Software:Muppets Inside
| The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Starwave |
| Publisher(s) | Starwave |
| Director(s) | David Gumpel |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | John Cutter |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Craig Shemin |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside is a 1996 video game based on The Muppets franchise produced by Starwave for Windows. The title is a play on Intel's advertising slogan, "Intel Inside". The game's plot consists of several Muppets characters getting trapped inside a computer, and Bunsen sending Kermit and Fozzie Bear into the computer to rescue them.
Gameplay
As players rescue the Muppets, they encounter seven "Muppetized" minigames:[1]
- Kitchens of Doom: A parody of Doom, with the Swedish Chef fighting giant vegetables in a crypt-like kitchen.
- Beaker's Brain: The player helps Bunsen unscramble Beaker's memories of Muppet Show clips.
- Two Thumbs Down: The player rotates boxes to unscramble Statler and Waldorf's video clip.
- A Wocka on the Wild Side: In a parody of Missile Command, the player shoots down flying tomatoes that the audience throws at Fozzie Bear as he crosses the Muppet Theater stage.
- Death Defying Acts of Culture: The player positions Gonzo's cannon so he flies through a target.
- Scope That Song: Clifford hosts a version of Name That Tune, with the songs played by Lew Zealand's fish or Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphone.
- Trivial but True: A Hollywood Squares game hosted by Kermit, with Fozzie Bear as the center square.
Development and release
Starwave was the lead developer of Muppets Inside, and supporting developers produced its minigames: Trivial but True and Death Defying Acts of Culture by Socha Computing; Kitchens of Doom by Gravity;[2] A Wocka on the Wild Side and Two Thumbs Down by Randy Pratt; and Beaker's Brain and Scope That Song by Riedel Software Productions.[3] The game was developed in a year, with a headcount of over 150 people between all involved studios.[4]
The full-motion video sequences for the game were shot in London, concurrently with the Muppet Treasure Island film and its video game adaptation.[5]
Muppets Inside was initially slated for release in January 1996.[1] However, the game would not arrive in stores until March of that year.[6][7][8]
Reception
| Reception | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Muppets Inside was received positively by critics upon release. CNET praised the game's graphics and design, describing it as a "day-brightener".[11]
In a retrospective review, PC Gamer praised the humor of the videos and game concepts, while criticizing the tedium of the small number of games.[12]
Awards
Muppets Inside received a CODiE award in 1997 for Best Overall Multimedia Production.[13] The editors of Computer Games Strategy Plus nominated the game as their pick for 1996's best "traditional" game, but the award ultimately went to Power Chess.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Muppets Take a Byte Out of Your Computer". MuppetZine (15): 7–8. 1996. https://toughpigs.com/muppetzine-issue-15/. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ↑ "Games". Gravity. http://www.gravity.com/games.html.
- ↑ Auerbach, Jon G.; Stecklow, Steve (October 16, 1997). "RSP Provokes Controversy Over Its Gory Software Game". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB876951901156397000. "In the Muppets CD-ROM game, released last year, RSP created a segment in which Miss Piggy plays a game-show host and child contestants must name such tunes as, "I've Been Working on the Railroad". In another, called "Beaker's Brain", players must reconstruct animated images to put the flask-headed character's brain back together."
- ↑ Manes, Stephen (March 12, 1996). "There's a Muppet in the Machine!". New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/compcol/0312compcol-manes.html.
- ↑ Roe, Ryan (April 9, 2014). "An Interview with Craig Shemin, Part 1: Through the Eyes of a Fan". ToughPigs. https://toughpigs.com/craig-shemin-part-1/.
- ↑ "Many More Muppets". Newsweek. March 17, 1996. https://www.newsweek.com/many-more-muppets-176038. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ↑ Sage, Rose (March 17, 1996). "Muppet Web Contests". Muppet News Flash. http://vr.ncsa.uiuc.edu/BS/Muppets/muppet_news.html#Contests.
- ↑ Harmon, Amy (March 18, 1996). "Pulse Has a Finger on New Ideas". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-03-18-fi-48377-story.html.
- ↑ Wolf, Scott (September 1996). "Muppets Inside". PC Gamer US. http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/718.html.
- ↑ "The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside". Entertainment Weekly. May 10, 1996. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292472,00.html.
- ↑ Atelsek, Jean. "The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside". CNET. http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Cdcentral/Reviews/0,50,317,00.html.
- ↑ Cobbett, Richard (January 21, 2023). "Muppets Inside was a classic of the 'CD-ROM full of stuff' era". https://www.pcgamer.com/saturday-crapshoot-muppets-inside/.
- ↑ "1997 Winners". SIIA CODiE Awards. Software and Information Industry Association. https://siia.net/codie/1997-winners/.
- ↑ "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. March 25, 1997. http://www.cdmag.com/news/0325971.html.
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