Ron Gilbert Interview at World of MI

[Hümmelgümpf]

http://www.worldofmi.com/features/interview/gilbert.php

What does a day with Ron Gilbert look like?

I get up around 6am and milk the cows, plow the back 40, water the chickens and hoe the pigs. I then head into the office (which is currently a desk Tim Schafer is loaning me at Doublefine). I quickly read about 300 RSS feeds to see what the hell is going on in the world so I can act smart at cocktail parties, then I head out to get some coffee. I return to my desk and pull up my game design document and stare at it blankly for 8 hours then I catch the train home and watch TV until 10 and go to bed.

Do you think you’ll ever create something again that gets such a huge fanbase like happened with the Monkey Island series?

The problem is, you can only do one deal with the Devil and I blew it on a 16-color EGA game.

Now that the newness of 3D with super realistic graphics and such is beginning to wear off, do you think games will move into more interesting styles and concepts?

Dear god I hope so. I'm so bored with realistic graphics. I can go outside and see realistic graphics. I want something that really excites my imagination. While doing realism is technically very challenging, it's not very creatively challenging and we need some more creativity in this business. All these stupid space marine games all look the same. None of them make me care at all about the world. Sorry Halo.

Let's all hope that Ron will find a publisher someday.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

The man is a fucking hero. Salute, Ron Gilberto!

Guybrush steals a fish from a gull in MI1 is that the same gull that returns in MI2 and steals his map piece as revenge?

Ah...yes...yes...that's exactly what i was thinking...yes...that's it.

We know you like CMI, except you would have handled the Guybrush & Elaine relationship differently. Could you explain how you see their relationship?

Elaine sees Guybrush as her annoying little brother.

INCEST

 

[MetalCraze]

All these stupid space marine games all look the same. None of them make me care at all about the world. Sorry Halo.

r.e.s.p.e.c.t.

 

[Cassidy]

I get up around 6am and milk the cows, plow the back 40, water the chickens and hoe the pigs.

Dear god I hope so. I'm so bored with realistic graphics. I can go outside and see realistic graphics. I want something that really excites my imagination. While doing realism is technically very challenging, it's not very creatively challenging and we need some more creativity in this business. All these stupid space marine games all look the same. None of them make me care at all about the world. Sorry Halo.

Are living in an urban environment with fast-food, cars, advertisement overflow, MTV, little manual and mental(just copy the same idea again and again) labor required things that are alienating people to the point someone who lives in the country sees things much clearer than the urban mainstream?

 

[Walkin' Dude]

Cassidy,

I think it has more to do with the fact that the final decision makers about games have no passion for games and do not understand them. They misunderstand what makes a game good, and focus on the wrong qualities.

If you ever read John K.'s (Ren & Stimpy creator) blog, All Kinds of Stuff, you can read about the similar effect in cartoons over time.

Granted, for a successful company, you need someone with a good head for business. However, they should be restricted to financial decisions, and not gameplay decisions.

 

[Chefe]

hello world

 

[Cthulhugoat]

Fucking Lucasarts.

Agreed. I can't believe they killed such awesome games like Loom and Full Throttle just to replace them with a shitstorm of bad Star Wars games (sure, there's a couple of good games, but that's it).

 

[VonVentrue]

I just hope that if Lucas decides to make more Monkey Island games that they will contact me let me design it because my design will...blow...you...away.

*sigh*
Dreams sometimes come to fruition... Don't they?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

I just hope that if Lucas decides to make more Monkey Island games that they will contact me let me design it because my design will...blow...you...away.

*sigh*
Dreams sometimes come to fruition... Don't they?

Not when LucasArts is around.

 

[Jason]

Ron Gilbert's blog is fun.

So, Saturday morning I'm flying along at 37,000 feet on my way home from some exotic foreign country and I'm sitting in my seat mumbling to myself like I usually do, and I must have been mumbling louder than normal because the guy next to me says "What did you say?"

"Oh nothing really," I reply, "I was just thinking about the one thing I wish for, above all others."

"Ah, let me guess...peace and tranquility in the Middle East?" he says.

"No, not that, something bigger," I say.

"Bigger than that?" he comes back, "That must be a big wish you have."

The lady sitting in front of us must have been listening in, because she pokes her head over the seat back and chimes in: "I bet you're wishing for a cure for cancer and other deadly and debilitating diseases?"

"Nope," I say, "You're still not thinking big enough."

By now our conversation as attracted the attention of a large part of the plane, people are craning their necks into the aisle to listen in and see what my one big wish is.

"I bet you're wishing that all the starving children in Dufar could be fed, that's what I bet you're wishing for!" The flight attendant shouts from the forward galley.

"No. Look, these are all good wishes," I say, "But you need to be thinking bigger, bigger and more important."

At this point I'm standing in the middle of the plane so everyone can hear me. People are shouting out what they think the wish might be. "End to global warming!", "Elimination of homelessness!", "Freedom for all the world's people!". They are coming fast and furious, even the sky marshal is getting into the act.

I hold up my hands and the plane becomes silent. "You know what I wish for above all else?" You could hear a pin drop. "I wish I could play Monkey Island on the iPhone!"

Now, you had to be there, but the whole plane erupts in applause and shouts and cheers. The pilot gently rocks the wings back and forth to show his approval. With no prompting from me, the entire cabin starts humming the theme song to Monkey Island and people are making up words to the song and everyone is dancing and hugging.

I settle back into my seat and say to myself, "This is going to be a good flight".