Did Pirates of the Caribbean rip off Monkey Island?

Get to know the people who make great videogames

_{[Sup Holmes is a weekly talk show for people that make great videogames. It airs live every Sunday at 4൲pm EST on , and can be found in Podcast form on  and .]}

Last week on Sup Holmes we met Ron Gilbert, creator of Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, The Cave and so many other amazing games. I have wanted to talk to this person for over 20 years. When I finally got my chance, I found myself desperate to tell him everything I’ve ever thought ever, which left me at a loss. It’s hard to pick just a few words when you want to say all of them at the same time. 

C’mon guys, this is the man who helped coin the term “cut scene”. This is the person who who co-created the modern point and click adventure genre. This is the guy who made some of the only games that have made me laugh out loud for the entirety of my adult life. I still laugh when I say “How appropriate, you fight like a cow,” in game or out.  It literally never gets old.

Even typing this is stressing me out because I know the Ron Gilbert might read it later. His games have given me so much joy and inspiration over the years. I can’t help but want to return the gesture.

Despite my fanboy freak out, we still had an amazing conversation. We talked about working with George Lucas, how frustrations with other games can inspire innovations in his own designs, the influence of Blazing Saddles on the ending of Monkey Island 2, his thoughts on modern adventure games like , , and , the actual secret of Monkey Island,  how 90% of your ideas suck, why that’s OK, his dream to return to Monkey Island, the game he’s planning now, and so much more. 

I also couldn’t help but squeeze out some resentment I’d been holding in. Those Pirates of the Caribbean movies? They should have been Monkey Island movies. To me, that’s what they were — poor man’s Monkey Island movies. Ron seemed to know exactly what I meant, though he was a little more composed and respectful than I was. He certainly looked calm. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so consistently relaxed. Maybe it’s because his face is made entirely of squares. I bet that helps. 

Thanks again to Ron for being on the show, and if you want to meet the creators of Adventures of Pip and maybe win a code for Devil’s Dare, tune in for the . We’d love talk to you and give you things.