We are about to Return to Monkey Island, and it has been confirmed that the upcoming game will have a mode similar to an easy mode. Ron Gilbert, the creator of the game, has revealed that this new game will include a hint system to help plays traverse through the story.
In a recent interview, Gilbert said, “[One thing] that people really want in games today are built-in hint systems”, which goes against everything he has said in the past about such in-game mechanics. He went on to say, “If players don’t have a built-in hint system, they’re just going to jump over to the web and… read a walkthrough.” He does have a point, but he’s not reinventing the wheel here, hint systems have been around since the origin of gaming.
Gilbert continued, “There was a lot of stuff that we did during the production of The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island: LeChuck’s Revenge, that we didn’t think much about – a lot of very obscure puzzles.” Gilbert added, “Hiding a piece of information somewhere with no clues about where to find it – that kind of thing just wouldn’t fly today. Having hint systems means that if you make the puzzle just completely weird and obscure, people just got to the hint system.”
Every time a game uses a hint system, there is always one question that follows it… will this affect the game and make it too easy? Well, Gilbert and his collaborator Dave Grossman have ensured fans that this new system will not damage the game or take away any of the fun or the challenging aspects. The two men have said it “will provide users with more than just a walkthrough, adding to the fantasy of the game”.
Return to Monkey Island will also include a casual mode, similar to the one used in LeChuck’s Revenge. The casual mode is aimed at people who haven’t experienced an adventure game for a very long time, so they can enjoy it at a level they feel comfortable playing at. Gilbert said “They can play casual mode, which is just a lot of simplification of the puzzles in the game. That is our main way to get people playing point-and-click games, especially if they haven’t played one before.”
And if you didn’t know, Return to Monkey Island will begin from the exact point that LeChuck’s Revenge ended, so there is no need to be worried about missing any of the stories, we can assure you of that.
