Return to Monkey Island, the Ron Gilbert-directed sequel to the original and second Monkey Island titles, debuted its first gameplay video this week. The release of the game has been largely enjoyable; Gilbert’s apparent April Fool’s prank regarding a new Monkey Island game turned out to be a genuine announcement. But after the release of the new trailer, there was some bitter discussion, and Gilbert announced on his own site that he would no longer be writing about Return to Monkey Island.

In a post including the new trailer, Gilbert declared, “I’m closing off comments.” “People are just being rude, therefore I have to delete comments that make personal attacks. Everyone on the squad is quite proud of it since it was a fantastic game. Play it or don’t, but don’t muck it up for the rest of us. I won’t be discussing the game in my future posts. Sharing is no longer enjoyable for me.

In a May post on his own blog, Gilbert made an effort to respond to complaints about the visual aesthetic of Return to Monkey Island. Return to Monkey Island’s visual aesthetic “may not be what you wanted or expected, but it’s what I wanted,” he wrote. Unfortunately, some individuals have persisted in saying offensive things, so it appears Gilbert won’t be speaking to us about what seems to be a fantastic game. I think we’re in for a treat if the little scene from Return to Monkey Island’s website, which includes a traditional point-and-click conversation tree, is any indicator.