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They're ghosts. They're pirates. And they're previewed. 13 Aug, 2009 / Comments: 16


Autumn Moon's upcoming second adventure game, Ghost Pirates of Monkey Vooju Island, is still a bit on the "subtle" side when it comes to marketing, but there is a new preview of the game by NowGamer with some choice words from Bill Tiller included. On the game's inception:
As much as it may look like a copycat release, however, Ghost Pirates Of Vooju Island is anything but. Written by Bill Tiller, the artist behind The Curse Of Monkey Island, Ghost Pirates is an adventure that actually started off as an idea for a proper Guybrush adventure all the way back in 1999. “Larry Ahern was relating to me how Tim Schafer wanted to do more adventure games but was annoyed how long they took,” explains Tiller. “The idea surfaced that maybe instead of one project leader doing one big adventure game you could have three project leaders doing one small adventure each. One project leader could do an adventure from Le Chuck’s perspective, another from Elaine's and again another one from Guybrush’s. It was a cool idea that never got off the ground, but the idea stuck in my head. After I left LucasArts, I still wanted to do a Monkey Island game but Jim Ward said Lucas would never do one again. So I started formulating my own game idea that didn't involve the Monkey Island licence.”
More, including the game's considered life as an episodic game, can be found in the full article. There's no word on the game's release, which was last slated for the first half of 2010. That puts it ahead of A Vamyre Story 2: A Bat's Tale, which as far as we know is still without a publisher and who knows what kind of development status.
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16 Comments

  • haydenwce27 on 17 Aug, 2009, 04:04…
    I can't wait for this game! The screenshots look great!
  • ThunderPeel2001 on 13 Aug, 2009, 20:23…
    Wow that art looks so much better than anything Telltale is doing... Not that TT's stuff is bad, but that stuff is GORGEOUS!
  • Junaid on 13 Aug, 2009, 10:25…
    Hmmm I hope it's better written than AVS, the jokes and general storytelling were just off in that game
  • MrHarper on 13 Aug, 2009, 08:35…
    Looking forward to this. Still haven't played AVS, going to shortly.
  • Logic on 13 Aug, 2009, 07:30…
    i havE a loT oF faitH thaT thiS wilL bE a greaT gamE. i'lL definitelY picK iT uP, (anD fantasizE abouT hoW thE backgrounD arT coulD\shoulD havE lookeD iN SOMI:SE).
  • neon_git on 13 Aug, 2009, 09:27…
    looK! looK! guyS arE yoU lookinG? arE yoU lookinG aT mE? looK aT mE! guyS! you'rE noT lookinG! looooK!

    ¬¬
  • jp-30 on 13 Aug, 2009, 07:59…
    Dude, I think you need a new keyboard.
  • Icebox on 13 Aug, 2009, 04:58…
    Awesome. I Love Hearing About The REAL Monkey Island Revival. This Game Will Be A Day One Purchase. That Art Style, Man.
  • elTee on 13 Aug, 2009, 17:54…
    At what point does a Bill Tiller 'Monkey Island game' beat a Dave Grossman Monkey Island Game?
  • jp-30 on 13 Aug, 2009, 19:25…
    I guess art style beats writing for some MI fans.
  • Icebox on 13 Aug, 2009, 19:49…
    I'm Just A Sucker For 2D. And Telltale's games aren't all that good, anyway. TMI is basically just a poor MI Fanfic. Sorry ahead of time if that's offensive, but after playing it, this is how I feel. There's no doubt they put a lot of effort into it, that said it feels really forced.
  • Scummbuddy on 13 Aug, 2009, 23:43…
    I had nothing but the ut-most fun playing ToMI.
  • Icebox on 14 Aug, 2009, 05:06…
    Sorry, That Ran A Bit Long. =D
  • Icebox on 14 Aug, 2009, 05:02…
    Exactly! TMI May Be a "Fun" game, and even an "Interesting" game, but it is by no means a "Great" game. It's a step up from EMI, which clearly didn't get the series at all, whereas TMI CLEARLY gets WHY the Monkey Island games are so revered. That said, it fails to evolve the series beyond its many tropes. We can accept that Monkey 1+2 are "Great" games because they've aged well, probably more evidently in the case of MI2, which basically got everything RIGHT. TMI didn't really manage to hone the humour factor, without a bitingly honed artstyle like 2 or 3, it didn't feel especially habitable, and characterwise is undoubtedly WEAKER than ANY of the MI games thus far. Design wise it's excellent (A Surefire Sign that Gilbert Knew What He Was Doing), but Adventure games live or die by the stories and worlds they encompass, and TMI's felt terribly contrived and hollow. When I look at something as lavish and Chthonic as Ghost Pirates, however, I can only evaluate it in terms of Potential. As a world, it's stunning and deep, with vast reservoirs of untapped lore. Whether it manages to deliver on this potential, only time will tell. But based on current knowledge, I am anticipating Ghost Pirates to be more of a savory experience than I am currently having with TMI. =|
  • jp-30 on 14 Aug, 2009, 08:12…
    I don't know bout you but I've only played 1/5 of ToMI.
  • PirateKingChris on 14 Aug, 2009, 19:57…
    Yes I don't believe we can debate how good or bad TMI truly is until the entire game has been played.
    That said, I thought the first part was well done.