Ron Gilbert

Ron Gilbert is a recognized character worldwide in the development of the video game , and will be forever thanks to his main masterpieces such as Maniac Mansion or Monkey Island , from his years at Lucasfilm.  He is considered the father of graphic adventure , of the point and click genre , since he was the one who managed to develop SCUMM , a creative engine to facilitate the programming of video games that include interaction with objects and dialogue.

Ron Gilbert Biography

In the early 1980s, when computer domestic Commodore 64 was quite new, a college student named Ron Gilbert discovered the potential of the programming language BASIC for the C 64 . A potential feature to create games similar to the ones he had seen. However, harnessing the graphical power of C 64 with the crude BASIC compiler was tedious work. When he finally finished his extension called Graphics Basic , he was able to move sprites around the screen and perform other multitasking based operationsthey were new territory on C 64 at the time. Gilbert quickly sold Graphics Basic to a company called Human Engineered Software, and in the meantime, he received his degree in computer science , and began working there as well. He spent about half a year at HESware , programming arcade games for the C 64. In search of a new job, Gilbert ended up at Lucasfilm Games . I was working at the time creating the Lucasfilm Ataris C 64 ports . Soon tired of mere rewriting, he was eager to create and got his break in 1985. In March 1992, Ron Gilbert co-founded a software company with Shelley Day. They called it Humongous Entertainment and their goal was to create adventure games for children. I wanted to tell interactive stories, but stick to the basic principles of adventure games.

In 1995, Humongous Entertainment was powerful enough to create a subsidiary. Gilbert and Shelley founded Cavedog Entertainment , a company aimed at creating mass-market games , but no longer adventure-based. He returned to Hothead Games, where he is the Creative Director working on the game Deathspank .

Ron Gilbert’s Style

Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick were the creators of Maniac Mansion and were the most important pillars to achieve the development of a large number of video games from the late LucasArts , such as Monkey Island and Indiana Jones . In recent years his style is based on a series of fun and gratifying graphic adventures , better known as ” point and click “, certainly created in the style of Maniac Mansion, with touches of Monkey Island humor, graphics are pixel art, in the which Octavi Navarro has collaboratedwho is a brilliant Spanish artist of the noble art of “pixel art”. The graphics used are of that style, but with great innovations and totally renewed without losing sight of the old look . His games can be observed in the third person, with a part of the screen occupied by the actions that can enhance the different characters that he includes in the games, as well as the set of objects that accompany him. The puzzles that he uses in his games also feel much more logical and organic compared to the games that existed years ago.

Featured Video Games by Ron Gilbert

Some of his most prominent video games are mentioned below:

• Maniac mansion
• Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge
• Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
• Pipe dream
• Putt-Putt Joins the Parade
• Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
• Let’s Explore the Airport
• Let’s Explore the Farm
• Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse
• Total Annihilation
• Total Annihilation: Kingdoms – The Iron Plague
• DeathSpank
• Monkey Island