The International House of Mojo

I've always seen Ahern and Ackley as part of the original LucasArts, because they were heavily involved in making LucasArts games. I get that being lead artist on Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle isn't the same as designing and directing them, but Ackley and Ahern both worked directly under Schafer and Grossman, just like Schafer and Grossman worked directled under Ron Gilbert, and, according to Ackley, they all had a Jedi/apprentice thing going on. These new SE guys are a few links down the chain. Although they're good, Lucidity showed they still had way too to learn for them to helm Monkey Island.

So no - I'd rather they stuck to making their own games, which could actually end up being very good and special. But I'd be lying if I said that, although the SEs have been excellent efforts, that they *got* what Monkey Island was about.

I don't see why you would object to them making sequels. I think most people would agree Larry Ahern & Jonathan Ackley did a stand out effort for Curse when they had little involvement in the original MI design/story.

I'm sure a new enthusiastic team could do a lot better then Mike Stemmle who in my opinion has always been the weakest link in his efforts. eg Escape from MI, The obscurity elements of Hit the Road, and chapter 1 and 4 of tales.

I'm not sure how much involvement he had personally, but in my gaming history, his name is prominent in all of the weaker efforts.

So I'm not saying I want them to make sequels, but I would at least give them a go instead of immediately discounting them. Ridley Scott did not direct the sequel Aliens, but most would agree it's still a damn good movie.

I would be really, really cool with these guys creating new 2D adventures, maybe even episodically. There aren't many more adventures that would work with the Special Edition treatment as Derrick says, so the inevitable thing to do is make more! If they sell, LucasArts will make them.

I doubt their first would be of Monkey Island standard, but they'll learn. Even Telltale with their amount of experience have still been getting better and better with every series

I'm still betting on an Indiana Jones adventure being in the works.

Yeah, just the stuff you were commenting on, so thanks.

JP, assuming you wanted me to paraphrase the parts my *comments* were referring to (if you want to know what I mentioned in the newspost, you'll have to listen to the podcast, I'm afraid - it's too long for me to transcribe; I have exams and work to deal with):

1) Craig: "I think the reaction to the hair – and I made a joke about it at the GDC announcement and I sort of get in there and say stuff about it all the time, because I was just...I was just – surprised? I knew we’d made a choice to make it a little...unique, and a little different, and – there were also people who commented on at least the key art on the poster, how Guybrush went from a very surprised expression to a very, sort of, self-assured smirk. And people really commented on that, they were like “Well he doesn’t he really know he’s that type of character”, and so I was surprised at how many people really, uh, really die-hard Monkey Island fans who did not want anything like this changed. But people have also been pretty respectful."

2) Craig:
(After talking about failed attempts to launch SMI on iPad Nano, PC, etc)

[Making SMI:SE] was a one shot deal. We had no idea if we’d be given the opportunity to do more. It was really an experiment to see if we could do, to see if we could meet the standards of quality that we’d set for ourselves. If fans would like it, if we’d get new fans...So it was a lot of experimentation that went with it, and thankfully it was very very successful...It was pretty good for a 20 year old title. That was the point where a lot of folks thought, “Well, we might have something special here, so what do we do next?”...So I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of the franchises that I grew up playing and that I continue to love, and I just hope that I continue to do this type of work and get to do some, uh, get to take the characters into some new areas that we haven’t explored yet.

(later)

[The heritage] are all really great titles, and my hope is we get to play around with all of them. I don’t know if...(garbled)...Special Editions are kind of...[there’s a] really interesting mix of signature features that define what ‘Special Edition’ means. And when you go to something like Maniac Mansion, you can still really represent those features, I think, quite well. But when you get into the talkies, like Grim, for example, a Special Edition doesn’t really make as much sense. There are things you could do with it, but uh, I think it doesn’t have the same sort of, probably, value proposition - oh, that’s a business buzzy thing to say – that, uh, some of these other ones do.

(later)

I guess my own, uh, the story I’ve told people here before is that in the beginning of Maniac Mansion, you can’t open the front door and so you look under the front rug and find the key...What I guess I’d want to do is, you go up to the front door, the door’s locked, you lift up the rug [to] find the key, the key’s missing. And that would be an introduction to something like, “Uh oh, something’s a little different, something’s – they’ve done something here, and now I’ll have to figure it out,” and that’s where I would kind of go with it.

Jake was sort of my point - we all know him, he was a regular fan like all at Mixnmojo, so when he entered the industry we knew he would never piss all over Monkey Island. Craig Derrick's team could be exactly the same (they did, after all, apply to work at LucasArts - I'm sure we'd all do the same if we could) but we simply don't know them. They haven't proved their fandom in the way Jake did, so we can't trust them. But that doesn't mean they're not trustworthy, if that makes sense.

Well, you know. It's Jake. He'll probably read this, so I'll spare any compliments and just say I trust him. And it's important we emphasize that Joe Pinney was also responsible for why Lair of the Leviathan was so good, seeing that he co-directed it and all. (Though objectively it's the best of the lot, my favorite is still Trial and Execution.) Plus, remember: Dave Grossman *was* involved.

As for any retcons: I agree with you in saying that I wouldn't mind if the original shipped with the SE, but I'd feel much more comfortable if the original guys were heavily involved.

JP, yer thingamabob is coming in a minute.

A good podcast, with some interesting details. I'll really enjoy the commentary :)

I'm not sure I fully agree with you kroms. My favourite episode of TMI, whilst supervised by Grossman, was written by a newcomer to the series, and directed by Jake. That suggests to me that very talented fans are as capable of adding to the canon as the original developers are, in principle.

I even wouldn't mind changes to the existing games, like the Maniac Mansion example, so long as an unaltered version was also included in the package. It's about the only thing they could do that would enable me to play those games again like the first time - ie, I wouldn't already know how to beat it.

Sure thing, jp. It'll be up there asap.

Kroms, Any chance you can quote or paraphrase the bits you're referring to from the podcast?

Correction:

Although I think he leads a talented team and I see potential for great games, I really don't want them creating all-new adventures from established franchises. The reason I was okay with Tales being made was that so many of the key players who made these games at LucasArts - the original LucasArts - is at Telltale, from Dave Grossman to Mike Stemmle.

I would much, much rather you made a game from your own head. No Grim Fandango 2 - not without Schafer's everyday involvement - and no Glottis Kart. Please?

A couple of things:

1) I was surprised at how much he actually cared about these games, and how much they actually listen to feedback. It's nice to know. It's also a little surprising that *he* was surprised that people didn't take to the SMI:SE look very well, especially Guybrush's hair.

2) Although I think he leads a talented team and I see potential for great games, I really don't want them creating all-new adventures. I think those should be left to the original creators. I'd much, much rather see them try things like Lucidity or, assuming it's original/ IP, Handsome Halibut, because they can make those their own. Lucidity was a game with potential, and even if the gameplay didn't deliver, it showed promise. I'm looking forward to Handsome Halibut. But am I willing for them to make a whole new Grim Fandango or Monkey Island? Or even do a retcon of Maniac Mansion where they remove the key from beneath the mat? No. Not without Ron Gilbert or Tim Schafer or the original creators being involved day-to-day in the director's chair.

I'm sorry Craig Derrick. I know you mean well and you lead a talented team, but I'd rather you stuck to original IPs and Special Editions, and not sequels. I hope you understand. I'm very much looking forward to the games you make next, but not if they're sequels to franchises you didn't create.