Articles

Monkey Island Documentary Ahoy! 21 May, 2018 / 8 comments

By ThunderPeel

Stuart Brown's YouTube channel, "Ahoy", has just released its latest episode, a 75 minute documentary(ish) on everyone's* favorite adventure game, The Secret of Monkey Island.
I've only watched the first 30 mins, but I like what I've seen so far.
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Thanks to Threepwood4life to alerting us to this video's existence.
  • Yes, everyone in the whole world.

Source: YouTube

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Star Wars: Episode I Racer Is Now On GOG.com 01 May, 2018 / 8 comments

By Jennifer

The best non-Lego, non-arcade, non-pinball game based on Star Wars: Episode I is now available digitally.*

Star Wars: Episode I Racer is now available from GOG.com.

*It's probably not coincidental that podracing is also the best part of the Star Wars: Episode I film.

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Wanna see a 40 minute interview with Tim Schafer? 22 Apr, 2018 / 6 comments

By Jason

Of course you do. And you're in luck, because that's just what was recorded at something called "EGX Rezzed 2018." I assume that's the name of an expo, though it may also be the model of dirt bike my nephew got for Christmas. For those of us who happened to be washing our hair during Tim's panel, here's a handy Youtube embed of the whole interview:

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I haven't watched it myself yet, but reportedly Tim mentions the possibility of further LucasArts remasters, iterating once again that he'd insist on the original creators being involved. Hasn't Brian Moriarty been pretty upfront about wanting revisit Loom? Anyway, Tim evidently talks a bunch about Psychonauts as well, so it's sure to be a worthy listen all the way around.

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Go listen to some Escape from Monkey Island music 13 Apr, 2018 / 19 comments

By Rémi

Because why the hell not? In anticipation of an upcoming Escape from Monkey Island extravaganza, we give you the soundtrack:

Che[ck/que] can be sent to the regular address.

Update (April 17th)! Some of you had issues with the zips; these should now be fixed.

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Ken Macklin discusses Maniac Mansion cover art, a year ago 03 Apr, 2018 / 1 comment

By Jason

Ken Macklin, the artist behind Maniac Mansion's iconic box art (and who was supposed to do the Thimbleweed Park box), was interviewed last year about the development of said art. It's brief but you'll be glad you read it. A year later.

Now all that's left is for somebody to leak all of Macklin's background art for Noah Falstein's version of The Dig. Anybody got that lying around?

Source: VGArc

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A making-of-"Sam & Max" article hits the web 12 years later 27 Feb, 2018 / 2 comments

By Rémi

For once, we’re not (too) late on some old news. We might even have reported on it back in the day, who knows? (I’m too lazy to check.) Anyway!

A Retro Gamer article on the making of Sam & Max Hit the Road is up on PC Gamer for your reading enjoyment. You might not learn a whole lot from it, but entertaining it is, anyway.

Source: PC Gamer

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Maniac Mansion now on Steam 20 Dec, 2017 / 3 comments

By Jason

It happened without warning, and goodness knows it happened decades later than it should have, but the the original Maniac Mansion is now available on Steam. Sure, you already have it as a free bonus feature within Day of the Tentacle, but don't you want the pleasure of buying it individually, especially since the last time you could do so was like forty years ago?

And anyway, it's less than five bucks. So do it. Do it now.

Source: Steam

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The road to Hell is paved with well-intentioned remasters 23 Nov, 2017 / 18 comments

By Jason

Rock Paper Shotgun published an interesting article yesterday about the artistic merit of remastered video games. Ron, Tim, and Brian Moriarty are all on hand to weigh in on the technical and even ethical pitfalls of "upgrading" a classic:

“We had limitations back then” recalls Gilbert in an email interview, “and the artist worked magic to make the game work within those limitations. They often turned working within those limitations into an art all its own. When classic games get ‘hi-resed’, you lose all of that.”
[...]

“It’s true that you can often switch back to the original graphics,” he says, “but that is also true of colorizing black and white movies.


“You can always watch the original, but that doesn’t make colorizing it any less of an artistic sin. Saying you can switch back to the original art feels like a cop-out.”

Harsh! But Ron has a point. And as we've seen, the "original version" you can switch back to often isn't the perfect recreation it purports to be. After all, the only "classic" version of Monkey Island 2 that anyone can buy has vertical scrolling effects removed and some dialog altered. My grandkids will grow up without the "white slavers" line, so I hope you're proud of yourself, Craig Derrick!

Source: Rock Paper Shotgun

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GOG.com Disney Publisher Sale 06 Oct, 2017 / 1 comment

By Jennifer

All of Disney's catalog is currently on sale at GOG.com. That includes tons of LucasArts games:
  • Afterlife
  • Armed and Dangerous
  • The Dig
  • Loom
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
  • Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
  • Monkey Island 1 SE
  • Monkey Island 2 SE
  • Outlaws + A Handful of Missions
  • Sam & Max Hit the Road
  • Star Wars: Battlefront II
  • Star Wars: Empire at War
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
  • Star Wars: Dark Forces
  • Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II
  • Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast
  • Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy
  • Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D
  • Star Wars: Tie Fighter
  • Star Wars: X-Wing
  • Star Wars: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter
  • Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance
  • Star Wars: Rebel Assault 1+2
  • Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
  • Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga
  • Star Wars: Rebellion
  • Star Wars: Star Fighter
  • Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
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    A video interview with Michael Land and Clint Bajakian 03 Oct, 2017 / 5 comments

    By Zaarin

    In case you missed it at the bottom of Remi's news post three weeks back, here's an hour long (almost) interview with composers Michael Land and Clint Bajakian about their days at LucasArts. It also gives us a chance to test out our new embed code for Vimeo. Mojo: Truly on the cutting edge of technology.

    Source: Vimeo

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    LucasArts is hiring. 30 Sep, 2017 / 1 comment

    By jp-30

    In a surprising move, some sort of LucasArts remnant's social media manger posted a photo on facebook and the "company" are apparently hiring given a comment on one of the replies.

    If the next game after their alleged Star Wars: Commander and Star Wars: Rivals appeals... Star Wars: Aenemia maybe (!?), get in there and apply for a position!

    Source: Facebook

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    Tim declares war on crunch mode 13 Sep, 2017 / 0 comments

    By Jason

    Tim is the subject of a new article on Medium in which he speaks about the oft-documented strain - and, perhaps, the needlessness - of crunch mode, a period at the end (or sometimes throughout) of a game development cycle when teams work around the clock to meet looming deadlines.

    Speaking about his experiences at both LucasArts and Double Fine, Tim's thoughts on the subject are sobering and even personal, such as when he relates how the passionate and relentless climate at LucasArts during his early days at the studio brought consequences at home:

    Schafer saw the crunch periods become more demanding as time went on, and it wasn’t long before he experienced the heavy price of that kind of working culture. His first marriage, he said, collapsed after just a year.

    “You don’t realize until it has happened that you’re doing all this damage to your personal life by staying at work all the time,” he said. “You can mentally put the rest of the world on hold, but the rest of the world can’t necessarily be put on hold by you. I was so gung-ho about it. If you think someone will wait for you and tolerate you not being around… people move on.”


    Even then, with a relationship falling apart around him, the work came first. The rewards were just big enough, and the aura of George Lucas radiant enough, that it felt impossible to leave. Schafer only met Lucas three times in the 10 years he worked for him, but says his presence was felt in the craftsmanship and artistry of the house and its grounds. The attention to detail exuded an air of quality that reminded everyone that things needed to be done right.

    The whole piece is worth a read.

    Source: Medum

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    In lieu of actual Indiana Jones gaming news, read this 11 Jul, 2017 / 2 comments

    By jp-30

    Our fine friends over at The Onion have pulled a Mojo and reviewed ranted about the TT Games LEGO Indiana Jones videogame series some years after release.



    Consider: While the Indiana Jones of film punches out Nazis, his mute Lego doppelgänger spends far more time attacking trees and flowers. Indy can scarcely walk five steps without finding a cluster of greenery that he’s compelled to destroy in order to collect the tiny Lego studs that constitute the in-game currency. Even when outrunning the giant boulder—that most iconic moment from Raiders—he’s evidently supposed to risk his life brutalizing the vegetation for a few extra studs. So you’ll understand, Adam, if I’m at a bit of a loss as to what makes this game “pretty fun.”


    Bravo Onion, bravo.

    Source: The Onion

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    Full Throttle article ascends from print origins to your screen 04 Jul, 2017 / 1 comment

    By Jason

    PC Gamer published an interview with Tim about Full Throttle in their June issue, but you don't buy magazines anymore, so you didn't read it. At least not until its ink exclusivity ended and it wound up online, which is now.

    At the time a LucasArts adventure was expected to sell around 100,000 copies, but Full Throttle sold over a million. And now, 22 years later, the game has been re-released with remastered graphics and audio. I ask the game’s writer/director Tim Schafer what it’s like going back to something he made when he was in his early 20s.
    “It’s been interesting looking at how I wrote dialogue back then based on my life experiences at the time, and how I interpret it differently now that I’m older,” he says. “And now that I’ve actually been a biker on the run for a crime I didn’t commit, that adds a lot of depth to it too. I had no idea what that was like back then.”

    You know what I did in my early 20s? Not make Full Throttle. Learn more about how Tim outclassed me by reading the full article.

    Source: PC Gamer

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    Habitat rises again, world kind of shrugs 02 Jun, 2017 / 5 comments

    By Rémi

    29 years after it was shut down, Habitat is set to go live again. The (at the time) groundbreaking online game is considered a bridge between the MUDs (multi user dungeons) of the time to today's MMOG (massively multiplayer online game), and it will relaunch at midnight under the name Neohabitat.

    Yeah, I don't even know, but check out more info on the official site, if you so wish.

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    Full Throttle Easter Egg Discovered (Finally)! 28 Apr, 2017 / 2 comments

    By ThunderPeel

    Double Fine's luscious Full Throttle Remastered has revealed an easter egg in the game that has managed to stay hidden for over 20 years! According to the Remastered commentary one the game's main programmers, Mark Crowley, got a little punchy one night and hid a little surprise for anyone who entered his date of birth into Malcolm Corley's safe.
    So well hidden was this little easter egg, that not even Tim Schafer was aware of its presence.
    Since the reveal, fans have been trying to find Crowley's date of birth, but it was proving very tricky, and even reaching out to him over social media had been fruitless. Enter ScummVM developer Digitall who examined Full Throttle's game code and discovered Crowley's date of birth hidden deep within:
    14 December, 1962.
    That's right, entering 12-14-62 into Malcolm Corley's safe will reveal a little secret that nobody, not even Tim Schafer, was aware of.

    The easter egg itself is very silly, and isn't the secret to Monkey Island or anything, but it is amazing that we're still finding secrets after all these years! Enjoy!

    Source: Double Fine

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    Full Throttle Remastered coming April 18th to PC, PS4 and Vita 14 Mar, 2017 / 6 comments

    By Jason

    Some news requires no comment, other than: w00t.

    Here's Tim humbly suggesting that you pre-order from GOG:

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    One last cool thing: apparently Tim had the original demo of the game (a PC Magazine exclusive) remastered as well because it featured unique dialog not heard in the shipped game, and Tim wanted all of Roy Conrad's lines preserved in high quality. Pretty rad.

    Source: engadget

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    Tim discusses the hunt for original Full Throttle assets 12 Mar, 2017 / 2 comments

    By Jason

    As with Day of the Tentacle Remastered and Grim Fandango Remastered, Double Fine had to go through the LucasArts archives to resurrect Full Throttle, and Tim talked about that effort with GamesIndustry.biz:

    Schafer called it a sort of "digital archaeology." For Full Throttle, the art was completely repainted, often with input from original artists like Larry Ahern and Peter Chen. 3D elements like the game's motorcycles had to be remodeled from scratch because the originals weren't archived. Roy Conrad, the original voice actor for the game's protagonist Ben, died over a decade ago, so they had to track down the uncompressed DAT tapes of his original voiceover sessions in order to remaster them in stereo.

    "We're in a unique position where we remember where the bodies are buried," he said. "'I think that sound guy took home a box of tapes once, and I know so-and-so has that thing in their attic.' And at Skywalker Ranch there's an archive that has a lot of cool stuff there, and we got access to those. We got to dig through these flat files, finding these great pieces of art and putting them in the concept art browser for the first time to let you see all this stuff when you play the game. It's more like a fun treasure hunt."


    One might expect that the hassles of remastering projects like these would cause Double Fine to re-think the way it preserves its current titles for the future.


    "I feel like we had all this trouble finding all these archives," Schafer said, "and it was like, 'Why didn't we archive this stuff better?' And then I was like, 'Are we archiving our new stuff better?' We had to really look at it, and well, you know... In some ways it's easy to make those same mistakes again, to just not really think about what's going to happen 20 years from now. 'Yeah, that stuff's all on that one artist's hard drive, but we don't have time to do all that...' So you really have to push yourself to create good archives, and to put away a machine that can do the actual build of the game. And that's something I hope all developers do, or they'll be kicking themselves later."

    It's a comfort to know that Roy Conrad's line readings will liberated from that Turkish prison that is MONSTER.SOU.

    Source: GamesIndustry.biz

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    Lucasfilm shuts down Fate of Atlantis fan remake 01 Mar, 2017 / 4 comments

    By Jason

    You may recall that time a year ago when we reported that an indomitable band of Germans were seeking to get official approval for their HD remake of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

    Those of you who hate surprises, I should warn you: this isn't going to be one.

    Hi Fans!

    Quick announcement!

    We have been asked politely by a new promoted Lucasfilm Head of business development person to stop developing and distributing Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis Special Edition demo.
    We will remove the downloading buttons from our website this Sunday (5th March 2017)
    We have been told that Lucasfilm don't want to share the Indy license with anyone right one, so we came up with other solution and we will see if that is going to work for them.
    We will keep in touch with Lucasfilm people and continuously trying to obtain a deal for a full project development!
    Lucasfilm has seen what we have done, we proved our skills, show them a great effort and strong responsibility, they have received all required documents and now it's up to them if they will change their minds and start supporting Independent developers.
    Whatever the response will be, We are extremely proud of what we have done, it has been a great fun, we will love this project forever and we thank you all who participated or support us during this "long-term, free-time" development.

    Fans community is strong, full of talented people and nobody is going to stop us from doing what we love, because we are doing it right! This is not the end of this project and this is not the end of any fans projects...big companies need to understand that: "All things come to him who waits." #lucasfilm #lucasarts #adventuregames #disney

    website: http://went2play.com/fate-of-atlantis-se
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39935592/IJ_clocks.jpg

    Which reminds me, I'd be much obliged if you guys could keep my painstaking remaster of Defenders of Dynatron City that's nineteen years in the making under your hat.

    Source: Facebook

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    STFU, Monkey Island 2 free 30 Jan, 2017 / 4 comments

    By Rémi

    Hey, we’re back! You might have thought we had been back for a while, but as our admin feature wasn’t working… Well, that’s neither here nor there.

    So what’s happening? First, Xbox Gold members will be able to download Monkey Island 2 for free from February 1-15. You do, of course, already own the game, but it’s worth nabbing anyway—it plays well on the platform. And from February 16-28 you can get Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, lovingly known as STFU around these parts.

    More importantly: Our very own elTee spawned last week, and is the proud father of a baby boy, Johnny D Tones (I think was the name). Congratulations to him from all of us!

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