The Monkey Island SCUMM Bar: Latest News

Oh, hey, we take a quick snooze, and stuff keeps happening all the same. Who’d thunk it? Anyway, here’s what we – and potentially you – have missed.

Benny has posted part two of his “Investigating Debug Mode in Telltale Games” article: “Fighting the F2 key.” A must-read for all the Tales of Monkey Island hackers out there.

Karim, meanwhile, has posted an article all about On Stranger Tides – both the book and the movie. Go check it out.

And, last but not least, Laura Cress had some dude on her videocast, ranking his favorite Monkey Island games. I think. I actually haven’t watched it, but that’s the impression I got from the description.

Actually, scrubbing through it, I think I saw the final rating, and… not sure what those special editions are doing up there, but each to their own…

Oh, and actually last but not least: The Legend of Monkey Island has posted an article on Monkey Island Timelines, so make sure to check it out.

Well, now you can. Our very own Benzo – he still has a TSB account, meaning he hasn’t been able to escape quite yet – jumped into the code and shows how you can do the same.

Go hack like the hacker you are.

A nice little video was posted to Bluesky today by Nicolas “Author of The Mysteries of Monkey Island” Deneschau:

It is what looks like a rehearsal for Video Games Live 2015, which took place in Red Rocks, Colorado. And yes, that is Peter McConnell on guitar and Clint Bajakian on bass – both instruments they might not be mainly known for. (Bajakian more often plays the guitar; McConnell the electric violin.) The ditty is, of course, the Monkey Island theme.

Here’s the video for those who pass on Bluesky.

Maybe you’re familiar with these, or maybe you’re not. Either way, we have posted a trivia walkthrough over at Mojo, where we look into some of the easter eggs and secrets you can find within Monkey Island 2.

Go read!

We’ve posted an article over on Mojo, documenting how you can dramatically enhance Monkey Island 2’s audio output in DREAMM. With some elbow grease and custom MT-32 ROMs, you, too, can listen to the music like a dang pro. Go read!

Let’s be honest: The days when jumping between sites and social networks was second nature are long gone. We are all getting older, busier, and so on and so forth. That’s why, a while ago, Mojo and us (a six of one, half a dozen of the other type situation) started The Adventurer, a semi-regular digest of going-ons that you might have missed.

You may, for example, not have time to follow us on Bluesky, in which case you will not have seen our grand Gullet’s twin, Mullet revelation. Or, if you don’t read Mojo daily, you might not know that Monkey Island hit the University Challenge. I mean, this is important stuff.

And that’s why The Adventurer is here – all the content in a digestable form, straight to your inbox. Yay, right? Run and subscribe, right now!

Well, tease might be a better word, but regardless, it looks like The Curse of Monkey Island leads are up to something:

A surprise post today! My design partner of “The Curse of Monkey Island” Larry Ahern and I have been developing a new comedy narrative adventure. Our development team is ready to roll, and we’d love to meet with potential publishing partners. Hit me up if you’d like to talk!

Seeing it doesn’t have a publisher yet, I wouldn’t expect an imminent release, but still… Fun times ahead!

… and its title is Death by Scrolling.

According to the grumpy blog, the game is the previously-abandoned A Little Something skinned with the now-abandoned RPGTBD (abandoned for now, that is). I don’t entirely understand what the actual game “is,” but it sure looks pretty and is scheduled for a 2025 release.

Go read Ron’s blog for more.

I’m almost certain you’ve already heard that Disney+’s newest Star War – Skeleton Crew – is inspired by Monkey Island, and yay to that. I haven’t actually watched the show, but it must be kind of “a big deal,” seeing a) StarWars.com has a a story about it and, b) Steve Purcell created a poster for it:

The final piece is as much an homage to the stories that inspired Watts and Ford as it is a love letter to Purcell’s own contributions to animation and illustration. “We were both huge fans of his work on those games and Sam & Max comics and on,” Ford says. “Copying his art was how I learned how to draw hands. It was a thrill just getting to talk to Steve on the phone, let alone get him to create original art of our characters! They all look so right in his art style, I think, because he was such an early inspiration for us. His sense of humor really made a strong impression on us and we hope it comes through!”

Go read and/or just admire the poster.

Some may remember our “ICYMI: Return to Monkey Island” article where we featured some of the more esoteric trivia from the sixth Monkey Island game. Due to (more or less) popular demand, it now has a follow-up: “ICYMI: The Secret of Monkey Island.” I’d tell you what it’s all about, but frankly, I’m tired, and I’m sure you’ve already figured it out. Read!