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Although helicopters were not used in Mozambique to the same extent as they were in Vietnam , the Alouette III was the most widely used , although the Puma was also used with great success . Other aircraft were employed : for air support the T6 and the Fiat G.91 were used ; for reconnaissance , the Dornier Do 27 . In the transport role , the Portuguese Air Force used mainly the Nord Noratlas and the C @-@ 47 . The Portuguese Navy also made extensive use of patrol boats , landing crafts , and inflatable Zodiacs . |
= = = = Start of FRELIMO attacks = = = = |
In 1964 , weak @-@ hearted attempts at peaceful negotiation by FRELIMO were abandoned and , on September 25 , 1964 , Eduardo Mondlane began to launch guerrilla attacks on targets in northern Mozambique from his base in Tanzania . FRELIMO soldiers , with logistical assistance from the local population , attacked the administrative post at Chai Chai in the province of Cabo Delgado . FRELIMO militants were able to evade pursuit and surveillance by employing classic guerrilla tactics : ambushing patrols , sabotaging communication and railroad lines , and making hit @-@ and @-@ run attacks against colonial outposts before rapidly fading into accessible backwater areas . The insurgents were typically armed with rifles and machine pistols , and the attackers took full advantage of the monsoon season in order to evade pursuit . |
During heavy rains , it was much more difficult to track insurgents by air , negating Portugal 's air superiority , and Portuguese troops and vehicles found movement during rain storms difficult . In contrast , the insurgent troops , with lighter equipment , were able to flee into the bush ( the mato ) amongst an ethnically similar populace into which they could melt away . Furthermore , the FRELIMO forces were able to forage food from the surroundings and local villages , and were thus not hampered by long supply lines . |
With the initial FRELIMO attacks in Chai Chai , the fighting spread to Niassa and Tete at the centre of Mozambique . During the early stages of the conflict , FRELIMO activity was reduced to small , platoon @-@ sized engagements , harassments and raids on Portuguese installations . The FRELIMO soldiers often operated in small groups of ten to fifteen soldiers . The scattered nature of FRELIMO 's initial attacks was an attempt to disperse the Portuguese forces . |
The Portuguese troops began to suffer losses in November , fighting in the northern region of Xilama . With increasing support from the populace , and the low number of Portuguese regular troops , FRELIMO was quickly able to advance south towards Meponda and Mandimba , linking to Tete with the aid of forces from the neighbouring Republic of Malawi , which had become a fully independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations on July 6 , 1964 . Despite the increasing range of FRELIMO operations , attacks were still limited to small strike teams attacking lightly defended administrative outposts , with the FRELIMO lines of communication and supply utilising canoes along the Ruvuma River and Lake Malawi . |
It was not until 1965 that recruitment of fighters increased along with popular support , and the strike teams were able to increase in size . The increase in popular support was in part due to FRELIMO agencies ' offer of help to exiled Mozambicans , who had fled the conflict by travelling to nearby Tanzania . Like similar conflicts against the French and United States forces in Vietnam , the insurgents also used landmines to a great extent to injure the Portuguese forces , thus straining the armed forces ' infrastructure and demoralising soldiers . |
FRELIMO attack groups had also begun to grow in size to include over 100 soldiers in certain cases , and the insurgents also began to accept women fighters into their ranks . On either October 10 or October 11 , 1966 , on returning to Tanzania after inspecting the front lines , Filipe Samuel Magaia was shot dead by Lourenço Matola , a fellow FRELIMO guerrilla who was said to be in the employ of the Portuguese . |
One seventh of the population and one fifth of the territory were in FRELIMO hands by 1967 ; at this time there were approximately 8000 guerrillas in combat . During this period , Mondlane urged further expansion of the war effort , but also sought to retain the small strike groups . With the increasing cost of supply , more and more territory liberated from the Portuguese , and the adoption of measures to win the support of the population , it was at this time that Mondlane sought assistance from abroad , specifically the Soviet Union and China ; from these benefactors , he obtained large @-@ calibre machine guns , anti @-@ aircraft rifles and 75 mm recoilless rifles and 122 mm rockets . |
In 1968 , the second Congress of FRELIMO was a propaganda victory for the insurgents , despite attempts by the Portuguese , who enjoyed air superiority throughout the conflict , to bomb the location of the meeting late in the day . This gave FRELIMO further weight to wield in the United Nations . |
= = = Portuguese development program = = = |
Due to both the technological gap between civilisations and the centuries @-@ long colonial era , Portugal was a driving force in the development and shaping of all Portuguese Africa since the 15th century . In the 1960s and early 1970s , to counter the increasing insurgency of FRELIMO forces and show to the Portuguese people and the world that the territory was totally under control , the Portuguese government accelerated its major development program to expand and upgrade the infrastructure of Portuguese Mozambique by creating new roads , railways , bridges , dams , irrigation systems , schools and hospitals to stimulate an even higher level of economic growth and support from the populace . |
As part of this redevelopment program , construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam began in 1969 . This particular project became intrinsically linked with Portugal 's concerns over security in the overseas colonies . The Portuguese government viewed the construction of the dam as testimony to Portugal 's " civilising mission " and intended for the dam to reaffirm Mozambican belief in the strength and security of the Portuguese colonial government . To this end , Portugal sent three thousand new troops and over one million landmines to Mozambique to defend the building project . |
Realising the symbolic significance of the dam to the Portuguese , FRELIMO proceeded to spend seven years attempting to halt its construction by force . No direct attacks were ever successful , but FRELIMO had some success in attacking convoys en route to the site . FRELIMO also lodged a protest with the United Nations about the project , and their cause was aided by negative reports of Portuguese actions in Mozambique . In spite of the subsequent withdrawal of much foreign financial support for the dam , it was finally completed in December 1974 . The dam 's intended propaganda value to the Portuguese was overshadowed by the adverse Mozambican public reaction to the extensive dispersal of the indigenous populace , who were forced to relocate from their homes to allow for the construction project . The dam also deprived farmers of the critical annual floods , which formerly re @-@ fertilised the plantations . |
= = = Assassination of Eduardo Mondlane = = = |
On February 3 , 1969 , Eduardo Mondlane was killed by explosives smuggled into his locale . Many sources state that , in an attempt to rectify the situation in Mozambique , the Portuguese secret police assassinated Mondlane by sending a parcel to his office in Dar es Salaam . Inside the parcel was a book containing an explosive device , which detonated upon opening . Other sources state that Eduardo was killed when an explosive device detonated underneath his chair at the FRELIMO headquarters , and that the faction responsible was never identified . |
The original investigations levelled accusations at Silverio Nungo ( who was later executed ) and Lazaro Kavandame , FRELIMO leader in Cabo Delgado . The latter had made no secret of his distrust of Mondlane , seeing him as too conservative a leader , and the Tanzanian police also accused him of working with PIDE ( Portugal 's secret police ) to assassinate Mondlane . Kavandame himself surrendered to the Portuguese in April of that year . |
Although the exact details of the assassination remain disputed , the involvement of the Portuguese government , particularly Aginter Press or PIDE , is generally accepted by most historians and biographers and is supported by the Portuguese stay behind Gladio @-@ esque army , known as Aginter Press , that suggested in 1990 that they were responsible for the assassination . Initially , due to the uncertainty regarding who was responsible , Mondlane 's death created great suspicion within the ranks of the FRELIMO itself and a short power struggle which resulted in a dramatic swing to the political left . |
Mondlane 's immediate successor was the moderate Rev. Uria Simango , who had served under him , as FRELIMO 's vice @-@ President , from its formation until 1969 . In the post @-@ assassination power @-@ struggle , Simango was ousted by the more hardline Samora Machel and Marcelino dos Santos , expelled from FRELIMO and eventually arrested and executed , post @-@ Independence , in 1975 . |
= = = Continuing war ( 1969 – 74 ) = = = |
In 1969 , General António Augusto dos Santos was relieved of command , with General Kaúlza de Arriaga taking over officially in March 1970 . Kaúlza de Arriaga favoured a more direct method of fighting the insurgents , and the established policy of using African counter @-@ insurgency forces was rejected in favour of the deployment of regular Portuguese forces accompanied by a small number of African fighters . Indigenous personnel were still recruited for special operations , such as the Special Groups of Parachutists in 1973 , though their role less significant under the new commander . His tactics were partially influenced by a meeting with United States General William Westmoreland . |
By 1972 there was growing pressure from other commanders , particularly Kaúlza de Arriaga 's second in command , General Francisco da Costa Gomes , for the use of African soldiers in Flechas units . Flechas units ( Arrows ) were also employed in Angola and were units under the command of the Portuguese PIDE . Composed of local tribesmen , the units specialised in tracking , reconnaissance and anti @-@ terrorist operations . |
Costa Gomes argued that African soldiers were cheaper and were better able to create a relationship with the local populace , a tactic similar to the ' hearts and minds ' strategy being used by United States forces in Vietnam at the time . These Flechas units saw action in the territory at the very end stages of the conflict , following the dismissal of Kaúlza de Arriaga on the eve of the Portuguese coup in 1974 – the Carnation Revolution . The units were to continue to cause problems for the FRELIMO even after the Revolution and Portuguese withdrawal , when the country splintered into civil war . |
There were several Portuguese special forces units that were unique to either the Mozambican conflict or the Portuguese Colonial War as a whole : |
Special Groups ( Grupos Especiais ) : units similar to the ones used in Angola |
Paratrooper Special Groups ( Grupos Especiais Pára @-@ Quedistas ) : units of volunteer black soldiers that had paratrooper training |
Combat Tracking Special Groups ( Grupos Especiais de Pisteiros de Combate ) : special units trained in tracking |
Flechas : Local tribesmen and rebel defectors specialised in tracking , reconnaissance and terrorist operations . They sometimes patrolled in captured uniforms and are rewarded with cash bounties for every guerrilla or guerrilla weapon they capture . |
During the entire period of 1970 – 74 , FRELIMO intensified guerrilla operations , specialising in urban terrorism . The use of landmines also intensified , with sources stating that they had become responsible for two out of every three Portuguese casualties . During the conflict , FRELIMO used a variety of anti @-@ tank and anti @-@ personnel mines , including the PMN ( Black Widow ) , TM @-@ 46 , and POMZ . Even amphibious mines were used , such as the PDM . Mine psychosis , an acute fear of landmines , was rampant in the Portuguese forces . This fear , coupled with the frustration of taking casualties without ever seeing the enemy forces , damaged morale and significantly hampered progress . |
= = = = Portuguese counter @-@ offensive ( June 1970 ) = = = = |
On June 10 , 1970 , a major counter @-@ offensive was launched by the Portuguese army . The Gordian Knot Operation ( Portuguese : Operação Nó Górdio ) targeted permanent insurgent camps and the infiltration routes across the Tanzanian border in the north of Mozambique over a period of seven months . The operation involved some 35 @,@ 000 Portuguese troops , particularly elite units like paratroopers , commandos , marines and naval fusiliers . |
The Portuguese had excellent coordination between light bombers , helicopters and reinforced ground patrols . They utilised American tactics of quick airborne ( helibourne ) assaults supported by heavy aerial bombardments of FRELIMO camps by the Portuguese Air Force ( Força Aérea Portuguesa or FAP ) to surround and eliminate the guerrillas . These bombardments were accompanied by the use of heavy artillery . The Portuguese also used cavalry units to cover the flanks of patrols and where the terrain was too difficult to motor transport , and units of captured or deserted guerrillas to penetrate their former bases . |
Problems for the Portuguese arose almost immediately when the offensive coincided with the beginning of the monsoon season , creating additional logistical difficulties . Not only were the Portuguese soldiers badly equipped , but there was very poor cooperation , if any at all , between the FAP and the army . Thus , the army lacked close air support from the FAP . Mounting Portuguese casualties began to outweigh FRELIMO casualties , leading to further political intervention from Lisbon . |
The Portuguese eventually reported 651 as killed ( a figure of some 440 was most likely closer to reality ) , and 1 @,@ 840 captured , for the loss of 132 Portuguese . Gen. Arriaga also claimed his troops to have destroyed 61 guerrilla bases and 165 camps , while 40 tons of ammunition had been captured in the first two months . Although " Gordian Knot " was the most effective Portuguese offensive of the conflict , weakening guerrillas to such a degree that they were no longer a significant threat , the operation was deemed a failure by some military officers and the government . |
By 1972 , the Portuguese military had changed its strategy , adapting the British / American search and destroy operations utilising small shock troop sweeps . They also initiated a hearts and minds campaign , named the Aldeamentos Programme , which was a forced relocation program . But on November 9 , 1972 , FRELIMO – not numbering more than 8 @,@ 000 fighters – launched a large offensive in Tete Province . The response from the Portuguese military was fierce , leading to reprisal attacks in an attempt to unbalance the local population 's continuing faith in FRELIMO . |
On December 16 , 1972 , the Portuguese 6th company of Commandos in Mozambique killed the inhabitants of the village of Wiriyamu , in the district of Tete . Referred to as the ' Wiriyamu Massacre ' , the soldiers killed between 150 ( according to the Red Cross ) and 300 ( according to a much later investigation by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso based in testimonies from soldiers ) villagers accused of sheltering FRELIMO guerrillas . The action , " Operation Marosca " , was planned at the instigation of PIDE / DGS agents and guided by agent Chico Kachavi , who was later assassinated while an inquiry into the events was being carried out . The soldiers were told by this agent that " the orders were to kill them all " , never mind that only civilians , women and children included , were found . All of the victims were civilians . The massacre was recounted in July 1973 by the British Catholic priest , Father Adrian Hastings , and two other Spanish missionary priests . Later counter @-@ claims have been made in a report of Archbishop of Dar es Salaam Laurean Rugambwa that alleged that the killings were carried out by FRELIMO combatants , not Portuguese forces . In addition , others claimed that the alleged massacres by Portuguese military forces were fabricated to tar the reputation of the Portuguese state abroad . Portuguese journalist Felícia Cabrita reconstructed the Wiriyamu massacre in detail by interviewing both survivors and former members of the Portuguese Army Commandos unit that carried out the massacre . Cabrita 's report was published in the Portuguese weekly newspaper Expresso and later in a book containing several of the journalist 's articles . |
By 1973 , FRELIMO were also mining civilian towns and villages in an attempt to undermine the civilian confidence in the Portuguese forces . " Aldeamentos : agua para todos " ( Resettlement villages : water for everyone ) was a commonly seen message in the rural areas , as the Portuguese sought to relocate and resettle the indigenous population , in order to isolate the FRELIMO from its civilian base . Conversely , Mondlane 's policy of mercy towards civilian Portuguese settlers was abandoned in 1973 by the new commander , Machel . " Panic , demoralisation , abandonment , and a sense of futility – all were reactions among whites in Mozambique " stated conflict historian T. H. Henricksen in 1983 . |
This change in tactic led to protests by Portuguese settlers against the Lisbon government , a telltale sign of the conflict 's unpopularity . Combined with the news of the Wiriyamu massacre and that of renewed FRELIMO onslaughts through 1973 and early 1974 , the worsening situation in Mozambique later contributed to the downfall of the Portuguese government in 1974 . A Portuguese journalist argued : |
= = = Political instability and ceasefire ( 1974 – 75 ) = = = |
Back in Lisbon , the ' Armed Revolutionary Action ' branch of the Portuguese Communist Party , which was created in the late 1960s , and the Revolutionary Brigades ( BR ) , a left @-@ wing organisation , worked to resist the colonial wars . They had carried out multiple sabotages and bombings against military targets , such as the attack on the Tancos air base that destroyed several helicopters on March 8 , 1971 , and the attack on the NATO headquarters at Oeiras in October of the same year . The attack on the Portuguese ship Niassa illustrated the role of the colonial wars in this unrest . Niassa ( named after a Mozambican province ) was preparing to leave Lisbon with troops to be deployed in Guinea . By the time of the Carnation Revolution , 100 @,@ 000 draft dodgers had been recorded . |
Fighting colonial wars in Portuguese colonies had absorbed forty @-@ four percent of the overall Portuguese budget . This led to an obvious diversion of funds from necessary infrastructural developments in Portugal itself . This contributed to the growing unrest in the European nation . Portugal 's GDP growth during the colonial war period ( 1961 – 1974 ) , was strong and reached a 6 % rate ( a percentual GDP growth which were not achieved in any other comparable period after 1974 ) . |
The unpopularity of the Colonial Wars among many Portuguese led to the formation of several magazines and newspapers , such as Cadernos Circunstância , Cadernos Necessários , Tempo e Modo , and Polémica , which had support from students and called for political solutions to Portugal 's colonial problems . |
The growing unrest in Portugal culminated on April 25 , 1974 , when the Carnation Revolution , a peaceful leftist military coup d 'état in Lisbon , ousted the incumbent Portuguese government of Marcelo Caetano . Thousands of Portuguese citizens left Mozambique , and the new head of government , General António de Spínola , called for a ceasefire . With the change of government in Lisbon , many soldiers refused to continue fighting , often remaining in their barracks instead of going on patrol . Negotiations between the Portuguese administration culminated in the Lusaka Accord signed on September 7 , 1974 , which provided for a complete hand @-@ over of power to FRELIMO , uncontested by elections . Formal independence was set for June 25 , 1975 , the 13th anniversary of the founding of FRELIMO . |
= = Aftermath = = |
Many Portuguese colonials were not typical settlers in Mozambique . While most European communities in Africa at the time - with the possible exception of Afrikaners - were established from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries , some white families and institutions in those territories still administered by Portugal had been entrenched for generations . Loss of their privileged status and fears of FRELIMO reprisal resulted in an exodus of up to 200 @,@ 000 white civilians at independence ( in Europe they were popularly known as retornados ) . Cities , towns and villages saw their Portuguese names changed after independence - Lourenço Marques to Maputo , Vila Pery to Chimoio , Vila Cabral to Lichinga , or Vila Junqueiro to Gurúè . |
With the departure of Portuguese professionals and tradesmen , the new country had no senior workforce to maintain its infrastructure , and economic collapse loomed . Privileged commercial links were established with several communist countries by the FRELIMO regime at the expense of NATO , which rapidly lost influence in the region . |
Samora Machel became Mozambique 's first president . The Reverend Uria Simango , his wife , and other FRELIMO dissidents were arrested in 1975 and detained without trial . Within about two years , fighting resumed with the Mozambican Civil War against RENAMO insurgents plied with Rhodesian and South African military support . Industrial and social recession , Marxist @-@ style totalitarianism , corruption , poverty , inequality and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary fervour . Peace returned only in 1992 , when the nation achieved relative stability for the first time in several decades . |
= = = Printed sources = = = |
= = = Online sources = = = |
= The Secret of Monkey Island = |
The Secret of Monkey Island is a 1990 point @-@ and @-@ click graphic adventure game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games . It takes place in a fantastic version of the Caribbean during the age of piracy . The player assumes the role of Guybrush Threepwood , a young man who dreams of becoming a pirate and explores fictional islands while solving puzzles . |
The game was conceived in 1988 by Lucasfilm employee Ron Gilbert , who designed it with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman . Gilbert 's frustrations with contemporary adventure titles led him to make the player character 's death almost impossible , which meant that gameplay focused the game on exploration . The atmosphere was based on that of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride . The Secret of Monkey Island was the fifth game built with the SCUMM engine , which was heavily modified to include a more user @-@ friendly interface . |
Critics praised The Secret of Monkey Island for its humor , audiovisuals , and gameplay . The game spawned a number of sequels , collectively known as the Monkey Island series . Gilbert , Schafer and Grossman also led the development of the sequel Monkey Island 2 : LeChuck 's Revenge . LucasArts released a remake of the original in 2009 , which was also well received by the gaming press . |
= = Gameplay = = |
The Secret of Monkey Island is a 2D adventure game played from a third @-@ person perspective . Via a point @-@ and @-@ click interface , the player guides protagonist Guybrush Threepwood through the game 's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from twelve verb commands ( nine in newer versions ) such as " talk to " for communicating with characters and " pick up " for collecting items between commands and the world 's objects in order to successfully solve puzzles and thus progress in the game . While conversing with other characters , the player may choose between topics for discussion that are listed in a dialog tree ; the game is one of the first to incorporate such a system . The in @-@ game action is frequently interrupted by cutscenes . Like other LucasArts adventure games , The Secret of Monkey Island features a design philosophy that makes the player character 's death nearly impossible ( Guybrush does drown if he stays underwater for more than ten minutes ) . |
= = Plot = = |
A youth named Guybrush Threepwood arrives on the fictional Mêlée IslandTM , with the desire to become a pirate . He seeks out the island 's pirate leaders , who set him three trials that must be completed to become a pirate : winning a sword duel against Carla , the island 's resident swordmaster , finding a buried treasure , and stealing a valuable idol from the governor 's mansion . These quests take Guybrush throughout the island , where he hears of stories of the Ghost Pirate LeChuck , who apparently died in an expedition to the mysterious Monkey IslandTM , an act that was meant to win the love of the governor Elaine Marley . Guybrush meets several characters of interest , including a local voodoo priestess , Stan the Used Boat Salesman , Carla the Sword Master , a prisoner named Otis , and Meathook , whose hands have been replaced by hooks . |
Guybrush also encounters the governor and is instantly smitten , and she soon reciprocates . However , as he completes the tasks set for him , the island is raided by LeChuck and his undead crew , who abduct Elaine and then retreat to their secret hideout on Monkey IslandTM . Guybrush takes it upon himself to rescue her , buying a ship and hiring Carla , Otis , and Meathook as crew before setting sail for the fabled island . When Guybrush reaches Monkey Island , he discovers a village of cannibals in a dispute with Herman Toothrot , a ragged castaway marooned there . He settles their quarrel , and then recovers a magical " voodoo root " from LeChuck 's ship for the cannibals , who provide him with a seltzer bottle of " voodoo root elixir " that can destroy ghosts . |
When Guybrush returns to LeChuck 's ship with the elixir , he learns that LeChuck has returned to Mêlée IslandTM to marry Elaine at the church . He promptly returns to Mêlée IslandTM and gatecrashes the wedding , only to ruin Elaine 's own plan for escape ; in the process he loses the elixir . Now confronted with a furious LeChuck , Guybrush is savagely beaten by the ghost pirate in a fight ranging across the island . The fight eventually arrives at the island 's ship emporium , where Guybrush finds a bottle of root beer . Substituting the beverage for the lost elixir , he sprays LeChuck , destroying the ghost pirate . With LeChuck defeated , Guybrush and Elaine enjoy a romantic moment , watching fireworks caused by LeChuck exploding . |
= = Development = = |
= = = Origin and writing = = = |
Ron Gilbert conceived the idea of a pirate adventure game in 1988 , after completing Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders . He first wrote story ideas about pirates while spending the weekend at a friend 's house . Gilbert experimented with introductory paragraphs to find a satisfactory idea . His initial story featured unnamed villains that would eventually become LeChuck and Elaine ; Guybrush was absent at this point . He pitched it to Lucasfilm Games 's staff as a series of short stories . Gilbert 's idea was warmly received , but production was postponed because Lucasfilm Games assigned its designers , including Gilbert , to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade : The Graphic Adventure . Development of The Last Crusade was finished in 1989 , which allowed Gilbert to begin production of The Secret of Monkey Island , then known internally under the working title Mutiny on Monkey Island . |
Gilbert soon realised that it would be difficult to design the game by himself ; he decided to join forces with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman , both of whom he hired for Lucasfilm . The game 's insult sword fighting mechanics were influenced by swashbuckling movies starring Errol Flynn , which Gilbert , Schafer and Grossman often watched for inspiration . They noticed that pirates in those films often taunted their opponents instead of attacking them , which gave the designers the idea to base the game 's duels on insults rather than combat . Writer Orson Scott Card helped them write the insults during a visit to Lucasfilm 's headquarters at Skywalker Ranch . Many of Gilbert 's original gameplay ideas were abandoned during the production process , although he stated that " most of that stuff was left out for a reason " . |
The game 's plot , as described by Dave Grossman : “ It ’ s a story about this young man who comes to an island in search of his life ’ s dream . He ’ s pursuing his career goals and he discovers love in the process and winds up thinking that was actually more important than what he was doing to begin with . You ’ re laughing , but there ’ s actually something deeper going on as well . ” When work on the plot began , Gilbert discovered that Schafer 's and Grossman 's writing styles were too different to form a cohesive whole : Grossman 's was " very kind of a dry , sarcastic humor " and Schafer 's was " just a little more in your face " . In reaction , Gilbert assigned them to different characters and story moments depending on what type of comedy was required . Grossman believed that this benefited the game 's writing , as he and Schafer " were all funny in slightly different ways , and it worked well together " . Schafer and Grossman wrote most of the dialogue while they were programming the game ; as a result , much of it was improvised . Some of the dialogue was based on the designers ' personal experiences , such as Guybrush 's line " I had a feeling in hell there would be mushrooms " , which came from Schafer 's own hatred of fungi . |
The game 's world and characters were designed primarily by Gilbert . After having read Tim Powers ' historical fantasy novel On Stranger Tides , he decided to add paranormal themes to the game 's plot . He also cited Powers ' book as an influence on the characters , particularly those of Guybrush and LeChuck . Inspiration for the game 's ambiance came from Gilbert 's favorite childhood amusement park ride , Pirates of the Caribbean . Grossman said that Gilbert always wanted " to step off the ride " and " talk to the people who lived in that world " . Near the final stages of the design work , Gilbert introduced several characters who were not directly related to the game 's story . He considered this to be an important decision , as the player would need those seemingly minor characters in later parts of the game and would receive a chance to " really interact with them " . |
= = = Creative and technical design = = = |
Gilbert , Schafer and Grossman 's primary goal was to create a simpler and more accessible gameplay model than those presented in previous Lucasfilm titles . Gilbert had conceived the main designs and puzzles before production began , which resulted in the bulk of the designers ' work to flesh out his ideas . He was frustrated by the adventure games that Sierra On @-@ Line was releasing at the time , and later said that " you died any time you did anything wrong " . Gilbert considered such gameplay as " a cheap way out for the designer " . He had previously applied his design ideas to the 1987 graphic adventure title Maniac Mansion , but committed a number of mistakes during development , such as dead @-@ end situations that prevented the player from completing the game and poorly implemented triggers for cutscenes . Gilbert aimed to avoid such errors in The Secret of Monkey Island . The team decided to make it impossible for the player character to die , which focused gameplay primarily on world exploration . The Sierra game @-@ over screen was parodied , when Guybrush falls off a cliff only to be bounced back up by a " rubber tree " . |
The Secret of Monkey Island was the fifth Lucasfilm Games project powered by the SCUMM engine , originally developed for Maniac Mansion . The company had gradually modified the engine since its creation . For Maniac Mansion , the developers hard coded verb commands in the SCUMM scripting language . These commands become more abstract in subsequent versions of the engine . The developers carried over the practice of referring to individual segments of the gameworld as " rooms " , even though the areas in Monkey Island were outdoors . The game uses the same version of the engine used in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , with minor changes . A dialog tree was added , which facilitated conversation options and the sword @-@ fighting puzzles . The developers removed the " What is " option ( an input command that describes an on @-@ screen object to the player ) in favor of allowing the player to simply highlight the object with the mouse cursor . The game 's improved interface became the standard for the company 's later titles . The game also introduced logical verb shortcuts , which could be performed with the mouse ; for example , clicking on a character defaults to the " talk " action , the most obvious action in the situation . SCUMM 's visuals were updated for the game — the original EGA version had a 320x200 pixel resolution rendered in 16 colors . According to artist Steve Purcell , that became a major limitation for the art team ; due to a low number of " ghastly " colors , they often chose bizarre tones for backgrounds . They chose black and white for Guybrush 's outfit for the same reason . The VGA version of the game later corrected these issues by implementing 256 color support , which allowed for more advanced background and character art . The VGA ( and other platform releases ) removed the infamous " stump joke " from the game , which was a joke in the EGA version in which the player would examine a tree stump in the forest . Guybrush would exclaim that there is an opening to a system of catacombs and attempt to enter , but this would result in a message stating the player needed to insert disc 22 , then 36 , then 114 in order to continue . The joke resulted in numerous calls to the LucasArts hotline asking about missing discs . As a result , the joke was removed from later editions and is a mentioned as a conversation option for the LucasArts Hint Hotline in the sequel . |
The game 's " pirate reggae " music was composed by Lucasfilm Games ' in @-@ house musician Michael Land in MIDI format . It was his first project at the company . The game was originally released for floppy disk in 1990 , but a CD @-@ ROM version with a high @-@ quality CD soundtrack followed in 1992 . The music has remained popular , and has been remixed by the musicians of OverClocked ReMix and by the game 's fans . |
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