“Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted but it’s the art style I wanted”, says Ron Gilbert

Ron Gilbert has responded to fans unhappy with Return to Monkey Island’s art style, stating “Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it’s the art style I wanted”.

In a candid blog post, Gilbert said the game had “a team of incredible artists, animators, sound designers, programmers, and testers all pouring their souls into this game and it’s beautiful to see, play, and listen to”.

As Victoria so perfectly summarised for us earlier this week, the Monkey Island series has taken on a new look as well as a new creative team in its third outing, The Curse of Monkey Island. However, this new art style was not simply because of the change in management behind the game’s development but because of the tools being used behind the scenes, and not all fans are happy with the new look.

“Return to Monkey Island may not be the art style you wanted or were expecting but it’s the art style I wanted,” Ron Gilbert explained in the blog post (thanks, VGC). “When I started this game my biggest fear was Disney wouldn’t let me make the game I wanted to make but they have been wonderful to work with.

“It’s ironic that the people who don’t want me to make the game I want to make are some of the hard core Monkey Island fans. And that is what makes me sad about all the comments.”

Reflecting upon Return to Monkey Island’s “incredible rollercoaster”, Gilbert suggested we either “get on and have some fun or stomp out of the amusement park because it’s not exactly the rollercoaster you wanted”.

“I don’t want the pressure of trying to make the game you want me to make,” he wrote in closing. “I would vanish for long periods of time. I would not constantly keep you up-to-date or be feeding the hype-machine. I’d show stuff that excited me or amused me. If you let me do those things, you will love the game. That, I promise.”

ICYMI, Return to Monkey Island will pick up after the events of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge and start off in an amusement park. There’s still no firm release date, but the game is expected to release later this year.