Curse of Monkey Island: Special Edition

[Rosefull]

IIRC, the credits backgrounds are hard-coded into the opening cutscene! The actual credits text is superimposed over the video feed, but the backgrounds, music, etc play as part of the introduction video file. Thus, you CAN'T skip the credits without skipping the entire intro movie.

Ahh, I see. Thanks for explaining it.

[Udvarnoky]

Don't forget that in addition to the scrapped rollercoaster cutscene was the wedding song, performed by Guybrush and Elaine, that was supposed to play during the ending credits. They didn't record the song, but like some of the storyboards for the scene of Elaine swordfighting a skeletal horde, Chuck Jordan's lyrics for "Plank of Love" can be found in the hint book. I always assumed that it was just meant to be background music for the credits scroll, but our interview with Bill Tiller about Ghost Pirates a few months back (still offline, unfortunately), suggests that it definitely had visual elements:

 

Same thing happened when I was on Curse of Monkey Island. We wanted another few months to get the final cut scene done, a big dance number on the yard arms of a pirate ship. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. But that is the reality of the game business, a reality I am still struggling with a bit.

 

- Bill Tiller

 

Classic video game company logic - "Put the time and the effort into the cutscene at the start of the game - more people will see it! We don't need an ending."

 

*sigh*

 

The shipwreck on Blood Island does not occur at the start of the game... Also, the rationale for cutting down the ending sounds way less cynical when you hear Ackley tell it:

 

You have to make choices when you’re making the game. Early on we decided the most important part of a game is the game, not the video. I’ve seen plenty of games with exceedingly expensive cut-scenes where the game was shallow and/or poorly made. On those games it’s obvious they focused on the cut-scenes first and game play second. When they ran out of time and money, they cut the game.

 

We did the game first and cut-scenes second. Let me assure you the final cut-scene was designed to be huge and spectacular with Elaine single-handedly defeating an army of skeletons. But, probably due to just HOW spectacular it was gonna be, there just wasn’t time to get it into the game. But if the worst complaint people have about the game is, “this one cut-scene was too short” I can live with that.

 

- Jonathan Ackley

 

Bit of an oversight of the developers! Not many people like sitting through credits.

 

I don't think it was an "oversight" so much as a technical issue - my guess was always that they had to use INSANE for the opening credits specifically to achieve that visual gag where LeChuck swipes away the final title card with Ahern and Ackley's names on it with his cutlass. I bet it at least had something to do with why everything up the scene with Wally below deck was handled as one giant cutscene, anyway.

[Thrik]

It's funny, because it took me about a year to work out that there was more introduction video after the credits... if you skip the credits then it takes you straight onto walking up in Wally's hold.

 

Haha I was the same, except it was more like five years later (after giving it a third or fourth play). I was pretty much blown away by the fact there was this long, awesome cutscene with superb renditions of the LeChuck music, etc.

[elTee]

Wow, Thrik. You of all people, I'm surprised! Because I know for a fact that the first time I played CMI, which was pretty much release-day, I physically couldn't skip the credits due to the awesome rendition of the Monkey Island theme that was playing

[Thrik]

Haha, well I was like 10 to be fair and I'd downloaded the music by itself from what I recall to enjoy at my leisure!

 

Since then I've religiously let all intros play through.

[Monkey Mania]

They also could fix up the animation a bit. It was pretty bad at some points.

[Rosefull]

They also could fix up the animation a bit. It was pretty bad at some points.

 

Yeah, I agree. We've come a long way in that department since '95, haha.

[LordTrilobite]

No.

 

It's fine as it is.

 

 

They'd proably want to redesign/re-imagine it if they decide to make a special edition. That would be a shame.

[Rosefull]

Actually, I'd like to see more of a re-release than a special edition. Just like... touch it up a bit, add in the missing cutscene, and make it available to computers from this decade. People would buy that. I would.

[Monkey Mania]

I'm talking mainly about the cutscenes. It's be nice to get some former Disney animators to reanimate the cutscenes using the original key drawings.

 

 

Compare this:

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To this:

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[ThunderPeel2001]

I feel they could have found a technical solution to the "skipping the intro sequence" problem. I'm shocked that a lot of people were probably utterly confused by finding themselves in LeChuck's hold with no explanation.

 

MM: I never had any issues with CMI's cut-scenes before, but that Road to El Dorado scene is really a ton better. Wow!

[daltysmilth]

If they did a special edition of CMI, I wouldn't want any drastic changes. If Bill Tiller is willing to re-scan and re-color the line art so it looks good at a higher resolution, that's fine. And I wouldn't mind if they re-edited some of the dialogue. There are a few times in the game (which I can't think of specifically) where there's some awkward pauses between lines, which I assume was probably due to limitations in the software at the time. And wouldn't it be nice if Lucasarts released a soundtrack CD? I realize that there are numerous ways to get most of the music for free, but I don't believe any of the released versions of the soundtrack have the music from the FMV cutscenes sans dialogue. I could be wrong, though. Laserschwert?

[Rosefull]

Ooh, another thing:

 

I want LucasArts to record and add in that song between Guybrush and Elaine ("Plank of Love" or something...) that was going to go into one of the older games but they ran out of time to put it in. I really wanna hear it, haha.

[Monkey Mania]

MM: I never had any issues with CMI's cut-scenes before, but that Road to El Dorado scene is really a ton better. Wow!

 

It's just something to consider for special edition treatment. Since there's no need to record the voices. That time, money, and effort could be put towards the cutscenes.

[sinus]

And wouldn't it be nice if Lucasarts released a soundtrack CD?

 

It would. High quality music w/o sound FX!!! *sigh*

 

I realize that there are numerous ways to get most of the music for free, but I don't believe any of the released versions of the soundtrack have the music from the FMV cutscenes sans dialogue. I could be wrong, though.

 

No, it's simply not possible to get the music without dialogue and sound effects. Some cutscenes are useable though, like the just-married ending.

[Rosefull]

It's just something to consider for special edition treatment. Since there's no need to record the voices. That time, money, and effort could be put towards the cutscenes.

 

Yes. Well, I think it could also be put into the graphics of the general gameplay as well. Just touch 'em up a bit.

[ATMachine]

Ooh, another thing:

 

I want LucasArts to record and add in that song between Guybrush and Elaine ("Plank of Love" or something...) that was going to go into one of the older games but they ran out of time to put it in. I really wanna hear it, haha.

As noted above, "Plank of Love" was in fact intended for the end credits of CMI, so this would indeed be perfect for a Special Edition. Unlike the missing cutscene in Part VI, I don't think the vocals were ever actually recorded, though. At least, that's what Dominic Armato says.

 

It does seem like the CMI team meant to include a number of deliberate homages to Sierra's King's Quest VI. An ending-credits love song was one. Plus, the Part IV intro scene, where the Sea Cucumber sails into the sunset before being shipwrecked in a nighttime storm, is a reference to a similar shipwreck scene in the intro of KQ6. The shot of the Sea Cucumber sailing toward the setting sun is in fact modeled on a particular shot in that analogous KQ6 scene, right down to the camera angle.

 

CMI also was done in a big-budget Disney-esque animation style, much like Sierra used in King's Quest VII. I guess Ackley/Ahern et al wanted to signal that Monkey Island was now LucasArts' big-budget franchise to rival Sierra's King's Quest series. Too bad that was basically the peak of the adventure game era...

[Rosefull]

As noted above, "Plank of Love" was in fact intended for the end credits of CMI, so this would indeed be perfect for a Special Edition. Unlike the missing cutscene in Part VI, I don't think the vocals were ever actually recorded, though. At least, that's what Dominic Armato says.

 

It does seem like the CMI team meant to include a number of deliberate homages to Sierra's King's Quest VI. An ending-credits love song was one. Plus, the Part IV intro scene, where the Sea Cucumber sails into the sunset before being shipwrecked in a nighttime storm, is a reference to a similar shipwreck scene in the intro of KQ6. The shot of the Sea Cucumber sailing toward the setting sun is in fact modeled on a particular shot in that analogous KQ6 scene, right down to the camera angle.

 

CMI also was done in a big-budget Disney-esque animation style, much like Sierra used in King's Quest VII. I guess Ackley/Ahern et al wanted to signal that Monkey Island was now LucasArts' big-budget franchise to rival Sierra's King's Quest series. Too bad that was basically the peak of the adventure game era...

That makes a lot of sense.

 

I never knew about the nod to Kings Quest that MI made. I've never played it myself, but my dad was always a huge Kings Quest fan, and I know he played it for a long time. Makes me want to try it, haha.