The Muppet Experiment
Client: Advanced Projects & Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online
Link: View Project
My Role: WDPRO Flash Lead
I developed the minisite and animation for different site interactions. There was animated time machines, phone messaging from different muppets lost in time, an interactive bulletin board, 4 separate games and a lab environment interface based off WDI’s concept art. It was a great project to be a part of and awesome to work with WDI’s talented artists.
Challenge:
The Muppet Experiment is an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) initiated by students of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering and targeted at Disneyland Annual Passholders. I worked closely with the Advanced Projects team to creatively refined the concept and implemented the technical components required to make this a true ARG. The essence of the experience is that the Muppets were accidentally sent to 1937 through The Muppet Labs Time Rewinder™ and you are in charge of finding them scattered all over California, group them and send them back to 2008.
The game starts online with 4 puzzles that require the Guests to use regular search engines to find the answers to (and we made great use of our SEO team’s expertise to make sure those answers were readily available!). Once the online puzzles are complete, the Guests are then invited into Disney’s California Adventure Park to complete the experience using their mobile phones and SMS service. Although Guests can locate the Muppets in the online game, they can only send them back to 2008 by completing the Top Secret mission in the park.
Solution:
The project itself was a test, looking closely at the metrics to be better educated about the feasibility of this kind of entertainment online and in-park in the future. This was one of the first projects where WDPRO, AP and WDI had the opportunity to collaborate closely towards a common goal, and I’m proud to say we did so successfully!
Partners:
Advanced Projects, Walt Disney Imagineering, Telescope (SMS Vendor)