Return to Monkey Island (2022) - Ron Gilbert onboard!

[Keyboard Koala]

Looks like a wang, and now I can no longer unsee it.

[barkbat]

I like how the original Monkey Island look was (relatively) realist which played nicely off the surrealist humour of most of the dialogue and puzzles. It's like how having a straight character playing off the zany comedy characters works really well in a typical sitcom. This new look just seems very cartoony, which if anything will subdue the humour rather than accentuate it. It's not sick in a bucket like Broken Age, but it's not the style I'd have asked for. Either way, very excited to play it.

[alex3d]

14 hours ago, gizmo1990 said:

 

Nope, I hate the art style too. Nothing wrong with that. I wish Ron Gilbert had gone the pixel direction (ala Turtles Shredders Revenge) I feel it would have got universal acclaim, but he didn't so hey ho. I'm really glad he's getting to do it though! Maybe some enterprising kids will patch in some pixel art some day. 

 

Same here. I think it looks awful and utterly cheap.

[schmojo]

My favourite thing is that people complaining that it's not pixel art will absolutely be made into a pretty funny joke in the game itself.

 

My money's on a luddite, the-end-is-nigh type with a sandwich board.

[Garwoofoo]

I'm quite surprised how much I like the look of that. I think it looks amazing, and it really suits the game. Very reminiscent of what happened to the Zelda series with Wind Waker, and it'll probably prove to be just as divisive (until ten years later when everyone claims they loved it all along).

 

I'm just glad it's nothing like the style of the MI 1 and 2 remasters - I genuinely hate what they did to those games.

[Mr. Gerbik]

2 minutes ago, Garwoofoo said:

I'm quite surprised how much I like the look of that. I think it looks amazing, and it really suits the game. Very reminiscent of what happened to the Zelda series with Wind Waker, and it'll probably prove to be just as divisive (until ten years later when everyone claims they loved it all along

Exactly what I was thinking tbh.

 

2 minutes ago, Garwoofoo said:

 

I'm just glad it's nothing like the style of the MI 1 and 2 remasters - I genuinely hate what they did to those games.

God, yes. That would have been awful 

[Lorfarius]

Things changed even back then but funny much kerfluffle social media has made. Gilberts done enough to earn trust so give it to him.

 

[Cyhwuhx]

Just in case you want to refresh/generate some memories before this hits, the previous games/special editions are discounted on Steam:

 

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/6588/Monkey_Island_Collection/

[Wiper]

On 29/06/2022 at 08:12, schmojo said:

My favourite thing is that people complaining that it's not pixel art will absolutely be made into a pretty funny joke in the game itself.

 

My money's on a luddite, the-end-is-nigh type with a sandwich board.

 

I just want to emphasise that, as much as I love the new art style (and as much as the people who have actively complained at the developers or otherwise had little tantrums over it are amusing and ripe for becoming the butt of a joke), it's entirely fair that not everyone likes the way Return looks — it is a distinctive, and thus divisive aesthetic they've gone for.

 

As in, I hope it's clear that there is "room here for not loving the art style on its own merits without being lumped in with the weirdo angry internet boys", as @R0b put it — we don't want to turn into one of those weird threads where any deviation from loving every aspect of a game is greeted with pitchforks!*

 

 

*though if anyone says anything negative about the inclusion of Murray you all have my permission to burn down their house, obviously.

[MidWalian]

Well done internet. Shame, I've been enjoying the grumpygamer blog for a very long time.

 

[James Lyon]

Is it just the art style that people don't like? I see zero reasons to complain about anything else.

 

I feel bad about not liking it, really. I can live with it, though. It'll grow on me and I wouldn't demand for it to be changed.

 

Edit: In fact, it's not that I don't like it. It's just not what I was used to or expecting. I don't have any repulsion for it (despite saying I don't like the red nose ).

[schmojo]

Men over 40 who are sad that they're not young anymore, and hate everything that changes because it symbolises their decline, might be the single worst thing on the internet.

 

People are entirely allowed to dislike the art style. Like anything artistically bold, it's going to be divisive. Nobody here has been over the top. But then you get the Star Wars/Ghostbusters horrors who crawl out of the woodwork to try and make everyone else as miserable as they are.

[Captain Kelsten]

It looks alright. The style and the animation is distinctive for sure. Im not fussed either way, really. The remakes looked far worse. Reminds me a bit of Guacamelee and that other game Rob Gilbert did. 

[Benny]

I can think of plenty of past games where I've hated the art style but loved the game. But the internet hate machine refuses to stop until all original thought or joy is extinguished.

[Majora]

I quite like the art style but I can see why it's divisive. For want of a better word, MI1 and 2 always felt like very 'cosy' games to me in terms of looks and atmosphere whereas this new take looks quite busy and manic.

[schmojo]

One interesting thing to come out of the conversation is the room pixel art leaves for personal interpretation. 

 

I feel like the 'cut scenes' from SOMI have a lot to answer for in convincing people that the game was ever meant to have a realistic look.

The limitations of pixel art at the time mean that they could've been going for any number of looks from realism to cartoon. those who believed in each got to interpret it that way. Those cut-scenes felt jarring to me way back when, because they didn't fit in with my interpretation. It felt like they were a tech demo to boost overall presentation.

 

And how people interpreted that vague pixel art will no doubt have a big knock-on effect for their preference now. There's no room for imagination with current graphical fidelity. The original concept art seems to suggest the game was always meant to be cartoony, rather than realistic, though the different look of the box art at the time may have misled and informed people's expectations. As it so often did.
 

I imagine everyone remembers the vibe of Melee Island a little differently.

[Captain Kelsten]

I have no emotional investment in the monkey island franchise. the first one I played was this one:

 

 

 

Although I’ve since gone on to play the others via their remasters (a couple of times, actually). I like them, but they’re not an ingrained part of my youth like for many others, but I enjoyed them enough to buy this day one. 

[Kevvy Metal]

What people need to understand is that a pixel art approach, where every frame needs to be hand-drawn will take so much more time, and be so much more expensive than the cut-out animation approach that they've taken. That's doesn't quite sync-up with the art-style but I do think the cut-out approach has lead to them leaning into that particular look. I like it, I think it's cool. 

[Scribblor]

Just read the story about Gilbert turning off comments and not talking about the game any more, which totally sucks. I hadn't realised that there was a gameplay trailer, so I've just watched that.

 

And I have to say, I really dislike the art style. Hopefully it'll grow on me before I play it, or while I'm playing it, but right now it's just very much not my thing. It's a couple of things for me - I hate the noses, for some reason, and I also really dislike the paper-art animation style. I haven't liked it in other games that have been similar, art-wise, like Guacamelee or the character designs in Broken Age. But so what?

 

Not every game has to have my favourite art style. He's said before that it's the art style he wants for the game, so that's what style it should have. I'm confident that the game itself will be great, and there's no way I'd ever abuse him or the team for doing something that doesn't pander exactly to my tastes. I can look past art I don't like for a good game.

 

And if the game's crap then that'll be disappointing, but I'll still have the older games that I really love, and it won't be because of the art style.

[gizmo1990]

That's how I feel too. Only I can't get past the art because, for me, it's so intrinsic to a game. I do believe that art is on the same level as gameplay, I always have, but that's totally just my opinion. Regarding the time to draw pixel art. I think that's become a bit of a crutch to beat the style with. A good pixel artist (and there's quite a few now due to its popularity) can bang out art at a very decent rate. I would cite Shredders Revenge and the new Ninja Warriors title as examples.

Anyway again it's a shame for me because I adore the first two titles. But it's totally Ron Gilbert's decision and that's fine. I hope it's a big success as maybe it will rejuvenate the genre and some other company can come in with a professional pixel entry.

[Wiper]

Yeah, that's the thing isn't it — I'm also one of those people who can't look past an art style that I really dislike, so I can appreciate why it's super disappointing if a new game in a series you love comes out and looks bad to you. While I love the way Returns looks, I have a very strong aversion to the HD2D aesthetic, which means that not only the new games using it (Octopath et al), but Squeenix's upcoming remakes are all write-offs to me, which is a shame for me personally. So I have a lot of sympathy for those disappointed by Return's looks!

 

But there's a major difference between being disappointed by an art style, and feeling like you're entitled to a game that looks the way you want, to the exclusion of anyone else's tastes and to the point of harassing the actual creator of the game over it. That's just absurd, and it frustrates me no end that so many people consider it a reasonable, appropriate response. It's the same genre as the people who decided to send death threats the voice actors from The Last of Us 2, the people currently sending abusive messages to the developers of God of War 2 because it's delayed. Like, what the actual fuck.

[PeteJ]

Gosh, I had no idea people felt so strongly about the art style in this game. Reminds me of the attacks Nintendo got when they revealed Wind Waker. 

 

Anyway. I'm a huge fan of monkey Island. That music sent me right back to playing the game on the amiga with my two older brothers and working through the puzzles. I was too young so probably didn't help at all, but fond memories all the same. Although the quality of them dropped over the years, I like them all in their own way. Monkey Island that is, not my brothers. 

 

And I love the art style of the new one

[Fletch]

At least it isn’t as bad as Guybrushes hair in the remakes. 

[Alan Stock]

It's just disgusting behaviour. Regardless of how you feel about an art style, what gives you the right to harass and belittle a game dev for it like the folks who made Gilbert close his blog? The really sad thing is that it's proper adults doing this, people who played the originals and can only consume their member berries laced with salt. This entitlement and downright meanness by maniacs on the internet towards game devs is totally out of control. Why are devs having to endure harrassment, death threats, and such vitriol for simply wanting to create entertainment and give other people joy? It's a sickening trend that I don't know the answer to. Total madness.

[Keyboard Koala]

On 24/05/2022 at 23:02, EdgarMonkey said:

My pixel/ classic/ retro version of the trailer:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7d3phC9cwU&ab_channel=EdgarPartida

 

I really love the pixel art (and I really expected that Ron and the rest of the team could be used the retro style). That was a little disappointed for me, but also we must remember that Ron Gilbert as god, and Return to Monkey Island ad the best news of the century. I really want to buy and play it! I was dreaming thin moment for 30 years…

Don’t worry about the pixels style. I’ll make a Demake/old school/classic version, totally free (if no one put charge on me… I offer to do this free for everybody, just for passion)

 

This guy is going to save us all

 

Be interesting to see if he will actually make his old school version.

[kiroquai]

I’d love it if the true secret of Monkey Island that Guybrush discovers is an unlockable pixel art style for the game.

 

(I personally dig the new art style, can get why people aren’t so keen though).

[Don Wiskerando]

Fucking hell people.  The true art of Monkey Island is in the writing. It could be a text adventure and still be as playable.

[Lorfarius]

[b00dles]

Yeah it's one thing to complain about the art style even on our little corner of the Internet (I already said in this thread how I couldn't give a three-headed monkeys what the art will be given it's actually Ron Gilbert and dave grossman doing it) but to actually go to his own blog and shit on it directly is just unbelievably rude. 

 

Even if he said it wasn't the art style he wanted and some bigwigs made him do it, the fuck sort of right do you have to go and have a go at the maker of the whole thing? It's totally weird. 

 

It's mere existence is an absolute fucking miracle and whatever art style it has, it will actually play like a proper point n click/ adventure game rather than any number of pixel art MI games they could have farmed out to telltale or someone else that equally doesn't actually know how to make them properly. 

[thesnwmn]

48 minutes ago, b00dles said:

Yeah it's one thing to complain about the art style even on our little corner of the Internet (I already said in this thread how I couldn't give a three-headed monkeys what the art will be given it's actually Ron Gilbert and dave grossman doing it) but to actually go to his own blog and shit on it directly is just unbelievably rude. 

 

Even if he said it wasn't the art style he wanted and some bigwigs made him do it, the fuck sort of right do you have to go and have a go at the maker of the whole thing? It's totally weird. 

 

It's mere existence is an absolute fucking miracle and whatever art style it has, it will actually play like a proper point n click/ adventure game rather than any number of pixel art MI games they could have farmed out to telltale or someone else that equally doesn't actually know how to make them properly. 

 

Obviously the people posting in a rude and threatening manor on his blog are rude and can fuck off to hell.

 

But posting his own thoughts and choosing to leave comments on means he's got to be expecting people to give an idea of what they like and don't like right? We don't only want/expect people to kiss his ass?

 

Personally I see no reason to post my thoughts to his blog because a) I don't particularly like or dislike the style and b) it's not going to change anything at this point and I've not seen enough to really judge. But then I'd feel the same if I loved it. What does my opinion really matter until the game is released? I'll vote with my wallet right.