'Not only would I allow you to make Monkey Island fan games, but I would encourage it.' 'I've spent too much of my life creating and making things other people own,' Gilbert wrote. The post made clear that Monkey Island would never officially return unless Gilbert owned the series' IP. That quote is a reference to a manifesto Gilbert wrote in 2013 about his dreams of creating another Monkey Island game. A single bouncing skull (Murray?) bounds in the direction of a ghost pirate fiddler, then mutters, 'Ron Gilbert told me he'd never make another Monkey Island unless.' before getting punched off the deck. AdvertisementĪ minute-long trailer released on Monday is brief on gameplay details beyond debuting the apparent engine that will be used to display its high-res 2D characters and art assets-currently a mix of hand-tracked animation and Flash-like, flat-sprite manipulation.

While other teams made Monkey Island games in subsequent years without the original creators' involvement, the original games remain beloved thanks to their mix of brilliant puzzles and hilarious deadpan writing. Gilbert remained on board for the series' first sequel in 1991, only to leave LucasArts shortly after its release he eventually teamed up with Schafer to make a new game for Double Fine Productions before once again striking off on his own. “Too much of my life creating and making things other people own”įor those unfamiliar, the Monkey Island series began life in 1990 with Gilbert, Grossman, and Tim Schafer at the helm, during the height of LucasArts' point-and-click adventure game legacy. Other familiar names include Dominic Armato, who will reprise the role of Guybrush Threepwood, and the original LucasArts musicians, who will provide the game's score. But Terrible Toybox has picked up a notable new partner this time around: Dave Grossman, who co-wrote and co-designed many legendary point-and-click games at LucasArts, including the first two Monkey Island titles. On Monday, Gilbert followed his post up by saying that he felt 'bad' about the joke, adding, 'Over the weekend, I whipped up the game so no one was disappointed.'Įlsewhere, Gilbert said that the game has been in development for roughly two years by the team at Terrible Toybox, which also worked on the 2017 adventure game Thimbleweed Park. Or at least it appeared to be an April Fools' gag. The game's announcement came as the very first April Fools' joke in Gilbert's 18 years of operating the blog Grumpy Gamer. Return to Monkey Island, teased by Ron Gilbert on his official blog last week on April Fools' Day, has been confirmed as an actual video game that will release in 2022. Terrible Toybox / Lucasfilm Games reader comments 132 with

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