The Secret of Monkey Island
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Prime Gaming members can claim a trio of Lucasfilm Games classics this summer
Amazon Prime Gaming is giving away a trio of Lucasfilm Games classics including 'The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.'
Ron Gilbert imagines a new, independent Monkey Island game
Ron Gilbert is not making another Monkey Island game – we repeat, Gilbert is not making another Monkey Island game – but if he did, he has a few ideas for what it would look, feel and play like. In his latest Grumpy Gamer blog post, Gilbert lists upgrades and changes he'd want in a new Monkey Island game, including "enhanced low-res" visuals, hardcore adventure mechanics with minimal hand-holding, a huge inventory and dialogue puzzles.Gilbert would want to rebuild the SCUMM language, in terms of its ability to rapidly iterate new ideas: "SCUMM lived and breathed adventure games. I'd build an engine and a language where funny ideas can be laughed about at lunch and be in the game that afternoon. SCUMM did that. It's something that is getting lost today."Gilbert's wish list includes a team of 10 people or fewer, a boxed game, full voice acting, and a title of Monkey Island 3a, since "all the games after Monkey Island 2 don't exist" in his universe. He's even envisioned a Kickstarter free of frills or fancy videos, one that doesn't attempt to break any money-making records. Gilbert would need to own and control every aspect of the IP, meaning he wouldn't look for a publisher, and Kickstarter would indeed be an option.Most shocking, though, is number 14 on Gilbert's list: "The press won't get advanced copies." Why do you tease so good, Gilbert?
Inside the mind of Ron Gilbert
Sega's booth was as loud and vibrant as the rest at E3 2012, humming with the frantic energy of a beehive that had just been kicked. Lacking a quiet corner, it was in the middle of Sega's bustling booth that I struck up an impromptu conversation with legendary adventure game designer Ron Gilbert.I told the Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion designer that I wanted to get inside his head, to find out where he gleans his inspiration from when starting new projects."You don't want to be in this head," Gilbert promised.%Gallery-156063%
InstantAction streaming service launches: play Monkey Island in this post
InstantAction's new streaming service has debuted, allowing select games to be played not only in a browser window, but in an embeddable applet if desired (for those of you running Windows, anyway). The selection of games is currently limited to just one, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. The service allows the game to be played for 20 minutes for free, with the option to buy it for $9.99. Does it work? See above. You know. The Monkey Island game running directly above this text. Did you realize when you opened Joystiq this evening that you'd be clicking your way into the future? [Update: We mistakenly called the service "Gaikai-powered," which is inaccurate. Gaikai will provide some limited functionality in certain use cases; however, the embedded game above uses InstantAction's "chunking" technology to feed the actual executable to your computer. How and when will Gaikai be used? Look for our interview with InstantAction CEO Louis Castle later today.] [Thanks, Matthew!]
Gaikai and InstantAction team up for streaming, embeddable games
If InstantAction.com's CEO Lou Castle is to be believed, we're apparently going to be playing games pretty much wherever we want in the not-so-distant future. He's just revealed plans (via IndustryGamers) to relaunch his site with a new business/distribution model and a partnership with game streaming service Gaikai. In addition to the already existing model of a quick download (a claimed 4 - 5 minutes) that still somewhat relies on your computer power to process the game's graphics, IA will now offer a streaming option for those who'd prefer a quicker, less hardware reliant gaming experience. "It's the perfect implementation of a thin client solution because when it's available it's brilliant and when it's not available it's ok ... you only have to wait a couple minutes." The aforementioned streaming option (employing Gaikai) will also be embedabble on the web, as demonstrated with Assassin's Creed (not to mention to us earlier today) "Now if people are reading a review of a game, they don't have to go find it ... they can play it right then and there in the browser." And that's just the beginning -- Castle clearly has an eye on digital distribution services when he talks about employing Facebook as "InstantAction's Xbox Live." IA's new distribution model essentially promises to developers/publishers the ability to release games with a variety of payment methods (pay as you go, free-to-play, one-time charge, etc.) while incorporating the aforementioned embed and streaming functionalities. So far, the company has inked one deal for distribution (with LucasArts for The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition) and Castle claims to be pursuing others right now. And apparently it won't be too long before we get to check out the new system ourselves, as the revamped digital platform is said to be "launching soon." %Gallery-88034%
Monkey Island Home costumes allow for Dread Pirate Quincy
Does your dead-eyed Home avatar lack a bit of that buccaneering spirit? LucasArts has a sure-fire way to fix your lack of nautical flair: During its pirate-themed party at GDC, the company announced that Monkey Island costumes (pictured above) would soon make their way to PlayStation Home. Now, we rarely get excited over virtual duds for our virtual manifestations -- but Stan's coat could really add a certain savoir-faire to our terrifying craft.
First Monkey Island SE coming to PSN, Mac, Telltale, InstantAction
At a GDC 2010 event, LucasArts announced that The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is headed to a plethora of new platforms and services. First and foremost, it's been ported for both the PlayStation Network and Mac OS. Furthermore, the game is also making the jump to the Telltale games store as well as InstantAction.com. There are currently no details as to when the game will hit the services mentioned above, but rest assured we're following up with LucasArts right now. It's worth noting that InstantAction.com is currently down for "maintenance," with the site's blog mentioning some "exciting announcements" in the near future. Regardless of when the game does show up, it's definitely good news for adventure fans that have been deprived of the remake thus far.
Best of the Rest: Xav's Picks of 2009
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Upon release, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars immediately found its way on my top five games of 2009. With its style, humor and variety it's clear Rockstar was trying to shine a new light on the popular franchise. Not only that, Rockstar took chances in hopes to attract a similar audience to a handheld GTA as it has on consoles. From a new class of criminal, fighting for honor and turf in Liberty City to an addictive (albeit, mostly cloned from Drugwars) illegal narcotic mini-game, Chinatown Wars felt like a breath of fresh air. Sadly, the game was a commercial disaster, relative to its console-based siblings. Be that as it may, Chinatown Wars was not only my favorite on-the-go game of the year, it was easily one of the best games to release across any platform in 2009.
iPhone Secret of Monkey Island half off, soundboard app free
We're delighted to report that the iPhone version of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition has been discounted 50% for the holidays. It's available for just $3.99 from now through January 4. If you didn't get it at half-price on Xbox (or even if you did), now you can enjoy savings on this version! Our delight comes only partially from being able to tell you about a great price for a wonderful portable adventure game, but mostly from what we learned when we went to verify the price on the App Store: There's been a free, official Monkey Island soundboard app (iTunes link) available since September! We would never have known had the game not gone on sale. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition ($3.99):
Today's Xbox Live deal: 50% off Secret of Monkey Island: SE
Yearning for a hearty adventure, but struggling to get by on the pathetic wages of a Caribbean flooring inspector? If so, today's advertised Xbox Live Deal of the Day (part of an ongoing promotion) should float your cup of tea -- right onto the shores of Monkey Island. The Xbox Live Arcade version of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition has been marked down by 50 percent to 400 MS Points ($5). Some readers reported having some difficulty obtaining yesterday's deal at the advertised price. If the reduced price doesn't reflect on the Xbox Live Marketplace yet, be sure to try again later today. And if you're the good sort that's already completed this classic bout of pirating, perhaps you should join us later today as we taste pies and assign numerical scores to them. Add The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition to your Xbox 360 download queue %Gallery-64664%
Direct2Drive slashes prices on LucasArts games
Direct2Drive is offering some pretty good deals on LucasArts games this week. Three bundles are on offer, one catering to the adventure gamers out there, another for Star Wars afficionados, and a third that combines the first two into a massive LucasArts love fest. The bundles include the likes of Dark Forces, Indiana Jones, KOTOR, Jedi Knight, Monkey Island, Armed and Dangerous, and plenty more. The smaller bundles have been discounted from $49.99 to $24.49, while the massive bundle has been reduced from $99.87 to $39.95. Not bad for LucasArts fans. The sale ends November 23 at 10:00am PT. See details of each bundle after the break.
Monkey Island: Special Edition team unearths lost dialogue
As designer Adam Bormann dug through old code and notes while making Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, he made a curious discovery. Along with notes from Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and crew, he also unearthed dialogue that didn't appear in the original game. Though the lines didn't make it into the special edition, Bormann, like a comedy archeologist, dusted off some of the best bits and collected them on the LucasArts Workshop blog. Though we can see why some of it was left out, we can't help but feel a little wistful about how close we came to being able to ask Meathook for a sample of stump balm. And yes, now that you mention it, Meathook's Stump Balm would make a very good name for a band.
Celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with free and cheap Monkey Island games
Telltale Games and LucasArts are observing the September 19 not-quite-holiday Talk Like a Pirate Day in fine form. What do pirates talk about? All the games they got without paying, of course! On that great day, you'll be able to unlock the demo of the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island by gathering a code from the company's website. You'll also be able to get the full season for five bucks off. You can grab that demo now straight from Big Download so you're good and ready. LucasArts is also dropping the price of the Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition on Steam and Direct2Drive to $5, as well as cutting down the iPhone version's price to $4. That offer is available right now through September 21. With savings like that, you'll be able to afford your own parrot! [Via Big Download]
Monkey Island shirts fail to capitalize on the obvious
Don't get us wrong, the Monkey Island shirt above is pretty boss (apart from the unnecessary game title on the sleeve). The Guybrush vs LeChuck shirt is pretty nice too. Hell, even the Monkey Island buttons are decent. But there are T-shirts just waiting to be made in the actual game. Where is the "I beat the Sword Master" T-shirt? What about the "I found the Treasure of Mêlée Island™ and all I got was this stupid T-shirt!" T-shirt? Come on, LucasArts! Get with the program. [Update: Apparently LucasArts is more on the ball than we initially gave them credit for ... you see, they did hand out "I found the Treasure of Mêlée Island™ and all I got was this stupid T-shirt!" t-shirts at E3 this year though, perhaps conspiratorially, your old pals at Joystiq here didn't get one. Our old pal Snorre, from Norway's Dagbladet newspaper, sent us a pic of his tee which we've included for you after the break. Alright, LucasArts. We give up. Uncle. Just take our money and give us the E3 tee.]
We're buying this Monkey Island statue
It's one of the defining struggles of our generation: Affable loser Guybrush Threepwood and his lifelong foe, the evil zombie/ghost pirate LeChuck, battling for the love of Elaine Marley. Now, it's been captured for all time in this gorgeous, 10-inch resin statue that you can pre-order right this moment. Remember how, just the other day, you said you were looking for the perfect International Childbirth Education Awareness Day present to send us? And that you were looking to spend around $90? Hint, hint. [Thanks, Drake]
The Secret of Monkey Island: SE released for iPhone
As was winked and nodded at by LucasArts CEO Darrell Rodriguez just over two weeks ago, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition has sailed onto iPhone and iPod Touch [App Store link]. It'll set you back $7.99 (plus 351MB of space on your device) and sports the same fully voice-acted dialog and ability to swap between ye olde school and SE visuals on the fly as the PC and 360 versions. We're downloading it right now to put it through its paces. Have you grabbed it? If so, post your impressions in comments! [Thanks, Kevin!]
Secret of Monkey Island has strong start on Steam
The popularity of one Mr. Threepwood and his pirating ways remain strong, as sister site Big Download reports the The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition remake has managed to be the top seller (based on revenue) on Steam last week. Guybrush and his gallivanting managed to best the likes of recently released Street Fighter IV, as well as Steam favorite Left 4 Dead. Steam isn't the only platform the game has been a success on, though. After debuting on Xbox 360 last week, the game has managed to brighten the lives of at least 38,693 individuals (based on game leaderboard data at the time of this post). So, how about that LeChuck's Revenge remake, eh LucasArts?
LucasArts games also going Direct2Drive starting with Monkey Island SE
If, for some reason, you should find yourself in need of an alternative to Steam but don't want to miss out on LucasArts's recent reissuing of back catalog titles, you're in luck. IGN has sealed a deal to distribute the publisher's titles via its Direct2Drive service, beginning today with The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for $9.95. Unfortunately, the announcement makes no mention of what other LucasArts games will be offered, saying only that there will be others. At some point. We've contacted IGN to find out if its lineup will mirror Steam's, or if there'll be any notable additions (or omissions).
Look, an iPhone-sized Monkey Island: Special Edition wallpaper ('Wink wink nod nod')
You can say a lot of things about LucasArts CEO Darrell Rodriguez (he's managed to get the Lucas Empire to acknowledge its adventure game heritage, for starters!) but you probably can't call him slick. When he told us that it "would make sense" for LucasArts games to come to the iPhone, "wink wink, nod nod" (he actually said that, out loud), we caught what he was throwing ... which was a boulder. On fire. Neon fire. So now, when the 'droids responsible for maintaining the @lucasartsgames Twitter account dropped a curiously iPhone-sized Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition wallpaper with another "wink wink nod nod" we barely raised a boulder-singed eyebrow. Instead, we're wondering what the plan is for the iPhone market: "Special Edition" remakes only (ala Xbox Live Arcade), or another marketplace for the classics (see: Steam). Like most of the unanswered questions in LucasArt's journey into the vaults, we imagine it all depends on the success of this first foray. %Gallery-67743% [Via @lucasartgames]
Discover The Secret of Monkey Island (again) on July 15
Mighty pirates and lowly flooring inspectors alike are encouraged to sign up for a return trip to the shores of Monkey Island on July 15th, when a remastered version of the adventure classic arrives on Xbox Live Arcade and PC (via Steam and other online distribution channels). The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition sees that lovable display of ineptitude, Guybrush Threepwood, rendered in splendid HD graphics, surrounded by newly recorded voices and ... fired out of a cannon with a pot on his head. That part's still the same. LucasArts has yet to announce a price for the point-and-clicker, but if there's anything our encounters with the dreaded ghost pirate LeChuck have taught us, it's that you should never pay more than $20 for a computer game. %Gallery-64659%
