From Maniac Mansion to Thimbleweed Park | Ron Gilbert | Talks at Google

Veteran game designer Ron Gilbert has been making games since the 1980s, most notably as writer, programmer, and designer for LucasFilm Games / LucasArts, producing classics like Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Today he is putting the finishing touches on his crowdfunded pixel-art puzzle adventure Thimbleweed Park.
In this lunchtime interview at Google, we use the rare opportunity to talk to a developer who knows both the technical side - Ron likes to code the engine behind his games himself - as well as the creative side of designing games that are still remembered 30 years after their release. We retrace his path from the early days of DOS software into the post-Kickstarter world of crowdfunding, learning how he initially got into the industry and why his latest ode to the 80s still flaunts its big blocky pixels.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

I like that we have entered an age where the artist gets interviewed, rather than seeing the game as a mere product.

[@iLikeTheUDK]

Herr Schmidt This isn't new. Members of Apogee and id Software were interviewed around the release of Wolfenstein 3D, and there was quite a long interview with John Carmack around the release of the first Quake. If I'm not wrong the guys from LEC were interviewed multiple times back in the day too, and plenty of footage of this exists.

[@Schmidtelpunkt]

Yes and no. Magazins of course always filled their pages, but usually the designer was some kind of pop star and on tour to promote his product. Which is why the shrill people always got the most attention (for having haunted houses, going to space or owning Ferraris). The idea of craftmanship and talking about creative decisions dealing with problems of game making in detail is still rather new.

[@OnDoubt]

I agree, Herr Schmidt! =)

[@Rihcterwilker]

He just made a masterpiece. It's nice to see someone in the industry making games for the players, and not just for the money.

[@MatteoMi]

This is going exactly like music before.. from people creating for people, to big industries creating for the masses.

[@tobiasfrida]

@Richard Kelbe the game moron

[@windh]

People are so friendly nowadays.

[@snek09]

@@windh to be fair, Richard did ask a really stupid question

[@Rihcterwilker]

lol

[@ncf1]

Ron Gilbert is just a loveable guy.

[@iconoclasticphilosophy5641]

He's grumpy

[@mattyjohnsson257]

@@iconoclasticphilosophy5641 Don't worry. Some of us get it.

[@dimitreze]

I love this guy my idol

[@iconoclasticphilosophy5641]

Clearly, I see you everywhere

[@Celeon999A]

Will never forget the first time i played Maniac Mansion back in 1988 (Eight years old back then). On the C64, behind the iron courtain, in East Germany ;-) I remember how clever i felt when i found that key under the door mat. Had to show that to my parents right away. ;-D

[@mark.daniel]

I know exactly what you mean. I felt that way when I accidentally blew up the house too. :)

[@grago]

In my case, it was the other way around, my father, who was helping me with the english in the game, said to me: "Why don't you try pulling up the doormat?". Boom. A whole new world opened in front of my eyes :)

[@tinotrivino]

You had access to C64????? Alter das ist krass, Deine Eltern hätten Richtig stress bekommen mit der Westtechonologie.. das ist kein schnack... Der Osten war damals echt krass!!!!

[@csabasanta5696]

I know exactly what you mean. Same thing, just in Hungary. I remember finding the key under the doormat and saying to myself, I can win this. Which was not a common thing with games back then:)

[@frankwalter5213]

@@tinotrivino Seine Eltern hatten offensichtlich Privilegien...

[@frankb5728]

Thimbleweed Park was the game people wanted when they pledged for the Doublefine Adventure kickstarter...

[@mdog86]

Man I love Ron Gilbert. Not only is he an absolute legend, but he's an awesome person as well.

[@creativecatproductions]

Thimbleweed park is such a great game. It’s crazy that it’s been this long since it came out. It’s even crazier that it wasn’t a bigger hit. I’ve just started playing through the game again with my four kids. They all love it.

[@antmarshall6700]

We love you Ron, thank you for our childhoods

[@O1OO1O1]

Ron Gilbert, father to us all. Wait...

[@alanladdseinekatze859]

I can only speak for Germany, but I think it is the same for the whole of Europe. LucasArts graphic adventures were the ones we loved and talked about back in the days, whereas Sierra Games never got our attention. They just did not reach the level of unique style established by LucasArts. In fact, we still talk about those great games, I just did with my boss a few hours ago, he recommending me Day of the Tentacle, which I sadly never played, and me doing the same on Grim Fandango and Full Throttle. Those games might have not payed of back then in competition with Sierra titles, but their status today shows their outstanding quality. They just suffered from that PC platform disease back then, also present today. And that is piracy. We loved the games, we loved the developers but we never actually bought a game. I bought my first game after having played for more than ten years. So I owe Ron and others a lot and will buy his games and fund them also. Others got to make a fortune on the genius of these guys. They deserve to finally be payed for lifting an art to a new level.

[@MarylinBloody]

Alan Ladd seine Katze You can only speak for Germany? Wow, so ONLY like 80 Million people? ;)

[@tinotrivino]

@@MarylinBloody 82 million from 520 million, yeah, its not even the half from Europe!

[@tinotrivino]

Sierra Games was good too, but Lucasarts was just cult and still is... Sierra had the Larry Games very high in selling, but Outpost was their first Failure, although I loved and still love this game... But Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, Maniac Mansion, Zak McKraken.. all this Lucasarts games are just Cult :)

[@Trampelschrat]

Well, I am german and Sierra games did a lot for me. Can't say they didn't get my attention.

[@csabasanta5696]

Well, maybe true for Space and King's Quest, but absolutely not true for Leisure Suite Larry.

[@Duzykutas]

Just finished this game with my gf it was great fun. Her first point and click adventure and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@parabolee]

What a legend. Can't wait to see what his next adventure is.

[@mr.peacout8613]

Cant wait to play his next adventure

[@maestradebobobo767]

What a nice-a-reno guy

[@forethoughtx2846]

i hope to see more from him-a-boo

[@LornaEGL]

Beep

[@highroadtohell]

Thimbleweed park is absolute genius! ♥️

[@Intoxicatedmeta]

every awnser he gives is from pure passion I love it.

[@MurraySwe]

Ron Gilbert is such a treat to listen to. Love this guy.

[@RaterisimoCBA]

Absolutely phenomenal moment listening to what Ron has to say and his takes on everything gaming / adventure / story telling related (even the Programming bits). He's such a cool guy that it's a joy to watch and listen to every time. He has a very specific view on a lot of things wether it's about the gaming industry, the games themselves or the approach he applies to his work overall.

[@WorldsWorstBoy]

Everyone go buy Thimbleweed Park TWICE! Such a beautiful game.

[@RamblyBear]

Or don't do this. It has one of the worst endings in a game that totally undermines all the hours you spent on it before. And seems to only resonate with people who are fans of Ron's work specifically.

[@joshuacarpenter7447]

Die Ziegel Everything you do doesn’t matter in the end and the story becomes completely pointless so yeah, definitely one of the worst endings. Even mass effect 3’s endings weren’t this bad

[@joshuacarpenter7447]

Nich Hustler Agreed, I wanted my time and money back after that ending.

[@neilmclennan7191]

Cool game, the ending wasn't that bad. To be fare, the game kind of ended and then there was this quirky extra bit. But yeah maybe could has been better. I don't think it takes anything away from game though.

[@joshuacarpenter7447]

Neil Mclennan Nothing you did mattered and the game makes fun of you for overlooking certain details, it was pretty bad

[@kukko83]

That's it! The "sense of place" I mean. For me, it was always Lucasfilm/Lucasarts adventure games over Sierra's. All of them had this specific feeling of "being there" and the atmospehere was just right. I always felt that Sierra's adventures were too clinical and serious.

[@kkk97295]

I play the monkey 1 when I was 30. It was just great and enjoyed a lot. Ron is my hero.

[@tobjord]

Cant believe Monkey Island wasnt that big of a success in US.... All the LucasArts Games were huge in Europe! Most of them got 90%+ Ratings in Power Play (THE German Video Game Magazine back in the days). Indiana Jones 3 + 4, Monkey Island 1 + 2, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle... Each one of these could be named as Genre definining and/or Best Adventure of all Time...

[@binaykumaryakso3440]

Im playing rons game thimblewood atm..loving it..Ron nailed it..

[@Picnicl]

The charm of the old games wasn't just the graphics. It was the quaint or mysterious depictions of Americana such as Stan the used car salesman or a storekeeper or a carnival or a mansion. It was the large scale and small scale classic surrealnesses rooted in realism, such as a rubber chicken with a pulley and the unexpected macabre exoticism, including the overwhelming sight of Le Chuck with the brilliantly evocative, dynamically changing, music. It was the contrast between the main character and the motley array of people you interact with eg the youthful optimism of a Guybrush Threepwood contrasted with a bar full of drunks. It was the often moody colour palette and art design, the signposts, the unexpected discovery of, say, a rat. The conversation arcs allowing insulting to its highest level that is so fun because you knew it wouldn't hinder or help your ability to solve a puzzle - it was pure, safe, witty, fun insulting. There'd also be old school games within the game eg a spitting contest. This meant giving the effect that there were multiple gameplay /philosophical styles to the games - your verbal wit or your physical cunning brought about by your intellectual wit to work out a solution to a problem. You played an everyman in circumstances requiring you to accidentally or irreverently become heroic . Some of these same qualities were brought to The Cave, which I loved.

[@marayearth]

I agree on everything, and I also love The Cave. I really hope he makes many more games.

[@cormanosnake101]

A masterclass of one of the pioneers of gaming on PC (and in general). And I have to mention the people that made the questions, who deserve a character in the next game :D . Thanks for all this.

[@CraigTalbert]

Maniac Mansion is still one of my favorite games.

[@radojesrb]

Ron, Mark, Dave... they are artists. That is what he described as nostalgia or charm.

[@suburbanindie]

Maniac Mansion is in my top 3 all-time favorite video games. It was so wonderfully weird and abstract at the time. I think in some ways Toejam & Earl took a little influence, but I always liked the alternate endings and insane responses you would get from characters by testing out uses for anything in your inventory.

[@heebs9728]

I grew up with the nes version. I rented it at random not knowing what the hell it was. I freaking fell in love with it! I was young, and I used Birthday money down the road to buy a copy. That was my first adventure game experience which years later got me on the path of Ron's other games. Maniac Mansion.....one of the greatest games EVER 😁

[@jaym5118]

I always wanted a remastered Maniac Mansion. That game will always be one of the best on the NES. I also wish Day Of The Tentacle would release on Switch. I never got to play that.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Guy's a legend

[@kaltblut]

a true legend. maniac mansion on c64 blew my mind.

[@bennymwelch]

Ron Gilbert's from my hometown of La Grande, Oregon. One of the very few people from my town to go on and do something big!

[@Docentino1914]

If I met the interviewer on Mars, I would still know right away that he's German.

[@gibkitt]

Haha exactly what I thought.

[@foolbackwards]

Humongous Entertainment and Lucas Arts games were everything to me as a kid! Loved being able to listen to this interview

[@liferiot]

Gilbert is a God. His games are difficult and fun. Maniac Mansion was so influential when I was little that us kids in my neighborhood didn't play house, we play MM. He timed out puzzles we created based on the games in between the Maniac's coming out to catch us. Point and Click games need to come back big time.

[@Raghooo]

Please Ron Gilbert sir make part 2 of thimbleweed park☺️

[@vrhyrsh]

Of course the low-resolution graphics are part of the charm. For the simple reason that a single pixel could gain tremendous importance. Remember the scene in Monkey Island 1 where the three pirates in town are looking at each other trying to decide what to think about your statement? It was just fascinating how much could be put into a picture format that coarse. The higher the resolutions, the quicker fascination drops and expectations rise.

[@ohcrrap]

Thanks Ron! I knew nothing about this kickstarter, and never heard about this game until right now. But you just convinced me to buy this game.

[@TheHudsonPhoenix]

Same here, I just stumbled upon it during a PSN sale and bought it out of curiosity.

[@RamblyBear]

@@TheHudsonPhoenix have you finished it yet? Curious if you still like it after the ending.

[@TheHudsonPhoenix]

@@RamblyBear Well, when I reached the ending I thought I missed something. Like I didn't collect all the specks of dust or something. So I replayed on hard mode and got all the specks of dust. Same ending. It was so abrupt and anticlimactic that it felt like there had to be a secret ending to unlock. But there wasn't; That was it. I mean I get WHY it ended like that, but there should have been a better reward for getting all the dust specks and a more satisfying conclusion. Beyond those flaws, this is still a great game though.

[@marliem.5575]

He's my hero.

[@TiVo2Go]

Thimbleweed Park for the Nintendo Switch!!! Lucas Arts Classics for the Nintendo Switch!!!

[@tinotrivino]

ANTICONSOLE here :p

[@AntSimpson]

Go talk to Disney!!

[@3num3r8r]

Very good interview, many nuggets of insight, well done!

[@French_Connection]

I love this game (TP). Shocked it is not played as much as it should.

[@Erik-vp5bm]

I remember, back in ninteen hundred and howdy, I was given Maniac Mansion by a friend. He was an action gamer, and said that the game was no good, and that he didn't want it. Criticized its big heads, boring gameplay and generally weird content. I didn't really take his word for it, so I booted it up, completed it after having fucked up on nearly every dead end there was, and played pretty much every LucasArts game there after that. Thanks, Ron, your games was always the best out of them. My friend was right about the weird content, though.

[@MateusPienta]

Loved this, love google for doing this and wish I was there. Thimbleweed park is awesome and I have been absolutely amazed in so many parts of the game. Really good job, makes me like Ron Gilbert that much more.

[@MattySadler]

Crazy what a big part of my childhood this guy was

[@diondewet]

What an amazing guy Ron is, just a wonderful human being. But holy crap, could Google not get a decent interviewer? :-)

[@JoeBetro]

Love you Ron!

[@ducknet6560]

Fascinating guy our Ron, still, I can't get over how much he looks like Robert DeNiro with that hat on!!

[@beethovennine]

Ron is a LEGEND, and TP is a masterpiece!!!

[@pixelb0i255]

Ron takes his time and that’s what devs aught to do. Straight shooter fr

[@kwattasse1574]

Très bon jeu, j ai encore la musique de radio scum en tête. Un calvaire.

[@Shazbut-he3ne]

From the thumbnail, I thought this was an interview with De Niro about The Irishman

[@goldengab]

Ron Gilbert+David Fox+Gary Winnick+Mark Ferrari, this is the dream team of point and click adventures.

[@BestAudiovisualTricks]

Monkey Island 2 (my favorite game) was the inspiration for the aesthetics of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. At least in my opinion (and I am a Jack Sparrow cosplayer!) 🏴‍☠️

[@gustavosantos106]

I do love this man.

[@gibkitt]

Yeah but Ron is also cool.

[@BenWillaert]

Absolute legend

[@gustavosantos106]

Good news! Monkey Island 3 confirmed!

[@letsplayfan8891]

Well done Jan!

[@chemaguerra1635]

A personal hero of mine.

[@mattyjohnsson257]

Gotta love this grumpy fella.

[@elcapitan549]

Masterpiece

[@Rumplestiltskin7]

What a legend

[@gwahler85]

my hero

[@ttttkk2]

legend !

[@Hermy1138]

Give this man all the money!!!!!

[@lubaluft4499]

And he's so cool! Look at that berret!! Oh I love him

[@codergirl1518]

Luba Luft Called a "Newspaper boy" hat.

[@sanvecino]

Absolute genious

[@titusmccarthy]

GENIUS

[@curlyfm]

When's this out on iOS!!!!???

[@mattd8725]

The charm thing is interesting. Why are comic cartoons not hyper realistic? Imagination and filling in the blanks isn't exactly it in my opinion. Simple cartoon images are easier and faster to process mentally to start seeing symbolism and metaphor. Instead of seeing a benefit of being able to fill in the blanks it is less stressful for the viewer to "cull" all the non meaningful elements from the image. It's like the Chekhov's gun principle for writing a short story or play that does not confuse or mislead the audience.

[@ArcadeReplay]

It's nice to know Robert De Niro is into video games!

[@mkrichey1]

Ron Gilbert still as good as ever! Not sure I agree with the interviewer who seems to keep pushing the point that few game makers code AND create ... guess he never heard of Indie games lol

[@VirtuaFighterRPG]

Maniac Mansion (on the NES) is one of my favorite games of all time. Yes, I know the games a bit censored cuz nintendo but I love that game and that version. I hope this new game let's you mute the voices. Lol

[@VillaVelasco89]

42:12 - Is that Stuart Brown from Ahoy?

[@SalvaGian47]

He should direct monkey 3 movie and finally tell us the secret of monkey island!

[@tripicoko]

This guy is a genius!!

[@KameariKillScreen]

How do I get into the ice cave without the wizards key?

[@vladtepes7539]

great puzzle design can also be getting eased-into thinking weird, thinking "adventure". at some point its not "moon-logic" at-all that the american flag potentially makes a tentacle-costume, if you see it 4-dimensial.

[@vladtepes7539]

duh

[@cyronixed]

40:58 I think the arcades still dont work in the current state of the game, also 48:30 you can still die when pushing button on this controller and factory explodes

[@andreasparacio]

Playing the game now & you are right! But Delores tells you to save the game beforehand which makes me laugh 😄

[@Barbaryotaku]

Writing endings is hard.

[@NaikoArt]

OMG FUCK YES!

[@vladtepes7539]

not looking shit up almost has a sense of gamer-wisdom.

[@scratch1295]

Remides me of sips

[@wetbadger2174]

Back in the day when companies called you

[@federicomartin804]

Subtitle? Please?

[@kwattasse1574]

Je vais à la thimbelweedcon avec Dolores, qui vient avec nous ?

[@kimelmi1532]

CBC GEM

[@Cuzjudd]

I must be one of the five people in the world who has the paper coming from underneath

[@videooblivion]

Great interview, despite the interviewer.

[@Bigwhale7141]

I thought he did a great job

[@roberthayes6329]

I only had the really dumb game Indiana Jones arcade style. So I never thought highly of lucas arts. Never bought any more of there games. At the time Windham Classics were top billing for point and click games and still are in my book.

[@oledevo]

They should do a Star Wars point & click game that looks just like Thimbleweed. Old school.

[@nicolo2428]

Ron was (is?) a genius. The biggest mistake he did was to quit lucasfilm and make games for babies who will forget his games after 1 hour. It's like as Mozart instead of making music for operas and concertos had made cell phone ringtones...such a wasted talent

[@johns4651]

Exactly! Well, I least he is not making Return to Monkey Island

[@reezlaw]

15:08 what happened here

[@KatajunMusic]

Ron Gilbert and Mike Birbiglia are the same person in two different careers

[@Apricot90]

Oh dude... I knew immediately that the interviewer is german. I live in Germany and the guys here are all humorless, depressed and robotic

[@Erik-vp5bm]

9 people appropriately fights like cattle.

[@nilaya80]

6:47 SEKRIT LAB!

[@JesusHComedy]

only here because of Day9

[@AE-hx7wy]

the phone book was awesome, remember when playing it we were like wtf, is this actually real people? turns out it was. Germans rulez! :D

[@user-yz3gn3of9b]

vk.com/thimbleweed_park Первый паблик по игре в ВК

[@kaltblut]

why is the interviewer so stoic? dude, work with your guest, react to things he says, not just read question after question ffs.

[@elmalloc]

He needs a new job. He doesn't even know who he is talking to, he probably plays Call of Duty for 24 hours a day.

[@elmalloc]

So you just grouped all Germans with lacking the capability to speak English. Maybe we can give him this excuse, this is a video game interview, a robot could have asked it better.

[@tekjansen6686]

No, but it's obvous he is not as fluent as a native speaker. Also, Ron might be one of his childhood heroes, considering he does refer to the old games a lot and in a convincing manner. I'm German, too, by the way

[@sobornes239]

I prefer this kind of intervew, with precise questions. Not acting and reacting, but asking. When I watch an interview I want informations. Especially when It's about my favourite developers !!

[@ri-pixelated872]

The interviewer seems very novice

[@fotis7312]

Nintnendo switch plz .....ASAP