Issue #86: Old Is the New New, Part II: The Trivaing
2026: The year of quality content… or so one would hope.
It was a wild ride, the social media train, and while it probably will never completely stop, it’s interesting to see old-school publishing having a moment. Out goes 280 characters, in comes actual content – at least in some corners of the world.
Maybe the most notable shift is Ron “Ronzo” Gilbert’s return to blogging on his Grumpy Gamer website. Particularly, “Making New IP” has some fairly explosive information:
Thimbleweed Park cost around $1.1M to make. $600k came from Kickstarter backers and $500k came from private investors I found later. Kickstarter for digital games is all but dead. I could not raise the money to make Thimbleweed Park 2 on Kickstarter today. I couldn’t even raise the full amount back then.
I have spoken to publishers and they have been willing to fund Thimbleweed Park 2, but they get rich and I get very little and have to do most of the work.
I am done with that.
From now on I’m going to make the small games I want and have fun doing it.
Hey, it’s all good, and his Death by Scrolling recently took home Mojo’s “Game of the Year” award1.
Mojo never stopped being old school – it’s in our lifeblood – but some things have sort of, kind of fallen by the wayside. Our RSS feed still works, just with some dents here and there. So, consider this a pledge to get it (and some other stuff) cleaned up very soon. Google Reader’s untimely death was a bad blow to syndicated reading, but even it (RSS, not Reader) seems to be having a second coming. And we’re here for it.
Let’s not stop there, though.
Forums + Trivia = ❤️
Once in a while, not often, but every now and again, our forums reawaken from slumber. As we enter 2026, it looks like they might again have a new lease of life, and several threads have gotten some action. A couple of new ones have made their way in, too. For the latter, user Walmaker has recreated some “lost” Monkey Island 2 scenes, where LeChuck’s voodoo room might be the coolest one:
Nice! You might also recognize that scene from the Video Game History Foundation’s Monkey Island fireside chat – work courtesy of Marius, Jake, and Zaarin. (You know them from Mojo. And probably many other places.)
Meanwhile, “The Details of Monkey Island” is hopping-ish again, showing off old and new trivia. These little tidbits are always compelling, as different people will have missed different details in the games. Others might have missed something that was obvious to some. Having one place to find it all – like the MojoDB trivia section – is always helpful, and so is this thread where, for example, you can learn that LeShip’s paintings are very much alive.
Continuing down the Monkey Island road, Walmaker (yet again) points out a LeChuck’s Revenge nugget I was not aware of: You can give the “Big Book of Fish” to the fisherman on the Phatt Island wharf.
Hey, those small things are fun.
That thread kick-started “References to LEC adventures in other games“ with an ill-advised Loom joke(?) from Sierra.
Scroll down for some Darkside Detective nonsense and even a small nod courtesy of the disturbing Darkseed. (Those two games have two very different takes on “dark.”)
… and, in case you missed it…
This week, I learned that Quick and Easy Ben did not know that “ICYMI” is an abbreviation for “in case you missed it,” which means he – and presumably others – quite literally missed the meaning of our four “ICYMI” articles’ titles. (“The Secret of Monkey Island,” “LeChuck’s Revenge,” “Escape from Monkey Island,” and “Return to Monkey Island.“) Make that five: This week, we published an ICYMI on The Curse of Monkey Island. A fitting example from it is this little New Year’s dialogue snippet:
Play the game in January, and Domingo will wish you a happy New Year. Hey, again, it’s all about the small things.
This Week in Mojo History
19 years ago this week, Sam & Max Save the World: Situation: Comedy released. (Technically released Dec 20, 2006, but who the hell subscribed to GameTap?)
18 years ago this week, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space: Moai Better Blues. (One day earlier on GameTap, but who subscribed to that?)
Only the best! Mojo has a web store for all your apparel and decoration needs. For example:
T-shirts! Don the original LucasArts logo, Manny Calavera’s face, or the OG Adventurer logo. Warning: Popularity will smack you in your face when you wear these masterpieces. (Merch also available as stickers, magnets, etc. Void where prohibited.)
Magnets! Stickers! Does your fridge look too plain? Your laptop lid too empty? Dress them up with vintage maps of Phatt, Scabb, and Booty.
Full News Roundup
04 Jan: Ron Keeps on Blogging: And bless him for that.
02 Jan: ICYMI Continues with The Curse of Monkey Island: Get ready to fill your mind with useless trivia.
31 Dec: We Deem 2025 Surprisingly Acceptable: … plus, we reveal our Game of the Year.
Last Week’s Mojole Results
It’s the game that sweeps the nation! Can you beat Mojole, our fiendishly difficult daily puzzler? Only hardcore LucasArts aficionados need apply.
30 Dec: “alien##” – They bend minds in Zak.
31 Dec: “carlo##” – Aka ElCarlo: LeChuck’s brother got bumped from MI2
01 Jan: “part###” – 1, 2, 3, etc.: LucasArts games were sometimes divided into parts.
02 Jan: “act####” – 1, 2, 3, etc.: LucasArts games were sometimes divided into acts.
03 Jan: “rex####” – ... Crowle: Art director extraordinaire on ReMI.
04 Jan: “fox####” – David Fox. LucasArts stalwart and all round gentleman.
05 Jan: “noah###” – Noah Falstein. LucasArts stalwart and all round gentleman.
And for the competitive amongst you, the Mojole forum thread has gone strong for more than two years. The two juggernauts to beat: Sushi and Huz.
Become a Mojoer! (sponsored content)
Hey, kids, do you want to become one of us? Why not join our Patreon? One single dollar will make you a Friend of Mojo. And for the privileged few, there’s the $5 Diamond Club tier, which will earn you a special mention in The Adventurer. Join now! Our interns are hard at work finishing up the special mention section!
The International House of Mojo: Web, Bluesky, YouTube, and Mastodon.
The Monkey Island SCUMM Bar: Web, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
The Grim Fandango Network: Web, Bluesky, and Mastodon.
The award was a place in our hearts.
I thought ICYMI stands for “I curse you, Monkey Island!”