New Muppet Central Site Design

[Lynnette]

Muppet Slots

Originally posted by towels
It's like a slot machine...
I've got three frogs...what do I win?

I got three Fraggles and a Koozbanian on one spin then the "cup holder" on my CPU opened up and gave me a Time/Life Muppet Show DVD. ;-)

Lynnette

 

[Sunshineboz]

Re: Muppet Slots

Originally posted by Lynnette
I got three Fraggles and a Koozbanian on one spin then the "cup holder" on my CPU opened up and gave me a Time/Life Muppet Show DVD. ;-)

Lynnette

Dat's a funny!
Dat's a spicy Meatball!

 

[beaker]

Heh, Ive been refreshing seeing what suprise Muppets pop up. wow. Man you guys got some crisp flash animated scans of characters! Good to see all the major Muppet franchises(Muppetshow, Sesame, Bear, and FR) represented...along with Creature Shop(though Im not sure if Creature Shop characters count as Muppets, oh well)

Anyhoo, finding a lot of Koozebanes, Frackles, and even lots of JHH Muppets! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

PS: Any idea how many characters are in that random slot machine arch index? wow.

 

[frogboy4]

To be exact, there are 145 characters, 143 files (Pip and Pop take up one arch and Statler & Waldorf are always linked). I really would like to get up to 200 characters in time, but we'll have to see. There are a few projects that are missing and key characters that I want to add like Dog City and Christmas Toy. I would also like to include a Skeksis (don't know how it would look), Jen and Ludo.

A fun note about the menu is that only Muppet Show (and Muppets Tonight) elite characters take up the spots next to Kermit and Piggy so there will always be familiar Muppets in the center. It may surprise some that I included Clifford and Johnny, but I assume they are familiar with fans and will be more familiar with the public in the future.

 

[beaker]

>>>It may surprise some that I included Clifford and Johnny, but I assume they are familiar with fans and will be more familiar with the public in the future.<<<

That shouldnt surprise fans at all. Clifford, since the great year of 1989 has been a intregal part of Muppetdom. And more recently Pepe and Sal.

I really hope the new MC site gets a new tidal wave of online exposure somehow. I wish yahoo or some place would feature it, or maybe a link through other big sites. I just recognize Muppet Central as this great unrivaled(even by JHC itself) online Muppet site. The new design is simply inspired, and truly captures the essense of the Muppets.

The descision to include Muppets from all spectrums...1955 to present was a great one. A lot of people might think only TMS and related Muppets should be represented, but that would be a mistake. I must ask, was there a discussion of what constitutes a 'Muppet'? Though, in the long run including creature shop(labyrinth, dinosaur, etc) is good as it shows the wide variety of JHC. And how ya guys got such crystal clear flash scans is amazing! Ok Jamie, can just imagine what suprises are in store for us MC people from you, Phil, and everyone!

 

[frogboy4]

The difficult task was finding images of the cast facing forward!

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by frogboy4
It may surprise some that I included Clifford and Johnny, but I assume they are familiar with fans and will be more familiar with the public in the future.

Familiar faces, yes. Much of them in the future - well i wouldn't expect either of them to be getting pushes in the future. Other than Pepe i fully expect the new shows to be VERY light of MT characters - i think it's something they consider didn't work and would like to get some new ones in there along with bringing back all the classic TMS faves. The emphasis has fallen on nostalgia so i think they now prefer to say bring back Rowlf or Scooter - and use Piggy and Fozzie more than use someone from MT.

I get your point though - to a user of MC they are in their rightful place !

 

[Chilly Down]

Wow. I'm speechless. That sound you just heard was my jaw hitting the floor. INCREDIBLE job, Jamie et al.!!! (Jamie tried to explain to me what it would look like a while back, with the arches and all, but I couldn't grasp what he was telling me. The end result far exceeded my expectations!) I LOVE the way all those different characters pop out. The very first time I accessed the site, Leon from JHH was the first character at the start of the page! Soon, Digit popped up on another page. I also love the way they kind of "slide" into place, and how the background lights up when you highlight one of the characters. In fact, on one of the screens, Scooter actually pops through a door when you highlight his spot, just like in the TMS openings!! Very cool. I also enjoyed the themed pages, like the GMC theme on the News page.

Also important is the fact that the page is easy to navigate. I was afraid that a non-frames page would be more cumbersome, but this is just as fast, if not more so. Many people have pretty sites but forget to make them easy to navigate; this page hits exactly the right balance between both. Official Henson web site designers, take note.

Frankly, I'm astonished that people are having trouble with the Flash. I've got an ancient computer with a slow connection. The computer crashes at least three times a day. Most pages I view say "You don't have the plugin." But even I don't have any problem viewing anything on this site. In fact, my one complaint is that I never got to see the cool intro -- it was taken down by the time I got back here.

Great idea to have Kermit and Piggy always in the center of the main page, with the other characters changing randomly. I know you've considered some Creature Shop stuff, but you're not sure how it will look. If you do manage to get some up, I nominate the Storyteller's Dog, Rygel from Farscape, and a Fiery (though that last one is, I admit, an entirely selfish desire of mine!). BTW, Jamie, is it true that you're one of the random characters, or was the person who said that just kidding?

Anyway, fabulous job, Jamie (and Phil and Cindy and anyone else who contributed). No wonder this took so long -- it was worth the wait. Now I'm off to hit Refresh 100 times! ;-)

 

[frogboy4]

Thanx for the rave review! Over one hundred responses have come to me this week - either on the board or in my email. I am proud to report that only three out of those have had trouble with the site. That's 97% success rate so far.

The users either didn't wish to install the plug-in or were running systems that wouldn't allow it because of age or firewall settings. The file size is comparable to the old MC. I made sure of that so page speed should be a non-issue.

I actually expected more complaints, but many commercial sites have scrapped their html versions for slick flash ones so it is considered a standard. Some are better than others and I did a lot of research to make the transition smooth. And to keep MC's familiar look.

I wish absolutely everyone could see it, but that's part of progress in the technology age. If the standards always remain the same, nothing new can come, but no one wants to alienate a user. I think and hope we found the appropriate balance.

Of the characters you have mentioned, all are included. If you flip enough you should catch the Storyteller Dog, a Firey and Rygel. Just may take some time to see them. If you find me on the menu, you will win a million dollars...not denying it, but don't hold your breath.

If you missed the intro or if any mac users had trouble viewing it - http://www.jamesvier.com/mc/intro.html

 

[ResidentLilly]

Just wanted to weigh in here and finally be able to say nice things about YOUR stuff for a change. The new site is awesome. I want more, more, more! Love the new designs, love the concept...love the fact that at every turn you see new Muppets, and not just from the Muppet Show.

Really an awesome, awesome design.