'Monkey Island' Creator Wraps 'DeathSpank' Work And Leaves Hothead

Ron Gilbert contributed lasting masterpieces to gaming with "Maniac Mansion" and "The Secret of Monkey Island," and now he has reportedly finished his work on Hothead Games' "DeathSpank" and left the Vancouver based developers. Gilbert didn't specify what his next project would be, but he said that he would still be involved with EA and Hothead's publicity efforts after his departure.

"I wanted to let all the Premium Gold Level Grumpy Gamer subscribers know that I left Hothead," wrote Gilbert on his blog at GrumpyGamer.com. "When I started working there two years ago, my goal was to make 'DeathSpank' the most awesome game ever made and have it win a Nobel Prize and the early word out of Stockholm is that 'DeathSpank' is neck-in-neck with some string theory dweeb (eleven dimensions my a--)."

Whether or not Gilbert qualifies for a Nobel medal, his plans will be closely watched. Prior to becoming a creative director at Hothead, he worked at Lucas Arts and co-founded both Humongous Entertainment and Hulabee Entertainment. According to him, "DeathSpank" only has certification and testing hurdles to pass before it can be judged alongside his previous accomplishments.

"As 'DeathSpank' ends the creative and production phases and start down that long and winding road of certification and testing of the XBox and PS3 and [REDACTED] versions, it's looking quite amazing and is damn funny," he said. "So, to quote my childhood hero George W. Bush: Mission Accomplished."

What would you like to see Ron Gilbert do next? Do you have high hopes for "DeathSpank"? Share your expectations in the comment section below.

Tags deathspank, hothead games, ron gilbert