Legendary adventure game designer Ron Gilbert (the creator of the classic games Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion) announced last night that he has left Double Fine Productions “now that The Cave is done and unleashed on an unsuspecting world”.
Gilbert revealed his departure from the company on his personal blog, Grumpy Gamer, expressing his thanks to the both Tim Schafer and the entire team at Double Fine.
“I want to thank all the amazing people at Double Fine for all their hard work on The Cave. It was a true pleasure to work with every one of them over the past two years. So much fun. I will miss them all. And of course to Tim for creating the opportunity to come there and make The Cave.”
Tim Schafer offered his support to his long-time friend on his Twitter account, saying “Sad to say @grumpygamer feels like it’s time to spread his grumpy wings and fly. Good luck, Ron! Thanks for The Cave!”.
Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter backers might remember that Ron Gilbert was implied to be involved for the project in the pitch video. While he is no longer employed at the studio, Schafer has confirmed that he will still provide help in a limited basis, saying “Well, he’ll finally stop sabotaging it, for one! J/k. Ron promised to still play the game and give feedback as we get more done.”
As for what is next for Ron Gilbert, his immediate plan is to “plot his next move” as there are “so many games left to be designed”. In the short-term, Gilbert plans to continue working with DeathSpank‘s co-creator Clayton Kauzlaric on an iOS side project, titled Scurvy Scallywags in The Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty: A Musical Match-3 Pirate RPG, and get to work writing his PAX Australia keynote speech.
