GAMESPOT INTERVIEWS RON GILBERT
Ron Gilbert, creative mind behind Guybrush Threepwood and Grumpy Gamer, was the first interviewee for Gamespot’s new “Designer Threads” feature, where they basically talk to a famous game designer and pick his brain on just about everything they can.
There are a lot of topics discussed in the online interview (which can be augmented with an even longer podcast interview), but what I want to focus on are two things that Gilbert mentioned in the interview;
First, Gilbert mentioned that he’s currently working on a game that he describes as a mix between a RPG and an adventure game. Here’s to hoping he finds a publisher for it, as it’s been too long since his humor has been seen in the gaming world.
Secondly, he mentions that he KNOWS the Secret of Monkey Island, and had originally planned on revealing it in the third game in the series. Unfortunately, when he left LucasArts before the game was made, the secret was lost forever… unless of course, he were to get a chance to make another Monkey Island game;
“I had definitely planned on doing that in the third game, yes. There’s no question about that, but, you know, and then when Jonathan and Larry made Monkey Island III, which is a great game…I think they did a fabulous job on that. They didn’t know what the secret was. I told nobody. So, you know, they weren’t really able to kind of reveal that, but I would love to make another Monkey Island game. If I could make another one…I have this whole story mapped out in my head for how I want to tie it all together with the other two games, kind of bring it all back to the original thing, and that would just be a dream of mine.” -Ron Gilbert
While I’d love nothing more than to see Ron Gilbert and Monkey Island reunited, the realist in me just doesn’t see it happening. Damn you LucasArts!
Check out the full interview and podcast at this link and join me in the Scumm Bar for a mug of Grog ™ when you’re done. You know… sometimes at night, I can still hear the monkeys.
NO INTERNAL HD-DVD DRIVE FOR XBOX 360
There have been rumors floating around that Microsoft will be releasing a new version of the Xbox 360 that includes a built in HD-DVD drive. In a posting yesterday, Microsoft’s in-house employee blog, Gamerscore blog, shot that rumor down before it could start making the talk-show rounds;
“Saw a few stories online about an Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive: not true. We have no plans to release an Xbox 360 with an internal HD DVD. What we showcased at E3 was an external HD DVD drive, and we’re sticking with that.
We’ve always had a games-first emphasis with the Xbox, but some consumers can build on the platform – like by adding a Windows Media Center Edition PC. By keeping the drive external, we’re offering consumers a choice in creating their own hi-def experiences. So: no plans for an internal HD DVD.” -Cesar Menendez, Gamerscore Blog
While I would never suggest trusting the word of a corporate employee at face value, it certainly makes sense that this rumor would be false. Simply put, Microsoft is pushing the angle that the 360 offers you a choice regarding HD, whereas Sony is forcing you to buy a player now. Any moves against that concept would just lend credence to Sony’s position that the Blu-Ray drive is necessary. Besides, with the HD format wars just starting, I can’t see MS marrying HD-DVD technology just yet.
Check out the Gamerscore Blog posting here and remember that whole Betamax incident you were involved in before you get behind either technology just yet.
SO MANY WAYS TO BRAG
Reader J.M. sent us word that there is another Xbox Gamercard site out there that we missed. GamerScoreChart.com takes all your hard work and sums it up nicely into a little graph so you can not only tell your friends that you’re ahead of them in achievement points, but that if you look at the charts, you’re gaining at faster rate than they are, meaning you’ll be pulling ever further away as time goes on. That’ll show ‘em!
While you can click here to check out the site, don’t thank me for the find, thank J.M., Unless of course you’re the person people compare their graphs with when they want to look better than someone else. Then you can curse him out all day long. It’s your choice really.
