Curiosità e anticipazioni dal PAX 2009

One of the highlights of PAX 2009 for me was being able to see and even talk with heroes of mine from the gaming industry. One such occasion was an interview I had with Dave Grossman, Design Director at Telltale Games, and Dominic Armato, voice of Guybrush Threepwood Mighty Pirate. As you can imagine, what followed was a hilarious and enlightening conversation, with a few clues about what’s ahead for Tales of Monkey Island.

In deference to the people who just want some Tales of Monkey Island spoilers, I’ll talk about that first, but stick around for a few more interesting tidbits from Dave and Dominic.

According to Dave, the basic story arc for the entire season of Tales of Monkey Island has been planned out for a while now but bits and pieces keep changing as they make each episode. He did say there have been distinct themes for each episode that have remained basically the same. For instance, the first episode set up the basic setting and plot, then the theme of episode two was “escalation” as they tried to raise the stakes for Guybrush and Elaine.

Of course, my next question was “So what’s the theme of the upcoming episode three?” Dave replied that it could best “be described as interpersonal conflict.” Dave explained they’re treating the episodic content as one larger story, so the arc and theme of each episode loosely follow the classic story structures you often see in books and movies.

“A lot of great stories build up a lot of tension,” Dave said, “and then towards the middle they back off a bit and add in a quiet space for emotional reflection between characters. Of course, with Guybrush, that space won’t be quiet.”

We wouldn’t have it any other way, Dave.

Dave did confirm that the separation of Elaine and Guybrush were intentional in order to create some more tension for the characters. When I asked him if there would be any love triangles involving Morgan LeFlay he merely said that Morgan is deeply impressed with Guybrush and there might be a small crush there. But he was reluctant to say more.

He also put to rest a small controversy that has been floating around ToMI forums lately, namely whether Guybrush and Elaine are even together. “Well, they did get married. So … yeah.” Problem solved.

Now for some juicy parts. Dave confirmed that [mega spoiler warning if you haven’t completed episode two] Guybrush and Morgan LeFlay won’t be alone in the giant manatee. There will be other people and they won’t be stuck in there the entire episode. I asked if the manatee had a name; it only seems appropriate considering the close relationship Guybrush now has with the beast. Dave just laughed and said the manatee remained nameless. Maybe he’ll be playing a strict role as a setting instead of a character.

That's the extent of Monkey Island news, but here are a few more interesting notes from the conversation:

* Dave said if he could do anything in the world for his next game franchise he would pick the works of Kurt Vonnegut because he likes a challenge. A challenge indeed.
* Dave was one lucky guy considering that after dropping out of grad school, he basically stumbled upon his first job with LucasArts. Apparently Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert had fairly similar stories. I asked how he thought so many people came together at that small division of Lucas’ empire who would eventually become influential powerhouses in the gaming industry. He seemed to think it was mostly luck, although he acknowledged that they were still some of the smartest people he has ever worked with.
* Dave Grossman was the person who wrote the original Grog XD recipe for the first Monkey Island game. He says he had nothing to do with an Argentinian news station reporting as fact that youth were mixing and drinking the ridiculous concoction. But I wish he had.
* Dominic Armato is one of the nicest and most likable people I’ve ever talked to. Seriously, he’s just a nice guy that just happens to sound exactly like Guybrush (or is it the other way around).
* The first time a stranger has ever identified Dominic as the voice of Guybrush was someone who had never played the game before. It happened just a few hours before our interview as someone came to the Telltale booth, watched a ToMI cutscene and then struck up a conversation with Dominic. That’s when he pointed to the screen and said, “Hey, is that you?” It’s official now, he’s famous.
* Dominic started acting when he was a little kid and did a few commercials. His first gig was for Switzer’s Cherry Twists.
* Even though it’s hard not to equate Dominic’s easy going attitude and voice as Guybrush, he says he has had no real impact on the character or the story of any Monkey Island game. The developers write the dialog and he shows up to say the lines. I still don’t believe him though.
* In a story similar to Dave’s, Dominic’s first job after deciding to become a voice actor was playing Guybrush Threepwood in the Curse of Monkey Island. He had always been a fan of the previous two Monkey Island games and identified strongly with Guybrush. Just weeks before getting the Curse of Monkey Island job, he had told a friend his dream gig would be to voice Guybrush Threepwood in a new Monkey Island game. Fortunately for all of us his dream came true.

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