From Adventure Games to Outrunning Death: Ron Gilbert's New Challenge

Ron Gilbert, a renowned figure in the gaming world, has taken a surprising turn from his classic point-and-click adventures like Monkey Island. His latest creation, Death by Scrolling, is a rogue-lite action-survival game where players must outrun Death itself.

A Change of Direction

Gilbert's journey to this new game wasn't straightforward. He initially wanted to create a large, open-world RPG, inspired by games like The Legend of Zelda. However, he quickly realized that his small team couldn't handle such a massive project. The lack of funding and the reluctance of publishers to invest in a pixelated, old-school Zelda-style game forced him to abandon this idea.

Revisiting an Old Prototype

Instead, Gilbert revisited an old prototype called "Runner." This prototype was about outrunning the bottom of a scrolling screen while picking up weapons to fend off enemies. The initial design required players to aim at enemies, but Gilbert found this too complex. He switched to an automatic aiming and firing system, which made the game more enjoyable.

The Theme of the Game

The game's theme was initially missing, but in the last six months of development, Gilbert came up with the idea of running through a repeating purgatory and evading Death. This added a unique twist to the game, making it more engaging.

Storytelling in Action Games

Despite his love for storytelling, Gilbert admits that many players don't pay attention to the story in action games. He finds this frustrating but accepts that not everyone plays games for the same reasons. He also embedded a critique of capitalism in the game, reflecting his growing disillusionment with the system.

The Evolution of Game Promotion

Looking back at his career, Gilbert notes that the skills needed to promote a new game today are very different from those he used in the 1980s. The rise of game streamers and YouTube has forced game makers to be good on camera, which he finds challenging.