Tales of Monkey Island

[toblix]

Actually, I'm quite enjoying it so far. My biggest frustration is that saving takes about a minute, and since I'm paranoid about the game crashing I save all the time.

Also, the sound compression is horrible. And the controls are dreadful. And the inventory and graphics suck.

[MrHoatzin]

Actually, I'm quite enjoying it so far. My biggest frustration is that saving takes about a minute, and since I'm paranoid about the game crashing I save all the time.

Also, the sound compression is horrible. And the controls are dreadful. And the inventory and graphics suck.

So in other words, a well-rounded masterpiece of both art and craft.

[toblix]

Aaand that's it, I'm done with Escape from Monkey Island. It froze on me for the last time. Not in the classic game freeze way, but in the way where it's obvious that the game's incredibly fragile scripting engine is stuck in some loop where it's waiting for an animation to finish, but for some reason the animated character is stuck on some edge or corner and they didn't add a timeout.

Anyway, I feel that I got a good enough taste of the game to conclude that it's inferior to the three prequels in every way. I'd really like to sit in on the various meetings where they made the decision on going 3D, doing keyboard controls, the inventory, etc. I knew I thought so at the time, but it's even more incredible to me today how LucasArts, known (to me) for their quality products, would release something as unpolished as this. It's like a beta product!

From the first 3D sequel I played I've known they'll age much worse than their 2D predecessors. This is a classic example of that. On the other hand, I guess the industry would have to make all these mistakes some way or other before figuring out how not to do things in post-2D games.

Anyway, as I said before, the three first games are as excellent today as they've ever been. I played through them all in ScummVM and had no problems.

Now for TMI! (finally)

[ThunderPeel2001]

From the first 3D sequel I played I've known they'll age much worse than their 2D predecessors. This is a classic example of that. On the other hand, I guess the industry would have to make all these mistakes some way or other before figuring out how not to do things in post-2D games.

Yeah I remember how 2D graphics were really getting quite awesome when 3D came along and (apart from the 3D-ness) made everything look 80s again. Still, like you say, it was a necessary progression (in the same way that adding sound to movies ruined camera movements until the technology improved).

It's interesting to note that Grim Fandango has aged MUCH better, I think, despite being the older 3D game, though!

[Thrik]

I'm so glad Grim Fandango didn't get the budget treatment with its pre-rendered art. It may have been expensive, but it still looks so good today.

In related news, new blog post from Purcell today featuring another piece from the Monkey Island movie random movie he once did concept art for:

(Holy shit!)

[lobotomy42]

I'd really like to sit in on the various meetings where they made the decision on going 3D, doing keyboard controls, the inventory, etc.

My guess is that it went something like this:

Developers: Can we do another Monkey Island game?

Management: Ok, but it has to be 3D and stuff.

Developers: Do we have the budget to build a new 3D engine from scratch?

Management: Didn't you just write a 3D engine for that skeleton game? Why can't you use that?

Developers: Well, yeah, I guess...

Management: Great! Have something to show me in a month.

[toblix]

It should be more like:

Developers: Can we m--

Management: Here's a million dollars.

[syntheticgerbil]

In related news, new blog post from Purcell today featuring another piece from the Monkey Island movie random movie he once did concept art for:

(Holy shit!)

It's weird because he says to stop him if he is repeating any, but I think only 3 of his pictures were released...

[Rado]

It's weird because he says to stop him if he is repeating any, but I think only 3 of his pictures were released...

Just three? Here are the ones I found:

Edited August 18, 2009 by Rado

[BooJaka]

I've been trying to remember and I have no recollection at all about what happened at the end of EMI. Can anyone shed any light on it? I remember the last puzzle was

the Monkey Kombat between the robot and the LeChuck statue or something

but after that I'm drawing a blank. How did the story end?

[MrHoatzin]

I've been trying to remember and I have no recollection at all about what happened at the end of EMI. Can anyone shed any light on it? I remember the last puzzle was

the Monkey Kombat between the robot and the LeChuck statue or something

but after that I'm drawing a blank. How did the story end?

They all woke up and couldn't remember the dream.

[Thrik]

Check this out:

http://www.miwiki.net/Escape_from_Monkey_Island#Plot

God, the art direction in that game. Even those screenshots of the chapter screens piss me off.

[vimes]

Man, we need Steve Purcell to move from giving poor story advice on Cars (I'm saying poor because the end result is shite, not because I've been told stories) to being the art and story director on a Pixar short.

Can't we start some sort of futile petition to that goal?

[ThunderPeel2001]

Can't we start some sort of futile petition to that goal?

To the internet!

[BooJaka]

Check this out:

http://www.miwiki.net/Escape_from_Monkey_Island#Plot

God, the art direction in that game. Even those screenshots of the chapter screens piss me off.

Wait, so... nothing happened?

[toblix]

I've played TMI for a while now, and holy Maloney, this is awesome. This game is really good. Telltale has always impressed with the quality of their games on all fronts, but this is something else. The level of polish is incredible. I don't know how the budgets of the various S&M games and this all compare, but I wouldn't've bat an eye if LucasArts had released this as a full-priced AAA title (excluding the length, of course ((which I know nothing about yet)). The camera angles, the graphics and animations, the voice work (both acting and flow ((no awkward pauses, etc)).

If anyone liked the first three Monkey Islands and have not yet gotten this, don't wait any longer, it really is a feast! This is how 3D adventure games should be made!

edit: Oh, and some itsy-bitsy critique while I remember it:

• I would like the game, and not the launcher, to start when I double-click the icon.
  
• Similarly, I would like the launcher not to be there when I exit the game (because I'm done playing)
  
• When pausing the game, the sound should also stop
  
• There's a slightly annoying delay when putting inventory items in the combination boxes that makes the next click not register until the animation is done.
  
• When starting to walk, Guybrush always rotates quickly to face the camera before turning the way I'm pointing.
  

Oh, and a bonus observation. If you pause the game during conversation, you can see everything freeze except the lips of whoever's talking. This leads me to belive the lip animations are separate from the rest of the animations and linked directly to the dialogue sound. Am I right, Jake?

[syntheticgerbil]

Just three? Here are the ones I found:

Oops, completely forgot about all of those. There's another site with a different artist, but it's not as good as Purcell's so I can't be bothered at the moment.

Man, we need Steve Purcell to move from giving poor story advice on Cars (I'm saying poor because the end result is shite, not because I've been told stories) to being the art and story director on a Pixar short.

Can't we start some sort of futile petition to that goal?

That's probably a bad idea, I'm sure John Lasseter would come in and start rubbing his sweaty dick all over Purcell's storyboards and designs, telling him how to make things appealing and how to have a story with real heart (before he comes). You know, more like Tinkerbell IN 3D!

[ThunderPeel2001]

That's probably a bad idea, I'm sure John Lasseter would come in and start rubbing his sweaty dick all over Purcell's storyboards and designs, telling him how to make things appealing and how to have a story with real heart (before he comes). You know, more like Tinkerbell IN 3D!

Yeah, because you know, Lasseter is the enemy of quality animation...

[syntheticgerbil]

That was the point I was trying to get across. Very good, thanks.

[vimes]

Well, I would agree a bit with synthetic Gerbil since he fucked up American Dog/Bolt and did a very crappy job on Cars.

I don't mind his point of view - even though I don't think he's the best creative mind at Pixar - but he seems to have gone from allowing lots of different ideas to emerge in Pixar's feature films to enforcing he's own vision of what a good story is.

[syntheticgerbil]

Actually vimes, you hit the head of all of the nails.

With all of that said, I just think the guy is the ultimate "de-risker." Especially when you see great original character designs and ideas in the concept books by some of their artists that never get used and inevitably end up going for something much more light on the eyes (Where there's always an excuse paragraph saying the character had to be tweaked for 3D).

I get the idea he sort of butts into each movie with his standards for quality control that all of the Pixar movies sort of end up having similar themes or messages while following the same flow in which the story unfolds.

Seeing the Lasseter video a year or two ago where he grits his teeth and talks on and on about what a great innovative idea it is to make a series of Tinkerbell 3D movies during the Disney "fairies are forever" campaign was enough for me.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disneys-tinkerbell.html

Anyways, that's all my opinion of course, because there are probably way more that feel Pixar is the apex of American animation. I think Steve Purcell works there more out of stability, not really to move up in the system and become a director. It's probably an endless amount of fun to do storyboards for that company and I would love to be able to see some one day.

[MrHoatzin]

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disneys-tinkerbell.html

Ack, I never realized how caustic his sweaty dick really is.

[Chris]

Cars is my least favorite Pixar film by a long shot, but it seems bizarre to me to claim Lasseter is somehow squelching variety at the studio. Pixar's films have become increasingly varied and unusual, to an almost preposterous degree given their budgets and ostensible target audience. There might be specific firsthand evidence of Lasseter enforcing his homogeneous story ideas or whatever, but it certainly hasn't created that impression from my point of view as a moviegoer.

Anyways, that's all my opinion of course, because there are probably way more that feel Pixar is the apex of American animation. I think Steve Purcell works there more out of stability, not really to move up in the system and become a director. It's probably an endless amount of fun to do storyboards for that company and I would love to be able to see some one day.

It's fair enough to have your own opinion about Lasseter, but probably less fair to invent Purcell's reasoning for working at Pixar. As far as I'm aware, he is moving up within the company.

[syntheticgerbil]

Yeah I don't know if he's moving up at all, I just assumed he was still doing storyboards, since I think that's what he's been doing the whole time. Probably shouldn't have assumed as much. I just figured his heart was always more with Sam and Max or Toybox.

It would be nice if I saw Steve Purcell's character designs or something similar in the next Pixar movie art book, but one can only hope.

I still really doubt Lasseter would ever fund or greenlight a "Steve Purcell movie" because he would surely find it, "too quirky for its own good." (http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/chris-sanders-no-longer-directing-american-dog.html & http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/10/10/6133.aspx)

To me, maybe because of where I read about animation, a lot of great things happen at Pixar in spite of John Lasseter. Wall-E didn't have any proper dialogue for 45 minutes, which were definitely the strongest minutes, and once fat people started talking, the movie sort of devolved from there. I see all of their movies eventually anyways and buy some of their artbooks, which is way more than I'll do for any other US CG animation studio at the moment.

By the way, MONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEYISLANDMONKEY

Edited August 19, 2009 by syntheticgerbil

[ThunderPeel2001]

Cars is my least favorite Pixar film by a long shot, but it seems bizarre to me to claim Lasseter is somehow squelching variety at the studio. Pixar's films have become increasingly varied and unusual, to an almost preposterous degree given their budgets and ostensible target audience. There might be specific firsthand evidence of Lasseter enforcing his homogeneous story ideas or whatever, but it certainly hasn't created that impression from my point of view as a moviegoer.

Agreed... Wall-E appears as probably the least "de-risked" mainstream animation I've seen in years. It's not like Pixar are churning out Shrek sequels or Ice Age sequels or Madagascar sequels or... I digress. Having been put in charge of Disney he's been put in a rather shitty spot, IMO: He now has to handle all their homogenised crap (like "Bolt"), too (and no doubt get all excited by it, yuck).

But it's also thanks to him that Disney is giving Ponyo the biggest US release a Miyazaki has ever had. That's pretty amazing.

Anyways: Tales of Monkey Island -- ! I've actually just got back to trying to complete the first episode. Yes, I'm being rather slow about it, but I'm enjoying it!

Edited August 19, 2009 by ThunderPeel2001