80% complete Day of the Tentacle HD remake has been canceled?

[Gribbler]

I read an interesting article yesterday. It seems that there was a HD remake of DotT in the making and that it has been canceled because "the company's higher-ups had no interest in continuing to make what they called 'legacy' titles like this one".

Well, I didn't like Monkey Island HD remakes style that much but I bought them anyway cause I'm a hardcore fan of the franchise and I wanted to hear brilliant Dominic Armato delivering those classic lines. And we had DotT talkie version already. What do you guys think?

Here's the link.

[Ghost]

Shame, really. It would have been a nice surprise to see that DOTT remake- I had no idea at all that there was something in the makings and I really think that DOTT would sell nicely today. The humour is good, great at times, the time-travel was a neat feature and the "misfit trio" always appealed to me. And most importantly, I like modern remakes. I instantly bought the MI remake for two reasons: It was an easy way to get a game running on my machine without SCUMMVM/DosBox/whatever, and it was the easiest way to get the game in its native language (in Germany, translation voice acting hates you!)

I understand that a publisher will treat such a project as an outdated, commercially risky title. But I really really hate the idea that one day there will only be games that can instantly sell (Battlefield, Bejeweled, and Sims). I do not want to live in such a world.

I'd also appreciate HD remakes of all the classic Indiana Jones games. I wonder if a "legacy title" with a strong license would fare better.

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edit:
Down below I almost completely switch sides, but both views are totally valid

[Gribbler]

I'd also appreciate HD remakes of all the classic Indiana Jones games.

I think HD remakes of cults classics like Fate of Atlantis or Loom would sell great, especially on iPads and such which are just perfect devices for point & click adventure games.

[Igor Hardy]

Well, I appreciated the MI remakes for the voiceovers, the updated soundtrack, and the nice idea of switching smoothly back to the 'true/classic' mode, but the HD art sucked real bad and considerably weakened the atmosphere.

For Fate of Atlantis HD to work they would have to hire some real artists I suppose, and give the whole game a painted pseudo-photographic look, since Indy would look awful in the style of a bland cartoon.

[ThreeOhFour]

the HD art sucked real bad and considerably weakened the atmosphere.

Yes. It was not just badly done, but also incredibly lazily done. An utter disgrace, especially in the first.

[dactylopus]

This is indeed sad, but sadder still is the cancelled 1313.  Not as relevant to these forums, I'm guessing, but all the same it is a shame.

[Snarky]

the HD art sucked real bad and considerably weakened the atmosphere.

Yes. It was not just badly done, but also incredibly lazily done. An utter disgrace, especially in the first.

From what little I've seen, the second one looked OK, no?

[Igor Hardy]

The 2nd one looks much better. They've obviously spent more time on it and often done a good job with the coloring and lighting. It lacks style though - they try hard to make the game look like just another TV cartoon. Especially, the murkier, darker, more atmospheric locations didn't get interpreted very well. Also, the MI2 remake lacks the cool opening credits of the original.

To quote Larry Ahern from a Curse of Monkey Island preview interview: "If people'll say it looks like Disney, we failed."

[ThreeOhFour]

the HD art sucked real bad and considerably weakened the atmosphere.

Yes. It was not just badly done, but also incredibly lazily done. An utter disgrace, especially in the first.

From what little I've seen, the second one looked OK, no?

Yeah, the second was better by a long way. In saying that, the first was so incredibly badly done that it'd be impossible to do worse. I was so taken aback that I did a quick image illustrating the most glaring flaws in one of the scenes here. That the game got shipped in this state is ridiculous.

[OneDollar]

Also, the MI2 remake lacks the cool opening credits of the original.

There's no equivalent in special edition mode, but I'm pretty sure if you switch to classic mode very quickly after starting the game the original credits will play.

I think the main reason the second one looked better, more care and time aside, was that the original backgrounds were scanned in paintings, so it was much easier to update and emulate the style in Photoshop. On the whole I prefer Monkey 2's special edition artwork to the original because it looks like the same picture at higher res with less colour banding. I don't know, but I'm guessing Monkey Island 1's backgrounds were originally pixeled on a computer, and trying to make them semi-photo realistic didn't fit. If they tried the same with DOTT I think it'd look a mess, though if they went for a style that matched the original and enough effort and talent was put into it, it might have looked good.

Anyway, guess the point I'm trying to make is it's doubtful the art would look better, and we already had voices, so if all we're losing is an iPad version, commentary and ease of buying the game again I don't think it's too big a loss.

What I want to know is if they HDified Maniac Mansion as well, or was that cut?

[TheBitPriest]

That the game got shipped in this state is ridiculous.

Wow... thanks, Ben.  I'll bet that the artists were upset, too.  They were probably forced to ship.  I can imagine execs dumping on a speculative project like this.

"You're not done yet?  This was supposed to be a turn-key project!  Get it out the door!"

[MiteWiseacreLives!]

I don't know, but I'm guessing Monkey Island 1's backgrounds were originally pixeled on a computer, and trying to make them semi-photo realistic didn't fit.

I do know that the original game was drawn in Deluxe Paint, and as for the remakes, I was just happy to see them in the mainstream and I wanted to support an adventure game come back (I probably didn't know how much awesome free stuff was available through AGS then). Honestly though i didn't actually get through the either game completely.. did so about a hundred times back in the day.

[ThreeOhFour]

That the game got shipped in this state is ridiculous.

Wow... thanks, Ben.  I'll bet that the artists were upset, too.  They were probably forced to ship.  I can imagine execs dumping on a speculative project like this.

"You're not done yet?  This was supposed to be a turn-key project!  Get it out the door!"

I can't imagine any artist would feel good about shipping the game in the state it was in. No doubt there were ridiculous budget & time restrictions that forced them to take shortcuts, unfortunately.

[Feenyx]

Well I know this post is probably outdated by now, but I'm currently working on a DOTT remake using AGS with imported graphics from Flash. It may not be such as HD version but I felt like keeping the cartoon style it used to have. I'm not sure what's going to happen with the project but I intend to finish it one day. As I am a huge fan of LucasArts and Sierra series, I felt it would be nice to give people a reason for playing DOTT again. Besides, the humour and the puzzles were just as great as any recent point & click games, nowadays.

[Ghost]

I played the Monkey Island remakes, and I was disappointed with both. Remake Monkey Island was ugly as hell and I ended up playing it in the original graphics mode, which was charming and the BEST THING the designers could throw in. The second one I rather liked but it didn't add anything to a game that was already close to perfect. Voice acting, yes, but that was IT. That was really all there was, apart from the most obvious reason to buy it, the convenient way of having it run on modern machines, and to have it on a disc that isn't ages old.

Just my opinion: Together with Sam and Max Hit The Road, DOTT is a game that just doesn't need a remake. Not really desperately need it. They are easy to play on any modern computer, they already HAVE voice acting, and the graphics, while low-res, are a perfectly charming cartoon style that doesn't look bad these days. A sequel. Yes. A sequel should embrace all the stuff we can stick at it to make it look neat and if they must have 3D let'em have it.

And that's not just nostalgia (though it is a factor). A remake of a classic PnC will NOT generate much "new interest". Adventure games are still a somewhat small section of a market that is full of jaded players. Anyone who played the original is more likely to stress that he rather liked the original, and anyone who didn't will more likely buy the next CoD than DOTT.

Sequel to DOTT sounds several shades of awesome though. That would be something to announce. I heard rumours once but it seems it really was just a rumour.

[Feenyx]

Sequel to DOTT sounds several shades of awesome though. That would be something to announce. I heard rumours once but it seems it really was just a rumour.

I agree. A Sequel to DOTT would be more than a good thing. My idea was once I'm done with the project I'm currently on I'll just throw the suggestion of a new sequel? I guess we would need a very good writer for that cuz the humor in the originals are hard to beat.

[Fitz]

I heard rumours once but it seems it really was just a rumour.

It looks like more than just a rumor -- they have an actual website -- and even quite a lengthy trailer. The latter is actually two and a half years old, so can't tell how the project is progressing -- or if it's still alive -- but it's out there, and it does look good.

And so does your remake, Feenyx -- so good luck to you, as well

[Feenyx]

And so does your remake, Feenyx -- so good luck to you, as well

Thanks a bunch, Ghost!

I'm kind of disappointed that no remake has ever been completed for this game yet. I guess I'll have to try it out myself! hehehe.

[cat]

There is a German forum on the RotT Website. There is not much going on, but at least there were some posts of the dev-team a few weeks ago. No idea about the progress, though.

[Ghost]

And so does your remake, Feenyx -- so good luck to you, as well

Thanks a bunch, Ghost!

More "Thanks a bunch Fitz." I can't steal Fitzens Thunder But all the best of luck from me too, that's for sure. You're clearly pouring a lot of effort into that remake!