Monkey Island is Back! (Part 2: Reflection on Adventure Games)
RIP David Eddings. Though I wasn't a fan, he brought a lot of people into the fantasy genre, both in reading and writing.
I'm still enamored about Tales of Monkey Island. I've been obsessively checking Telltale's forums for new info and have watched the trailer perhaps 3 times. Now here's a gameplay video that was released at E3. http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6211381/ Yes, I'll get to listen to the Monkey Island theme for hours on end. :D
Speaking of music I've had the Scumm Bar theme stuck in my head. Had to add it to my iTunes again. I'll probably add the Melee Forest theme before long too. Beautiful pieces of music.
Now, I don't know which characters are returning, aside from LeChuck, the Voodoo lady, and Elaine, but I read somewhere it might be someone we don't expect. So maybe it will be a character who has yet to return in any of the sequels. Maybe Smirk perhaps? Or that old shopkeeper that Guybrush followed to see the Swordmaster? I wish Murray would return, but I have a feeling he's not going to. Maybe not in this season. I of course will be happy if he does. Hell, I don't even know what islands the game is going to cover. Maybe some new? Maybe some old? We have to have Monkey Island for sure. It's not a Monkey Island game without it. Ok, so the second game didn't really have Monkey Island, but I'm not counting that. I'm assuming your starting island, Melee Island is back right?
It's been 20 years since The Secret of Monkey Island came out. I was four years old. I must have had my first experience with The Secret Monkey Island when I was about five years old because that's when the LucasArts Classic Adventures pack came out. Including Secret, it came with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, LOOM, Maniac Mansion, and Zak McKraken. I was too young to play adventure games then, but I enjoyed watching my dad play them. They were the most amazing thing of my young life. I loved the humor, the stories. They were my starting point to getting into adventures later on.
Many people may not know this, but I believe adventure games helped to pave the way for other genres too. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, adventure games had stories, which a lot of the other games at the time didn't have. It would be foolish to ignore the innovations that adventure games brought to the gaming world in general.
In 2006, I found out about the new company Telltale games. They had just announced they were going to start making some new Sam and Max games. I was stunned, just as I am now that they've announced they're doing Monkey Island. I had only been playing adventure games intermittently up to this point. Adventure games were just hard to come by, and they still are actually. So, it was like I had no choice, but to try to get into another genre. So, I played mostly simulation games like The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and Zoo Tycoon. While fun, these games easily got boring after a while and all I wanted was to see adventure games back again.
With Telltale's announcement I had hope. I had been lurking around Adventure Gamers for a while, but finally decided to join in February 2007. Here I could get all the news about adventure games I wanted. It was a great source of information because adventure games weren't really dead. I could find out what new ones were coming out and go get them. Before I didn't know anything about new stuff. I just picked up whatever at Best Buy, and hoped it was good. I had steered away from first person games, but now I know better that just because the game is in first person, doesn't mean it has to be like Myst. So, that alone gave me more games to play.
From 2007 to now, I have discovered old classics I never got to experience when I was a kid such as Grim Fandango, Broken Sword and Toonstruck. I have fallen in love with adventure games all over again.
So, does the success of Telltale mean a reawakening for the genre? I certainly hope so. I'm optimistic. I think people are ready for more story driven games. Plus LucasArts got a new president who is a big Monkey Island fan. That can only mean good news. Time will tell if I'm right and adventure games can dominate again.
I'm still enamored about Tales of Monkey Island. I've been obsessively checking Telltale's forums for new info and have watched the trailer perhaps 3 times. Now here's a gameplay video that was released at E3. http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6211381/ Yes, I'll get to listen to the Monkey Island theme for hours on end. :D
Speaking of music I've had the Scumm Bar theme stuck in my head. Had to add it to my iTunes again. I'll probably add the Melee Forest theme before long too. Beautiful pieces of music.
Now, I don't know which characters are returning, aside from LeChuck, the Voodoo lady, and Elaine, but I read somewhere it might be someone we don't expect. So maybe it will be a character who has yet to return in any of the sequels. Maybe Smirk perhaps? Or that old shopkeeper that Guybrush followed to see the Swordmaster? I wish Murray would return, but I have a feeling he's not going to. Maybe not in this season. I of course will be happy if he does. Hell, I don't even know what islands the game is going to cover. Maybe some new? Maybe some old? We have to have Monkey Island for sure. It's not a Monkey Island game without it. Ok, so the second game didn't really have Monkey Island, but I'm not counting that. I'm assuming your starting island, Melee Island is back right?
It's been 20 years since The Secret of Monkey Island came out. I was four years old. I must have had my first experience with The Secret Monkey Island when I was about five years old because that's when the LucasArts Classic Adventures pack came out. Including Secret, it came with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, LOOM, Maniac Mansion, and Zak McKraken. I was too young to play adventure games then, but I enjoyed watching my dad play them. They were the most amazing thing of my young life. I loved the humor, the stories. They were my starting point to getting into adventures later on.
Many people may not know this, but I believe adventure games helped to pave the way for other genres too. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, adventure games had stories, which a lot of the other games at the time didn't have. It would be foolish to ignore the innovations that adventure games brought to the gaming world in general.
In 2006, I found out about the new company Telltale games. They had just announced they were going to start making some new Sam and Max games. I was stunned, just as I am now that they've announced they're doing Monkey Island. I had only been playing adventure games intermittently up to this point. Adventure games were just hard to come by, and they still are actually. So, it was like I had no choice, but to try to get into another genre. So, I played mostly simulation games like The Sims, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and Zoo Tycoon. While fun, these games easily got boring after a while and all I wanted was to see adventure games back again.
With Telltale's announcement I had hope. I had been lurking around Adventure Gamers for a while, but finally decided to join in February 2007. Here I could get all the news about adventure games I wanted. It was a great source of information because adventure games weren't really dead. I could find out what new ones were coming out and go get them. Before I didn't know anything about new stuff. I just picked up whatever at Best Buy, and hoped it was good. I had steered away from first person games, but now I know better that just because the game is in first person, doesn't mean it has to be like Myst. So, that alone gave me more games to play.
From 2007 to now, I have discovered old classics I never got to experience when I was a kid such as Grim Fandango, Broken Sword and Toonstruck. I have fallen in love with adventure games all over again.
So, does the success of Telltale mean a reawakening for the genre? I certainly hope so. I'm optimistic. I think people are ready for more story driven games. Plus LucasArts got a new president who is a big Monkey Island fan. That can only mean good news. Time will tell if I'm right and adventure games can dominate again.