When I made another Monkey Island • Hacker News Board

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#101

Post by practice9 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 3:59 PM UTC

interpol_p wrote: post #89

rob74 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was special about the first two Monkey Island games (at least for me) was the atmosphere . I mean, just look at this screenshot: https://www.adventurecorner.de//uploads/images/games/monkey1... Parts 1 and 2 had this effect on me, with part 3 the magic was mostly gone unfortunately. If Return to Monkey Island manages to recapture some of that, I don't care if it's pixel art or whatever else...

I don't think the atmosphere is quite there in this new one, here's Melee Island from The Verge's screenshot. The art doesn't sit well with me: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dQbYIfWFh5WfWwby87FoHyI8uog=... In the modern version the town is no longer twinkling and glittering. It appears smaller due to the large buildings. The strong purple tints (especially on the horizon) gives the scene an uneasy feeling. And the…

The old art feels, in a way, more realistic.

One underappreciated aspect of low definition graphics is that your mind can interpolate the visuals, and you feel more immersed. (suspension is disbelief has a positive effect here)

When graphics become HD or closer to photorealistic they are starting to trigger an uncanny valley effect.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#102

Post by kemayo » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:04 PM UTC

halostatue wrote: post #92

speeder wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually from what I heard they DID flesh out things. But then they made the serious error of hiring Rian Johnson AND giving him free rein with the direction of the movie. Rian Johnson already stated himself, he likes making divisive films. He also stated he doens`t like Star Wars... So he proceeded to ignore the plans that they had, and just do whatever he wanted. 1. He ignored several planned story arcs and just sh…

I find Ep 7 to be mostly unwatchable because it’s almost all fan service without a real story to be found. There was no plot for Ep 8 to hang itself on, just a few coathooks widely spread. Ep 8 had some really interesting character arcs, but also made some basic errors. As a movie , I think that it’s the strongest of the three sequels. Given a lack of plot points to really hang off, Johnson seems to have done somethi…

Abrams was an interesting (read: poor) choice for the final film, because he's famous for setting up compelling plots and not sticking the landing. See: Lost. His whole "mystery box" thing is great at pulling in viewers, but he's never been able to come up with something that works when he's forced to finally open the box.

Amusing juxtaposition in critical reception:

Article about his mystery box thing before Rise: https://www.success.com/jj-abrams-and-the-unopened-mystery-b...

Article about his mystery box thing after Rise: https://screenrant.com/star-wars-rise-skywalker-abrams-myste...

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#103

Post by vlunkr » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:07 PM UTC

speeder wrote: post #79

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same with the sequels, they're making big jumps in the established lore, and they made the huge mistake of not actually fleshing out the story beforehand (like e.g. the MCU), leading to three disconnected movies full of attempted nostalgia and pushing merchandise; they made fanservice instead of good films.

Actually from what I heard they DID flesh out things. But then they made the serious error of hiring Rian Johnson AND giving him free rein with the direction of the movie. Rian Johnson already stated himself, he likes making divisive films. He also stated he doens`t like Star Wars... So he proceeded to ignore the plans that they had, and just do whatever he wanted. 1. He ignored several planned story arcs and just sh…

And Disney could have said "no" to any of his ideas at any point. He's become a scapegoat for bitter fans who can't see that Disney didn't know what to do after the first movie.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#104

Post by ipaddr » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

darkwater wrote: post #12

When you read posts like this, and also the previous, linked one [1], you can clearly see that Ron is a smart and humble guy. I really dislike the fan mob that it's starting the hate because RTMI is not going to be a throwback and retro-game. > Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren't pixel art games. They were games using state-of- the-art tech and art. This is SO true, and as much as I loved those games, as much as I stopped…

Live by the mob die by the mob. When a mob is attacking your idea it might have some merits or not but it has reached a popularity breakthrough. A mob attacks when they feel threatened. A mob can be used as a tool. Followers are a pre-mob description of a group.

Putting out a retro version could be seen as a greedy activity that tarnishes the original that could get a different mob after you.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#105

Post by aidenn0 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:30 PM UTC

rob74 wrote: post #28

darkwater wrote: post #12

When you read posts like this, and also the previous, linked one [1], you can clearly see that Ron is a smart and humble guy. I really dislike the fan mob that it's starting the hate because RTMI is not going to be a throwback and retro-game. > Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren't pixel art games. They were games using state-of- the-art tech and art. This is SO true, and as much as I loved those games, as much as I stopped…

What was special about the first two Monkey Island games (at least for me) was the atmosphere . I mean, just look at this screenshot: https://www.adventurecorner.de//uploads/images/games/monkey1... Parts 1 and 2 had this effect on me, with part 3 the magic was mostly gone unfortunately. If Return to Monkey Island manages to recapture some of that, I don't care if it's pixel art or whatever else...

The first MI is almost not believable that it is an EGA game. Then Loom came out and looks even better. These games pushed the limits of what graphical hardware of the time was capable of.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#106

Post by wellthisisgreat » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:31 PM UTC

interpol_p wrote: post #89

rob74 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was special about the first two Monkey Island games (at least for me) was the atmosphere . I mean, just look at this screenshot: https://www.adventurecorner.de//uploads/images/games/monkey1... Parts 1 and 2 had this effect on me, with part 3 the magic was mostly gone unfortunately. If Return to Monkey Island manages to recapture some of that, I don't care if it's pixel art or whatever else...

I don't think the atmosphere is quite there in this new one, here's Melee Island from The Verge's screenshot. The art doesn't sit well with me: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dQbYIfWFh5WfWwby87FoHyI8uog=... In the modern version the town is no longer twinkling and glittering. It appears smaller due to the large buildings. The strong purple tints (especially on the horizon) gives the scene an uneasy feeling. And the…

Interesting. I think the old picture linked above have a dreamy atmosphere because of the jagged edges which create a foggy / twinkling effect

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#107

Post by ncann » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:32 PM UTC

Biganon wrote: post #95

rob74 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What was special about the first two Monkey Island games (at least for me) was the atmosphere . I mean, just look at this screenshot: https://www.adventurecorner.de//uploads/images/games/monkey1... Parts 1 and 2 had this effect on me, with part 3 the magic was mostly gone unfortunately. If Return to Monkey Island manages to recapture some of that, I don't care if it's pixel art or whatever else...

I've been thinking about that quite a lot, but with Zelda games. I've come to the conclusion that the old games feel beautiful and mysterious and nostalgic because I played them as a child . I'm no longer a child, life is no longer the same. It's not necessarily worse, it's just fundamentally different. I will never blame Shigeru Miyamoto for that, it would be absurd.

Yeah, it's a sad fact that I've realized myself as well. No matter how good a game is, I'll never be able to experience again that magical feeling when I played Pokemon for the first time on the GB.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#108

Post by mdp2021 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:33 PM UTC

DocTomoe wrote: post #58

unwind wrote: post #26

This reminded me of the amusing way the leas character (Guybrush) was named. Obligatory wiki linkage [1] but basically due to a Deluxe Paint filename convention. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guybrush_Threepwood

Read it from the man himself - and also common myths around the filename: https://grumpygamer.com/guybrush_fact_fiction

I remained strongly impressed (and chuckly) by

> Facts are so 2015

-- Ron Gilbert, Fall 2020

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#109

Post by whywhywhywhy » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:33 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #70

SkeuomorphicBee wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really dislike the fan mob that it's starting the hate because RTMI is not going to be a throwback and retro-game. That is the same blow-back that George Lucas caught when he made the Star Wars prequels. When George Lucas made the original Star Wars he set out to make a state-of-art sci-fi movie, and in fact he pushed the state-of-art ahead by a huge leap in that movie. A decade or two later, with the evolution o…

The Star Wars prequels simply weren't good for storytelling/plot reasons, not just visuals. The characters weren't interesting, or even worse, were universally reviled like Jar Jar. The main character (both as a kid and as a teenager) was annoying as hell. The story didn't mesh well with the established Star Wars movies, like that thing with midichlorians that was thankfully played down in subsequent movies. For some…

Also gotta keep in mind if it’s all CGI he can just sit in a chair in the same studio the whole movie directing it from a monitor.

Once you see the behind the scenes you start to see this as one of the main reasons it’s so CGI filled.

Re: When I made another Monkey Island

#110

Post by sam0x17 » Tue, May 03, 2022, 4:39 PM UTC

darkwater wrote: post #12

When you read posts like this, and also the previous, linked one [1], you can clearly see that Ron is a smart and humble guy. I really dislike the fan mob that it's starting the hate because RTMI is not going to be a throwback and retro-game. > Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren't pixel art games. They were games using state-of- the-art tech and art. This is SO true, and as much as I loved those games, as much as I stopped…

I agree with the import of this, but there is an economy to games, and if it turns out that the gamers really do just want another installment in the old style, you're missing out on that significant segment of the market until you do just that. Art is only art if it gets made, and at least frequently, someone has to pay the artist for the art to get made.