It’s hard to believe what life was life before some technology became so accessible. Google Translate is one such bit of tech. My better half is German. Despite my best efforts, I’m still not great at speaking German. Many a time, Google Translate has come to the rescue. But there’s so much more to Google’s Translate app than getting your through your holidays. While you might think it’s a small user base, Google also translates Irish.
Google’s Translate App and Irish
Google translation first launched back in 2006. The Google Translate app launched a few years later in 2010. Today, the app supports 109 languages. The app can scan images and translate them in 37 languages, 32 languages in conversation mode and 27 in augmented reality mode. The cool thing for us here in Ireland is that Google Translate can also translate Irish.
Not only can it help you translate Irish to English and visa versa but it can translate Irish into over 100 languages. Yes, I can bypass English and now translate Irish straight into German. Not that that’s a good idea for me. Learning the “cúpla focail as Gaeilge” has never been so easy.
The app works in real-time so you can translate everything from road signs to menus instantly, seeing the results on your phone screen. If you’re travelling abroad, or in the west with no internet, you can also download the Irish language pack before you go. this means you can translate Irish into all those languages without an internet connection.
How Google Translate Works
Google Translate uses some really technical sounding stuff to make all of this work. It’s what Google refers to as Neural Machine Translation technology. If you’re a lucky owner of a Google Pixel 6 or Google Pixel 6 Pro, you get even more advanced translation accuracy. Today, Google believes they’ve reduced errors but up to 85%.
One area the app is lacking is audio playback. Google Translate can playback languages to you, but it cannot play Irish back. You’ll need to work out those pronunciations on your own.
Right now, you can go to the Argos website and buy an electric scooter. You can also go to the Halfords website, buy an electric scooter and start commuting with it immediately. But, whether you buy the scooter from Argos, Halfords or another retailer in Ireland, you could be about to break the law. I’ve been following the legal status of electric scooters in Ireland for years. I used to be a daily rider of one, getting from A to B in Dublin on my trusted Xiaomi m365. But now, I cycle. The reason for that is simple. The electric scooter in Argos and the electric scooter in Halfords are both illegal to use on public roads.
What Electrics Scooters are in Argos
Argos offer quite a range of electric scooters on their website. They range from the better known Xiaomi scooters to some lesser-known and less powerful brands, such as EVO.
The Xiaomi Pro is one of the pricier electric scooters Argos carries. This particular scooter retails for €700 on the Argos website. At the time of writing, this was reduced to €595.
The flip side of the electric scooter offering in Argos is the EVO VT1. This scooter retails for just €112.50.
The gap in price is justified. More expensive scooters offer higher speeds and pneumatic tyres which massively impact the experience of riding an electric scooter.
The Argos Electric Scooters Are Illegal on Irish Roads
If you buy an electric scooter from Argos or Halfords and use it on a public road, you could find yourself in hot water. I was stopped myself one day, lucky to get away with a warning. Electric scooters are considered mechanically propelled vehicles in Irish law. This means they require tax and insurance while remaining impossible to tax or get insurance for. Electric scooters have landed in the most unusual place in Ireland.
For years, the public has been told it would only be a matter of time before electric scooters would be legalised. Most recently, Eamon Ryan had promised they would be legalised in December 2021. Now, the Government Minister has indicated it will likely be 2023 before they are legalised.
Electric scooters are a practical way of getting around, but they remain illegal to use on public roads in Ireland. The Argos website will warn you of this fact, but there’s nothing stopping you from buying an electric scooter and commuting. Nothing except the law.
I wrote an article a few years ago about who to follow on TikTok in Ireland. There were still nerves as to what lay ahead for the platform. But in just two years TikTok has completely taken over as the top time sink social media platform for people. It’s such a fun platform. I know because I spend a ridiculous amount of time on it. But after you follow Goosed.ie on TikTok, who else should you go check out? Here are four Irish brands that are nailing TikTok and are great craic to follow.
HUH – How’s Ur Head?
HUH is one of the first brands I followed on TikTok, let alone Irish brands. I bought from them purely because they were entertaining. Today, they dominate my TikTok For You Page (aka feed).
HUH is a real Irish business success story, even outside of TikTok. The company was founded by Mark Donnelly in his parents’ front room after moving home from the States.
The brand’s core plan is simple. Product high-quality clothing with a logo that prompts people to ask about each other’s mental health. It works too. I’ve had several chats with people when I wear my “Conas atá do ceann” jumper. You also get sweets included with your order. I’m just saying it’s the little things that matter.
Here’s Mark explaining the business himself. The account is a balance of fun, but also Mark discussing mental health and what it’s like running a business.
Richard Grogan and Associates Solicitors – That’s a Law and That’s a Fact
Showing that absolutely any niche can belong on TikTok is Solicitor Richard Grogan. I wish he was Bebo back in the day, telling me what my part-time jobs were doing wrong. Richard specialises in employment law. He posts regular TikToks explaining complex Irish laws that have a real impact on employees around the country. He does it in a way that’s easy to understand, with a trademark sign off every time of “that’s the law, and that’s a fact”.
I can guarantee you that quite a few people in Ireland have had stern conversations with their employer as a direct result of Richard’s TikTok’s.
Being honest, I could see some of the content on Richard’s TikTok account really empowering people. For example, over 70,000 people have learned that in Ireland, you cannot be fired for discussing your salary with a fellow employee. That could open up some interesting conversations with colleagues and bosses.
You can follow Richard on TikTok and learn some more about Irish employment law yourself, joining his 228,400 followers.
Final Bend – Eco-Friendly Activewear
It’s truly awesome to see brands grow from ideas in school. Final Bend is the brainchild of Emma Coffey from Cork. She had the idea for the company back in 2018 while she was in 5th year. With a massive love for athletics and hampered by injury, she founded Final Bend.
Ok, so fundamentally, Final Bend is a sportswear company. But it’s a sportswear company with an eco mission. The company aims to upgrade all materials they use to eco-friendly and is fully transparent in their product range. Extra kudos for the brand using a diverse range of models in their product imagery.
I’m a sucker for sweets. Such a sweet tooth I have. Mr. Candy.ie is an Irish stockist of a massive range of sweets. They specialise in hard-to-find American sweets and snacks. The Carlow-based but largely online retailer was founded back in 2020 and today has nearly 130,000 followers.
The beautiful part of this account is Larry. I might have missed it, but it’s not entirely clear if Larry is the owner of the operation, an employee or just a man hanging out in the warehouse that knows the stock really really well. A regular “bit” on the Mr. Candy TikTok is asking Larry what’s in stock. People comment asking if they stock something.
Right, I’m going to wrap this section up because I’m very close to ordering a mix bag of sweets that I shouldn’t eat.
I say it every year. The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is very close to my heart. It embodies what I love about technology. Until the dawn of the smartphone, storytelling required expensive filming equipment, but now anyone can do it. This weekend marks the fifth year of the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival and it’s the biggest yet. Here’s what you can expect, along with info on how you can attend in person, or online.
The Film Festival Screenings
The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is Ireland’s only International Film Festival dedicated to filmmakers exclusively using mobile devices; that’s mobile phones and tablets. Right at the heart of the 2022 festival is the screening schedule. Here, the very best mobile movie makers will have their work hit the big screen. Filmmakers from 15 countries will feature at the festival. Included are feature films (which is a first for the festival) and the premiere of the exciting documentary, Are Your Eyes Nicely Open?.
Image credit: Marta Sadowska
Festival Director Robert Fitzhugh says, “The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have brought about an incredible period of creativity with people forced to use the tools they have at their disposal to tell stories”.
The screenings will take place from 1 PM on April 30th, at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin City Centre and is an excellent way to spend your Saturday, whether you’re visiting Ireland or living here. You can pick up your ticket for just €6.50.
The Filmmaking Workshop
As if we couldn’t love the festival enough. Not only can you see what’s possible to shoot with a mobile, you can also learn how to do it yourself. From 10 AM on the morning of the festival, you can attend a workshop and get the tricks of the trade.
Fitzhugh says, “this is what the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival is here to do; to encourage the next generation of filmmakers to create their stories using their phones and to provide them with the widest possible platform to present these stories to a wider audience”.
Taking to the big screen this year has been made possible by a brand new partnership. This partnership sees the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival team up with the Irish Film Institute. This partnership validates mobile movie making and is an amazing opportunity for the filmmaking community.
The festival team has worked for five years to build a community of mobile filmmakers and this is an exciting culmination of their efforts to finally bring these talented filmmakers to a wider audience.
Fitzhugh says, “This partnership with the IFI means we have an opportunity to showcase these filmmakers to a wider audience and a chance to legitimize their hard work”.
IFI’s Head of Education, Alicia McGivern outlines how the IFI is “is delighted to partner with DUBSMARTFF 2022, expanding our programme with work in a new format, and opening up our historic building as both screening venue and location to smartphone filmmakers. The collaboration gives us a chance to reach new audiences and to engage with next-generation filmmakers, inspired by the energy and creativity of the DUBSMARTFF team”.
The Online Option
Having attended the festival for the past few years, I absolutely recommend attending in person if you can. But there’s an online alternative. The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival will take place, in person, on the 30th of April 2022 at the Irish Film Institute. You can also attend online between May 1st to May 7th, with tickets available from the festival website.
Getting a taxi in Dublin is a nightmare right now. It gets worse when the sun goes down. I don’t need to hail a taxi that often, but see the struggle every weekend after 10 pm. People are stranded in the city, desperately trying to flag down taxis. There are also people stuck at the airport without hope of grabbing a cab. I thought this would open the door for Uber to launch their full private driving service, but that seems not to be the case.
51% of Irish People Don’t Want Private Uber or Lyft
Here at Goosed, we surveyed 255 people in Ireland about ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. We asked them, “Would you use a ride-sharing service in Ireland? This is paying for a lift with a private car owner instead of a taxi driver”. 51% of respondents said no, with just 19% saying they would want Uber-style ride-sharing. The remaining 31% remain unsure about ride-sharing joining traditional taxi drivers on Irish roads.
Even more surprising are the results from Dublin City respondents. Despite the problem being concentrated in the capital, 57% of people said no to ride-sharing apps. I find these results quite fascinating given there is a real taxi problem in Dublin, if not the wider country.
The Irish Taxi Problem
I can see a busy Dublin street every Saturday night, so I can see the problem. But you just need to look at Twitter to see people are frustrated when trying to grab a taxi in Dublin.
Taxi situation in Dublin is horrendous. Flagged down so many taxis that wouldn’t take me, probably because I was only going 10/15 mins. This was me on a dark road with very few people around. Where are peoples morals ?
The taxi industry faces many problems today. The average age of drivers is quite high and many drivers haven’t returned from parking their cabs up as a result of Covid-19. The situation is surely not going to be helped by inflation and wide fuel prices. There’s no real light at the end of the tunnel for getting taxis on a Saturday night.
Yet, the Irish public still rejects the idea of ride-sharing apps like Uber. Even in Dublin itself.
Is Uber in Ireland? Yes, But No.
Now, I need to clarify what’s going on with Uber in Ireland. You can download the Uber app and use it to get around Ireland. However, you can only use the Uber app in Ireland to book a regulated taxi driver. This might be confusing if you’re used to Uber-style ride-sharing. In the United States, anyone can become an Uber driver. You just have to be old enough to drive in your city, have the required driving experience, a valid license, and an eligible 4-door car.
To become an Uber driver in Ireland you must have a taxi or limo driving license. That means you have to be a registered and regulated driver.
Don’t expect to see Uber ride-sharing in Ireland any time soon.
Will Uber Ride-sharing Come to Ireland?
Ireland has a heavily regulated taxi industry, and that’s not a bad thing. While there are some anecdotal stories of poor customer care and “faulty” mandatory card machines, taxi drivers in Ireland are generally very good. Ride-sharing apps have met stiff resistance so far here from the taxi regulator. In 2017, Uber was told it could not operate in Ireland.
What our survey shows is that the Irish public seems happy enough for that to be the case with just 19% of people saying they’d use a ride-sharing app.
Tips for Getting a Taxi in Dublin
If you’re going out on the weekend, particularly in Dublin, here are some tricks and tips to get a taxi in the city.
Prebook your taxi when possible using an app like FreeNow or Lynk.
Get to know your driver. You could be repeat business for them. Get their number.
If a driver drops you into the city, ask will they pick you up again.
Ordering food online has exploded in the past two years. It was already on the up before lockdown but now is bigger than ever. It’s a double-edged sword for restaurants. Sure, they get more business, but services like JustEat and Deliveroo take a bit, non-literal, slice of the pie. Flipdish has been the big alternative, empowering restaurants to have a direct online connection to their customers. Now, Flipdish has launched a new platform called StraightFrom.com, letting you browse all the restaurants in your area that deliver to you direct.
The Online Problem For Irish Restaurants
When you order your favourite takeaway on Deliveroo or JustEat, there are a lot more people that have to be paid. The margins in restaurants are quite tight, so this poses a problem. Deliveroo and JustEat take a cut from your order, the delivery rider needs to be paid and then there are all the usual costs of running a restaurant too. Basically, it all ends up costing the restaurant quite a lot and slashes the profits.
Aggregators like Deliveroo, JustEat and UberEats are incredibly popular. Since the pandemic began alone, these aggregators in Ireland have taken an estimated €1.2bn in revenue. A painful number for Irish restaurants to see is the €270m in total commissions brought in by these aggregators. This is all money that can in some part be clawed back by building direct relationships with customers using services like Flipdish.
When you can, try to buy your dinner treat directly from a restaurant. But how are you supposed to find them? That’s where Straight From comes in.
Finding Local Takeaways Without The Apps
StraightFrom.com is a new non-profit founded by Flipdish. Naturally, it’s a bit self-serving for Flipdish, but that doesn’t take away from how useful it is. Also, it’s really important to note that the platform is open to all restaurants and takeaways free of charge regardless if they’re a Flipdish customer or not. It’s hoped that this will act as an alternative to food marketplaces, which continue to charge high fees to those in the hospitality sector.
Good grub on StraightFrom.com
The StraightFrom.com website lets you find your favourite local restaurants that have snubbed the well-known aggregators. I’ve looked and found some of my absolutely all-time favourite spots in Dublin on there. You can find restaurants that deliver or filter by the ones that will get you a week’s walk and some fresh air too for pick-up. This website somewhat unlocks a world of new cafes and restaurants that other food marketplaces have missed.
This website unlocks a world of new cafes and restaurants
Basically, all I’m saying is give it a go. If you’re going to order on Deliveroo, don’t feel bad and enjoy your meal. I’m a Deliveroo Premium customer so I won’t be giving it up. But I will be checking out StraightFrom.com before my order in future to see if I can order directly from a restaurant, which is usually cheaper with fewer fees, than ordering on Deliveroo.
A few weeks ago I was out for a walk. I spotted a Polestar ad on one of those big street billboard things you see. I was a bit confused because I recognised the car, but didn’t think it was in Ireland. It was the Polestar 2 electric and it turns out it is now available in Ireland. Here’s everything you need to know about this new car brand in Ireland.
What is Polestar?
Polestar is a Swedish car manufacturer. It was founded back in 1996 and is effectively Volvo. Polestar specialises in electric-only cars. The company makes two cars, simply named Polestar 1 and Polestar 2. The latter is the only one now available in Ireland.
Polestar 2 in Ireland
The Polestar 2 launched internationally nack in 2020. It’s proven popular globally with consumers and motoring media alike. It earned Car of the Year titles in Norway and Switzerland, BBC Top Gear magazine’s Best All-Round EV, Red Dot’s Best of the Best for Product Design, and the coveted Golden Steering Wheel in Germany.
So, it’s a serious enough piece of machinery.
The base-model Polestar 2 can do 440km and 0-100kmph in 7.4 seconds. On a good day, with the right conditions, that’s a Dublin to Galway round trip without needing a charge.
At the end of March, the Polestar 2 launched in Ireland. You won’t see them on the road just yet, as the Irish launch was more of an announcement than physically having cars here. The company has said they’re going to start offering test drives with a four-week roadshow in Dublin, Kilkenny, Cork and Galway. That all starts from May 9th.
Polestar 2 Price in Ireland
The Polestar 2 will start at €54,500 in Ireland. That price tag is perfect for the Irish market. It means you can still get the full SEAI grant of €5,000 for the Polestar 2 thanks to it being under €60,000. It’s important to remember that the price tag is a “starts from” price and you’re probably going to add some extras. The good news is that the Polestar 2 was the first car in the world to feature Google built-in. The system includes Google Assistant, Google Maps with support for electric vehicles and the Google Play Store. All as standard so one extra you don’t have to worry about.
It’s an interesting time for Polestar to launch in Ireland. Since the start of 2022, market share new full-electric car sales is up 119%.
Polestar’s Kieran Campbell says, “it’s clear there’s huge appetite for new premium electric cars here in Ireland, so the arrival of Polestar couldn’t be better-timed”.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for a chance to test-drive the Polestar 2. If I get my chance, let me ask your questions. Ask them on our social channels.
Right. I’m so excited I’m going to write another article about Return to Monkey Island. Yes indeed. There’s going to be a proper third instalment to the original Ron Gilbert creation, Monkey Island. Right now, we know very little about the game but we can piece together some clues, right? Just what will Return to Monkey Island be like?
Back in 2015, Gilbert said Monkey Island 3a wouldn’t be the third instalment he would have made back in 1992. Now, I don’t think this is going to be the game he thought he would have made back in 2015.
But first, here’s the teaser in case you haven’t seen it yet.
1. A Mix Of Curse of Monkey Island and Thimbleweed Park
A lot of the clues we have come from the original game creator, Ron Gilbert’s blog. Back in 2013, he penned that post discussing what his hypothetical third Monkey Island would be. His very first point in that post is perhaps the one he’s going to step furthest back on. 2015 Gilbert wanted Return to Monkey Island to be retro, a nod to his first two Guybrush games, describing them as “enhanced low-res”. He goes on to talk about a lot game design principles that technology just didn’t let him do in the early days.
If you’ve been following Gilbert’s more recent work, you might be familiar with Thimbleweed Park. Thimbleweed Park was Monkey Island meets X-Files, and it was sublime. But I don’t think that’s the style approach Return to Monkey Island will take. It was very close to the original style of Monkey Island, which isn’t a bad thing. That design is timeless. But, now that we have Disney involved here, Return to Monkey Island will need mass appeal and likely console ports too.
I see the 2017 Thimbleweed Park as being Gilbert getting some of that want for pure retro out of his system. He also said any new Monkey Island game would ditch the “verbs”; the core control system of the original game. These feature in Thimbleweed Park, perhaps another last hurrah.
No. Instead, I see Return to Monkey Island being closer to Curse of Monkey Island. It’s hard to describe it, but I see it being retro Monkey Island backdrops, Curse of Monkey Island in the middle with a layer of modern animation sitting on top.
Yeah. That makes total sense.
2. Nope. You’re Not Getting Clues
I despite a game that has a sparkling item in the corner telling me to go pick it up. Give me a few minutes and I’ll find it. I didn’t need to clue. While the commercials of reality dictate this new Monkey Island game will have to have mass appeal, I don’t think Gilbert will have any interest at all in providing hints for puzzles. Actually, Gilbert nor Dave Grossman, who’s the co-writer for Return to Monkey Island – I’ve not given him the air time he deserves. He’s kept this as much of a secret as anyone and tweeted just how much of a secret it was today:
The thing I've been waiting for the most is that after school this afternoon I can finally tell my son what I've been working on since he was five. He knows all about Monkey Island so I think it'll blow his mind even though it isn't Minecraft.
But, again, it’s Gilbert’s blog that’s the big giveaway here. Speaking about what a new Monkey Island might look like he says, “No tutorials or hint systems” and “it would be an adventure game for the hardcore. You’re going to get stuck. You’re going to be frustrated”.
Which is good. Because you’re going to get your money’s worth…
Solid, but dated, advice
3. No, It Won’t Cost Twenty Bucks
A famous quote from the original Monkey Island game is “never pay more than twenty bucks for a game”. Immediately, the game’s creators are being slapped with this online. Let me be the first to say, I’ll pay more than that for Return to Monkey Island. Because inflation.
$20 in 1990 is $43.41 in today’s money. While I’d probably pay more than that too, I really hope someone in the marketing team has some swing on the new game’s price tag.
4. It’ll Start In A Carnival
Return to Monkey Island is Monkey Island 3a. Gilbert initially said that after the first two games, the rest of Monkey Island effectively didn’t happen. Again, he’s backtracking here a bit. I guess Disney will do that to you.
Why do I say that? Well, the evidence is in the teaser released today. Murray, the talking skull, first appears in the chronologically third game, Curse of Monkey Island. He appears in the teaser and Gilbert has confirmed on Twitter that he’s in the game “big time”.
Of course, I get what Gilbert is getting at here. He’s possibly had a rough idea in his head about how he would have closed out a trilogy of games. Basically, if something from the Telltale series doesn’t line up with Return to Monkey Island, he doesn’t want to hear about your loopholes.
5. Music, Voices and More From Curse Of Monkey Island
Michael Land, Clint Bajakian and Peter McConnell will feature as composers of the game’s score. Another massive piece of the puzzle is the confirmation that Dominic Armato returns to voice Guybrush Threepwood again.
The game is also going to be international. Not that that’s a big surprise or anything, but there are loads of translation specialists working on, well, translations.
Let's go full circle and return to Monkey Island! I can't tell you how excited I am to be working on the Spanish translation and to be back with the @thimbleweedpark crew ⚔️ https://t.co/IGfOxe4qc2
And now I can finally say that I’ve been translating Return to Monkey Island to Brazilian Portuguese! I honestly have no words to describe how happy I am to be a part of this! https://t.co/zbDCne394n
I was very excited when writing that first article about Return to Monkey Island. I was firing on all cylinders and not really researching things. I thought the scene looked a bit like where you meet the Men of Low Moral Fibre on Scabb Island. But I was wrong. In some other artwork emerging from the game, you can see that the ship in the teaser video is docked towards the south of Mêlée Island.
The ship from the teaser video is docked at Mêlée Island
Yep, we’re going back to where it all began on Mêlée Island. You can see the lookout spot and all.
You know what, this was going to be longer but I’m going to go start playing the old games again to get back up to speed. I’ll add to this article as I learn more.
I’m trying to keep my typing nice, calm and together. Let me type these words, and then try to keep going. Ron Gilbert is making a new Monkey Island game called Return to Monkey Island. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. I’ve been waiting years for this. I was reared on Monkey Island. It was the first game I ever got completely hooked on. It’s how I learned how to use a mouse with a computer back in the early nineties. This is massive news and it’s coming in 2022. We’re going to Return to Monkey Island and this is what we know.
What is Monkey Island?
Monkey Island is arguably one of the greatest computer games of all time. I’m not just saying that based on my introduction. It was a defining game of the early era of computer games. You play the role of Guybrush Threepwood, a somewhat nerdy man with the aim of becoming a pirate. It has everything. A love interest, Elaine Marley, where you’re clearly punching, taken by the evil pirate, LeChuck. There’s an incredible balance struck between story, comedy and in-game engine that made Monkey Island iconic.
Monkey Island is a point and click adventure game. Essentially, that means you interact with the game using your mouse. You discover and collect items, combine them to solve puzzles and speak with other characters to learn new elements of the story. All of this is done with such unique humour, right the way through.
The game was so iconic that it sprung a full series of games, made by many different studios. But the first two, The Secret of Monkey Island and LeChuck’s Revenge, were the only two created by Ron Gilbert; the original creator. And that’s where we pick up now.
Return to Monkey Island
Today, Ron Gilbert confirmed we’re finally going back to Monkey Island.
I legit got a bit emotional when that music played. It was the full goosebumps. I’ve dedicated days of my life to playing and replaying this game. More specifically the first three games, the third easily being the best that Gilbert wasn’t involved in.
We know very little about Return to Monkey Island beyond the fact that it’s coming out this year. It’s been a complete secret for two years. I find it remarkable that, even during a global pandemic, Gilbert managed to keep this a complete secret.
Writing on his blog back in 2015, Gilbert didn’t seem confident that he’d make another Monkey Island. He said, “I don’t know if I will ever get to make another Monkey Island. I always envisioned the game as a trilogy and I really hope I do, but I don’t know if it will ever happen. Monkey Island is now owned by Disney and they haven’t shown any desire to sell me the IP. I don’t know if I could make Monkey Island 3a without complete control over what I was making and the only way to do that is to own it. Disney: Call me”.
Yep, Disney. Let’s talk about that.
Disney Owns Lucasfilm Games and Owns Monkey Island
Fans of Monkey Island know one thing. Pirates of the Caribbean looks awfully like the Monkey Island franchise. I’m not going to dive into that whole thing right now. Instead, I’m going to say thank you to Disney. I know they’ll make money here. It better not be more than twenty bucks a game, but they’ll make money.
A still from The Secret of Monkey Island by Ron Gilbert
The first games were originally bankrolled by George Lucas. Back in 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm and all of the intellectual property that went with it, including Monkey Island. Many fans, myself included, believed that was the end of Monkey Island. Disney, who had already tried to keep the whole Pirates of the Caribbean thing, somewhat suppressed, would hardly let Gilbert or anyone else make another Monkey Island game.
But here we are. Gilbert was locked away for two years and, with Disney’s blessing, has created a new Monkey Island game. The game will be a combined effort of Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox game studio, Devolver Digital game studio and Lucasfilm Games.
What’s the Plot Of Monkey Island 3a: Return to Monkey Island?
We know very little right now. Actually, all we know is what you can see in that video and that Disney has given their blessing. I guess we also know that this is the true third, and likely, final Monkey Island game. Despite Curse of Monkey Island being an incredible game, it wasn’t created by Ron Gilbert. So if it was to be concluded in a third, Gilbert never got his chance; until now.
The Teaser
But we do learn a few things from the game’s teaser – that’s the video I shared earlier. Well, a ghost pirate plays the violin. The theme song of Monkey Island is the tune. A monkey shrieks as someone walks across the deck of the ship in the background. Could it be the swashbuckling Guybrush Threepwood? They reappear a few times, carrying boxes on deck and it doesn’t look too like Guybrush. Maybe it’s just another ghost pirate.
The ship somewhat resembles where you meet the Men of Low Moral Fibre in the second instalment of Monkey Island. Is that significant, or even correct? Who knows.
Another ghost pirate brings in three crates. Each crate represents one of the big three involved in this new Monkey Island venture; Lucasfilm Games, Devolver Digital and, perhaps fittingly on top, Ron Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox.
Murray – The Talking Skull
I’m giving Murray his own section because he’s significant. The style of Gilbert’s third Monkey Island is an obvious departure from his first two. It has been 31 years since he created the second instalment. But, if the teaser is anything to go by, it’s also a significant departure from another project he completed not so long ago; Thimbleweed Park. This was a game made very much in the guise of the original Monkey Island. But Return to Monkey Island looks closer to Curse of Monkey Island with an even more modern twist.
And, that seems to make sense. Despite this new game preceding Curse of Monkey Island, Murray, a talking skill from that game, will feature. Or at least he does in the teaser. Who doesn’t love this disembodied skull with a rotten attitude?
Dominic Armato Returns as Guybrush
The last thing I’m going to say, considering I’ve already probably tried to say more than what is possible from one short little video, is they got the real Guybrush on board. If Ron Gilbert was the most important part of a true third Monkey Island game, Dominic Armato voicing Guybrush was the second most important part. How fitting given he first arrived in the third Monkey Island.
Beyond my sentimental connection to Murray and the voice of Armato, it also means life after Gilbert’s first two Monkey Island games isn’t going to be ignored in this true third instalment of the Monkey Island Trilogy.
