LowLevel

I think Boybrush has been developed appropriately for the role assigned to the character. He has an important purpose and fulfills it well but, inevitably, players have more time to familiarize themselves with the characters who have more screen time. I also think that his voice actor made an excellent job.

Oh no, I am not speculating on "why" the authors did anything. I just pointed out that those topics were not addressed in the game and that their decision resulted in a game that, in my opinion, is welcoming even to those who have not played the previous two games. I never considered "Curse" a "soft reboot," as you called it, but it is a nice way to put it.

I think that's a great name. Ron has developed more than one engine in the last few years, and he seems to enjoy developing and refining them, so I suggest not mentioning any of his engine names; they change. BUTT: Browse Utility for Terrible Toybox Shamelessly recycled from the name I suggested years ago to Ron for his next engine. And, believe me, "BUTT" would have been a much better choice than "Dinky". That's so true. I still remember the compression algorithm we devised with the Amiga computer nerd group when we were about eighteen years old. The name was "burp": its goal was to ingest bytes and produce as few bytes as possible, with a "burp" to represent the heavy digestion. We never got beyond the name and an audio sample.

I can understand the "fear" of saying something definitive, but I don't think "something definitive" was the only option available to the authors of other games. Telling something meaningful (not definitive) about the more surreal tones and perspectives that fascinated me the most was also an option. These themes were not only related to the ending of MI2: The whole story possibly being the product of the imagination of someone; When in time the stories take place: "Pirate Lingo! It's how everybody talked back then. Come on Guybrush, play along."; Guybrush's parents role. I do not doubt that in creating "Curse," for example, the authors thought a lot about these themes. However, in the end the final product is a story that does not address them. Everything happens in-universe: what Guybrush experienced as a kid was the result of the voodoo magic of a demonic pirate. I think that avoiding the topics mentioned above was a smart decision and that keeping everything self-contained in the pirate universe contributed to the success of the game. And that's why I would also avoid them in a possible sequel, if the main goal is to increase the chance that people will like the story. Many artists would disagree with that "if" because, understandably, they need to feel free when creating something. That's why I gave two answers: what I think was a "commercially sound" solution and what I would like for myself.

Good question. Well, it depends: is the goal to create a game enjoyed by as many people as possible or to create something that I would personally enjoy? Personally, I would like the next game to go more down the rabbit hole. I'm not sure if I would use the same "old Guybrush tells a story" device, but I would like to see the darker and more surreal themes explored more, perhaps hinting at themes from MI2 that were never explained and using (again) the "unfinished business" motivation to return to some of the islands shown in MI2. Perhaps an even older Guybrush might be the best character to use as the protagonist and his son might work as a second playable character, framing everything on the father-son rite of passage. On the other hand, if the goal is to create something more easily appreciated by people, I would drop any meta features, abandon any attempt to discuss older topics never explained, and simply take advantage of the framing device established in RtMI. Guybrush would tell another story to his son, this time extremely straightforward: "Guybrush gets into trouble and eventually defeats LeChuck". I would also show Guybrush telling a story to Boybrush only at the beginning and the ending of the game. I believe that after MI2, Ron Gilbert left a hot potato in the hands of other authors who wanted to create a sequel. This hot potato was handled by ignoring whatever Ron had in mind, leading to successful games and stories. RtMI is a little different, because I think it helps to frame any future game in the MI universe without ignoring what Ron did and without creating canon problems: let's pretend it is simply another story told by Guybrush to his son. This is what I would do if the goal is to simplify things and reach as many people as possible.

I don't really remember how many times I used it, but certainly not more than 10. I used it at least two or three times while I was a member of LeChuck's crew, not because the puzzles were difficult, but because I am not a fan of that chapter. The small, enclosed environment bored me a bit and I wanted to move on to the next chapter as soon as possible.

I didn't know that! 😯 True, still at some point he tries to warn Guybrush about the dangers of joining LeChuck when the chest will be opened. Maybe Flambe cared a bit. Yes, that's what I'll remember Gullet for. 😐 I agree. I tried to find some connection between the two characters. Even a mention of anchors on Lila's part would have been enough to fuel my hypothesis. The voice acting of that character and the line "Order.... Order!" made me kill myself laughing when I saw it in the Monkey Island Mondays video. In fact, it was my most thunderous laugh in the whole game. The way LeChuck reacted to any form of affection by Rose or any other crew member (his diary contains a few examples) was both heartbreaking and also the only way LeChuck could react. Really? Why?

He must. Historians and master theses need material. 🧐

It took only thirty minutes, I had to try. 😛

I protest. I reached what I consider to be an ending but I didn't get the Steam achievement. It turns out that that ending doesn't count for the achievement. 😐

I'm not sure: either the day the game was released or the day before/after that.

Related questions: which character did you like the most? Was it because he was funny? Was it because he was a mysterious figure? Why did the character intrigue you so much? Do you think there was something about the character that could have been explored more by the writers? Do you think the character really exists or was it just a representation of a cardboard cutout? Who invented liquid soap, and why? My favorite new character is Lila. She is a somewhat flat character, but she is also knowledgeable, intelligent and resourceful. She is a force of nature capable of turning useless Lorem Ipsum into powerful spells. She is not afraid to fight against LeChuck. Lila is strong and can kill you with one hand while she tags your door with magical graffiti with the other. She is also the one who tells my favorite joke in the whole game. Commenting on the irrelevance of the old pirate leaders, she mocks their very raison d'etre saying that they were probably "making up trials for each other". Genius. The fact that she is the most knowledgeable character among the new pirate leaders made me think of a possible connection with Dee.

👕 I beat #Mojole #193 and all I got was this stupid t-shirt. 4/6 🖤🖤🖤💛🖤 💛🖤💚🖤🖤 💚🖤💚🖤💚 💚💚💚💚💚 https://funzone.mixnmojo.com/Mojole/

I am not sure if this detail has been discussed before, but I think there is no doubt that getting drunk and hanging on a chandelier can only lead to bad consequences:

My simple explanation for this was that Widey is, like Guybrush, so obsessed with the Secret that she follows Locke wherever she goes, to see if the golden key Locke inherited from her mother somehow comes back into her possession:

The total lack of attribution reminded me of Woodtick's characters, who attribute Largo's defeat to everything possible except Guybrush's actions.

I thought about it and could not come up with an acceptable answer. Perhaps the flower was related to LeChuck's diary, but it is unlikely that he used a flower as a bookmark, and the diary has no markings to suggest this. Since it is a yellow flower, it could be a reference to the yellow flowers used in MI1 or those outside the Governor's Mansion on Melee Island. ---- Since I am reading a lot of posts about music, I suggest an experiment. When I first played MI1, I was mesmerized by the total absence of music in some places in Melee. So I suggest you give it a try: keep all the other sounds on, but turn off the music and visit the places in Melee that had no music in MI1, such as low street or the docks. 🙂 It will make you appreciate the ambience sounds as well.

Oh, silly me, I've noticed only now that BrrrMuda is... triangle-shaped. (and its quarry is also triangle-shaped) ((and that in the sea map the island has no castle))

I like to think of the "for whom" theme as "the game was dedicated to us" but not more than that. Unfortunately, I've seen the "for whom" theme exploited by some fans in other social venues to imply the existence of some sort of "moral debt" that developers should feel obligated to repay. That's where I disagree. I find this interesting because I feel the same way, but probably for different reasons than you do. I just got that closure from RtMI that I was looking for, so I no longer feel the need for a new chapter in the story. What I always envisioned as a trilogy has finally been completed. Of course, if more games come along I will still play them, just as I played the games in the franchise that didn't interest me much, but I already feel satisfied with the circle that has been closed for me. That's why moving on and preserving the experience in my heart might be the most natural thing for me to do. 🙂 Yes, that's something that should always be kept in mind. Creators and fans live a game in very different ways. There is a funny scene in Galaxy Quest in which the relationship between actors and fans pointing out obscure mismatching details is parodied with excruciating accuracy. 😁

I do not remember escape rooms existing 30 years ago, at least not in their current form, but NightWalker pointed out something that might be similar. However, despite the references to previous games, the important point to me is that RtMI is definitely a game that has embraced the present, and in 2022 escape rooms exist and may have been an inspiration for the new game. I find this statement by Ron particularly enlightening, especially regarding the fact that being trapped in the past can limit creativity: (Source, translated from an interview in Italian) This is not the only statement regarding the fact that the developers did not want the game to be trapped in the past. In April 2022 they stated: (Source) I remember that this sentiment had also come up in other interviews, so I was well prepared for the fact that the authors did not want a game that tried to adhere to past ideas. In 1990 we did not have fully voiced characters or social movements critical of science-backed health care, but both are common now in 2022 and the game makes use of them. Escape rooms might have been another modern inspiration for the writing.

Yes, because it is up to the owner/manager of the pirate-themed escape room (Stan) to prepare the rooms with puzzles, and the preparation includes locking objects in places that must be opened with keys. The escape room is not just a park to be passively observed, but an interactive experience that poses challenges that Stan constantly improves. That's why Guybrush says: ... which also explains why the Voodoo Lady says that she has signed a contract and can't help you to open the safe. She is part of the escape room staff. And everything fits quite nicely if you take in account something that Ron Gilbert said in 2017 in a Reddit AMA: (Source)

I'm not sure how positively that depicts the psyche of super-knowledgeable fans 😛 but recently I read a tweet by Dave Grossman and I considered it a good example on how things evolve in non-fan realities:

Based on what I'm reading around, some are. I think that some players were expecting a more "standard" story, less grounded into meta narrative. I really enjoyed reading your comments, but I think that whether or not Guybrush has moved on with the Secret is actually something for the player to decide, not something that the story presents as the only or main outcome. In one of the endings, Guybrush has kept the key to the chest and is watching it. This could imply many things, including that he will never stop thinking about it. I'm biased on this point though, because that's the kind of ending that I like more. The couple seen at the beginning of RtMI is coincidentally identical to Guybrush's parents. If we accept this fact, one might revamp my theory that Boybrush and his friend were pretending that the couple were their parents because they were still reenacting Guybrush's story, which included him and his brother emerging from the underground tunnels into the park. 😛

I agree, but this also applies to content that has been eventually added to games, such as the arcade room in Thimbleweed Park. It made sense to cut it because it was not a key feature and the game works perfectly well without it, but that does not imply that the game was not improved when the room and its associated puzzles were added.

I am not sure that a comparison with what MI2 did would help me better understand why some people did not like the lack of an explicit confrontation with LeChuck in RtMI. MI2 was made and played by many of us decades ago, and our taste in writing or acceptance of certain writing styles may have changed over time. Having accepted (or even appreciated) the non-resolution in MI2 decades ago would not explain to me why some people did not like the lack of direct comparison with LeChuck in RtMI today. I also think that, if direct confrontation was what some felt was lacking in RtMI, at least MI2 gives Guybrush a chance to dismember LeChuck and leave him on the ground, which clearly and very explicitly defined LeChuck as the loser. If one assumes that the definition of what makes a game a "Monkey Island game" is entirely subjective, one can find some reason in that argument as well. For example, my very narrow definition makes me classify many games in the franchise as "mostly unrelated to the original story", but that's just me. 😛