Vainamoinen

And now you'll have to explain to us what "slingshot kissing" is. These kinky dudes! 😘 I actually interpreted "kissing" as the sound that the slingshot makes. I can hear what it possibly refers to rather distinctly in my head, and am now in the involuntary process of continuously reproducing the sound with my mouth. My co-workers are looking at me funny, and it's all Dave's fault. On the prospect of Elaine and Guybrush kissing "for realz" Ron Gilbert is back at the helm, and just about the only thing he felt was totally wrong in CMI was that Guybrush and Elaine were married. They had grown distant in LeChuck's Revenge, and it was Guybrush who demolished any chance of them reuniting. Elaine deciding to go into conservation, that also seems to hint at her being "her own woman". But I wouldn't say "fat chance" to the expression of love, because that's a theme that the Guybrush-narrator in the trailer explicitly mentioned. There's love in this. And even gameplay with Elaine as a playable character. If we're lucky, LeChuck's Revenge has shown to us what separates them and Return to Monkey Island will show us what unites them.

@tmetic / @El_Pollo_Diablo These are absolutely stellar works, you're really setting the bar here. 🥰 I have ... these guys.

The Tales' "reveals" about the Voodoo Lady were part of LeChuck's plot (badmouthing her, destroy trust), so I don't think we'll have them verified in Return. The Voodoo Lady is always scheming, that's her thing. Her voodoo was always an uncontested power of good with the exception of a voodoo doll now and then on LeChuck's side. I think the Very Important Pirates will try their hand at voodoo and might act as the very first antagonists to the Voodoo Lady directly. I also like the idea that Carla has retreated into the governor's mansion, fighting the invasion of the Brr Muda / Key King's forces. I wouldn't like to see her as an antagonist really, maybe she's just fighting Guybrush for old times' sake. Or practice to show him the (new) ropes, become his teacher. Ohhh I'd like that. Taking the reins from Smirk. We don't really need the swordfighting insult paradigm back for fencing sequences to be more brainy than mashing some button or two. We see several instances of protagonists fencing some opponent in the trailer (Guybrush vs. Swordmaster, Guybrush vs. LeChuck, Elaine vs. Mystery Pirate Lady with square collar), so it's a given that there will be some form of repetitive mechanic tied to swordfighting. We're being shown a fencing animation while there's some clever other thing you're doing that decides who wins. Which really could be anything. We've been discussing the "collect your crew" trope before and the consensus (more or less) was that it has become a trope / necessity / stereotype / meme in the Monkey Island series only with Curse, the game that first repeated the TSoMI-era puzzle. If Ron's not into repetition here, that would be appreciated. It's not just that Wally is back that excites me. He's a mapmaker again and I love maps! Making him a wannabe pirate like Guybrush was a bad idea. I also don't want him to have any magical powers, making maps is magically enough. It's a literal superpower that far surpasses voodoo and only Wally possesses it. The Screaming Narwhal wasn't a bad ship. It was in fact a very good ship, it just had a lot of recycled and repurposed parts. Whatever Guybrush's on for ReMI is rock bottom. This thing has its steering wheel literally tied to its bow with ropes. I'm not even sure it's a complete ship ( ... the wheel is usually at the stern 🤣). Maybe it doesn't even have a sail. Ron writes the grumpy characters. Murray is a very grumpy character. I think I can do the math.

In some German forum that I'll definitely frequent much less in the future, I've seen this petition badmouthed as the work of "children" that are somehow on the same level as the "children" that put hateful content in the commentary section of Ron's blog. The execution may be a bit raw, the 'petition' idea a bit silly, the English a bit crude and the focus a bit wrong as Kestrel has noted, but it still is a push in the right direction, an organized spearhead of positive emotion. I don't think I'll sign it for now, but I think it's absolutely all right that it exists.

I've gone through all the youtube comments. Yes, there are those three, in short succession, and I totally understand why it makes no difference that they're in the minority. That's the thing with toxic comments. With toxicity, you don't need 50% poison in your blood stream for it to become lethal. Much less suffices. Coolest comment translated for all those who don't speak German: grdguardian: Good morning, this is nicely done, but there are some, you know, mistakes in regards to content. Was that done on purpose? Marius: I know, the fisherman accidentally has two pipes. Some mistake with the layers. A comment I also had to shrug about was the dude who felt entitled to have a German version before the English. Because you're German, apparently that only comes with duties, not privileges. Why would you serve the larger international audience first when your domestic audience is thirsting for this? 😆 Has it really just been 13 years since the Tales? It feels like 130. Maybe I'm way too nostalgic, maybe there was a horrific backlash when Telltale showed its first scenes from Tales. I just looked up the first trailer on Telltale's youtube channel though, and about the most negative thing I found was "I definitely prefer the 2D hand-drawn look. Especially in Curse'! That doesn't kill my excitement for this latest installment though. ". And seriously, Telltale's graphic style was no less of a shock to lifelong fans than Terrible Toybox'. People were more polite and thankful for Monkey Island to return. So maybe this is the age of entitlement, whining, right-wing disregard of other people's feelings, and destruction of fun for everybody else. Maybe this is why we can't have good things. But it's also the age of interpassivity, and that's a soothing thought. It's an era in which we watch reaction videos to intensify our joy in narrative media. Joy created through other people's enjoyment, a perpetual motion device of positivity! And back on April 4th, I wasn't just royally fucking hyped because a new Monkey Island was announced, this hype was much intensified by your reaction video. It wasn't just "Monkey Island is back", it was "Majus is back" as well. Back in the Tales timeline, those 130 years ago, it wasn't even Telltale's episode trailers, it's been the IwwhiToMI series of Flash videos that was getting people infinitely hyped. The wait between episodes was excruciating, people were racing to the finish line and then suddenly there was the trampoline for our excitement, these Flash vids (and of course, the "I'm more piratey than you" video). You had yourself baked into that fandom and into the whole Monkey Island legacy. Dave is so right for retweeting everything you do. Think Monkey Island, think Marius. This new Flash vid is incredible. All the good of the old plus guest star. I don't think I would have drawn so damn much fan art in my life if it wasn't for you showing the world that some people and some franchises deserve that devotion, and the joy it brings to me for just throwing myself into a new piece regardless of the outcome quality. So, yeah, I hate seeing you down like that. I understand why these comments sting, disproportionately so. I really want to play Bud Spencer, banging the heads of those youtube commenters together. But we can't be Bud or Batman, we can only ever be Barbara Streisand. And that means the only path open to us is to smack them silly with positivity. To not even react to the negativity in any way, but just place a ridiculously positive comment right beneath. I think I can do it. In part, you showed me how. Oh, and by the way. My friend was overjoyed, and treated this with love and care, but put it behind glass, and it's been over a 100 years now, so it's a bit bleached out. Maybe you can make a new one one of these days.

It's a recruitment strategy. Same thing happened to David Puerta recently: https://twitter.com/davidpuerta85/status/1543257811009867777?cxt=HHwWgsC44a6z4OoqAAAA The places where positivity is even welcome are in rapid decline these days. I don't know, I kind of think in the long term for this. When naysayers will have long forgotten that there even was a Return to Monkey Island, I can still sing its praise. And one day in the far future, you'll have to make a Return to Monkey Island flash film, just so people are up to speed for part seven.

Hmmmmm, let me mull that over. Stan is imprisoned on Melee Island (the cell even has traces of the beverage that Guybrush once poured over the lock). The court would indeed be over on Brr Muda from what we know. But Brr Muda is a monarchy, it has the King of Keys. Elaine as governor would have jurisdiction over Melee Island. BUT we already know that she's into conservation these days. So, hypothetically, Elaine leaves the tri-island area to save all those animals, loses jurisdiction, power vacuum, and bam, the King of Keys annexes the Carribbean (I can hear the cries of "political leftist BS" already). Guybrush to the rescue: He needs to find Elaine and install her as governor, to convince her he has to get those conservationist efforts going (I know New Zealand is a ways off, but I'd like to have kakapos in the game, so). Then he has do de-install the King of Keys from power. To do that, he has to right his wrongs, like imprisoning Stan. All a bit far fetched, but I think that would work.

Wait, what am I not getting here? Telltale's Tale had inventory combination, right from the beginning. In fact they made the whole thing more complicated as you had to drag both items into a separate window and hit a combine button. That's not streamlining anything, quite the contrary. That sounds sooo odd. 😂 I'm not even certain that scene is something that's actually in the game. At the very least it's a clever play on NFT and crypto crap. Regardless what Stan did in the later MI parts, they couldn't have anticipated NFT and crypto crap 13 years ago, but when they came up, it was pretty clear to us that these full hands of nothing needed a salesman like Stan to actually sell.

Well that cross stitch enigma ended badly for me, because I really wanted Jojo back. 😅 But who knows, maybe there's another character who can play the piano. And we have more than enough animals in the game it seems.

Yeah, that would be a real downer. And I haven't had any downer yet for this game, just vague fears of what could (not) be.

I'll just combine everything with everything as always.

Badges, fish bait, and keys. Did anyone notice how that's what this part seems to revolve around? The pirate leaders seem to have badges. The fish bait adorns Guybrush's as well as Elaine's outfit, and is found in quite a few background pictures as well. And the keys are everywhere including on the crown of Brr Muda's king.

I think so too! But I'm pretty sure they can't beat your guesses. ;)

The publisher steps in.

Okay, I keep hearing that Return would just rehash all the old stuff and just pour the old characters over us in hopes that this would trigger our nostalgia. Then I see what's been released and I'm intrigued about all the new characters! And until they get real, author approved ones, let's give them some names. Purveyor of the best name gets love and appreciation and, I don't want to promise too much, but maybe they also get a like. 🥰 Also tell us who's your favorite character and why! And you can speculate a bit about their role in the game until it actually releases. Here's a short list of new characters for you to slap a genius name on: (1) Ghost pirate violinist lady She peaked our interest in the first teaser. Still the best design. Living dreads on the living dead. Also, violin skills! (2) Ghost pirate crate delivery person As seen in countless memes of the ReMI thread. Apparently LeChuck's right hand. Ghostified Largo maybe ... ahhh, naaah. (3) Brr Muda Judge That guy in the screenshot's icy court room, center in the trailer's fish eating contest. He's probs excruciatingly nice. (4) Brr Muda Key King Wears a crown of keys and according to Guybrush's scrap book, eats live fish. (5) LeChuck's Zombie Chef That mouth area really doesn't look particularly healthy. The civilized pirate looks away. (6) Very Important Pirate 1 / Afro-Carribbean beardy dude That animation looks like he's pouring his drink directly into his hat. Also that shirt collar would have brought J. C. Leyendecker to the very end of his skills. (7) Very Important Pirate 2 / Pompous Pirate dude/dudette Square cyan eye shadow, long dark hair, bright golden gloves, slim, a glorious purple dress with puffed sleeves that would make Anne Shirley rabid, and ... is that a pirate melon hat?! (8) Very Important Pirate 3 / Spikey head pirate dude/dudette Finally, a real pirate. A little small, but eyepatch. Possesses a bowl of chicks and is therefore evidently the most likable character in the whole game. (9) Slim Pirate Fencer Elaine faces her in front of the Giant Monkey Head. Red and Dark Cyan, stern look, square collar. (10) First dude on a ship Ship dudes have great sideburns. This one's a small dude with a giant paper ship on his head. Under his jacket, I think he's clothed with a fish net. Don't tell anyone. (11) Second dude on a ship This one's a giant dude with a miniature paper ship on his head. Also, trenchcoat. He's probably a private investigator. Is that an eypatch for both eyes? Also, sideburns. (12) Locksmith of Melee Island Always keeps that family portrait in the background. I also think he knows a bit about fencing! (13) Fisherman dude behind barrel in the Scumm Bar Wild guess maybe, but with that dress, a fish lure on your hat, and that stern look ... it's Buyfrush Keepload, a mighty fisherman. (14) The Squirrel™ As seen in the trailer on a tree. Oh come on. You just KNOW that one has a bigger role to play.

OH MY. THANKS!! 💘

All right, close enough. Now color the o and the i in gold and join them to make a key. 🗝️

Love it, @Toymafia88! Those sleeves though ... and that blonde, blonde hair. Return Guybrush seems a direct continuation of Tales and the Special Edition of LCR far more than of actual TSoMI and MI2:LCR. He does have Curse hair though.

It has always been my dream to get a fully orchestrated Fate of Atlantis soundtrack. I mean ... most of the tracks don't even need a full orchestra and could be done with just a few instruments. But this OST really really deserves so much more attention and appreciation, because it's just awesome. I don't need a FOA remaster, strictly speaking. I'd rather have a five part episodic series reboot: parts 2 to 4 would be the action, puzzle and team parts, they'd yield one stone disc each. You'd play all of the episodes in the order you choose with slight consequences on the storyline. Yeah, I have this all mapped out. The puzzle part has Indy infiltrating the Icelandian black market art thieves that Sophia sold Atlantean artifacts to. At the same time, Sophia is in equally uncharted waters – hunting for info at Princeton University. Indy sent her there. He wouldn't go himself, too afraid to meet his dad. Sophia, of course, will meet Jones Sr., quite unexpectedly.

I'd like to now appreciate the trailer's rats, the squirrel, the bunnies, the snail, the parrot, the owl, the peacock (?), that other bird, and of course the bowl of chicks (not the deer head or the frozen eagle, of course).

The 'original' fans in their 40s who in fact experienced The Secret of Monkey Island in 1990 as teens, those who want the "promised" pixel art back, may even be a minority. I think that a larger part of the vitriolic critics got their lasting bam-bam to the head with Curse of Monkey Island. They want CMI in HD (which wouldn't work, but that is an altogether different topic). And then there's yet another part of the critics who would "allow" any style, "JUST NOT THAT ONE". Most of those people, I guess, would ask from Return to Monkey Island exactly what you suggest. They want to return to the comforting warmth of their childhoods, and they seem to have the ultimate idea what stylistic choice Ron Gilbert should have made for them to find the path. Funny thing though: Rex' style, in my opinion, makes exactly that possible, for me at least. These tiny, puny games thrown together by a handful of people back then, they felt vast and grand. The secrets felt so plentiful and I was always the first person on earth to discover them (even when using a walkthrough). Every new scene could be any size, Guybrush could face any peril and challenge, and I would guide him out. No game today could render the same joy, that's the problem with adulthood. The latest Uncharted entries come close at tens and hundreds of millions of dollar budgets a pop. How are you doing that at a so much smaller budget, to an audience so used to big budget pizzaz? The ReMI art team approaches the impossible task from a multitude of directions: the color schemes are very similar to the original monkey island games, the backgrounds take a lot of almost forgotten keys from the earliest games, the contrasts are so strong, we have more expressive facial animation than ever before, and a lot of abstraction is reducing characters and backgrounds to their most recognizable, iconic forms. The alien and warped background compositions allow any scene, perspective, or exaggeration. This style does not limit RonDave in telling the story they want. Swordfight in a crow's nest? Spitting contest in a full to the brim amphitheatre? Labyrinth of doom in a fiery lava underworld? A monstrosity of a LeChuck ship that could easily house thousands? You try that in CMI's style, in Tales' style, in LeChuck's Revenge's style. It wouldn't look nearly as good as it would in ReMI's chosen style. This is the form that best serves the function.

To be fair, that was the most controversial standpoint we had for a long time. 💀

You're very welcome, and sign me up for the list of naive dunderheads who back in April thought that this kind of negativity would plague every game fandom besides, of course, Monkey Island. When Drew Struzan looked back on his career, he noticed how the suits almost always approached him wanting to do something new, something fresh, something that hasn't been done before, something shocking, something provocative, something that isn't that easily digested. When he delivered what was asked, he was rejected, each and every time. That might be, in a nutshell, our upbringing in narrative media. We've only ever experienced commercial art through a corporate normalization filter. We scream for something new, something fresh, something that hasn't been done before, something shocking, something provocative, something that isn't that easily digested. Once we get that, we're appalled. Make no mistake, this is an echo chamber. But it's not the only forum I post in, it's the forum I retreat into to lick my wounds. Constant negativity itself is toxic, but a forum in which all members are more or less of the opinion that "the art is shit" won't even have the toxicity compared to a forum that has two deeply entrenched sides trying to find the ultimate insult that gives them a win.

New theory for why there's still no release date: Terrible Toybox is self-censoring Guybrush's nose for the domestic market. 🇺🇸

Yet not in the trailer. But the smile she sports in the promo art means that the respective muscles are contracted, hence the wrinkles known as "crow's feet" form for the duration of the smile. I'm usually loud and proud about these things, but yeah ... it can get you down. And 'offensive' positivity will only get you so far. You can't really confront the naysayers with positivity. It's more helpful if you take your positivity where the naysayers can't reach it. I'm employing a hit and run strategy these days. Blurp a positive and hopefully knowledgeable post into a negative community, then run and hide. It's what Guybrush would do.