RON GILBERT interview (The Making of Monkey Island - Behind The Scenes)

Here's the full interview with Ron Gilbert that I recorded for the documentary, The Making of Monkey Island. If you haven't watched it yet, it's available here:
• The Making of Monkey I...
You can find Ron Gilbert here:
/ grumpygamer
grumpygamer.com/
terribletoybox.com/
thimbleweedpark.com/
Additional pixel art by Penney Pixels:
/ @penneypixels

[@ozziemonkey4790]

It's pretty funny listening to him talk here in retrospect, knowing that he was already working on a new Monkey Island game at the time this interview was recorded. I imagine though that it wasn't that hard to keep up the appearance of "oh I can't make another one because xyz" when he's been asked the same questions ad naseum for decades; if he diverted from his usual response, we would've known something was up. Interesting that he also straight up lied about what game he was working on, going as far as to say "the game I'm working on right now has nothing to do with Monkey Island". He really did a magnificent job keeping this under wraps.

[@onaretrotip]

The interview was July 2020 so he would almost definitely have known by then, considering he contacted David Fox in August. He certainly did well to hide it!

[@French_Connection]

@@onaretrotip Yes, but it was all an idea only ... no team working on anything.

[@GF_MF]

The original Monkey Island games are timeless classics that will be enjoyed for hundreds of years.

[@onaretrotip]

Sure are!

[@Planetdune]

No they won't, especially not "hundreds". Just because pc's won't exist anymore.

[@CharliesMaidenCovers]

@@Planetdune well, you can play it on a phone if you want

I still want to see Monkey Island 3 by Ron Gilbert... just to have closure.

[@onaretrotip]

Don't we all!

[@crimsontide1980]

Well, this actually did age well!!!

[@kainedakillerv2704]

Guess what? Return to monkey island is coming And Ron Gilbert is fronting the project!

[@johns4651]

I loved Thimbleweed Park, a game that brings back the feeling of playing a classic like Monkey Island. I wish Ron continued making these classic point and click adventure games, with "SCUMM"-like UI and retro graphics and do not stop at Thimbleweed Park.

[@MaxFury_Official]

Same! Guys come on, let's like this. I'm gonna start working harder on my own attempt at a SCUMM style game, soon. We need to bring that genre back, and it's not gonna be possible with only one creator team (Terrible Toy Box). Adventure games like those are perfect in these times, cause they are so easy to play on a screenshare with friends or such. It's not like an FPS where all friends needs to have the latest computer to be able to play. More folks needs to get into that type of game creation.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Thimbleweed Park was excellent! I want more haha!

[@onaretrotip]

I loved it too. More games like that would be great.

[@YakWaxLips]

Ron and the team at terrible Toybox are working on another adventure game. I don’t think it’ll have the Verbs though as the experimental ‘Deloras’ didn’t, and I think that was an experiment for his next title

[@zenithquasar9623]

@@YakWaxLips Yeah, I was fine with that demo too.

[@sanzuqui]

My God! You can tell that he was looking for a way to escape from that question since he was already working on it! And now knowing that i have to say that he did very well to answer without (almost) lying... It's so painful to hear your sadness from the unlikely chance to get the MI3a and at the same time hearing Ron hiding that!

[@onaretrotip]

Yes! Interesting in hindsight. The interview was July 2020 so he would almost definitely have known by then, considering he contacted David Fox in August.

[@jadestendton8514]

Remember writing down conversations from monkey island on paper as a kid and showing it to my parents for translation, as I didnt understand a word of english. Legendary difficulty, but oh so rewarding finally figuring things out.

[@onaretrotip]

That's awesome.

[@Der_Kleine_Mann]

I loved playing "the secret of monkey island" back then. It was my first PC-game. Great game👍

[@onaretrotip]

Sure is!

[@Scaberino]

Everytime Ron throws a "Yo" and "you know", drink a vodka-rino, right?

[@onaretrotip]

Tried. Died 20 minutes in.

[@legendofmi]

Listening to this interview again and it’s very interesting how smoothly he is able to go around the questions, knowing that by then he was already planning or even working on “Return to Monkey Island” as Devolver had already approached Disney (Devolver approached John Drake, from Disney, on Twitter, on July 2019). The one where we can see him struggle the most is at 42:42. You can see him struggling to go around the question (about approaching Disney), but at the end he manages to dodge it really well. 👏 The thing that always threw me off about him currently working on a new Monkey Island was because in this interview he clearly states he was working on new adventure game that had nothing to do with Monkey Island. It’s completely understandable as everything was still highly secretive.

[@meleemon]

I thought that was interesting too. I also noticed that in this interview he says he's not so wedded to having to own the rights as long as he has creative freedom. Previously he had always been pretty firm that he would only work on a new Monkey Island game if he owned the rights.

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, very interesting in hindsight isn't it!

[@kainedakillerv2704]

In the very early 90s I was given a Amiga 500 with a sh*t ton of games. After browsing the floppy disks for a while I discovered a game called monkey island. 30 years later I still play them from time to time and NEVER get sick of them. Bring on "return to monkey island" Also, thank you for the interview, it's nice to hear the voice of the man who created the series himself!

[@onaretrotip]

I still play the first two, and after 30 years I'm not sick of them either! My pleasure; it was amazing being able to talk with people who made one of my all-time favourite games.

[@ruipedro4337]

Saving this for later viewing, but to this day I keep Monkey Island at the top of my all time favorites. The ending for MI2 just tore me apart, it didn't made sense to me, I replayed MI1 and 2 so many times just trying to piece information to understand what was that. I wish Ron went for his MI3 to really give me closure.

[@net_news]

well We all feel the same... I'm wainting for an explanation since 1991.

[@RoyAmkreutz]

But no conclusion leads to this. Would a conclusion not have taken away the mystery that is monkey Island? ;)

[@onaretrotip]

I loved the ending, but it is awful it's unresolved.

[@ruipedro4337]

@@onaretrotip it is awful! There is quite the theory that MI2's ending point to the games being the playground for just a child's imagination, and being a huge Calvin & Hobbes fan, I could enjoy that... IF a third game solved the issue :D

[@templeofbark3961]

Hi from Australia, Love monkey my favourite game of all time. Played originally on my atari 1040st. In the 90s. I think the rich story, well developed characters, humour, graphics, music, puzzles are the best around in point and click. Very unique game.

[@onaretrotip]

Agreed! It was definitely peak point & click, and is still one of the funniest games ever made.

[@amydamjanovic9183]

Maybe it’s because I wasn’t born until 1990, but I never played any Sierra games. I did play all of the Monkey Island games, admittedly years after they were first released.

[@onaretrotip]

I was born in 1980 and, although I did play a few Sierra games, they never really clicked with me.

[@StubbornFunkyDonkey]

Thank you so much for this interview. Ron is not very public these days so it always a pleasure to listen to him. A true legend.

[@onaretrotip]

My pleasure! Glad you liked it.

[@Ian-xo4vy]

Sounds like Steven Spielberg could be a possible route to Ron creating a new MI game on his terms? If it happens would be great if Michael Z Land was involved.

[@onaretrotip]

Hmm, possibly. I won't hold my breath, but we can certainly dream.

[@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533]

Really enjoyed hearing this in full Pete, brilliant to hear Ron's thoughts and memories of what will always be one of the greatest games I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Dave! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@DCampbellAnimator]

So we now know that return to monkey island was in development during this so his caginess when you asked if he’d still like to work on a third makes so much sense now

[@onaretrotip]

LOL Yup!

[@juliehall9252]

fantastic that you did these interviews yourself, it was really inspiring to hear these guys comment on their own work with 30 years of perspective. Mark Ferrari saying that people's "entire existence is storytelling" may end up in my MFA thesis.

[@onaretrotip]

Haha yes. If you liked that, it was a snippet from a longer philosophical discussion I have with Mark in the full interview (which I'll upload in the next week or so).

[@juliehall9252]

@@onaretrotip amazing, looking forward to it. thank you for doing this work !

[@onaretrotip]

@@juliehall9252 My pleasure :)

[@celastik]

Re-watching this after the big announcement, I can't believe he was already working on 3a and I didn't have any clue even with how hard he struggled to answer about that.

[@johns4651]

best news ever, shocked in a positive sense!

[@onaretrotip]

I know, right!

[@mrvellu]

great review, thank you!

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, glad you liked it.

[@AliIKarimi]

Thank you for posting this. This is excellent.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you very much!

[@YakWaxLips]

Really amazing insights. Thanks so much for this great MI content. I could listen to Ron for days.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you! Oh, me too.

[@sadderthanyou7793]

"It's about freedom." **proceeds to say it's about money**

[@onaretrotip]

LOL

[@GimblyGFR]

A very interesting interview. I love the fact that you will be uploading all of the original interviews for us to watch (and listen). As I commented on the documentary, your edition on the final video was really great. It is very fun to try to find the snippets that made it into the finished cut. You rarely get a chance like that. Thank you very much for your hard work.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you very much!

[@maxdorey6713]

Great upload - I watched your documentary earlier, I used to love Monkey Island as a kid and still do. Ron's a fascinating guy, his philosophy behind game creation is always interesting. I'd love it if we could get more "proper" adventure games again, especially with mobile platforms being so readily available for them

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you! Yes, I'd love some more games in the same vein as Thimbleweed Park.

[@paolodebord]

Nice Interview, thanks for your effort in making this

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you, my pleasure.

[@RaterisimoCBA]

It's always such a joy to listen to Ron talk about things, he's so calm and interesting. The last part gets me a little sad because you can really tell he WANTS to make a Monkey Island 3 as he envisioned it but the market and the way capital works has kinda taken away that from him now. I wish someday it actually happens (Little Big Adventure 3 is FINALLY being produced by "2.21 studios" and the original creators Frederik Raynal and Didier Chanfray as we speak which was a HUGE adventure game that everyone wanted to see once again so who knows ... ! ). Thank you for this documentary and interview sets !

[@onaretrotip]

We can always hang on to the hope, but with him stating he'd only make 3a if he owned the rights, and Disney unlikely to ever relinquish them (they don't EVER sell anything), it's unlikely. Glad you enjoyed the doc and the interviews!

[@youtubeacount732]

Good news

[@ShR33k]

Awesome interview ! Love Monkey Island!!! 1 & 2 will always be the best. 3 (The Curse of Monkey Island in Scurvy 3D) was a good game but lacked the Ron Gilbert magic. Looking forward to the new Return to Monkey Island!!! SO excited!!!

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you! I can't wait for the new one.

[@ilmarinen79]

Great interview, gotta check out the others too. It's always cool to hear stuff from Ron, as it's always zero fake BS :-)

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you very much!

[@Gethsemanes]

Disney really should do the right thing and give the rights to monkey island to Ron, regardless of if he has a plan or not for Guybrush.

[@onaretrotip]

That would be great, but the odds aren't good.

[@Gethsemanes]

@@onaretrotip This i know, its sadly Disney after all. What was George thinking? Oh yea all that money. Still its not as if they're (Disney) going to revist Guybrush or the world of monkey Island anytime soon and well they claim to be story tellers. So let a master story teller, tell another story within the world he built. I bet Disney arent even aware of the cult status of monkey island.

[@onaretrotip]

@@Gethsemanes 🤞

[@Svankmajer]

Great interview. I was kind of holding up hope he may secretly already have a deal with Disney and could announce something about a new game on the stream thing he's doing, but things in this interview kind of crushed that hope! But it was a very nice intereview. Hope you release the others as well.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you! The others will be uploaded in the next couple of weeks once edited.

[@dean_6953]

Wow man, really bringing back a lot of Monkey Island memories for me and such amazing insights from the main man Ron. Thanks a lot for seeking, doing, and putting out this interview. Looking forward to listening to the others. Question for you, do you think I should replay MI again or give thimbleweed park a go? I didn’t know it existed before this interview

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you! I'd say replay MI first, as you can beat that in 2-3 hours if you've played it before. Then play Thimbleweed Park, as that will take a lot longer.

[@rerun3283]

This guy is really cool.

[@onaretrotip]

He sure is!

[@RichARichTV]

I love this game so much 😢😢

[@onaretrotip]

Me too!

[@RichARichTV]

@@onaretrotip The best Adventure game I've played! Do you have any other recommendations?

[@onaretrotip]

@@RichARichTV Day of the Tentacle is one of my other all-time favourites. Sam & Max Hit the Road is great too. Broken Sword is another great (non-Lucas) adventure.

[@RichARichTV]

@@onaretrotip Thanks a bunch! I'll play them too! ♥

[@guybrushtreepwood5754]

Thank You!

[@onaretrotip]

My pleasure!

[@Matropolis]

Very cool Pete! Nice of Ron to ask where the interview was going to be published too! Hopefully some of the team will have watched the documentary and the interviews. Nice info here but... If you want to interview a really big fish...I'm available 😉 Your interview skills were fine 👍

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Mat!

[@MiguelBaptista1981]

Ron trolled us all ! Best troll ever :D

[@onaretrotip]

I know, right! 😂

[@ozziemonkey4790]

He managed to lie better than Andrew Garfield did about No Way Home 😂

[@onaretrotip]

@@ozziemonkey4790 😂

[@willin]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This is the first time I’ve ever heard Ron admit the post MI2 games had some elements he had planned for MI3A just done differently. And I don’t think he just meant Tales of. I mean we all know whatever it is doesn’t involve Elaine because he was never a fan of the romance. But I wonder what other elements were on the nose?

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, I wonder that too. 🤔

[@willin]

@@onaretrotip I bet your mind was blown when he mentioned that didn't you? Heh I wonder how much those who have felt that the post MI2 games were way off from everything Ron had planned would think when they hear that Yeah that's one thing about this community that always put me off. There are so many who are purists to Ron and the MI3 that never was to the detriment of any good will Curse may have had that I feel like so many have done a 180 on their opinions. Just feels so divisive

[@onaretrotip]

@@willin Yes, it was shocking to hear that. In hindsight I maybe should have pressed a bit, but I was distracted LOL

[@gustavosantos106]

Great content, very interesting!, thank you! ♥ I'm happy to see new videos about LucasArts, Ron Gilbert, and MI in 2020.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you!

[@gustavosantos106]

@@onaretrotip Hey! Good news! :D

[@onaretrotip]

@@gustavosantos106 Great news!!!

[@andyh682]

haha, helpdesk for Spielberg, hillarious!!

[@onaretrotip]

Haha IKR

[@M4dBoOmr]

Nice, thank you :)

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you!

[@TheJamieRamone]

Ur nerd-street-cred went full billionaire with this 1, mr. Tip! :D

[@onaretrotip]

LOL Thanks!

[@onaretrotip]

If you haven't seen the documentary, here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpjUdqGbebOEqtE Dave Grossman interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXKlo3iafJ14sJY Mark Ferrari interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJqXkGaGZ7SbZ5Y

[@britexpat_l33t]

@onaretrotip Any chance of these being available as audio files / podcasts?

[@onaretrotip]

@@britexpat_l33t I did think that would be a good idea, but I have no idea how to do it. I'll have a look online.

[@crabbatorium]

@@onaretrotip It's not too complicated actually. You can upload to something like Soundcloud or libsyn for hosting, and then submitting it to Spotify or iTunes is just filling in a form, nothing too dramatic

[@ChrisRobba]

Btw this interview is so cool

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you!

[@apocreg11]

Great interview. I lived curse too I must say Ron or not

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks!

[@Vyachesurafu333]

Hello! Maybe, you'll make video about Thornado/Turrican - cancelled videogames? They developed by Factor 5, but all of them cancelled. It's sad. It will be cool and interesting, if you make video about this "cancelled videogames series".

[@onaretrotip]

I doubt it. I'll probably stop making the cancelled games series after I've done all the consoles (still a few to do). Time for other things.

[@Vyachesurafu333]

@@onaretrotip Oh, I understood. I wish you the best of luck! And interview with Ron Gilbert - its was really cool.

[@onaretrotip]

@@Vyachesurafu333 Thank you!

[@Planetdune]

You should have asked WHICH elements he had in mind showed up without his input on future MI sequels. Also 60.000 dollars a year and Ron acts as "that's ALL I made /cry"... I can only dream about earning so much in a year... or two or three..

[@onaretrotip]

Well one was that Guybrush would have gone to hell, and LeChuck would be 'The Demon Pirate LeChuck'. I guess salary is all relative - it's a lot of money some places but not in others, due to rent and cost of living, etc.

[@guybrushthreepwood4758]

WE WANT MONKEY ISLAND 3a !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@onaretrotip]

I thought it was commonly referred to as 3a? But yes, definitely want!!!

[@guybrushthreepwood4758]

@@onaretrotip you're right!

[@ChrisRobba]

What Is the easiest way to get dos games (downloads) running on windows xp? Can you point me to a good tutorial?

[@MiguelBaptista1981]

Dosbox A frontend like DFEND helps.

[@xiscorincon5941]

scummvm! google it.

[@ChrisRobba]

@@MiguelBaptista1981 ok thanks, are u able to tell me what versions are best for xp because they always try to make you download the newest version of everything

[@ChrisRobba]

@@xiscorincon5941 yeah I have been for days, lots to go through, now I have to look up about front end to set that up lol

[@MiguelBaptista1981]

@@ChrisRobba Dosbox is a "DOS virtual machine". It is highly customizable with commands. All Dos based games purchased on GOG run it. D-Fend, a Frontend for Dosbox, is a Windows software with your Dos game library, like Steam, that starts the game in dosbox with every customizable option that you want to. I have no idea which version works best for XP, but I would guess any version. ScummVM is also a frontend, a game library, that runs older and more specific Dos and Windows games, mostly with the Scumm engine (hence the name) but not exclusively. For the complete list of games supported, check out their website. All of these are legally free (except the games of course).

[@pietramaladjaprie4097]

1:40 Ron Gilbert inside the screen of PCjr monitor

[@onaretrotip]

😂

[@net_news]

We have to create a kickstarter and buy Monkey Island license from Disney... this situation is crying shame! How can We help Ron on this one?? I already signed the petition but I think We need something more concrete.

[@onaretrotip]

Neither a Kickstarter nor a petition would help- the money isn't the issue. Disney don't sell anything, and they certainly don't need the money. And a petition is not going to change their minds. Sorry to be that guy, but it's a waste of time.

[@IDyce88]

i think the problem Ron Gilbert has is the same problem some artists or musicians have; it's that stupid view that if you don't look at their creation (be it a game or song etc...) the same way the creator does that you are wrong and in Ron's case he refuses to talk to you or take you seriously. That isn't how games and music works...those things are about interpretation...we all look at them slightly differently and that's ok. people like Ron act like it's a crime to interpret his game wrong...well we aren't psychic...how are we supposed to know how he wants us to interpret it. if monkey island wasn't interpreted differently the series would have ended at MI 2 and we would never have had Curse, Escape or Tales.

[@onaretrotip]

I guess so, but you can't blame him for being annoyed with all the unwarranted negativity.

[@IDyce88]

@@onaretrotip i don't approve of the negativity he has received...but i also don't approve of the way he has handled it. like i have seen the first 50 minutes or so of his new MI game and it's good...don't get me wrong...i happily bought it. but a few weeks ago...or months ago...we had no idea how this game was because he refused to show us enough of it. when negative losers say things like "prove to us the game is good" you don't go storming off and refuse to show your game....quite the contrary ...make a decent trailer of the game and shut them up...prove them wrong...that is what i would have done.

[@onaretrotip]

@@IDyce88 Fair enough. Just put out my review actually!

[@SvenQ45]

Well George Lucas never wanted to sell IPs either (except for selling all to Disney).

[@onaretrotip]

True!

[@jedistys]

\o/

[@onaretrotip]

😎👍

[@ikilledamnesiac]

Bro it was my first video game ever.

[@onaretrotip]

Wow, what a great introduction to games!