Ron Gilbert's 30-Year Return to Monkey Island: A Story of Revival and Reflection

The team behind Return to Monkey Island shared their experiences and thoughts on the game's origins, development, and reception at Devcom. The panel, featuring Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman, David Fox, Zoe Nguyen Thanh, and Rex Crowle, delved into the project's inception, including how Gilbert was approached by Devolver to create another Monkey Island game. After some consideration, Gilbert and Grossman spent a weekend outlining the game's concept, ensuring they had a compelling story to tell. The team then navigated a lengthy contract negotiation process with Disney, during which time they worked on another game, Delores. Once the project was officially underway, the team focused on bringing their vision to life, including the game's distinctive art style, which sparked debate among fans. Despite initial criticism, the team remained confident in their creative choices, with Crowle noting that art should be provocative and elicit a reaction. The game's art style was designed to prioritize gameplay and storytelling, with Nguyen Thanh emphasizing the importance of ensuring players knew what to do and where to look. The team's efforts paid off, with Return to Monkey Island receiving widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, selling around 100,000 units and generating $3 million in revenue within its first month. The panel also discussed the possibility of a Monkey Island movie adaptation, with Gilbert expressing reservations about translating the franchise's unique humor and characters to the big screen. The team reflected on their approach to writing comedy, with Grossman describing it as a form of caricature, exaggerating social characteristics and societal references. Gilbert added that writing something that made his team members laugh was a key metric for success, and that trying to impress his colleagues helped to refine the game's humor.