Return to Monkey Island

[BillyCheers]

On this german Nintendo site it says that it looks like there’s gonna be a retail edition of the switch version:

 

https://www.ntower.de/news/81249-return-to-monkey-island-nintendo-eshop-liefert-hinweise-auf-eine-reguläre-handel/

[KestrelPi]

I understand the impulse to not want to see more but I do feel like there's been a shift in how this has been treated since the 90s. I think we've seen a bit more than we'd usually see of a game in the 90s, but I'd attribute that more to it being so much easier to do now. And in the end it's still only a few minutes of footage and a mere couple of snippets of mostly rather out of context in game dialogue.

 

In 1996 Curse had a 3 minute trailer which showed off a substantial part of the game's intro (including some animation and music that was clearly unfinished, looking back on it.), as well as a demo which let you play the first part of the game. And at the time I feel like we ate it all up, and never worried about knowing too much in advance.

 

My attitude towards it all is that while I don't want to know the big surprises, of course, I feel like the team know what they're doing, know what to show and what to hold back, and how to show it.

 

Like... yeah, show LeChuck's voice -- but use a bit of a weird clip, so we don't hear too much of it in context. Yeah, show us some environments, but mainly ones we've seen before, so that the new locations can be a bit more of a surprise. Yeah, show some dialogue, but nothing super important.

 

I get it, people want to play the game a lot, and don't want to learn too much before going in. We only get to play it for the first time once, it's true. But we only get to be excited about the release once, too... this part is fun too, right? The speculation? The scrutiny of each scrap we're fed to see what it might mean? The noticing the tiniest detail in a background and setting off two pages of discussion into what it might be about? I mean, I like it. That's why I keep coming here.

[Vainamoinen]

 

1 hour ago, OzzieMonkey said:

I'm a little nervous about the trailer tbh, excited for a release date, but worried that we'll see too much.

 

Mostly just worried that ReMI will still not be in the GOG catalog this week, which would mean that I'd have to sever ties with the fandom cleanly and immediately until it's clear I can even play the game on release day. Emergency break before the hype train hits the wall at full speed. 🥺

 

1 hour ago, BillyCheers said:

On this german Nintendo site it says that it looks like there’s gonna be a retail edition of the switch version:

 

Can't even be happy about that. It kind of cements the temporary console exclusivity, and that's even more horrible for the indies than for the AAAs. I really hope this gamescom thing isn't bareback Steamtendo ...

[BaronGrackle]

I haven't bought PC games since the times before Steam and GOG. But I take it Steam is an unacceptible medium of purchase for some of you?

[KestrelPi]

6 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

I haven't bought PC games since the times before Steam and GOG. But I take it Steam is an unacceptible medium of purchase for some of you?

 

Some people see it as enforced DRM (I think it's a touch More Complicated Than That^TM AND have enough problems with GOG's parent company that I do not see it as a good alternative... but I'm not gonna get into it here.) Some people also dislike the near-monopoly that Steam has (which I think is fair enough, it's just that to me all the alternatives are sort of.... 'swings and roundabouts' is the phrase I believe.*)

 

*Except itch, I think itch is a great platform, but it's not really relevant here. If they put it on itch, I'd consider using that.

Edited August 22, 2022 by KestrelPi

[BaronGrackle]

If I could get into my Casual Time Machine, and go back to Best Buy's PC Games aisles from the 1990s...

[KestrelPi]

7 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

If I could get into my Casual Time Machine, and go back to Best Buy's PC Games aisles from the 1990s...

 

I'll take the convenience over a feeling of ownership 99% of the time (almost every game I play nowadays I play once. I rarely go back, even if I'm really enjoying them because there are always new things i want to play. There's maybe one game every few years which I love so much that I want to keep a memento of it.)

 

...but that said the one thing I do miss are big old chunky game boxes. I still have all my LucasArts ones in my parents' attic, and since I'm going to have a bit more space soon when I move, I was thinking about going up there next time I visit and getting those boxes to put on display.

[BaronGrackle]

It's possible that the only reason I bought a PS4 was to access the Grim Fandango remaster and the Disney Afternoon Collection.

As a non-PC player, I felt the need to upgrade my PS3 to a PS4 to play these 90s PC and NES games on my living room TV.

Maybe someday I'll get a PS5, if they release Curse of Monkey Island, Zak McKraken, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, or SNES Goof Troop on it.

 

EDIT: Why is this relevant? I guess it isn't. Except I'm an example of an adult who doesn't buy new games but will buy console rereleases for old games, or new sequels for old franchises (e.g. Monkey Island).

Edited August 22, 2022 by BaronGrackle

[KestrelPi]

 

[JacquesSparkyTail]

1 minute ago, KestrelPi said:

 

Loving the music transitions.

[KestrelPi]

Ah, my favourite video yet. Main thoughts:

 

• That SCUMM Bar music, then the transition. Yesss.
• The INTERFACE. It's such a neat idea for the hover-over text not just to name the object but give us a few of Guybrush's thoughts about it too. You can sneak in all sorts of jokes that way, too.

[AndywinXp]

Jesus the hard rock rendition of the Scumm Bar 😂 and a perrrrfect Curse rendition of the theme before that 

[BillyCheers]

Ooouuuuh, the transition… how cool! 🥰
 

Interface looks good too. Just wondering how all this will translate to the switch. Maybe we’ll see that tomorrow! I just hope the possibilities to interact won’t be too small. We’ll see.

[Vainamoinen]

UI spotted!

 

[BillyCheers]

Also interesting: there seem to be other / not all people in the SCUMM Bar as in the trailer (Cobb’s missing e.g.).

Would be nice if there is even more life in the places as in MI1, people coming in and leaving etc. That’s what I always liked about Mêlèe: it seemed full of people, living/visiting there.

[demone]

The animation looks amazing. The fire specifically stood out to me in this clip. As others have said, I love how Guybrush's thoughts are in the hover text. I can see this not only being funny but maybe even a little emotional. Final puzzle hover text "time to finally end this." 

 

Also, looks like the general trend with these clips is showcasing locations and characters already featured in the trailer. The outside area of Brr Muda, shown four weeks ago, was probably the most spoilerish. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by demone

[KestrelPi]

5 minutes ago, BillyCheers said:

Also interesting: there seem to be other / not all people in the SCUMM Bar as in the trailer (Cobb’s missing e.g.).

Would be nice if there is even more life in the places as in MI1, people coming in and leaving etc. That’s what I always liked about Mêlèe: it seemed full of people, living/visiting there.

 

It might be that it changes over time, for story reasons. But also, remember this is a visibly run down/struggling version of Melee compared to the Melee of MI1.

[Jayel]

18 minutes ago, BillyCheers said:

Ooouuuuh, the transition… how cool! 🥰
 

Interface looks good too. Just wondering how all this will translate to the switch. Maybe we’ll see that tomorrow! I just hope the possibilities to interact won’t be too small. We’ll see.

Yeah curious about the Switch controls too because that's my preferred platform. I really hope it's not controlling the cursor with analog sticks. The last game I played that did that (Later Alligator) I wanted to throw the Switch against the wall.

[KestrelPi]

1 minute ago, Jayel said:

Yeah curious about the Switch controls too because that's my preferred platform. I really hope it's not controlling the cursor with analog sticks. The last game I played that did that (Later Alligator) I wanted to throw the Switch against the wall.

If it were me designing it I might do something like... use left stick to move Guybrush around, and right stick to move between the various interactables.

[Knight Owl]

That scumm bar music is just incredible. I’m hoping the context sensitive interactions give us more than 1 option for what to do with some things but I love the idea of what they’ve done

[BaronGrackle]

It's like the Look command has had its effects placed on the hovering text. Instead of needing to examine the kitchen door to hear Dominic say, "Smells good in there," it gives Guybrush's thoughts on the hover.

 

So a lot of items will only have one interaction choice.

[KestrelPi]

5 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

It's like the Look command has had its effects placed on the hovering text. Instead of needing to examine the kitchen door to hear Dominic say, "Smells good in there," it gives Guybrush's thoughts on the hover.

 

So a lot of items will only have one interaction choice.

 

The SCUMM Bar sign is still interactable, so I imagine that what happens if you click on it is get some sort of dialogue from Guybrush. So maybe it's more like the hover over action is saying 'think about' and the default interaction is 'act on <whatever that thought is>'. If that thought is 'Time to visit the pirate leaders' then the action is to go through the door.

 

Perhaps sometimes you'll get various different possible thoughts to act on (and of course, the inventory, too)

[Vainamoinen]

4 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

It's like the Look command has had its effects placed on the hovering text. Instead of needing to examine the kitchen door to hear Dominic say, "Smells good in there," it gives Guybrush's thoughts on the hover.

 

Nah. That's not where 7000 lines of dialog come from. 😅

 

I think it's a bit more complex and versatile. The mouseover gives you a lot of things, but not full fledged commentary. It seems to oscillate between the simple verb plus noun, intent, fleeting thoughts and a bit of a questlog. I can be used for a lot I guess, but that's all with the left mouse button. If it still retains some of the key control principles of Delores, the right click is where the verb magic happens.

 

[Remi]

13 minutes ago, Jayel said:

Yeah curious about the Switch controls too because that's my preferred platform. I really hope it's not controlling the cursor with analog sticks. The last game I played that did that (Later Alligator) I wanted to throw the Switch against the wall.

 

David Fox confirmed on Twitter a while back that they'd support "direct controls" through gamepads. Exactly what that means is anyone's guess, but presumably it wouldn't be the direct-replacement-of-the-mouse method.

[Staple Remover]

I give them credit for showing restraint on changing the name of the SCUMM Bar to (New Engine Name) Bar.