Ron Gilbert never really said he wouldn't ever make another Monkey Island. The series' creator certainly came close. In 2013 he penned a now infamous blog post asserting that he couldn't return to the point-and-click series unless a list of specific circumstances were met. In fact, so thorough was the list that it effectively put an end to hopes of another Gilbert-led adventure with Guybrush Threepwood. And yet fans still never quite gave up hoping.
And why would they? The Monkey Island games are famed for being subversive and silly. The series has something far brighter than a glint in its eye and exudes an exciting sense of mischief throughout. Through their jokes and puzzles, each Monkey Island game has delighted in toying with expectations. All that considered, many hoped that Gilbert was simply setting us up for another delightful punchline.
It might not quite have been his plan, but almost a decade on, that punchline has come. A brand-new Monkey Island led by stalwarts of the original's team is due on PC later this very year.
Focused development of the new game started around two years ago, but the story of Monkey Island's rebirth began considerably earlier when Gilbert struck up a conversation with publisher Devolver Digital's co-founding partner Nigel Lowrie at a PAX. Lowrie dared to suggest that Gilbert could still make another Monkey Island. And having inroads with Disney, he was in a better position than most to help Gilbert work with the current owners of Lucasfilm Games, and thus Guybrush's world.
MONKEY BUSINESS
Suddenly there was a very real opportunity for Gilbert to connect with the current owners of the world he created, and get past the business hurdles to making another Monkey Island game. Still, he needed to give it some serious thought.
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Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.
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