# The search for the Secret of Monkey Island 2022 / hints, conspiracy thoeries, assumptions, clues **URL:** \ **Category:** Adventure/Lucasfilm Games\ **Created:** [May 31, 2022, 9:47am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095 "2022-05-31T09:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![seguso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/seguso/32/1232_2.png) [@seguso](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/seguso)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/42 "2022-06-10T04:34:39Z")
Ron writes on twitter: > 13,000+ lines of dialog just went to be mastered. Of those 13,000+ lines there was only one we missed in recording. GUYBRUSH: “And the secret is [REDACTED]” > > Oh well. Next game I guess. ---
**Author:** ![ZakPhoenixMcKracken](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/zakphoenixmckracken/32/41_2.png) [@ZakPhoenixMcKracken](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/ZakPhoenixMcKracken)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/43 "2022-06-10T13:01:59Z")
Thimbleweed Park was about the same amount of lines. ---
**Author:** ![Ema](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/ema/32/14101_2.png) [@Ema](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Ema)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/44 "2022-06-12T17:51:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh well. Next game I guess. Nah. That line wasn’t recorded simply because Ron should have killed anyone who was involved in the recording. That’s why that specific line was recorded in a sekrit location, using Ron’s mobile. And then, well, Dominic Armato had to be killed, obviously. So chances are we’ll have that line in the game. ---
**Author:** ![ephialtes](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/ephialtes/32/11961_2.png) [@ephialtes](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/ephialtes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 4:44am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/45 "2022-06-13T04:44:08Z")
[Noah Falstein’s interview with Cressup](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1501961031?t=1h31m47s): Q: Are we any closer to finding out the secret of Monkey Island in this game? A: Okay, here’s some interesting, provocative thing. I was working with Ron when he was working on the very first Monkey Island, the Secret of Monkey Island and I know what he had in mind for the secret way back then and it has a significant bearing on what you see in this next game. That’s as far as I’ll go. So, whether you get closer to it or not, closeness is a very subjective thing. There’s a lot about storytelling that will be up to the individual taste of a user. ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 8:13am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/46 "2022-06-13T08:13:38Z")
> [@ephialtes](#): > > it has a significant bearing on what you see in this next game Oooh… 😐 I have no idea what he is referring to, but I find this statement intriguing. I wonder if he is able to make the connection between Ron’s original idea and the new game just observing what has been _publicly_ disclosed about RtMI. Edit: well no, I have my idea, actually. I think it’s related to the old “coming to age” trope. Back then, Ron was young and so it was Guybrush. Now that Ron has aged, I also expect to get a more mature Guybrush. ---
**Author:** ![Paul](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/paul/32/15080_2.png) [@Paul](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/Paul)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 10:00am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/47 "2022-06-13T10:00:03Z")
> [@ephialtes](#): > > So, whether you get closer to it or not, closeness is a very subjective thing. There’s a lot about storytelling that will be up to the individual taste of a user. [![](https://assets.theschooloflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/26215842/8482-004-7D9CC6B2-17.59.37.jpg) ](https://assets.theschooloflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/26215842/8482-004-7D9CC6B2-17.59.37.jpg) “The Secret of Monkey Island is like a grain of sand floating in a bowl of rose petals. If you remove the sand, you will destroy the stillness and beauty of the water.” ---
**Author:** ![seguso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/seguso/32/1232_2.png) [@seguso](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/seguso)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/48 "2022-06-13T10:57:50Z")
> [@LowLevel](#): > > I wonder if he is able to make the connection between Ron’s original idea and the new game just observing what has been _publicly_ disclosed about RtMI. He is talking like he _knows_ what RTMI will show. Also, he could never say that by just looking at what has been publicly disclosed.(because that’s basically nothing) > [@ephialtes](#): > > the Secret of Monkey Island and I know what he had in mind for the secret way back then and it has a significant bearing on what you see in this next game This could mean that the secret was a vague and not completely defined idea; and in RtMI the details have been completely defined. But the core idea is intact. ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 11:09am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/49 "2022-06-13T11:09:40Z")
> [@seguso](#): > > He is talking like he _knows_ what RTMI will show. Yes, now I have watched a bit of that interview and he says that he has playtested the game. ---
**Author:** ![BaronGrackle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@BaronGrackle](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/BaronGrackle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/50 "2022-06-13T13:17:26Z")
Reading through that old post… > [@What about a TWP card collecting game?](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/what-about-a-twp-card-collecting-game/2341/40): > > I read someone say that “the secret of Monkey Island” is just the fact that you can enter Hell from the giant monkey head, that’s it. In fact the sequel is called “Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck’s Revenge”. No secret whatsoever. Asking what the secret is is like asking what the revenge is. The Secret of Monkey Island, LeChuck’s Revenge, and the Curse of Monkey Island quite possibly all refer to the same thing. If hellgate: It is a Secret hellgate that LeChuck traps Guybrush in for Revenge as part of an elaborate Curse, all on Monkey Island. If boy’s imagination: The Secret is that nothing is real, and Chucky’s apparent Revenge attempts are just him trying to get you back to your parents, and the Curse is that this fantasy cannot be real. ---
**Author:** ![seguso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/seguso/32/1232_2.png) [@seguso](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/seguso)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/51 "2022-06-13T15:18:57Z")
> [@ephialtes](#): > > the Secret of Monkey Island and I know what he had in mind for the secret way back then and it has a significant bearing on what you see in this next game who would talk like this, if Ron had simply implemented the secret he had in mind back then? he would have simply said “I know what he had in mind back then, and he implemented this very well.” Instead, he said the original secret has a _bearing_ on what we’ll see. It’s like the original secret _influenced_ what we’ll see, but what we’ll see is not _exactly_ the original secret. I’m curious how this can be. Either the secret was a vary vague thing, or …? ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/52 "2022-06-13T16:54:10Z")
> [@seguso](#): > > he would have simply said “I know what he had in mind back then, and he implemented this very well.” He would never reveal what Ron did, so he intentionally chose more ambiguous words. ---
**Author:** ![ephialtes](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/ephialtes/32/11961_2.png) [@ephialtes](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/ephialtes)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/53 "2022-06-13T18:36:07Z")
[Tami Borowick, programmer on Monkey Island 2, also knows the Secret](https://www.lucasdelirium.it/tami-borowick-interview.php). > I **do know** the secret to Monkey Island, but if I told you, a wild troop of three-headed monkeys would chase me down and hang me by my littlest toenails over a totally indigestible vat of grog. Thankfully, players never die in Lucasfilm games. 🙂 I wonder if that will be talked about in [a new interview with her on Wednesday](https://twitter.com/Arcade_Adriano/status/1535721968808431618). ---
**Author:** ![bongobrain](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/bongobrain/32/13926_2.png) [@bongobrain](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/bongobrain)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/54 "2022-06-13T20:46:57Z")
We all know the secret **TO** monkey island, if we read the recipe. ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/55 "2022-06-14T17:53:50Z")
![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/thimbleweedpark/original/2X/8/892f1ac725856ff2e2be4d29342192555d3c2d75.jpeg) ([Source](https://web.archive.org/web/20080116135428/http://www.worldofmi.com/features/interview/gilbert.php)) ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/56 "2022-06-21T20:22:19Z")
Well, here is what GPT-3 can say about the secret: > There is no clear answer to what the secret of Monkey Island is, as there are many possible interpretations. Ron Gilbert, the creator of the Monkey Island games, has stated in interviews that the secret of the island is meant to be open to interpretation and that there is no one correct answer. Many of the characters in the games express their own theories on what the secret may be, but none of them are ever confirmed or refuted. It is up to the player to decide what the secret of Monkey Island is, if there even is one. ---
**Author:** ![seguso](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/seguso/32/1232_2.png) [@seguso](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/seguso)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/57 "2022-06-21T20:44:06Z")
> [@LowLevel](#): > > GPT-3 Who or what is GPT-3? Edit: ok, I’ve seen the other thread 🙂 (Just in time, as I was jumping out the window) ---
**Author:** ![BaronGrackle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@BaronGrackle](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/BaronGrackle)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 2:48am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/58 "2022-06-23T02:48:03Z")
Ron hasn’t actually said it’s open to interpretation, has he? ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 10:59am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/59 "2022-06-23T10:59:01Z")
I think that he never explicitly said that, but I don’t remember very well all the things he said about that ending in that PAX Australia speech… It’s highly likely that that statement was created by the AI. For sure, the web is full of people’s opinions about the open-endedness of that ending. ---
**Author:** ![LowLevel](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forums.thimbleweedpark.com/lowlevel/32/48_2.png) [@LowLevel](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/LowLevel)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/60 "2022-09-06T23:22:15Z")
I have to resume this thread. This thing is a bit too **spoilery** and it comes from the latest Ars Technica article (which is a **GREAT** interview!) I have blurred things from a certain point on… # IT’S freakin’ EXCITING for me! 😄 * * * **AT** : How long has this idea of having players try to discover the secret been in your mind? **RG** : I think that’s a relatively new idea. _The Secret of Monkey Island_ was the title of the first game, but we never really explored the title literally. At one moment [in development], there was a huge kind of a backstory, and there was actually a secret. As we started developing the game, though, that just kind of fell away, and we really just stopped paying attention to it. Going back to it, it is a piece of unfinished business for a lot of players, you know. It’s called _The Secret of Monkey Island_. What’s the damned secret?! It’s also, for us, interesting to revisit and go, you know, we’re actually going to tell people what the secret of Monkey Island is in this game. **AT** : As a creator and writer, is that actually an interesting question to answer? **RG** : Yeah, it is. **AT** : What’s changed to make that so? **RG** : It wasn’t a priority. Not because it wasn’t interesting. It’s just other things became higher priorities as we told the story, and we stopped. In this case, enough years have passed, and enough people have asked the question that it felt like… we did have a conversation early on in the [_Return to Monkey Island_] design phase about, are we going to reveal the secret? In some of the early designs, it was, Guybrush doesn’t find the secret. But that just felt hollow at some point. If we’re gonna do the thing, he needs to truly find the secret. The real secret, as it was envisioned, you know, back in 1990. So that became a very interesting creative thing to do, is to go, how are we going to do that? **AT** : So you’ve known the secret all along, then. **RG** : Yep. **AT** : Have you told anyone this? I think I missed this memo. **RG** : Very few people. ---
**Author:** ![BaronGrackle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@BaronGrackle](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/u/BaronGrackle)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095/61 "2022-09-07T00:17:18Z")
Even assuming it’s the same thing he had in mind in 1990 and hasn’t been changed… could it possibly be different from all the various things people have guessed? Sorry, I just have distinct memories of the interview where Ron said that if he said the Secret, people would call it dumb. And then I saw the design documents. [Previous page](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095.md?page=2) [Next page](https://forums.thimbleweedpark.com/t/the-search-for-the-secret-of-monkey-island-2022-hints-conspiracy-thoeries-assumptions-clues/5095.md?page=4)