is this something that came out of the negotiations with Lucasarts about the new episodic series, or is it just coincidence that the two projects developed around the same time? Also, will we be able to buy the remake directly from the Telltale shop, as Lucasarts doesn't have his own download-service? I was going to ask about possible other projects with Lucasarts, possibly even something with tentacles, but I probably couldn't handle the answer. I'm still wrapping my brain around the fact that we're seeing Guybrush again.

    I do want to ask you about the role Lucasarts plays in this project. Obviously they own the rights, but do they have some sort of creative input?

    Sorry for the long post, but I can't describe how much I love all of you right now. If I ever meet one of you guys in person, I'll buy you a grog. Here's to many seasons of Monkey Madness!
  • edited June 2009
    Shale wrote: »
    You've never heard the expression "a bullet with your name on it"?

    Of course I have, but that makes zero sense when placed in the context of the bullet in the game.

    "A bullet with your name on" is another way of saying "a bullet destined to kill you". This has been changed to a bullet literally having a name on it, usually for comedic purposes. (For example, in the British comedy "BlackAdder", a particularly stupid character was caught carving their name on a bullet. When asked why, he replied, "Well, I thought if I owned the bullet with my name on it, I'd never get hit by it, 'cos I won't ever shoot myself. And, the chances of there being two bullets with my name on them are very small indeed.").

    As you can see, placing this into the context of Hit the Road makes zero sense. Why would have Flint Paper have carved Max's name on a bullet? There's no obvious joke there.
  • edited June 2009
    Thanks guys, I just preordered.

    So, I'll just be honest. I really feel like the art direction could be so much drastically better. I feel like having that vast, rich, detailed and at times very gritty and creepy monkey island "world" is SO important to the series. This looks plastic and plain and dated to me.

    Was that a priority for you guys? Or did budget and convenience win the day?

    I guess my question is, are you guys listening to fan criticisms on the general board or from elsewhere? I think in this case there have been some really valid concerns and thoughts not just by serial whiners or haters, but by really smart thoughtful fans who just want the best.

    I could easily have asked a really gushing positive question, but I feel like those have all been asked so maybe I'd spice it up a bit.

    Thanks guys, this is the best news I've heard in so long!
  • edited June 2009
    Holy crap! I'm posting in the secret forum!
  • edited June 2009
    Holy crap! I'm posting in the secret forum!
    OH NØEZ!

    np: Tosca - Birthday (No Hassle (Disc 2))
  • edited June 2009
    Since the franchise is named "Tales of Monkey Island", will we have the chance to play in other episodes or season as other characters that aren't Guybrush, such as spinoffs or something like that?

    Also, will we see ever again Largo LaGrande?
This discussion has been closed.