Monkey Island 5: The Series

[AndreaDraco]

Here is the news!

No need to pinch yourselves, Monkey Island fans. The long-hoped-for next installment of the immensely popular franchise is about to become reality, as LucasArts and Telltale Games announced today that a new episodic series called Tales of Monkey Island will be launched next month.

While recent news of the Secret of Monkey Island remake was already welcome, "Monkey Island 5" was what fans have really been clamouring for since the release of 2000's Escape from Monkey Island. Rather than a full-fledged sequel, the new series to be developed by Telltale will follow the familiar monthly-release format of the studio's other episodic adventures. The "season" will consist of five episodes on PC and the Nintendo Wii, but unlike the relatively standalone Sam & Max, Strong Bad and Wallace & Gromit episodes, Tales of Monkey Island promises to be more of a serialized adventure. While still delivering a self-contained experience in each installment, the overall storyline will be a much more cohesive focus throughout the full season. According to the series FAQ, "during a heated battle with his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush unwittingly unleashes an insidious pox that rapidly spreads across the Caribbean, turning pirates into zombie-like monsters. The Voodoo Lady sends Guybrush in search of a legendary sea sponge to stem the epidemic, but this seemingly straightforward quest has surprises around every corner."

The PC debut of Tales of Monkey Island will be on July 7th, with the WiiWare release schedule still being finalized. PC adventurers can already pre-order the full season for $34.95 from the official website, and as a pre-order special, customers will get an exclusive DVD slipcover painted by Steve Purcell (the artist responsible for the box covers of Monkey Island 1 and 2 back in the day).

The irony of today's news is not lost on adventure fans, as Telltale was formed five years ago by several LucasArts veterans when the once-dominant company turned its back on the genre. Of course, that made it easy for LucasArts to find suitable talent for its franchise, and the fit should be a natural one for Telltale. We'll know more for sure very shortly, so stay tuned to Adventure Gamers for a first-hand look at Tales of Monkey Island from a pre-E3 demonstration.

Now, if only Activion Blizzard will learn and give us a GK4!

[Datadog]

Ha! I was just coming onto the forums to post about that!

That's a whole ton of awesome right there. If these are anything like the S&M or Strong Bad games, we're in for a treat. I love Telltale.

[MusicallyInspired]

Screenshot!



This is a great day for the adventure genre and adventure fans everywhere!

Tales of Monkey Island Official Website

[AndreaDraco]

I love Telltale.

Can't we ask them to cooperate with AB to bring us Gabriel Knight: The Episodes?

How cool would that be?

[MusicallyInspired]

That wouldn't work. Tell Tale are better for comedic games. Plus it wouldn't be Gabriel Knight without Jane Jensen.

[AndreaDraco]

That wouldn't work. Tell Tale are better for comedic games. Plus it wouldn't be Gabriel Knight without Jane Jensen.

Maybe they can hire Jane

[DeadPoolX]

That wouldn't work. Tell Tale are better for comedic games. Plus it wouldn't be Gabriel Knight without Jane Jensen.

Maybe they can hire Jane

Somehow I don't think that'd happen. Unless she wants to work for very little money on a game series she's reportedly lost interest in continuing.

The only way GK will ever continue is for someone else to head it up. That's not a bad thing. I'm positive there are individuals out there who think like Jane and do just as good of a job.

The real trick is getting Activision to bring the series back to life and keep it an Adventure Game.

[AndreaDraco]

Somehow I don't think that'd happen. Unless she wants to work for very little money on a game series she's reportedly lost interest in continuing.

Actually, she said many times that she will be happy to continue the series

The real trick is getting Activision to bring the series back to life and keep it an Adventure Game.

Maybe, if Activision sees that episodic adventures like MI have a good success, they can be convinced that this could be a good move...

[DeadPoolX]

Somehow I don't think that'd happen. Unless she wants to work for very little money on a game series she's reportedly lost interest in continuing.

Actually, she said many times that she will be happy to continue the series

Really? I seem to recall some interviews where she had no interest in continuing the GK series and was happy to do something outside of it. Maybe she was saying that because she couldn't do anything with GK anymore, but it seemed to me that she genuinely lost interest in GK.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmmm. Is it just me, or does Guybrush's hand in that picture look - I don't know - zombified?

It's the new zombie Guybrush! RUN

[misslilo]

Hmmm. Is it just me, or does Guybrush's hand in that picture look - I don't know - zombified?

It's the new zombie Guybrush! RUN

Could be because one of his hands get cursed (and gets a mind of it's own), when he tries to stop LeChuck

[DeadPoolX]

Maybe, if Activision sees that episodic adventures like MI have a good success, they can be convinced that this could be a good move...

The main difference here is that TellTale games was made up of former LucasArts employees and have an already successful title under their belt. In other words, TellTale has some "inside connections" with LucasArts and has proven they can develop a game that'll sell.

Doing the same with Activision might prove more difficult. Sierra is gone, so any ties to that company have been more or less severed. Activision would need to be approached by a developer they already know or a new one which has made a game or two that's sold well.

Since there are no "former employee" ties to be had (once again, Activision doesn't care who worked for Sierra), Activision would take control of the title and thereby direct whatever developer it employs. That means the possibility of Jane getting hired is slim-to-none. Activision would choose who it wants (and probably who could do it for as little money as possible).

[AndreaDraco]

What a horrible scenario...

Maybe, though, if MI5 is extremely successful, they can at least consider producing full-fledged adventure games, maybe in an episodic format. This would be a first step, at least

[DeadPoolX]

They might, but again, there's a problem: Activision has tons of titles getting developed by numerous developers. LucasArts, while a very large company, has far fewer games being produced per year.

This means that Activision may not care about making Adventure Games (even in episodic format) since it knows it'll make money off more popular genres that it's already publishing. Again, LucasArts is probably giving TellTale here a chance because they've shown they can develop a good Adventure Game and the red tape involved is far less.

I think that in order for Activision to really take notice (and gain an interest in Adventure Games) the genre would have to become revitalized. There would need to be several very popular and well-selling Adventure Games made first.

[Maiandra]

Doesn't Jane have her own game studio?