In the history section of this website you can read more about the unique blend of adventure and humour that first catapulted the Monkey Island series into the limelight almost two decades ago.

These days, the cherished franchise has returned in the form of Tales of Monkey Island - retaining the chirpy charm that made the series famous in the first place whilst attempting to introduce unlikely hero Guybrush Threepwood to a whole new audience. We spoke to Mark Darin, a designer with Telltale Games, about the unique challenge of trying to recapture the original Monkey Island magic whilst moving the series forward into previously uncharted territory.

MARK DARIN: DESIGNER, TELLTALE GAMES

It’s been almost a decade since the last title in the Monkey Island series was released. Why is now the right time for a revival in the shape of Tales of Monkey Island?

I think that a big part of the equation is the increasing popularity of digital downloads. Publishers have viewed point and click adventure games as a risk and few were interested. Digital downloads have opened the doors to companies wanting to try something different from the endless clones of popular games in the last decade while reducing the risk involved. Monkey Island is certainly a crazily popular game in adventure game circles, but not a lot of modern gamers have experienced it or even have access to the games. With consoles now letting gamers buy games at extremely reasonable prices right in their own living rooms, it's a heck of a lot easier for companies like Telltale (and LucasArts) to make games like Monkey Island accessible to a whole new generation of gamers.

How do you approach the unique challenge of trying to please long-time Monkey Island fans whilst making the game accessible to players encountering the series for the first time?

The secret is making sure that the core of the main characters stay intact. LeChuck is the evil demonic zombie pirate! Guybrush is the slightly inept pirate with a razor sharp wit! Elaine is the strong female love interest who always seems to be one step ahead. It's still the same characters that fans have come to love and we sprinkle in just enough references to previous games to provide the right balance of fan service. The story, however, is brand new so that newcomers can jump right in and don't have to worry about the events of the previous games.

We understand some of the team at Telltale had previously worked on Monkey Island games? What are some of the specific roles they were involved in, and how precious has their knowledge been in bringing Tales of Monkey Island to life?

Dave Grossman, our design director, was a writer and designer on the original Secret of Monkey Island game so it's like we have a direct line to tap into!  We have several members on our team who have worked in different disciplines of previous games including, art, animation, design, and writing. Each of them brought their unique experience with Monkey Island to the table, knowing what worked and what didn't from the previous games and helped make sure we avoided those pitfalls. The combination of various talents from the different past games also allowed us to create this new game with a feeling that it truly takes its influence from all the past games.


 

The series has always been known for its sense of humour. Is it daunting to live up to the expectations set by previous games in terms of laugh-out-loud moments?

Absolutely! I often hear the writers of individual episodes (this includes episodes for different games like Sam & Max, and Wallace & Gromit as well) buckling under the pressure and grumbling that they have just written the “unfunny” episode in the series! Of course this is entirely untrue. We have a great collection of talented writers here and we all help bring out the best in each other.

What appeals to you about releasing the game in episodic format, and why do think WiiWare is a good fit for this much-anticipated title?

From a production standpoint, one of the best things about episodic is the ways the format allows us to directly interact with our fans. Once an episode is out, we can almost immediately respond to feedback and work on getting things into the game that players want to see. It also allows us to do things like the “game designer for a day” contest where fans can write into our site and get their own content written right into a future episode.
From a gamer point of view, I really like that I can look forward to a steady stream of games over the course of several months. It really gives me something to look forward to, and for story based games, it gives me time to be able to play at my own pace and really absorb the stories.

Gamers who were around in the early ‘90s might have fond memories of groundbreaking point and click adventure games such as Monkey Island. But how do you see a title like Tales of Monkey Island fitting in and being received during this current era of gaming?

I think that in this case it’s all about the story telling. At Telltale, that is something we really focus on. We know from past experience that adventure games are a fantastic way to tell a story in an interactive and cinematic way. I believe that people want to experience fantastic stories full of drama, comedy, excitement and fantasy along with characters that are intriguing and rich with personality, and that there will always be a place for these kinds of games, even in this current era of gaming.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced overall in getting the Tales of Monkey Island from the drawing board into its final form?

One of the initial biggest challenges for design was to settling on a tone for the story. It’s one of those fine balancing acts where we don’t want to rely too much on revisiting themes and jokes from the past games while also not alienating fans and going too far with a totally new direction. I think we have found that sweet spot where we put the familiar characters in an all new setting but are still able to maintain that authentic Monkey Island funk.

A lot of excitement has been generated by the return of the Monkey Island series. Do you think there’ll be another nine year gap before Guybrush Threepwood is back in action in a new adventure?

Well, I certainly hope not!