Your old pal and prolific Adventure Gamers contributor Emily Morganti is back to her hard-hitting ways, having snagged Ron Gilbert (and Dave!) for his first proper interrogation following the announcement of Return to Monkey Island. While our attorneys won’t allow us to make an accusation of bribery outright, we’re authorized to pass along the rumor that Cheese Squigglies™ were exchanged.
The interview includes some specifics about how ReMI* came into being, which involved Ron loosening up a bit on the position of ownership, but in the first place having the right connections:
The whole thing came about because I was talking to Nigel [Lowrie] from Devolver. We got together, I think it was at PAX, and we just started talking. He had mentioned that he knew John Drake, that they were friends, and John Drake was in charge of, I think, the licensing at Lucasfilm Games. So he wanted to approach [John] about doing a Monkey Island, and I thought sure, let’s see if anything goes.
Check out the full exclusive for the rest of the good stuff, which includes - oh yeah - the first screenshots.
*Remi has “suggested” that this be the abbreviation Mojo perpetuates for Return to Monkey Island, and we didn’t find his bolt action argument easy to disagree with.
Source: Adventure Gamers
But I also think this is one of those 'you can never go home' type deals.
No amount of retro art and pixel hunting is going to make us feel like we did when we first discovered those games.
What I remember, way more than anything else playing Monkey Island 1 and 2 is my surprise. That games could have a story. With really funny jokes. And an ATMOSPHERE, which wasn't just... 'fun', but something a bit deeper and more mysterious than that. That a game could work on my nerves even though I knew for a fact the game never puts you in any real danger. That a game could have characters that grow and change over time. That a game doesn't have to end with the main character winning and getting the girl. That a game could really actually weird me out.
If Return manages to get at some of that FEELING, then it'll succeed, but it has to find a new way to do it. It can't pull the rug out from me in exactly the same way the first two did. And I think from what I've read, they seem to get that. It's early days, but we could be in for something really special. Here's hoping!