I love these sketches! I can already imagine how great the final product will look! Usually there is a funny offering in the selection of things to buy, lottery tickets, perhaps?
Thank you for sharing! :-) Will we able to shoplift? It was possible in Zelda - A Link's awakening, but then the storekeeper would kill you if you returned and your character's name would be changed to Thief.
The words "Rare books" means "Sällsynta böcker" in Swedish for example. ;-)
Second best regards, Mattias
Matt Lacye - Jan 29, 2015 at 16:41
That Voodoo doll makes me happy :)
LichiMan - Jan 29, 2015 at 16:50
Yeeeeessss!!! Great memories :)
Zak Phoenix McKracken - Jan 29, 2015 at 17:33
Oh Oh Oh! The "merchandise shelf"! I feel it will be filled with Kickstarter's backers personal objects!!
Jetson, G. - Jan 29, 2015 at 18:50
Don't forget Astrology!
Brian S - Jan 29, 2015 at 19:47
This is seriously starting to affect my concentration at work. But I'm not complaining.
Who's the artist? I like the style of these sketches.
I don't know about the love potions, they're kinda rapey…
Val - Jan 30, 2015 at 01:53
"Bell, book & candle"? ... Love it already.
Oliver - Jan 30, 2015 at 05:01
Potions are great!
Laoena - Jan 30, 2015 at 08:36
Nice. I hope the skull talks too! But please, no Morgana as a name for the witch, thought you do want something mystical. Hrm ... mystical .... yes ... that could work well, especially if it is badly spelt more like 'Miss Tickle' instead of "Miss Tical."
Flowo1974 - Jan 30, 2015 at 08:46
It think it reads "Moreana"
Sofia Giotidi - Jan 30, 2015 at 09:00
It reminds me of Quest for Glory I, the magic shop
Politically Correct - Jan 30, 2015 at 10:09
The word "Gypsy" is controversial. Some consider it to be a derogatory or racist way to describe the Roma people.
zak@883network.com - Jan 30, 2015 at 16:20
Oh really!? I'm italian and I didn't know it.
suntorytimes - Jan 31, 2015 at 20:28
Fun fact: Roma people (or Romani) have got nothing to do with the inhabitants of the city of Rome; the Italian words used to call Roma people are, in fact, 'rom' or 'zingari'.
Mistaken Identity - Feb 01, 2015 at 13:35
The term "Gypsy" arose because people mistakenly thought they were Egypt and didn't bother to ask. Modern research shows that their origins likely lie in Northern India.
It's true. The word gypsy is going to raise a lot of eyebrows in Europe. The equivalent word is considered to be a racist slur in many European languages. It's complicated, so it would probably be best just to steer clear of the whole issue?
Here's a short quote from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Romani_people#Gypsy_and_Gipsy): "However, according to many Romani people and academics who study them, the word has been tainted by its use as a racial slur and a pejorative connoting illegality and irregularity, and some modern dictionaries either recommend avoiding use of the word gypsy entirely or give it a negative or warning label."
The word "Gypsy" is the equivalent to the word "Nigger" to the Romani. I would hope that we wouldn't have comments saying "get over it" or suggesting that things are simply out of context if a "Nigger Storefront" were being suggested. Bottom line, what's the harm in saying "Roma" or "Romani" rather than using a term that many consider a racial slur and which is bound to deeply offend a number of people?
Stefano - Feb 01, 2015 at 15:16
I always had issues with America's politically correctess - usually after few beers you get the real opinion that people have. On a different note, Rome has a street called "Via degli Zingari". Naples has one too. "Zingara" won Sanremo music festival in 1969.
America is a very heterogenous country where the vast majority of the inhabitants are non-indigenous immigrants or their descendants, so there is a bit more of an onus on Americans to be sensitive/respectful w/r/t difference. Also, Americans have a particularly toxic, recent, and living history of oppression/slavery of its black citizens that makes racial discourse a sensitive topic there.
But that's beside the point. It's not "politically correct' to not use a noxious racial slur. It's just plain being a decent human being.
thief - Jan 30, 2015 at 11:26
I really hope someone gets to steal something here. As a kid that was one of the coolest things in Monkey Island.
Jammet - Jan 30, 2015 at 12:06
Can't really comment since I'm not going to look too closely at things like this, so the game is all fresh for me when I play it, but I love this blog! Thank you!
If there is one thing, that I'd like to suggest ...
Please add the functionality to the blog that you can put a 'possible spoiler' button on it, that would blur out or otherwise obscure pictures or bits of text. This way I can always dare and read it all the things shown or talked about that you think won't show off rooms, bits of the actual story ...
Ron Gilbert ✓ - Jan 30, 2015 at 12:08
We won't post anything that is a spoiler. A lot of this is just concept art and many of the ideas won't make it in to the final game anyway.
Jammet - Jan 30, 2015 at 19:32
Thanks! The sketches are always an excitement to see, and I felt the temptation .... that I will now give in to ;).
John - Feb 02, 2015 at 06:34
I always found the quirky things in the adventure games to be most funny. In that line of thinking i just thought it would be fun, if one of the things the gypsy does is not related to the others in any way. A side business. Like selling cars (future of items sold not guaranteed). Or collectable rubber ducks. Or insuranses (in which case they could be related - seeing that the salesperson purports to see in the future. :)
suejak - Feb 11, 2015 at 06:29
Another commentator here who really doesn't want you to use the word gypsy. Please take this under advisement.
It's like "negro" -- an old word from another time.
but then the storekeeper would kill you if you returned and your character's name would be
changed to Thief.
The words "Rare books" means "Sällsynta böcker" in Swedish for example. ;-)
Second best regards, Mattias
Who's the artist? I like the style of these sketches.
Nice work, Gary! This really gets me excited for the game.
Fortune Teller: "The Alamo... in the basement!"
Here's a short quote from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Romani_people#Gypsy_and_Gipsy):
"However, according to many Romani people and academics who study them, the word has been tainted by its use as a racial slur and a pejorative connoting illegality and irregularity, and some modern dictionaries either recommend avoiding use of the word gypsy entirely or give it a negative or warning label."
http://groupthink.jezebel.com/massively-racist-mainpage-article-on-gawker-1448655453
"Listen up, gypsy is a word that has been used for centuries to oppress, terrorize and KILL Rroma. It was tattooed on out ancestors by Hitler, it has always been and still is used against us to instill terror and fear in us, to shut us up, throw us out of where we’re just trying to live."
http://myjourneymythoughts.tumblr.com/post/35281274041/to-those-who-believe-gypsy-is-a-racial-slur
"First, gypsy is a slur. No matter what you think, it has been a slur for centuries. It’s where the term “gypped" comes from...It is a slur still used today."
http://myjourneymythoughts.tumblr.com/post/18929758502/to-all-you-hipsters-in-the-gypsy-tag
"Comedian Ben Miller said the BBC tried to stop him using the word "gypsy" in his new sketch series with Alexander Armstrong because it could be seen as racist."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/bbc-gypsy-is-a-racist-wor_n_298327.html
The word "Gypsy" is the equivalent to the word "Nigger" to the Romani. I would hope that we wouldn't have comments saying "get over it" or suggesting that things are simply out of context if a "Nigger Storefront" were being suggested. Bottom line, what's the harm in saying "Roma" or "Romani" rather than using a term that many consider a racial slur and which is bound to deeply offend a number of people?
On a different note, Rome has a street called "Via degli Zingari". Naples has one too. "Zingara" won Sanremo music festival in 1969.
But that's beside the point. It's not "politically correct' to not use a noxious racial slur. It's just plain being a decent human being.
If there is one thing, that I'd like to suggest ...
Please add the functionality to the blog that you can put a 'possible spoiler' button on it, that would blur out or otherwise obscure pictures or bits of text. This way I can always dare and read it all the things shown or talked about that you think won't show off rooms, bits of the actual story ...
It's like "negro" -- an old word from another time.