One game across changing hardware
A fan-made interactive reference has assembled 13 display modes of The Secret of Monkey Island side by side, offering a close comparison of how the 1990 adventure game appeared across different computers, graphics standards and console hardware.
The project covers eight editions and uses the same 12 scenes for every comparison. Its collection includes Hercules, CGA, EGA and VGA PC graphics alongside versions for the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, FM Towns and Sega CD. Keeping each moment and framing consistent lets visitors focus on the visual changes introduced by a machine or display mode rather than differences in the scene itself.
Most images were captured through ScummVM. The monochrome Atari ST screens were produced with the Hatari emulator. The creators scaled each capture to 1600 by 1200 pixels with nearest-neighbour scaling and correction to a 4:3 aspect ratio, an approach intended to preserve the shape of the original pixels on displays resembling those used when the ports were released.
The comparison also documents quirks that can disappear in modern screenshots. The Macintosh edition draws a 640-by-400 image within a 640-by-480 screen, producing black bars. The Hercules presentation uses the central 640 columns of its wider 720-column output. Language also varies: the 16-colour PC captures came from a Spanish copy, the Atari ST monochrome material from a French copy and the remaining editions are shown in English.
Optional CRT treatment
Visitors can move viewing windows, switch among versions and enable a simulated cathode-ray-tube presentation. The site incorporates monitor treatments and shader presets associated with DOSBox Staging and includes a separate CRT laboratory for adjusting the visual effect. The creators caution that scanline effects need sufficient on-screen pixels, so users may need to enlarge a small comparison window.
The reference identifies the licences for the fonts, shaders and other software components it uses. Its CRT port is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later, while other credited assets use their respective open licences.
The makers describe themselves as two brothers working as The Paninos and say the project was created with assistance from artificial intelligence. They label it an unofficial reference with no affiliation to Lucasfilm Games, LucasArts or Disney.
Rather than presenting a remaster or a new game release, the site functions as a preservation-oriented viewing tool. Its aligned scenes reveal how palette limits, resolution, monitor conventions and porting choices altered the look of one title during an era when the same software could differ substantially from one platform to another.
