Curiosity needs no permission to come ashore

I returned to working on this site in the same spirit in which I opened it in 1999: to share a passion. Computers, tools and even the way we find fellow fans have changed since then. My ability to get lost on Monkey Island, however, has remained surprisingly unchanged.

Bringing a site like this back to life means recovering pages, memories, images and contributions, but also making them readable again and building something around them. In the restoration I chose to use artificial intelligence tools as well. A debatable choice? Certainly, in the best sense: we can discuss it. The results, the limitations, the mistakes and what works.

When I presented the project in a Facebook group devoted to the saga (not our wonderful partner Monkey Island Fan Page), however, I felt the discussion had stopped rather quickly at the toolbox. I would have liked to explain what we were trying to rebuild too. Perhaps by visiting a few pages, opening an old review or exploring the site's memories.

Then the post became inaccessible, and so did the group. I received no explanation. I do not know the reasons for that decision: I can only describe its effect, which felt like a door being shut while I was still looking for the bell.

Nothing dramatic. Guybrush has survived worse situations, usually without quite understanding how. Still, it was a small disappointment: from a gathering of fans I expected curiosity above all. Even stern, sceptical curiosity. One more question before bidding the crew farewell.

I do not think loving Monkey Island requires anyone to like this site, its graphics or the tools used to restore it. That would be a rather funny rule for a saga that taught us to talk to a skull. I would like a shared passion to be a good starting point for listening to one another, though.

I remembered what Ron Gilbert wrote during the discussion of the look of Return to Monkey Island. On 1 May 2022 he recalled:

“Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren’t pixel art games. They were games using state-of-the-art tech and art.”

His argument was that the series had always experimented with the possibilities of its time: even a third game made back then would have moved forward rather than repeated the second. Indeed, the third game, developed by a different team, made such a huge leap that some consider it the best in the saga (I love it, but I’m not among them… I’m one of the old guard… heh heh heh).

It is a reflection on the freedom to let a work evolve (within limits that do not distort its meaning), which interests me here; it is not about AI, and I am not turning it into an endorsement of my choices. (Ron Gilbert, When I Made Another Monkey Island)

Nostalgia, as I experience it, can make you want to build again. That is exactly where this restoration began. Memories deserve care, and returning visitors deserve a site that is pleasant to explore. If something has turned out badly, pointing it out is practical help.

And here the story takes a more cheerful turn. Among the criticisms were observations that made me think. I collected them, mixed them up and brought them aboard: that exchange gave rise to the Crew’s Loot, the code and voucher system that accompanies games and exploration of the site. Entirely imaginary, of course: Stan still cannot collect any money.

That is the part I prefer to take home. An unwelcoming discussion still left something useful behind. The site improved, and I found another idea to enjoy working on.

I remain happy to hear from anyone with criticism, a suggestion or simply a memory to share. We do not have to agree on everything to sit at the same table, provided there is grog…

As for permission to come ashore, curiosity is all you need here.

Alfnet