The Count's Muppet Party

[The Count]

Development: You guys here at Muppet Central asked me to explain the origins and purpose of my Muppet Party video game, so I'll try my best to lay it out in an orderly fashion.

1 Sesame Street computer/video games were simplistic to the point that there wasn't any real excitement in their gameplay. These included Astro Grover; teaching basic math with adding and subtracting aliens, Ernie's Magic Show; where you made designs from simple shapes, Sesame Street A B C; which used a Ferris wheel to build three-letter words, and the Count's Countdown; with a spinning number roulette selector that decided what number you'd chase down different environments. On the other hand, Muppet games were much better like Carnival of Chaos and the recent Muppet Racemania. I wanted to create an action game for the entire Muppet family, but what should be the game's plot?
2 The Count Counts a Party! from the Sesame Street Book Club was a prime source for my master idea; but for the life of me, I couldn't remember any of the particular details of the story. Volume 9 of the Sesame Street Library which presented a short one-page story about the Count's birthday where different Sesame characters came bearing small marble numbers as gifts was another source of inspiration. For example: Bert brought a small marble 1 and Ernie a small marble 2. Now I knew that the game's main plot should be a mass party at the Count's castle with marble numbers as gifts brought by all the guests. But how should I proceed with the storyline?
3 Considering that I started my master Muppet listing at less than a third of its current totals upon Sesame's 30th anniversary and the fact that the party would take place in Transylvania, I created the following scenario. Imagine if you will, all the members of the Muppet family coming to the Count's castle to celebrate his anniversary birthday with the aforementioned number gifts. Upon placing the numbers around the cake and lighting the candles, a grand smoky ghostly demon appeared and started to claim both the castle and the numbers by flooding the land with smaller ghostly minions. Each ghostly minion seized a different number and room/area, and it's up to the Muppet family to reclaim their friend's home. Starting out from the main living room, which serves as their headquarters, they must use the birthday candles as standard-issue flaregun weapons to dispatch the ghosts and other dangers lurking in the hallways.
4 Here's where all the wonderful MC members come in. Head over to my "Muppet Listing 3.0" thread in the Classic Muppets section. You can see that I'd be immensely overwhelmed creating a level for each character listed solely on my own. Look at the level designs that are already cast and invent a new level following similar guidelines. Pick any character, give it any number you want, place them in a room that mirrors any of the character's qualities, and pit them against a boss ghost who fits the general design of your idea. Include lesser enemies, mid-bosses, traps, attacks for the boss ghost, and some way to maneuver past all these obstacles.
All of your help with this project will be infinitely appreciated!

Sincerely the Count von Count.

 

[The Count]

Señor Zero

Here's the game's first level.

Guest & Number: Señor Zero (SS), Small marble 0.
Room/Area: Aztec Chamber.
Enemies: Piñatas: There are two kinds of orange oval-balloon shaped Piñatas. The first drop robotic soldiers whose hats, uniforms, and boots are blue; arms and legs smoky gray; and hands and laser rifles white-gray. The second throw out a small white orb that explodes on contact.
Jalapeño Poppers: Brown-red pepper shaped robots with white metallic Muppet-like orb eyes and a red stalk as a fuse. They pop out from underground and either explode immediately or move closer for greater impact. Upon exploding, the main body launches two smaller pepper bombs in arcs to the left and right.
Sun Discs: Golden sundisc coins with imposing faces on them. Their eyes open in order to shoot two golden lasers.
Boss Ghost: Fiesta Ghost: An oversized orbital spinning sombrero who drops the round, red fuzzy balls on its rim as miniature explosives.

Level Layout: Señor Zero enters the room through a black door marked by blue-gray bricks. The backwalls, of a light yellow-brownish color, feature a design of three black bricks placed in the following order- one short brick connected edge-to-edge above a long brick connected in the same fashion to another short brick above it. Thin red-brown posts separate the wall into panelled sections; and since this is an underground room, the sidewalls, ceiling and floor are of a brown rocky surface. Starting at the door and scrolling from left to right, you'll find a soldier-dropping Piñata, Jalapeño Popper, and another
soldier-dropping Piñata. These Piñatas are seen hanging from the ceiling and must be destroyed along with its soldiers, otherwise more will keep dropping
periodically from the sky. Drop down a short ways to take out another soldiered Piñata, and then quickly move over to the platform at the left. You'll
start a long descent down this shaft by jumping from side to side, thanks to the platforms provided. However, each platform hides the threat of a Jalapeño
Popper. In addition, the previous platform shows a bomb-launching Piñata clinging to its underside. Both the Popper and Piñata must be destroyed to avoid
multiple explosions taking away much of your life energy during this drop. Once you reach the bottom, a couple of Poppers await before you reach the stairs!
The backwall darkens to black, and then to green as you climb a flight of cream adobe steps to reach the Valley of the Suns. At the top, you'll find a
circular scaffold supported by thick red-brownish tubes, but be careful not to fall over the edge. Travelling round the rim of the valley, you'll have
to take out the sundiscs by blasting their mouths until erasing the faces. Noting that the backwall will undergo the same color pattern as before but in reverse, descend down the second flight of steps and destroy the next Piñata, laidened with
soldiers. Use the following platforms to go up a short cliff, cautious of the Poppers and one more bomb-launching Piñata! Rid yourself of the last Popper
by making it chase you until it's right at the edge and then jump over it as you watch the spicy flamer fall out of sight. Lastly, climb the few steps
to the Fiesta Ghost's room, where you'll have to fight it in a final battle. The ghost will leave behind the sombrero which served as its host body after being defeated while dissipating into nothingness. Pick up the marble 0 and get ready to be teleported back to the main gathering room thanks to Mumford's magic. This level is crucial to your progress, since reclaiming the marble 0 means that you'll be able to access the levels from 10 and beyond.

 

[The Count]

Kermit The Frog

Here's the game's next level.

Guest & Number: Kermit The Frog (SS, TMS), Small marble 1.
Room/Area: Swampy Moat.
The Ditzies: Small fairylike beings from Fraggle Rock identified by their white shining lights, though they're not an actual enemy. Their cameo appearances in varying areas is beneficial to the other Muppets, since the Ditzies serve to replenish a character's life energy.
Enemies: Willow-The-Wisps: Small fairylike beings identified by their flashing red, blue, or green lights. They infest the second half of the stage more notedly than the first.
Water Gunboats: Small floating toyboats featuring a water cannon mounted onto their decks.
Thorn Spitters: Gnarled bushes which immediately shoot out thorns mainly in a three-pronged formation.
Water Lillies: These plants look harmless, except for their spinning cerrated leaves.
Whirlpools: They can be found swirling away inside the river areas of this stage.
Gator Gallery: A series of gator jaws that snap out and take away a chunk of your life energy with their bite.
Horned Toads: Small spike-horned robotic frogs who jump from one lilypad to the next and back again.

Level Layout: Kermit appears at the beginning of the stage by exiting a grate on the sidewall of the castle. Clear blue skies with white puffy clouds contrast against the medium blue riverwater and dark olive greens of the riverside vegetation. Weeping willows line the sides of the riverbank, but be careful not to hit them with your candle flaregun. If hit, these trees will cry continuous rain showers until Kermit reaches the Gator Gallery section of the stage. Scrolling from left to right while riding a lilypad floating down the river, you'll encounter some Water Gunboats who offer no real danger due to the river's relaxed course. The first section ends when the pad slides down a long waterfall, plunging into a shallow pool. Jump off from the pad before hitting the pool, thus landing on the grass nearby which allows you to enter the hidden room in the cave behind the falls where you'll find either Kermit's banjo or a heart bottle filled with life-replenishing liquid. The Ditzies and Wisps will fly in at random all throughout the stage, just remember which is which by the color of their flashing lights. If you're sitting on the pad when it plunges after the falls, you'll immediately go on to the next river section that curves like a mirrored question mark. The Lillies can be avoided by making the lilypad you're sitting on float between its bladed leafs, while Thorn Spitters lining both sides of the riverbank can be dispatched thanks to your flaregun to make sure they don't stick it to you! The Whirlpools cause double the damage, owing to the fact that they eliminate one unit of your life energy and increase both the speed of the river's running water and Water Lilies' bladed leaves by one cycle. The Gator Gallery features gator jaws inside a brown, wooden headboard at the far end of the riverbank that snap out in a random order at the pink lilypads. By timing your jumps correctly, cross the swamp over to a small grassy hill where a vine swing helps you reach the old oaken bridge that has a loosened floorboard. The other hidden room lies under the bridge, where Kermit claims the second magical item whichever of the two it happens to be. After gaining the banjo, you can enchant the enemies into a sleepy trance, thus ridding yourself of any dangers nearby. Use the vine swing to access another grassy hill, from which you'll have to cross the swamp through a second Gator Gallery. Here a new pad awaits for the next river section, which curves like a correctly shaped question mark, where you'll have to avoid the spinning lily and Thorn Spitters. Next comes a game of leapfrog with the Horned Toads who'll annoy you with their continuous jumping. Destroy them by aiming at the sharp little spikes near their heads, and don't forget about the Thorn Spitters and Willow-The-Wisps in this area! In the final bottleneck river section, you'll find some more Gunboats opposing your floating entry into the fountain pool for the final fight with the boss ghost.

Boss Ghost: Moss Ghost: This blobbish bearlike being's body, dotted by clumps of damp moss plants tied together with vines, rises from the darkened waters of the swampy pools. Your life energy slowly ebbs away should his thorny lasso ensnare you in its trap; after which, blasts of swampy waters drown you further into the murky pools. Leap out of the way to avoid getting entangled in the lasso and dive into the fountain when you see either a charging body of water or moss. Burn away at the vegetable-based body until the ghost sinks completely in the swamp, never to be seen again. The ghost leaves a moss plant which served as its host body after dissipating into nothingness, and a marble 1 for Kermit to pick up just before being teleported back to the main gathering room with his treasures.

Halloween, it's the scariest time of the year, the Count.

 

[Jeffrey Gray]

BTW...Count, I'd like to point out (if you don't already know) that Señor Cero is not a Muppet. He was actually a Zorro-like character that Luis dressed up as whenever something happened involving the number 0 (and, as with most dual-identity characters, Luis was nowhere to be found until Señor Cero left, at which point Luis would come back and behave to the mention of Cero's appearance with the typical secret-identity "oh, I guess I just missed him" routine.)

Of course, if you already knew, and you intended the human members of the Sesame Street gang to be invited also, then all this talk was for nothing.

 

[The Count]

The Two-Headed Monster

Here's the game's next level!

Guest & Number: The Two-Headed Monster (SS), Small marble 2.
Room/Area: Twin Tower.
Enemies: Icicles: Sharp spiked icicles hanging from various ledges' undersides.
Iceshooters: Clear blue water tanks with gray hoses positioned to shoot straight blasts of icy water.
Icemasks: Grayish, ghastly, goalie masks who breathe direct bursts of rushing arctic wind out at its foes.
Snowballers: Small, white, round-bodied robots whose heads and bodies are merged into one. They wear dark brown gloves and boots bordered by a rim of white dripping snow, a dark blue jumpsuit, and light brown winter caps. These little guys hurl snowballs at anyone who dares disturb their frozen follies.
Snow Serpent: A two-headed serpent with a body composed of both light and dark gray scales. One head breathes cruel icy flames, while the other exhales freezing winds.

Level Layout: The Two-Headed Monster enters the room through a black door surrounded by blue-grayish bricks into a tower where you see a darkened medium blue backwall accented by light gray sprinkles and gray stone ledges, some minimally frosted and others completely iced over. A solid black wall divides the tower in half right down its middle; but if you possess Crazy Harry's bomb detonator, then you can blast away at the wall to cross over from one side of the tower to the other. The wall creeps up one section at a time, so climb down the ledges until you find the new opening. This shortcut allows you to avoid dueling against the Snow Serpent. Starting at the room's open door, descend down the first half of the tower using the iced ledges connected to ramps at their open ends. Sliding down the ramps isn't an option, for you must jump across the yawning gap to reach the iced ledge on the other side. Due to all the ice-based traps and enemies, this is one level where a flaregun weapon comes in handy! Watch out for falling Icicles from above and watery surges from the Iceshooters in front of you when travelling through the ledges. Additionally, some contain the new threat of the Snowballers, so dodge the balls thrown your way and fire at the robot until he's melted. The Snow Serpent dwells inside a large, undivided, double-chamber found at the tower's bottom floor. A few ice platforms positioned above the snow-blanketed floor provide you with a vantage point from which to attack the serpent during the fight. The cruel flames burn away holes in the floor as well as the platforms, and the freezing winds seal you within a giant ice cube. You're sunk if you get caught in the cube-forming winds for the flames will scorch the platform immediately, plunging you into the icy waters below! Leap over the winds to the other side when you see them barreling down, thus using them to patch up spaces in the floor. Torch both heads with your candle when they're not spewing either element until the snake lies motionless. Use the iced ledges to ascend through the second half of the tower and remember to be wary of some Snowballers, Icicles and Iceshooters. A new enemy, the Icemasks who spout furious bursts of cold arctic wind, can hit its target from afar though being mounted on the walls much like the Iceshooters. Frost-knobbed bar mechanisms slowly inch out forward and receed back into the iced ledges throughout the tower's second half climb, similar to segmented words which drew closer together during the Two-Headed Monster's sketches. These sliding bars' back and forth movements assist you up the shaft, so wait for the bar to be halfways visible before jumping from one to the next thus avoiding a long downwards fall. A second undivided double-chamber rests atop the tower where the boss ghost awaits to begin the final fight.

Boss Ghost: Gemini Ghost: A crown featuring two spikes halved into white and baby blue chards rests over his solid iceblock head. He wears a medium blue shirt, black ski pants, white-blue metallic gloves and boots, and strings of broken-off double icechips ring his upper body. He shoots his icicle beam, a frigid laser that bounces off of walls freezing anything it touches at its point of contact, upon splitting into two identical beings. Jump over the ice laser and skip past any dislodged icechips launched at you once he splits, whilst making it hot for him thanks to your trusted candle flaregun during this face-off. The ghost leaves behind a large icecube which served as his host body after dissipating into nothingness and a small marble 2. The Two-Headed Monster recovers his marble 2 before Mumford's magic teleports him back to the main gathering room out of this deep freeze.

Halloween, it's the scariest time of the year, the Count.

 

[The Count]

Telly Monster

Here's the game's next level.

Guest & Number: Telly Monster (SS), Small marble 3.
Room/Area: ShipShape Port.
Enemies: Triangle Snipers: Red cylindrical pipeguns, visible only when they flip over, attached to the underside of bright yellow and pink triangles placed inside corner wall-sockets.
Cannon Blocks: White square-shaped cannons mounted on wooden decks with rotational firing guns.
TriTips: Small yellow flying triangles that only explode after crashing into remote backwalls.
Barnacle Balls: Rusted green spiked spheres stuck to the walls and ceilings around the tidal pool section.
Swordsman: Pirate guard armed with gleaming silver swords ready to defend against any intruders who wears a black pirate's hat and eyepatch, gray shirts, blue jeans, and black boots.

Level Layout: Telly enters through a black door surrounded by blue-grayish bricks into a room whose main design features geometric constructs; such as two cylinder columns supporting triangle wedges which in turn hold up the ceiling, rectangle steinglass windows placed in between the columns, and crescent openings seen near the border between the walls and ceiling. Scrolling from left to right through the first of three sections, destroy any Cannon Blocks impeeding your progress along these wooden planks and avoid the TriTips who may fly in to knock you down from your perch into the deep waters below. Square-gridded netting curtains line the sidewalls as you climb down the main mast where Triangle Snipers, positioned in the corners, further hinder your efforts. Wait until the triangle flips over to torch the pivotting pipegun with your candle before descending to the next mastpiece. Cannon Blocks and TriTips fill up the second section of the stage, a long gundeck corridor which lies at the bottom of the mainmast, where Tuba Harness Riders or THR's facilitate your travels along this narrow hallway. Sound a bellowing note from the tuba to send the Cannon Block into the stratosphere after positioning the tuba's mouth just under the blocky turret gun. You can also dismount the tuba, jump onto one of the gundeck's ledges, and burn away at the cannon from close range. TriTips fly in and out through this section crashing upon impact with any backwall, so be wary not to get caught in their ensuing explosions. You must leave the tuba behind at the end of the corridor in order to proceed to the third and final section of the stage, a pierlike platform from which you dive into the tidal pool below. Ride foamy crests of water as they ebb and flow across the watery depths, maneuvering carefully so as to avoid contact with Barnacle Balls lining these complex coastal contours. The waves intermittently arrive at wooden platforms on the surface of the water where you'll face off against a Swordsman. Match the Swordsman's sworded movements with your candle until frying him to a flaky crisp, and remember to catch the next wave after you defeat him to continue through the watery lair. The surging waves carry you upwards into the boss ghost's chamber where you must make a final stand.

Boss Ghost: Bermuda Ghost: The ghost's upper human body shows off aged gray hair, mustache and beard,; and wears a white captain's hat, dark blue navy uniform, and two golden bars on the sides of his chest. The ghost's lower body resembles a ghastly warship fully fitted with double-barrel ironclad cannons. The Bermuda Ghost floats into his water-logged chamber from which he can summon watery vortices, fire his booming guns, or charge straight at you. The ghost ship rams you immediately after dimming the tiny lights inside the golden bars on its chest, so jump over the massive vessel to avoid its impact. Fire away at the ghost's upper body should you happen to land on the ship's deck, before jumping over to the room's other side thus escaping the cannons returning shots when they swivel around. Dodge the cannon blasts, swim away from the vortices upon their appearance, and burn away at the ghost's upper body until the ship completely breaks down. The ghost leaves behind an inactive warship which served as its host body before dissipating into nothingness, and a small marble 3. Telly picks up the marble 3 just before he's teleported back to the main gathering room.

BTW: The tip about frying a water enemy to a flaky crisp, the Swordsman, came from MST 3K: Devilfish.
Halloween, it's the scariest time of the year, the Count.Last edited by The Count on 09-11-2002 at 10:25 PM

 

[The Count]

Barkley

_Here's the game's next level.

Guest & Number: Barkley (SS), Small Marble 4.
Room/Area: Dogged Ramparts.
Enemies: Ghost Bats: Transparent white bats found inside the tower section of the ramparts.
Skulls: Grayed skulls loaded with a firing gun inside their opening jaws.
Bonelocks: Ash gray skeletons handcuffed to the walls who sometimes break free, chasing after intruders.
Bonepress: Blue-bodied machines fronted by white bones cut widthwise in half stuck into the tower walls.
Horsemen Rooks: Black horseheaded chesspieces who speedily run in angled patterns or in straight lines.
Dirtballers: Small, brown, round-bodied robots whose heads and bodies are merged into one. They wear light brown gloves and boots bordered by a fringe of green grass, white jumpsuits, and dark blue overalls. These spirits launch muddy dirtballs at all who dare tread upon their hillside homes.

Level Layout: Barkley enters through a black door or flap surrounded by blue-grayish bricks into a smoky brown walled doghouse tower supported by white bone columns. Flights of gray steps facing forward connect one floor with the next leading to the bottom floor, where a white bone archway opens out onto the lightly gray tiled castle ramparts that overlook an alley lane flanked by two hilly bluffs. The Ghost Bats resemble white balls of fluff hanging from the ceiling when dormant, but you can get rid of them upon their awakening with a single blast from the candle hanging around Barkley's collar. Skulls drop their jaws and fire off the pipegun inside them from their position on a shelf's edge located next to the steps. Shoot at the yellows of the Skulls' eyes until the heads explode to access both the steps and the following floor below. Bonelocks present a double danger: first, shackles from the skeletons lining the walls reach out in order to grab you and drain away some of your energy, so burn the shackles once and they'll recoil letting you pass; second, some of the skeletons break free from their chains and start marching straight towards you, so torch these walking bones before they clog your path. Don't stomp these skeletons, for they'll reconstitute their bodily frames a few seconds after crumbling into a pile of bones on the ground. Avoid the Bonepresses coming out from both sidewalls by correctly timing your run through the gaps in between their crunching slams! Study the Horsemen Rooks running patterns so you'll know when to fire your candle in defense or leap out of the way when one rushes past you, thus making it surpass the rampart's edge and no longer be considered a threat. Climb down a grassy hill at the ramparts' end where you'll find some new enemies, the Dirtballers. These little guys who inhabit the hills and hate strangers throw muddy dirtballs at anyone they see after popping up from underground holes, so torch the robot bodies to rid yourself of these annoying pests. Cross the alley lane underneath the bridge upon which the ramparts are constructed to reach a grassy hill on the other side of the lane, destroying any Horseman Rooks and walking Bonelocks who may block your progress. Burn any remaining Dirtballers while ascending the second hill, until you reach the boss ghost's chamber where the final fight takes place.

Boss Ghost: Hound Ghost: His bodily form appears as an oversized black phantom dog wearing an orange spike-studded collar around his neck and gleaming silver hubcapped wheels placed over his ankles giving him greater mobility. His attacks include wildly metallic scratching claws, a rumbling tremor caused by his ghostly howls, and his spiked collar thrown as a deadly stabbing boomerang ring. Counter the Hound Ghost's claw attacks with your candle flaregun, burning away at the ghost's body. Jump out of the way when he howls so as to avoid both the shakedown and being run over by the Hound Ghost. Leap over the ring when thrown, and once again when it returns to the boss ghost. If Barkley catches the boomering, then he gets to use it against the Hound Ghost himself! Scorch the Hound Ghost untils he gives up one final howl. The ghost leaves behind an oversized toy dog which served as its host body before dissipating into nothingness, and a small marble 4. Barkley picks up the marble 4 with the spiked boomering now around his collar, ready to be instantly teleported back to the main Muppet gathering room.

BTW: The outside design of the area; including the ramparts bridge, hillsides, and alley lane, were modeled after the end credits of Sesame Street during the mid-1980's where Big Bird and some other kids chased Barkley through a rolicking romp as a nod to the seriously hardcore fans.
Halloween, it's the scariest time of the year, the Count.