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It's a nice puzzle, but I would probably have been more impressed with it had I not seen an almost identical one years earlier, and I though it was better integrated there. (I wish it hadn't been so unforgiving, though: You only have a limited number of moves before you run out of air, and you have to get through a small maze.) That's not to say they ripped it off, just that it was hard not to see the parallels. The game, in case anyone was wondering, is Sorcerer by Infocom.

I guess my hopes for the game (which mostly seem to be in the right direction given what we've read) is that it's driven by so much more than nostalgia. I don't mind going back to old locations, revisiting old characters. Of course it's gonna have a bit of that. But the thing I was really frightened of with a new Monkey Island is what if it doesn't actually have anything new to say. And they seem to be self consciously making sure it does have new things to say. Interesting things. I think Ron is right to be frustrated that Thimbleweed Park is so heavily seen as a throwback when it does some interesting stuff, but also it was a very self inflicted label. It absolutely went out of its way to connect itself with the past and to make references only people familiar with the old stuff would get and to make jokes about how old school adventure games worked. But here, we're coming in with new art style, an interface approach that is gonna at least be interesting enough that they're not yet ready to discuss how it works, a story that they claim is gonna be a wild ride and are clearly very excited for people to get into. On the other hand, it's been a while since I've played a Ron Gilbert game that truly felt like it took its world building seriously. Not that MI ever took itself over-seriously, but it always felt like it was really GOING for something. Thimbleweed had elements of it but with tongue so firmly lodged in its cheek I don't think its atmosphere always held together. The Cave might've been that game for me but whether for budget or other reasons that always seemed just a little shallow to me, as a world. I liked the idea more than I liked the execution, I guess. I guess what I'm getting at is that I want this to be a game that really trusts itself not to be a relic of the past. That lets me lose myself in its world in the same way I did the first two games. That doesn't feel the need to constantly remind me that I'm playing an adventure game, or that I'm revisiting an old franchise, but actually trusts itself to tell a good story in an atmospheric world that I am invested in for its own sake. When I fell in love with MI it didn't have the weight of 30 years behind it. It's gonna be difficult not to acknowledge all that baggage in some ways, but while I'm playing, I want to be able to forget I ever left.

On balance I think I'd still prefer a story that is kind of a bit smaller and self-contained across its timeline, than something that hops around a lot. After an episodic monkey island game I think I'd like one which felt a little less segmented between its parts. But I certainly wouldn't hate something along these lines, especially if it came together really well in the end.

I’m not to keen on the “Guybrush revisits the old games” theme that keeps popping up the last couple of pages. While it’s a nice homage to the series, it’s again nothing new. It’s recycling old ideas for a couple of cents of nostalgia. And while that obviously scores (looking at you Spider-Man), it does not make for something new, and it doesn’t make a good story most of the time. And come on, if you were Ron Gilbert, and you’d finally be able to make a Monkey Island again after 30 years, would you spend that time looking back at old games, most of which you had nothing to do with? I think whatever is coming is going to be totally unique for MI, and there will be very little nostalgia involved, aside from the recurring themes, islands and characters.

If I remember correctly, the German releases always had the sturdy, fully glued two-part boxes, wrapped in the artwork: Whereas the US releases had the folded boxes, with the folds on the upper and lower edges (this one is my custom box from pack.ly though, and they are printing directly on the cardboard and provide the boxes ready to fold): And then there's the wobbly one-part flap-top boxes, which got used even on German releases (Grim Fandango and a bunch of Star Wars games) :

Yeah I think that you can print directly on paperboard or, “casewrapped” where the art is printed on adhesive paper that is wrapped over the paperboard. I don’t think either of those necessarily implies the folds you see in some boxes vs others, but I’m not sure. apologies if I got any of that wrong

Ooh thank you!! It seems like the Zak McKracken box is actually a different kind of box looking at this. The boxes I'll aim to replicate are made of 2 parts (the lid and the tray) but this one looks like it's just one box, folded up! It gives me a good idea of what the cutting pattern will have to look like if I ever get to making a ZakMcKracken one though! Thank you a lot!!

It's pretty much always contradicting impulses when it comes to narrative media. We want the old back, of course, but it has to feel new. It has to have completely new elements, but they must not feel alien. The resolution to a story should follow entirely logically, but still surprise the heck out of us. It should have the old characters, even when their arcs are long completed. It should really take risks, be bold and daring, but not shock us. It should take liberties with the source material but not infringe on the holy canon. It should fit just like your worn-out favorite gloves but still have that fresh-out-of-the-cow leather smell. As an author, I guess the best thing to do is not to listen to the fans because they are, myself definitely included, slaves to those contradicting impulses. Which people will like Return to Monkey Island may in fact by and large already be decided. But I'm guessing this will play out well for you and me. 😊

I think you're onto something here

I highly doubt Ron & Dave will do anything "cheap" for this game, I'm 100% sure they're giving all they have for such a unique chance.

@CalisDraws, I found something that might help you make the ultimate LucasArts Big Box facsimile! I found these ZakMcKracken uncut box print plates online. They were on Ebay, but they're long sold now. The seller claimed they were real. Maybe you can use them to get the exact dimensions, or to get a feel of how the boxes are when they're unfolded.

I guess that theme is based on my "could work" theory, but better entry points to cheap nostalgia definitely wasn't what I was after. It was not about revisiting old games in the first place, it was about experiencing different stages in Guybrush's life, most of which the fans have never seen. It was about spreading an entirely sparkling new storyline throughout Threepwood's lifespan. Maybe a bit like Dragon Age 2, with Guybrush himself as an entirely unreliable narrator with "Big Fish" ambitions and even choice points for the player (in order to seriously rip the canon and chronology to shreds, that could be great). Now, we do have certain nostalgia moments confirmed for ReMI, the Return to Monkey Island first and foremost, then there's Melee Island again. So we're dealing with certain nostalgia moments anyway, the question is how "cheap" that nostalgia will feel. And ... maybe a good framing story can sell a whole lot.

Exactly, just as they did with Monkey 2. It's all about innovation for them, and it shows.

Instead of repeating themselves, I hope Ron and Dave come up with stuff that will be regarded equally as classic in 30 years.

That's a Ron trope I guess. He did it in TSoMI, did it in MI2:LCR, did it in Thimbleweed Park. Something in maze mechanics seems to agree with him. And ... I also never liked the mazes.

Seeing Guybrush being sprayed root beer upon during the dream sequence reminded me of a crazy theory I had. Before spraying, LeChuck says he's about to destroy Guybrush's spiritual essence (as Guybrush did in MI1): we know that that dream isn't 100% a dream, because the notes Guybrush takes down are real, so what if LeChuck actually destroyed some part of Guybrush's spirit right there? I mean probably it's just a dream and there's no explanation for the bone dance notes being real after he wakes up, but still, if we went nitpicking on that sequence it's quite odd that no one but me ever mentioned it?