15 Years later...
Sep 28, 2005 ten past midnight
Fifteen years ago this month...
Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Steve Purcell, Mark Ferrari, Mike Ebert, Martin Cameron, Michael Land, Barney Jones, Andy Newell, Patrick Mundy, Aric Wilmunder, Brad Taylor and myself wrapped up The Secret of Monkey Island.
I'd have you all over for a big BBQ, but the house is a mess.

Other people's comments:
Posted by Andy on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five past ten am
Posted by polepower22 on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to four pm
Posted by Ron on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to eleven am
Now give us 5! :P
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to eleven am
Posted by Vincent Hamm on Sep 28, 2005 five to two pm
Wouldn't that be a little of a 'stuck in the past' syndrome ? Wouldn't you prefer to make something new ?
Posted by Huyderman on Sep 28, 2005 five to eleven am
Posted by Vincent Hamm on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past eleven am
(not that I do care particularly myself, just wanted that it was also the anniversary of this never-answered question :P)
Posted by Dan on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past eleven am
Thank you for creating Monkey Island, Ron.
Posted by Macerlask on Oct 2, 2005 twenty five to ten am
Ron your game changed my life.
You should be proud of your creation, it's a master piece.
Posted by Fabio Bortolotti on Sep 28, 2005 twenty past eleven am
Posted by Cremaster3 on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to noon
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 28, 2005 five to noon
Posted by Cremaster3 on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past noon
Posted by scummbuddy on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five past six pm
"Hey look what I just found!"
Posted by Filippo on Sep 28, 2005 five to noon
Posted by Shura on Sep 28, 2005 noon
Posted by Ardalan Samimi on Sep 28, 2005 noon
Posted by Moti on Sep 28, 2005 five past noon
So, Ron (yeah, and the rest whose blog this isn't, particularly Michael Land for the music): THANK YOU for the unbelieveably wonderful piece of my life that is the Monkey Island series.
Random thoughts: I've given up explaining my emotional involvement in a computer game to people - Pong, MI and DeathSpank-types all being considered "computer games" doesn't help... Anyway, some games are true works of art, and 15 years later, we definitely need more of that magic in games. You can only go back and replay the classics so many times.
Posted by chet on Sep 28, 2005 five past noon
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 28, 2005 ten past noon
I'll forward you bank wire transfer instructions.
Posted by sloppy joe on Sep 28, 2005 one pm
:)
Posted by Whup on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to five pm
Almost.
Posted by sloppy joe on Sep 29, 2005 five to seven am
Posted by PissedOffMonkeyIslandFan on Sep 29, 2005 nine am
Posted by Whup on Sep 29, 2005 ten to five pm
Posted by lame on Sep 28, 2005 ten past noon
also i will beat my future kids if they won't be falling off their chairs laughing when i will hand it to them with a smirk.
Posted by m0 on Sep 28, 2005 twenty past noon
And ohhhh remember the line: "Look behind you, a three-headed monkey"
(that was 15 years ago, already?)
My own personal cheers for Mr Gilbert & the gang
Posted by Ninja Girlden on Sep 29, 2005 ten past noon
Posted by Robert on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to one pm
Posted by Alex Saveliev on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to one pm
Isn't it GREAT?! :)
Posted by Udvarnoky on Sep 28, 2005 one pm
Posted by Alan De Smet on Sep 28, 2005 ten past one pm
Possibly the finest opening line in any game ever.
I recently replayed the series with my girlfriend, and on the whole they aged well. MI1 visually looks, well, 15 years old. But it's still funny and fun. In my mind it defines the elements of the modern adventure game. It achieved a perfect balance. When I first played MI2 it didn't do much for me. In particular, I didn't like the ending. On replay, it was better than I remembered.. MI3 aged quite well. I think the team did a good job of capturing the essence of MI1 and 2. MI4, well, hmmm. When I first played MI4 it seemed like a fine, fun game. Perhaps at the time it had been so long since MI3 that I was desperate and blinded to its flaws. Playing MI4 within a few months of the previous 3, it's a far, far worse game, a shadow of the previous 3.
Posted by Call Me Squinky on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to five pm
But really, the only redeemable feature of MI4 was Guybrush's "sexy" voice. That always had me in stitches.
Posted by borsht on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to seven pm
After that, MI4, as poor as it was, at least had some writers from the Sam & Max days, and its spirit and humor skewed alot closer to the originals, even if the story and monkey combat sequences were totally idiotic.
Posted by countingpine on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to one am
With the humour, though, I'd say the childish bits were only the tip of the humour iceberg. It was everywhere, from Guybrush's facial expressions to the Plunder Island Naturalist Society. There were a few running gags, and a lot of in-jokes. A lot of the humour was clever, and most of it was funny.
With MI3, as in MI4, the most was made of the new graphics style the team ventured into. The graphics and characters are all beautifully drawn, and you can hardly tell that it had to be reduced down to 256 colours. We probably have Larry Ahern, who was on the MI2 team, to thank for this.
The sound was perfect, it brought in just the right atmosphere. And as you played the game, and talked to all the "NPCs", you could see that a lot of care and work had gone into each one.
All in all, I found the game fun, and a joy to play. It may have been different from the first two, but it was a good game, and that's what's most important.
(That said, Ron, I still have hopes that one day you'll make Monkey Island 3A, or at least make sure Monkey Island 5 includes a divorce)
Posted by Macerlask on Oct 2, 2005 ten to ten am
I never heard the voices of guy brush in English because I have the CMI in Spanish & EMI too, but i could say that the guys of ERBE (the company that use to do the translation of Lucas Arts to Spanish a long time ago, now that is the work of EA) made an amazing work.
Posted by jp-30 on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past one pm
// wistful sigh //
Posted by Dalixam on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to two pm
Posted by Neil, Brighton, England on Sep 28, 2005 twenty to two pm
Thanks very much.
Posted by Torvus on Sep 28, 2005 twenty to two pm
main page http://island-of-plots.wz.cz
well its not just about weed and im not on weed but it looks funny :)
hey ron got any tips for game? sorry for my stupid english
YOu must do a seqel in 2d graphics plz plz i beg you
it has been a long time we monkey-playes have nothing to play
so can you do something about it?
live long & prosper
voodoo
Posted by DasJan on Sep 28, 2005 five past two pm
Oh, and: Happy birthday Guybrush!!!
Congratulations Ron for creating a license that's so successful that LucasArts still wants so much money for that you can't pay it. I think this would be a good moment for LucasArts to give you the license as a birthday present with a nice pink ribbon with a large bow in it and a greeting card with a hand drawn Guybrush on it.
Posted by tom|rebell.at on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five past five am
or even better, they should finance it :D
Posted by KRS on Sep 28, 2005 ten past two pm
Posted by drunkymonkey on Sep 28, 2005 ten past two pm
Ron, I would like to tank you for making i my mind the best adventure game I have ever played, the opening of the Secret was so atmospheric I will never forget it. It started off a saga.
15 years ago eh?
For some reason, it makes me sad.
There won't be another like Monkey Island, that's for sure.
Posted by pmarin on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to three pm
Posted by Martin Ganteföhr on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to three pm
I'm officially old.
Posted by 3pwud on Sep 28, 2005 ten to three pm
GROG! GROG! GROG!
GROG! GROG! GROG!
GROG! GROG! GROG!
Is Guybrush just a little child in his brilliant dreamworld?
Posted by Yeahstyle on Sep 28, 2005 five past three pm
Thanks Ron, and of course the whole team that made MI1 and MI2.
Alvaro, from Chile.
Posted by NinjaGirlden on Sep 28, 2005 half past three pm
Posted by Marc Mathea on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five to four pm
keep on pushing !
Posted by Fernando Lisboa on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to four pm
To him I owe a lot of good memories.
To you and all the team I can only say:
Best.Game.Ever!
Posted by Ryan on Sep 28, 2005 five past four pm
haha, Thank you for a fantastic game. :-)
Next you need to make us a humorous sci-fi adventure extravaganza... with pirates, and ninjas... and a shrubbery!
Posted by Greg on Sep 28, 2005 ten past four pm
and I love it.
So how much is the monkey island rights?
Posted by sirboxalot on Sep 28, 2005 ten past four pm
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past four pm
I didn't make grave robbing fun, it's always been fun.
Posted by sirboxalot on Sep 28, 2005 half past four pm
Posted by DasJan on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past eleven am
Posted by Whup on Sep 28, 2005 five pm
Thanks everyone!
How I'd love to have a beer or two with some of the names on that list! Speaking of which, I wonder if we'll ever have a Ron visit here in Australia?
Posted by Stewart on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to eleven pm
Posted by Ender on Sep 29, 2005 ten to five am
- Ender
Co-Lead Dev, ScummVM
Posted by Stephen Vaughan on Oct 17, 2005 quarter to two am
Posted by Whup on Sep 29, 2005 ten to five pm
Most young Australians have never even seen a Fosters... its not a popular beer at all!
Coopers do some damn nice brews though: Pale Ale, Draught and (my favourite) Sparkling Ale. Hard to beat a jug of Sparkling outside a Rundle St pub at 1 oclock on a 40 degree (celsius) night...
Posted by Ender on Sep 30, 2005 one am
Which sucks, because I grew up on that stuff when I lived in Tassie :)
- Ender
Co-Lead Dev, ScummVM
Posted by Olivier Mehani on Oct 8, 2005 twenty five past five am
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 29, 2005 five to nine am
Posted by rabbit on Oct 4, 2005 half past five am
Especially Christchurch.
Have a meetup there! I'll come.
Posted by LSH on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past five pm
Posted by HkB on Sep 28, 2005 twenty five past five pm
Thanks to THE MONKEY. :)
Posted by kenn on Sep 28, 2005 ten to six pm
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 28, 2005 ten past six pm
Posted by jp-30 on Sep 28, 2005 seven pm
Posted by badenglishihave on Sep 28, 2005 twenty to eight pm
Then some company will come out and buy out the Ron/the development team and Grasshopper Island 3 will be made by a bunch of incompetent nincompoops.
Posted by Afrika on Sep 28, 2005 five past eight pm
Posted by Kedume on Sep 28, 2005 quarter past ten pm
Posted by Kolzig on Sep 28, 2005 quarter to midnight
This game changed the world of gaming for young guy like me in 1990 when I was just eight years old.
I had no knowledge of the english language but still I managed to play the game, and as I played the game, I started to learn my first words of english through the words in the game and what happened on the screen.
Thank you Ron and the whole incredibly talented crew who were responsible for this gaming legend to be born. It's a wonder that such a team ever existed in one place at the same time, so much talent. :)
Posted by Owen on Sep 28, 2005 ten to midnight
Posted by BiscuitMan on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to one am
Posted by LoDeRuNnEr on Sep 29, 2005 twenty past one am
Maybe without this game i wouldnt be a gamer and a programmer these days ;)
Happy Birthday MI and thanks to the whole Crew!
Posted by Magius on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five past one am
Second, I must say...C'mon! make something new...If you had the creativity to make MI, you sure can make something different...
stop complaining about a licence you don't have and create a new one.
make a game about cavemans, elfs or farmers...
just put the same creativity you put for MI and maybe you will raise the money you need to buy MI IP back!
Posted by tom|rebell.at on Sep 29, 2005 twenty past five am
first of all, it may be hard to meet the high expectations if there are things like Monkey Island in your portfolio
second: monkey island was not made by ron alone. much of the praisefor the dialogues has to go out to tim schafer for example as far as i know, which you can see if you play grim fandango oder psychonauts. so, as much as i respect ron, it would be hard for him alone, to create a new saga like monkey island, without talented and creative news people helping him. and i think it's hard to find a team like the guys who were mentioned by ron above.
third: gaming industry today is not the one from 1990
but as said before: ron is doing something new. and hell, aren't we all hoping that it will make us all laugh again and talk about it in 15 years, like we remember guybrush today? ;)
Posted by Whup on Sep 29, 2005 ten past six pm
Ron (or at least LucasArts) put together a talented team before, no reason why he can't do it again! If anything, the talent pool should have increased in 15 years! Hopefully Ron would sign on some of those talented and creative artists wanting to try something different that he's mentioned before.
Posted by Misty on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to two am
Ron, just a quick thank you from the bottom of my heart. Peole like you make the games industry
greatless awful.I'm sure that this legacy must sometimes feel like something of an albatross, but it's one heck of an achievement to have made this many people this happy.
Thanks for posting this and giving me an on-topic opportunity to get all soppy.
Posted by Tim on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to two am
I too am one of those gamers that plays through the whole series of Monkey Island games at least once a year...
Happy birthday Guybrush, you fight like a cow!
Posted by chris on Sep 29, 2005 quarter to two am
Posted by Sebastian on Sep 29, 2005 quarter to two am
Now to business. :)
I know your site is licensed using by-nc-nd; That Monkey Island disk would be an awesome addition to Wikipedia. However, it should be less restrictively licensed, usually GNU Free Doc License or CC by-sa. I say "should", because the English Wikipedia also accepts fair use images while many others don't. So, to use it to the fullest extent on all Wikipedias, you would have to drop nc and nd for the image.
Please think about it. :-)
Posted by Aitor Garcia on Sep 29, 2005 ten to two am
waitingpraying for your next work. Make us happy soon!Posted by Francis on Sep 29, 2005 two am
MUHUHAHAHA !!!!
(Or maybe I will have to shrink these images in Photoshop because I just have a 3"1/2 drive)
Posted by jp-30 on Sep 29, 2005 twenty past two am
Posted by Francis on Sep 29, 2005 ten to three am
Posted by Oded Sharon - Buy A Car For Ron Gilbert on Sep 29, 2005 five to three am
I say, this calls for a convention. Like us trekkies and our 40th anniversary.
Oded Sharon.
Posted by Tomsn on Sep 29, 2005 half past three am
Monkey Island 1 and 2 are two of the greatest and funniest games I´ve ever played. Still now I love to go back to monkey island now and then to put dogs in coats, drink lot´s of grog and pronounce myself as the greatest pirate ever.
Thank you guys for some really great times.
"Oh look behind you, a three-headed monkey!!"
Tom
Posted by Ozgur Yildiz on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to four am
i'm from Turkey and do ya know, you're really a popular guy in Turkey too! And Monkey island series are the most popular games ever here!
Posted by Özgür Yildiz on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to four am
Posted by born2code on Sep 29, 2005 five to four am
This means it's also the 15th anniversary for the noble art of Insult Swordfighting! Let's make it an Olympic event for all to appreciate!
Posted by Marco Weber on Sep 29, 2005 five to four am
Thank you for one of my sweeter childhood memories
and one of the best games ever published.
Marco
-----------------------"Look! A three-headed monkey!"- Guybrush Threapwood
Posted by nea on Sep 29, 2005 four am
I currently play it on my DS... just great...
Posted by Diduz on Sep 29, 2005 four am
Domenico
Posted by Guy.brush on Sep 29, 2005 four am
btw is Micheal Land still @ LucasArts?
Posted by dimi3000 on Sep 29, 2005 twenty past four am
I miss you :(
Posted by Kaminari on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five past four am
"The Midget of Donkey Island"
The unbelievable story of Larry Wilco, a flooring inspector who sells his boat for a mule and hacks his way through an utterly evil Empire that declared war on point 'n' clicks a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Posted by Dark Voodoo on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past five am
Posted by Johnny on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past five am
Posted by freak on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five past five am
Posted by tom|rebell.at on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to six am
so shame on you ron & co.! I could be rescueing the world now (or at least cats from big trees), but instead i'm a dumb nerd, readingy a grumpy weblog, and nearly crying because there ain't never gonna be a game like a 15 year pseudo pirate-adventure again!
Posted by Keno on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to six am
I learned some of my first english with Monkey Island! It´s one of the best games ever!
Posted by miguel on Sep 29, 2005 half past six am
I will always want to be a pirate.
Posted by Alanar on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to seven am
Happy birthday, LeChuck, Stan, Herman and (of course) Guybrush and all the other Monkey Island characters.
And congratulations to Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, Steve Purcell and all the other people made Monkey Island.
(my English isn't that good, but I hope you all understand what I mean ;) )
Posted by Scott on Sep 29, 2005 ten past seven am
now, i'm just curious - is there any way to go about purchasing the game anymore? or all the old SCUMM games while we're at it? I'd love to play them all again, and i'd prefer to do it legally....
Posted by Glamis on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to eight am
Thank you very much Ron.
Posted by Jeff Houser on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five past eight am
Nevertheless, I enjoyed both of them.
Posted by Brian on Sep 29, 2005 half past eight am
Posted by Brad on Sep 29, 2005 ten to nine am
Posted by TomasSK on Sep 29, 2005 five past nine am
PS:Just being curious - have you actually ever tried to buy the rights to MI back from the Wookie factory?
Posted by TomasSK on Sep 29, 2005 ten past nine am
Posted by Vlado on Sep 29, 2005 ten am
Posted by Santiago Méndez on Sep 29, 2005 ten past nine am
I wish I was rich so I could buy the Monkey Island rights from LucasArts and give them back to it's real creator.
Posted by Bucky on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past nine am
Probably the most enjoyable project I ever worked on in the games industry with the most talented (and entertaining) group of artists and programmers I ever saw. I still have one of my sketchbooks from the project.
Thanks for the memories Ron!
Posted by Hagay Giller on Sep 29, 2005 quarter to ten am
Last year I was at the Game on show, and when I saw the original art for MI I just smiled like a maniac and had to take a picture of myself with it...
Thanks for all the memories.
Posted by Talvin on Sep 29, 2005 ten to ten am
Posted by Gabriel on Sep 29, 2005 five to ten am
Posted by Jerome on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past ten am
Ehh... yes, the BBQ, it could be funny to have an spanish friend there, don't you think so? If you do send me an email, 'amigo mio'...
Posted by Sonny on Sep 29, 2005 quarter to eleven am
If only EA had the rights to Monkey Island, we'd be eagerly awaiting the 15th part of the series. "Monkey Island 2005 with improved graphics, a whole new soundtrack and the official '05 insult swordfighting license."
Posted by Alfredo on Sep 29, 2005 ten to noon
Quiero que sepas que compre mi primer mouse para poder jugarlo!!!-
Saludos desde Argentina.
Alfredo.
PD: Sigo esperando otra obra de arte tuya!!!.
Posted by Ronnie on Sep 29, 2005 noon
Posted by Jeff on Sep 29, 2005 five past noon
Posted by Jon on Sep 29, 2005 ten past noon
Posted by Arnd on Sep 29, 2005 half past noon
Posted by Suki on Sep 29, 2005 five to one pm
Well.. actually, I have to thank you and your crew once again because MI is the reason why I'm gonna be married soon. The first time that I met my fiance was in an usual chatroom some years ago, and as he saw my username "Elaine_Marley" he couldn't resist saying "I can hold my breath for ten minutes!" to me... :)
we are so deep in love today... however, I will let you now when we got married ;)
And if I should ever give birth to a daughter we will call her "Elaine". :)
So thanks again Ron,
Suki
(I'm sorry if my english is full of mistakes, but I'm from Germany...)
Posted by Stephen Vaughan on Sep 29, 2005 ten past one pm
Posted by Whup on Sep 29, 2005 five pm
Thanks for the inspiration =)
Posted by chrisf on Sep 30, 2005 five past three am
Also, aaaaaahhhhhh for Suki's message above.
Posted by Drakos on Oct 9, 2005 five past six am
Without MI I probably never would have realized how exciting it is to create games.
Monkey Island also taught me english.
Posted by Stephen Vaughan on Sep 29, 2005 quarter past one pm
Posted by Corey Atad on Oct 8, 2005 nine am
Hey. I'm in the process of writing a scrip for a MI1 movie. I have been working on it for almost two years now, but I got side-tracked about 6 months ago and haven't continued. When I first played MI3 I realized how well it would translate into a movie. I then went beck and played MI1&2 and realized that if I made a movie of MI1 and incoporated some ideas from 2&3 it would be an even better movie. This was a number of years ago.
I then got the inspiration to start writing a script for it when I first saw Paco's Comic on WMI. I workedd on it quite steadily for a while, but I eventually found that I didn't like where the script was going. It was too much like the game/comic and that wouldn't make a good movie. I sent the script-in-progress to WMI and they posted about it. I got a few emails telling me how good it was, but none telling me the things that should be changed. I've been pushing myself to start it back up again, but I haven't gotten around to it.
I actually sent it to you, Ron, a couple of times. But I got NO RESPONSE. Ron, respond please. Just read it. Its not so long. the rest of you can read it at http://free.hostdepartment.com/s/smallfrozenhamster/SOMI.pdf. I don't think that is the most up to date version o fthe script, but it's fairly close. I think I cut some stuff out of that one.
What I want to do is really incorporate ideas from MI2&3 into it. If annyody can help me out with that I would appreciate it very much. I would love to somehow get BLood and/or Skull Island into it. They are actually my two favourite locations of any MI game (no offense Ron.)
Well see ya.
Posted by Donkey on Nov 8, 2005 ten to one am
Posted by Stephen Vaughan on Nov 8, 2005 six am
Posted by someone who went around on MUDs as 'Guybrush' on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to two pm
Posted by thwidra on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to two pm
Posted by pakkun on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to three pm
Posted by Rip on Sep 29, 2005 quarter to three pm
Posted by guillirojo on Sep 29, 2005 twenty five to four pm
Posted by Aidan on Sep 29, 2005 five pm
Monkey Island 1 was the game that got me interested in computers in the first place when I was 8. It took me forever to finish....
Anyway THANKS RON for a great game
Posted by Greg on Sep 29, 2005 five past five pm
It's El Pollo Diablo!!
Posted by SiN on Sep 29, 2005 twenty to seven pm
Cheers for Monkey Island Ron!
SiN
Posted by Aralforn on Sep 29, 2005 seven pm
Too hours playing that game. Too memories. All that stories beneath Monkey Island (Stan, Big Whoop, Voodoo Lady, Herman... not THAT MAN WITH TROUSERS IN MI4, the Scumm Bar, the Grog receipt...).
I told jokes from Monkey to my friends. And I was the only one of the group who played the game. I felt special. My older cousin played MI2, for example, and he missed a lot of the jokes. He didn't understand'em... And me... My only wish was to grow up to became a pirate.
And then that "Lynch ending"... Yeah, MI1 was the first, the BIG GAME; THE CLASSIC. BUT... MI2 had that fabulous ending. I was growing to became a pirate, but I was wrong. THE SECRET, THE BIG WHOOP, is not being a pirate; it's just your way trying to be one. It's your voyage, your trip thourgh the seas, finding the ending of the adventure. There's a song in my country that says something like: "When you're ready to travel to Itaca, you must pray to Gods, ask'em for adventures and danger moments, you must pray to gods, asking emotions and a very long and hard voyage."
But when you discover that, you are too old to be young. And, yeah, that's the secret. That's the Big Whoop, too. That's the prize to the adventure... Growing WITH the adventure, never reaching the end. Admit it; MI2 was better 'cause it had the secret. And we are still playing those games.
You must keep the adventure alive, never reaching the end, 'cause, after that, we still are young boys and girls trying to find our brothers and sisters.
Long life to MI1 and MI2! (And for the ones that make MI3 and MI4, WHAT YOU DID TO THE REAL GUYBRUSH?! Where have that macho beard gone? You killed Guybrush! You, ** pirates!)
And greetings from Catalonia! Happy Birthday, Monkey Island! I was 9 years when I first played Monkey... I ended the game with 11. Now that game itself is 15 going on 16... The world keeps going... Bring us to the horizon.
Posted by Miguel on Sep 30, 2005 ten to one am
Posted by Anakin on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five to three am
I dont think,there's much to add,except that I always felt this special bond between Guybrush and me and know i learn,that we dont only look similar (according to others),but almost were born an almost the same day.....Ok,for me it was 10 years earlier ;)
enough of me..... Thank you so much,Ron!Life wouldn't be the same without you and your Masterpieces.
Posted by Zender on Sep 30, 2005 quarter past three am
Posted by Bonjour Cat on Sep 30, 2005 twenty past three am
I was only 4 when my bro and I played MI1... it taught me to read! :D
Posted by florian on Sep 30, 2005 ten to four am
Thanks for all Ron, your fan, Florian
and... ahoy! :D
Posted by Gabez on Sep 30, 2005 five to five am
Posted by Rodi on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five past five am
Posted by biggestfan on Sep 30, 2005 twenty to six am
Posted by Someone on Sep 30, 2005 half past six am
Posted by Sonny on Sep 30, 2005 five past eleven am
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Sep 30, 2005 twenty to noon
Posted by jmackley on Oct 1, 2005 twenty five to eight pm
Posted by Nur Hussein on Sep 30, 2005 ten past six am
Posted by STN on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five past six am
Posted by Joshi on Sep 30, 2005 half past seven am
Posted by Edmundo on Sep 30, 2005 ten past nine am
It must have been 9 years ago when I ran into the pirated spanish copy of this wonderful game. I remember the 3 floppy disks... and where was disk 144?! You bastards! I want my uh... money back.
Posted by Grog Dinker on Sep 30, 2005 half past ten am
Posted by Tobe on Sep 30, 2005 eleven am
Posted by Chester on Sep 30, 2005 quarter past noon
Posted by Matthew Wood on Sep 30, 2005 ten past one pm
Grievous has got nothing on LeChuck....
http://blogs.starwars.com/matthewood/2
Posted by Someone on Sep 30, 2005 ten past one pm
Posted by lionking on Sep 30, 2005 ten past one pm
Posted by Benjamin Vigeant on Sep 30, 2005 twenty past one pm
Posted by Pythagoras on Sep 30, 2005 half past one pm
Posted by EMu on Sep 30, 2005 ten to two pm
i play MI 1 when I was 10 and I just learned English cause of this game :)
(better then in school)
please MI 5 !!!
greetz from Germany
Posted by Porcho on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five past two pm
Congratulations from a Brazilian fan!
Posted by Stoney on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five to three pm
If only u would still have influence on how Lucas developes further MI Games, anyway i wanna see a part 5. :)
Thanks for a great time that still lasts from Austria.
Posted by acidfreak on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five past three pm
greetz from germany
acidfreak
LETS DRINK GROG GROG GROG GROG!!!!! :D
Posted by Kassidy on Sep 30, 2005 five to four pm
Yep, the game worked in spanish too. I remember back 14 years ago playing this game, and it still brings a smile to me. Thank you for the great memories. Saludos, salud, y viva por us!
Posted by speon on Sep 30, 2005 twenty five to six pm
When I was but a wee lad, my gaming world consisted of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the occasional arcade game. One fateful day, I was introduced to a magnificent title on the NES that went by the name of Maniac Mansion. Finally! Here was a game that didn't consist of just jumping over gaps on scrolling 2D backgrounds. There were actors doing things independently of the player - you didn't even need to be on the same screen as them! I didn't have to worry about dying, (well, for the most part) I could just concentrate on enjoying the story, the puzzles, and the amazingly detailed and interactive environment. I recall vividly drawing out detailed maps of the mansion in my 8th grade notebook. I was solidly hooked...and I wanted more. Sadly, there just weren't that many games of its kind on console systems.
A few years later I received my first computer and soon discovered (by chance in gaming magazine) that Maniac Mansion was originally a PC game. (!) Fortunately, LucasArts' address was listed in the periodical and I wrote them a hand-written letter beseeching them to inform me how I might purchase Maniac Mansion for the PC and how I might find other games like it. A few weeks later, one of the earliest copies of The Adventurer arrived by mail and a whole new magnificent world was opened unto me.
Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island were truly seminal games of my childhood and young adulthood, and in truth, were watersheds for my desire to pursue gaming as a career. I look back fondly upon these games and the sequels they inspired and continue to relish and enjoy them today.
For that Ron (and Lucasfilm/Arts of yesteryear), I am eternally grateful.
Posted by Headrock the Mighty Pirate on Sep 30, 2005 quarter past eight pm
Can't express it in words.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Posted by [TH] Troll on Oct 1, 2005 five past midnight
Posted by space ace on Oct 1, 2005 twenty to one am
Posted by Emmy on Oct 1, 2005 ten to one am
Thank you for contributing to the making-me-grow-up-with-a-strange-sense-of-humour fund.
-Emmy.
Posted by Hilbrand on Oct 1, 2005 two am
Cause Lucasarts failed us!
greetz
Hilbrand
Posted by space ace on Oct 1, 2005 twenty five to three am
Posted by James Wilkinson on Oct 1, 2005 twenty five to three am
Posted by Pikanto on Oct 1, 2005 ten to four am
Right now it's running on my PSP while I'm posting here.^^
Hope there are some freaks who can port it to the 360 otherwise I wouldn't know what to do with MicroSoft's fine piece of design that lags of fine games to play...
Posted by Petri Purho on Oct 1, 2005 ten past four am
Posted by Keko on Oct 1, 2005 half past eight am
Just thinking about connections. It's a masterpiece of art, devoted by thousands over the world, claimed to be the best ever made, done in the very early days, remembered several years later ...
What I'm talking about?
Is maybe Monkey Island the Citizen Kane of game industry? Is Guybrush a kind of Charles Foster Kane ?
Is Ron Gilbert the Orson Welles of video games?
Of course, he is.
Keko from Argentina - sorry for this improvised english.
Posted by space ace on Oct 1, 2005 twenty five past nine am
Posted by zr-rifle on Oct 1, 2005 ten to ten am
Good luck!
Posted by superemu on Oct 1, 2005 eleven am
Posted by Hans on Oct 1, 2005 noon
Posted by Gam on Oct 1, 2005 quarter past noon
Posted by wilson on Oct 1, 2005 twenty past noon
Gabor Takacs
Game critic for 576Konzol
http://www.576.hu/index.phtml?action=kiadvany
Posted by Rob Scannell on Oct 1, 2005 five past two pm
Thanks Ron
Posted by Christian on Oct 2, 2005 quarter past four am
Thank you Ron for making one of the coolest games ever!
Greetings from Germany.
Posted by spaceship789 on Oct 2, 2005 twenty to five am
http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8752&start=135
It ended up as a bit of of a proof of theory that MI would have never worked for c64, but still fun nethertheless :)
I came to a greater appreciation for the graphics in the EGA game. Some of the MI EGA screens have to be the best things ever put to EGA.
Posted by Jan on Oct 2, 2005 quarter past five am
Jan
Posted by Tsht on Oct 2, 2005 twenty past five am
The Lucasfilm hotline... ^^
MI was so great... The stump thing, when we discovered it I was little boy and we really asked ourselves questions about what was this disk 144! And it finished by a "Game Over" if I remember correctly!
Posted by Macerlask on Oct 2, 2005 ten am
Posted by Robert_Johansson on Oct 2, 2005 twenty to noon
Posted by born2code on Oct 2, 2005 quarter past three pm
Posted by Jordan UK on Oct 2, 2005 ten to four pm
Posted by Fortuna on Oct 2, 2005 five to four pm
The amount of posts on here are testament to the games success and longevity.
I was about 14 when I first played MI (Amiga) and the nostalgia still lives with me so much today that I play the first 2 about once a year. I used to bunk off school and play it at my friends house with his sister :)
Moments I remember are Guybrush turning green in the water when Fester chucks you in and that navigators head, that just freaked me out.
Thanks for the memories and thanks for giving us such a great game.
Posted by The One Eyed Falafel Guy on Oct 2, 2005 five past four pm
I still have my dad's original MI Box, complete with all the floppy disks, the manual and the "dial-a-pirate". all signed by our guru :) I'll just give it a hugg before I go to work...
http://sa.arandoir.com/images/Tarim/p13_b.jpg
Posted by KRS on Oct 2, 2005 five past five pm
Posted by Yo on Oct 2, 2005 half past seven pm
Posted by FF on Oct 2, 2005 twenty to eight pm
Posted by Chris Heady on Oct 2, 2005 ten past eight pm
one which could be adapted into whatever medium someone chooses to put it in. Whether it's through fan art, a comic strip, songs, or a play by some high school kid; monkey island still lives on strong after fifteen years.
Btw the production of the play got me a scholarship to go to college.
People are still wowed when they hear I adapted a video game to the stage, the story is really just that good.
Posted by Anna on Oct 2, 2005 quarter past ten pm
It's not one of the best games ever made it actually is "THE" BEST GAME ever made!!!
Well I think so at least :)
Ah yes, those were the good old days.
Posted by Yuri on Oct 3, 2005 quarter past two am
I always asked myself where some things of the story and the jokes come from, maybe there is something funny about it, for sure you had fun creating it.
Share with us some "back stage" story! (please)
Posted by 4c!d.8uRn on Oct 3, 2005 twenty to four am
Posted by Pakman on Oct 3, 2005 twenty five to five am
¿¡15 años!? el tiempo pasa demasiado rápido. Desde luego que esta aventura es una de las mejores, bueno diría que es la aventura definitiva. Auténtica y genial por todos lados, ¡tantos recuerdos! es imposible explicarlo, Ron eres el mejor.
Now in english:
The Secret of Monkey Island is the "ultimate" graphic aventure, it's really great and original. Thanks for do it.
from Spain.
Posted by Burke on Oct 3, 2005 quarter past six am
Posted by Thorn on Oct 3, 2005 half past six am
Posted by Der Zocker on Oct 3, 2005 ten to seven am
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, würde mich über ein 5. Teil freuen.
Posted by SF on Oct 3, 2005 ten past nine am
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Oct 3, 2005 ten past nine am
At least it is the 5 1/4 floppy version.
Posted by SF on Oct 3, 2005 half past eleven am
Posted by Ron Gilbert on Oct 3, 2005 half past eleven am
Posted by Ludwig on Oct 3, 2005 twenty past noon
(Oh, and do come and visit South Africa some time. You'll find our grumpyness is nearly unmatched.)
Posted by unnamed on Oct 3, 2005 twenty five to four pm
Posted by mondaen on Oct 5, 2005 five am
Posted by Stephen Vaughan on Oct 17, 2005 five past two am
Posted by omloflump on Oct 3, 2005 twenty to nine pm
Posted by Burke on Oct 4, 2005 twenty to two am
Posted by Firmin on Oct 5, 2005 quarter to six am
That was quite a lousy protection indeed.
15 years have passed between paper wheels and DRM...
Posted by gulmer on Oct 3, 2005 twenty past one pm
How do I get the fish from the back of the kitchen? ;)
Posted by Someone on Oct 3, 2005 quarter past three pm