Return to Monkey Island

[Knight Owl]

If I had one concern about the visuals, it's that some of the animation feels just a bit stiff to me – leaning a little closer towards linear interpolation than I'd like. 

 

For example, in the shot where Guybrush is hanging from a vine, the vine jerks back and forth rather than easing in and out as switches directions, which makes it feel less like it's being affected by gravity. And Guybrush's hair sways almost completely in sync with guybrush's body, lacking a sense of overlap and followthrough.

 

In contrast, I LOVE the shot where Elaine is climbing down the rope. It's so beautifully fluid and smooth, the way she slowly comes to a stop and then her head moves back with her hair slightly delayed.

 

I do think the jerkier motion could work to make the animation feel almost like paper puppets, and if that's the intent then awesome. I think I could definitely get used to it and grow to love it, but just from my first impression, some of it seemed a tiny bit off. In any case, the animations clearly have love and effort put behind them.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Knight Owl

[KestrelPi]

1 minute ago, Knight Owl said:

If I had one concern about the visuals, it's that some of the animation feels just a bit stiff to me – leaning a little closer towards linear interpolation than I'd like. 

 

For example, in the shot where Guybrush is hanging from a rope, the rope jerks back and forth rather than easing in and out as switches directions, which makes it feel less like it's being affected by gravity. And Guybrush's hair sways almost completely in sync with guybrush's body, lacking a sense of overlap and followthrough.

 

In contrast, I LOVE the shot where Elaine is climbing down the rope. It's so beautifully fluid and smooth, the way she slowly comes to a stop and then her head moves back with her hair slightly delayed.

 

I do think the jerkier motion could work to make the animation feel almost like paper puppets, and if that's the intent then awesome. I think I could definitely get used to it and grow to love it, but just from my first impression, some of it seemed a tiny bit off. In any case, the animations clearly have love and effort put behind them.

 

It could be that those animations are just not quite finished yet, but it could also be that ... just from what I remember in Knights and Bikes, Rex likes to do these sort of not completely 'well' animated moments for comic effect, like, to add to the silliness of the moment. Like, I know what you mean about that guybrush rope animation, kinda? But also to me it looks really funny. And yeah, I think part of the intention behind the animation is probably to do with something the art style is going for. But yeah, I sort of see what you mean.

[KestrelPi]

Oh that's why my notifications have been going off. Ron has retwort me.
 

 

[ThunderPeel2001]

7 minutes ago, Knight Owl said:

If I had one concern about the visuals, it's that some of the animation feels just a bit stiff to me – leaning a little closer towards linear interpolation than I'd like. 

 

For example, in the shot where Guybrush is hanging from a vine, the vine jerks back and forth rather than easing in and out as switches directions, which makes it feel less like it's being affected by gravity. And Guybrush's hair sways almost completely in sync with guybrush's body, lacking a sense of overlap and followthrough.

 

In contrast, I LOVE the shot where Elaine is climbing down the rope. It's so beautifully fluid and smooth, the way she slowly comes to a stop and then her head moves back with her hair slightly delayed.

 

I do think the jerkier motion could work to make the animation feel almost like paper puppets, and if that's the intent then awesome. I think I could definitely get used to it and grow to love it, but just from my first impression, some of it seemed a tiny bit off. In any case, the animations clearly have love and effort put behind them.

 

Yep. If I have any reservations at all, it's with the stiffness and unnaturalness of the animation. Let's see how it plays in the final game...

[Knight Owl]

5 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

Oh that's why my notifications have been going off. Ron has retwort me.

I saw that! Thats amazing!!

[KestrelPi]

In the end (and this isn't to invalidate anyone's opinions about this, I definitely see what you mean) I think when we see the whole thing we could still make a case for this being the best animated Monkey Island game we've ever had

 

MI1: serviceable animations for sure, but not many of them

MI2: Definite upgrade in this department, but it still didn't have THAT much to animate.

CMI: Great in the pre-animated cutscenes, obviously, but I always thought a little bit 'eh' in the actual gameplay parts.

EMI:

Tales: Pretty good actually, for what it was - but they clearly had a budget to contend with.

 

Here even if not everything is on point we got these really neat dynamic touches in the backgrounds like those foreground and background rats, Guybrush seems to have a host of facial expressions he's working with, and everything feels really expressive in a way I love.

[Knight Owl]

3 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

In the end (and this isn't to invalidate anyone's opinions about this, I definitely see what you mean) I think when we see the whole thing we could still make a case for this being the best animated Monkey Island game we've ever had

 

MI1: serviceable animations for sure, but not many of them

MI2: Definite upgrade in this department, but it still didn't have THAT much to animate.

CMI: Great in the pre-animated cutscenes, obviously, but I always thought a little bit 'eh' in the actual gameplay parts.

EMI:

Tales: Pretty good actually, for what it was - but they clearly had a budget to contend with.

 

Here even if not everything is on point we got these really neat dynamic touches in the backgrounds like those foreground and background rats, Guybrush seems to have a host of facial expressions he's working with, and everything feels really expressive in a way I love.

Oh yeah, for sure. From the moment we first saw the way the ghost lady's violin was animated to to the music, it seemed like the game's animation would be much more thoroughly integrated into the game's visuals than ever before, and this trailer proves that. 

[Knight Owl]

If you go to the website on mobile, you can see what the key art might look like if cropped to the size of a poster or box art. I can't get over how gorgeous it is, especially the colors. Greenish sky with redish foreground will always be one of my favorite vibes.

[Remi]

Without the logo it makes for a good Lock Screen background, too. 

[Knight Owl]

10 hours ago, KestrelPi said:

He said it would be live, not orchestral. And not 100% - that would probably be not particularly practical, there's some stuff that is just easier to manage or just source with samples. I might want a mellotron in my soundtrack, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna have access to one, etc. So I'm taking it to mean that the soundtrack was composed with live instruments in mind, and they used live instruments wherever that was practical.

Hey KestrelPi, were you the one I talked to about Psychonauts 2's E3 trailer music with on the Double Fine Discord? I think we may have had a similar discussion back then if that's the case 😁

[KestrelPi]

2 minutes ago, Knight Owl said:

Hey KestrelPi, were you the one I talked to about Psychonauts 2's E3 trailer music with on the Double Fine Discord? I think we may have had a similar discussion back then if that's the case 😁

Probably! In the end I was glad that they managed to do as much live recording with P2 as they did. (Even as someone who is a big advocate of the validity of sampled instruments, and not having a big pool of performers to draw from - or a budget to pay them - has to use them in my own music most of the time)

Edited June 29, 2022 by KestrelPi

[Knight Owl]

3 minutes ago, KestrelPi said:

Probably! In the end I was glad that they managed to do as much live recording with P2 as they did.

Yeah, that game's soundtrack ended up being incredible

[Staple Remover]

Forgive my profanity but this trailer is just so gosh darn good. I get more hyped by each viewing. 

[Knight Owl]

The animation in this trailer reminds me a bit of Prince Achmed (if not nearly as stiff and jerky). Created way before any rules of animation were established, but immensely charming nonetheless.

 

 

[demone]

I just noticed that the website refers to this game as the conclusion. Small detail, but I think that really shows just how crazy this game will be if it's meant to conclude the story arc started in the first game. Ron has already said in an interview that he won't rule out potentially making another one if the opportunity presents itself and they have a good enough story, but looks like this will be the end to the current arc of the series.

 

The trailer certainly has all the bearings of a grand finale and with seemingly more dialogue than the other games before it, yeah.... the more I think about it, the more I might take the week off this game comes out, grab some snacks, maybe a beer or two, and truly experience it uninterrupted. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by demone

[OzzieMonkey]

4 minutes ago, demone said:

I just noticed that the website refers to this game as the conclusion. Small detail, but I think that really shows just how crazy this game will be if it's meant to conclude the story arc started in the first game. Ron has already said in an interview that he won't rule out potentially making another one if the opportunity presents itself and they have a good enough story, but looks like this will be the end to the current arc of the series.

 

The trailer certainly has all the bearings of a grand finale and with seemingly more dialogue than the other games before it, yeah.... I think I might take the week off this game comes out, grab some snacks, maybe a beer or two, and truly experience it uninterrupted. 

I've long hoped since Tales finished that the next game would be a big finale that had a sense of closure around the series, given the ambiguous nature of its future throughout the years. While I understood the motive behind keeping things open for the next person, I think it's best to make a satisfying ending where you're ok with it being the last in case the series remains dormant afterwards. 

[demone]

3 minutes ago, OzzieMonkey said:

I've long hoped since Tales finished that the next game would be a big finale that had a sense of closure around the series, given the ambiguous nature of its future throughout the years. While I understood the motive behind keeping things open for the next person, I think it's best to make a satisfying ending where you're ok with it being the last in case the series remains dormant afterwards. 

Agreed and I think with Ron back behind the helm, this is the perfect opportunity to close it off. I never thought we would see the day where there would be 6 Monkey Island games. Tales and the Special Editions were a shock to me when they were first announced and Return was an even bigger shock. I would of course love for more to be made in the future, so long as they have a good story that does the series justice, but if this is indeed the last one, I will still be overjoyed with what we got from this series for over 3 decades.

[madmardi]

Unfortunately its been a busy day at work, but I just have to say I absolutely loved the trailer! Man, it was so so so good!

[MichaelSon]

I really really really am looking forward to this game.

Hope there will be a big box release of it so I can buy it for my collection 🤩

[BillyCheers]

I think it wasn't mentioned here already, but Ron confirmed a Mac release and said that PC would be the port. I'm just wondering why they don't mention Mac at all on the websites then? 🤔

If both really come out at the same time, I'll be faced with a difficult decision: Either play on the small MacBook with classic Point&Click - or on the Switch on the big OLED TV. As long as the controls are good (Ron has hinted at this several times), the latter would be fantastic! But really I hope we get a glimpse of how the Switch controller works before the release...

 

As for the trailer itself, I'm surprised how much it has to offer. There is so much in it (almost a little too much)! And everything just looks fantastic to me. The mood, the many great details (LeChuck's desk nameplate), the music, the colors, the countless locations - I just can't get enough of it and am really overwhelmed. 🥰

[Lagomorph01]

27 minutes ago, BillyCheers said:

I think it wasn't mentioned here already, but Ron confirmed a Mac release and said that PC would be the port. I'm just wondering why they don't mention Mac at all on the websites then? 🤔

If both really come out at the same time, I'll be faced with a difficult decision: Either play on the small MacBook with classic Point&Click - or on the Switch on the big OLED TV. As long as the controls are good (Ron has hinted at this several times), the latter would be fantastic! But really I hope we get a glimpse of how the Switch controller works before the release...

Or you can do it the way I played SMI, MI2 and CMI. Hook your macbook up to the tv using an USB C/HDMI cable, and use a trackpad to lay on the handrail of your couch. Beats sitting at a desk with a small screen anyday!

[BillyCheers]

5 minutes ago, Lagomorph01 said:

Or you can do it the way I played SMI, MI2 and CMI. Hook your macbook up to the tv using an USB C/HDMI cable, and use a trackpad to lay on the handrail of your couch. Beats sitting at a desk with a small screen anyday!

Hmm… I tried that in my last playthroughs, but either there was a lag (and I really hate that) or I had to make so many adjustments to the picture quality that the colors just looked ugly - or I am just too stupid for that stuff. 😅

But I guess, this also depends mich on which tv you have? (Mine is an LG.)

[Lagomorph01]

3 minutes ago, BillyCheers said:

Hmm… I tried that in my last playthroughs, but either there was a lag (and I really hate that) or I had to make so many adjustments to the picture quality that the colors just looked ugly - or I am just too stupid for that stuff. 😅

But I guess, this also depends mich on which tv you have? (Mine is an LG.)

I have an LG too, and I didn't really make any real adjustments. It didn't bother me on SMI and CMI. But on MI2 the Oled really made me see the scan artefacts in the black of the backgrounds, so that's a little drawback I guess. Can't beat couch gaming though.

[Lechuck]

Unfortunately I'm just not a fan of the art style. To me, art as abstract as this is a barrier to immersion, and one of the things I always loved about the first two games was that you could get lost in those worlds. That was what Ron used to want too, with his story of wanting to get off the boat at Disneyland.

 

This is no criticism of Rex. He does what he does very well. But for a game that is celebrating so many of the original team coming back, it feels like a shame that this wasn't extended to the art team as well.

 

I wasn't necessarily after pixel art, and I hear Ron when he says that the games always used the most cutting edge technology that was available, but by returning to this property after so many years and making a direct sequel to MI2, this is by definition a legacy / nostalgia IP and that does come with years of weight to it.

 

But it is what it is, and I will really try to meet the game on its own terms when I get to play it.

 

[KestrelPi]

2 minutes ago, Lechuck said:

Unfortunately I'm just not a fan of the art style. To me, art as abstract as this is a barrier to immersion, and one of the things I always loved about the first two games was that you could get lost in those worlds. That was what Ron used to want too, with his story of wanting to get off the boat at Disneyland.

 

This is no criticism of Rex. He does what he does very well. But for a game that is celebrating so many of the original team coming back, it feels like a shame that this wasn't extended to the art team as well.

 

I wasn't necessarily after pixel art, and I hear Ron when he says that the games always used the most cutting edge technology that was available, but by returning to this property after so many years and making a direct sequel to MI2, this is by definition a legacy / nostalgia IP and that does come with years of weight to it.

 

But it is what it is, and I will really try to meet the game on its own terms when I get to play it.

 

Fair - I would point out though that each Monkey Island game has featured a new art style, including the first two, so it IS in keeping with the Monkey Island tradition to do that again.