Creator Wants Monkey Island Back

[Karloff]

Creator Wants Monkey Island Back

Ron Gilbert doesn't think Disney's going to do anything with his landmark point-and-click adventure.

"It's kind of sad in a way," says Ron Gilbert, creator of some of the most well-known point-and-click properties in gaming's history. "Yeah, I wish I owned Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, you know?" But he doesn't; Disney does, and Gilbert doesn't hold out much hope of getting them back.

When Gilbert left LucasArts, a subsidiary of Lucasfilm, the games he made with that developer were still in George Lucas' hands. Gilbert was more or less content with that arrangement; since that was where he made the games, he was happy for them to stay there. Gilbert never thought that Lucas would eventually sell the whole shebang to Disney, but he did [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120408-Disney-Acquires-Lucasfilm], and now Gilbert's wishing he could do something to get his old games back.

"And they've even said," Gilbert bemoans, "they said they're really focused on mobile games. They're just not doing PC games." Gilbert thinks his old properties will languish in Disney's basement [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDzV3qycOqM] forever.

Not that Gilbert has much hope of buying his games back from the Mouse; anything Gilbert could offer would look like chump change to Disney. Besides, it's not Disney's style. "[It] just seems to be a company that hoards IP," says Gilbert, "and that kind of worries me."

Source: PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/11/30/ron-gilbert-disney-monkey-island/]


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[SonicWaffle]

On the other hand - potential Monkey Island movie, maybe?

Though I would kinda like to find out what the holy hell Gilbert had planned to do with the story after the end of the second game.

 

[juyunseen]

I still think he should try to make a formal offer. Disney has been kinda cool lately with the way they've handled IPs (of course, this is mostly referring to Marvel). Maybe they'd at least let him make another game.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Yes go for it Ron, better the IP returns to its creator to do as he pleases than sit in the Disney vaults for all eternity.

 

[hudsonzero]

I would happily donate for Ron to get the IP

 

[Kahani]

"And they've even said," Gilbert bemoans, "they said they're really focused on mobile games. They're just not doing PC games."

I'd have thought point-and-click adventure games are one of the few genres that really lends itself to conversion to mobile gaming. Attempts to transfer things like RTS and FPS rarely go well because the controls just can't be translated easily, but a game where all you need to do is poke the screen and that isn't full of fast action needing lots of detail, would be absolutely perfect.

Not that that means Disney are going to get Monkey Island going again, but it won't be the fault of mobile gaming if they don't.

 

[Entitled]

It's Disney's fault that we are stuck with current excessive copyright laws to begin with.

 

[A-D.]

To be honest, Disney should just hire Ron and give him creative control over the whole Franchise. For one, we get to see exactly what had been planned for the Games at the beginning, it did drift off after the second one after all, and another thing is that the MI Franchise is big, in fact any IP that Lucasarts did hold is relatively big, if only for nostalgia, so the market is there. Granted the biggest IP still is Star Wars but Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, Sam&Max, the Dig, Full Throttle..those are some big names especially for adventure fans, the old ones in particular. Also its rather child-friendly, so it wouldnt ever hurt Disney's Image in that sense either.

And before anyone gots "But", Ron getting the IP would be nice, but he'd have to get funding himself, granted its entirely possible, get a Team and get the Game done, if Disney brought him on board, and maybe some of the other MI Oldtimers and let them work, with Disney doing the funding and such, it would be much simpler and Disney also would be more likely to go that route given they would keep the IP in that case, also most of the in-house production at Disney and its subsidaries is relatively "good", at least if we take Marvel as a example there, due to not being held on a too tight leash.

And yes there are also Issues with that, but i'd prefer Ron working for Disney and getting a good Game out than him not getting the IP at all, because lets face it, there is still worth attached to the franchise and Disney wont simply throw that away, no matter how little worth there was. Big Publishers are known to hoard IPs and let them rot in the basement for good reason, since as long as there is any profit to be made, they'd rather get that profit, or some of it, instead of not getting any at all, even if sadly they never do anything with it.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

I read somewhere just the other day that Disney isn't interested in shaking things up at Lucasarts, so its franchises are probably safe from whatever Ron is paranoid Disney will do with them.

 

[elilupe]

This is something I would donate to a Kickstarter campaign for. I mean, I don't know exactly how much Disney would want to sell the Monkey Island property for(probably a lot, because they're Disney), but if Ron Guilbert could get an estimate, confirm that its not in the millions, and promise to make some good games with it, I think a lot of people would donate.

 

[DoctorM]

The guy is just being an ass. It's okay when Lucas isn't doing anything with the franchise, but EVIL Disney? Now THAT is WRONG. Someone needs to tell this guy to shut up.
(Btw, Disney IS making PC games, so what is he talking about?)

Besides, I wouldn't rule out Disney doing something with it.

Indications are that there may be a Grim Fandango Pixar film in the works.

 

[Twilight_guy]

If it bothered him, then he should have worked to keep the IP. He gave it up to a company and at that point he has no control. Lamenting over who owns it now is pointless.

 

[Terrible Opinions]

Developers pretty much never keep their IP when working for a publisher. That's a big part of the reason why games like Fallout and Bioshock exist - people wanted to make new Wasteland and System Shock games, but they no longer worked for the same company that did those.

The guy is just being an ass. It's okay when Lucas isn't doing anything with the franchise, but EVIL Disney? Now THAT is WRONG. Someone needs to tell this guy to shut up.

But... Lucasarts did use the Monkey Island license? Granted, there was a big gap between the fourth game and its most recent incarnation, but Tales of Monkey Island is quite recent (the last episode being released in early 2010).

 

[Squilookle]

On the other hand - potential Monkey Island movie, maybe?

They already made it. It was called Pirates of the Caribbean.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19443_7-classic-movies-you-didnt-know-were-rip-offs.html

I say if you ain't using it, give it back.

Though this is Disney, the absolute LAST company to even consider anything like that.

 

[DoctorM]

On the other hand - potential Monkey Island movie, maybe?

They already made it. It was called Pirates of the Caribbean.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19443_7-classic-movies-you-didnt-know-were-rip-offs.html

I say if you ain't using it, give it back.

Though this is Disney, the absolute LAST company to even consider anything like that.

Who was the last company you heard of giving an IP to someone who had no claim to it?
Yeah, just because it's Disney doesn't make it evil. They bought a LOT of properties in that bundle they'll probably never use, but it doesn't mean they don't get to keep it.

The guy is just mad because George made a bunch of money selling out to Disney and he didn't get anything.

If he is serious, I bet he could license it from Disney to make a game. Just like Sony licensing Spider-Man. You don't get to 'ask for it back'.

 

[Nurb]

This is why no one gives a shit about piracy (yar har) when it comes to the corporate industry that gives actual creators the shaft while they make most of the money.

Screw Disney.

 

[Nurb]

On the other hand - potential Monkey Island movie, maybe?

They already made it. It was called Pirates of the Caribbean.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19443_7-classic-movies-you-didnt-know-were-rip-offs.html

I say if you ain't using it, give it back.

Though this is Disney, the absolute LAST company to even consider anything like that.

Who was the last company you heard of giving an IP to someone who had no claim to it?
Yeah, just because it's Disney doesn't make it evil. They bought a LOT of properties in that bundle they'll probably never use, but it doesn't mean they don't get to keep it.

The guy is just mad because George made a bunch of money selling out to Disney and he didn't get anything.

If he is serious, I bet he could license it from Disney to make a game. Just like Sony licensing Spider-Man. You don't get to 'ask for it back'.

Go back to whipping korean animators, Mickey!

 

[TheCaptain]

God, I'd love for him to finally get to make Monkey Island III... While Curse and Tales weren't all horrible, Ron could probably bring it back to all its former glory. Damn, the thought makes me cry...