killer intro, design, and interface

[rubbersharkman]

check out this site. There is a nice intro and some cool
interface stuff. Check out the ion3 animation in the products section.

http://www.destinyww.com

[Flashock]

althought the background is a bit plain,
but overall , it is easy on eye and simple to navigate.

[Hadron]

It has the same intro text as http://www.balthaser.com.

[ahab]

Man that was wierd...usually when a site copies another it is somewhat lower quality but this site was awesome even though they had the same text as balthaser. At least they changed one word...they changed 'soul' to 'spirit'.

Anyways...they stole the text from balthaser for an intro...who cares...I liked it very much...at least they presented the text differently.

[furnart]

Originally posted by rubbersharkman
check out this site. There is a nice intro and some cool
interface stuff. Check out the ion3 animation in the products section.

http://<br /> <a rel="nofollow" hre...tinyww.com</a>

VERY IMPRESIVE MY MAN!

[cfinster]

Looked very sharp and easy to navigate. I really liked the lighting effects --they were used sparingly enough to keep their impact but they also served to tie the various scenes together... Text was also larger enough to read.

[rockstarkidd]

Off-rip. Oh wait, I mean rip-off.

[NeoStealth Xero]

Yeah...the site may kick ass, but the fact still remains that they can't write their own original content. Too many sites had ripped off that text, and it gets annoying an old. Great site, but they need someone to write them some original content of their own.

[Hadron]

I hope Balthaser did not rip it off from someone. I have to say I have lurked around here for a while and nothing has impressed me more than Balthaser's site. I completely agree with the designer’s mother.

[Natasha@LUX]

I thought EYE4U.com was amazing, but when I laid eyes on Balthaser I was blown away, and then I got back up, clicked on something, and got blown away again. Well after the fourth time, I felt a lttle dizzy, but I kept clicking.
Destiny is too tight-bottomed for my taste.
I actually hate my site after seeing that!

[webstylers.org]

Originally posted by Hadron
I have to say I have lurked around here for a while and nothing has impressed me more than Balthaser's site. I completely agree with the designer’s mother.

I agree, but what about:


http://www.matinee.co.uk

That site kicks ass too.......BIG TIME

[aversion]

i don't like the style of the design but that's just because i'm a fuddy duddy, there's some great 3d stuff on there. very nice.

[Hadron]

Very cool, I still like balthaser better, but that is very good piece of eye candy.

[maxam]

Yeah I agree with the text theft. That's crazy. They should be ashamed of themselves. They bring dishonor to the Flashdom, and the original artists that take time to fully develop a site. They suck big time for that, regardless of the effects. They should be sacrificed to the Flash Gods as a example not to follow. Balthaser was the inspiration for me to learn Flash. I really used to love that site,until I created something better. Don't get me wrong, I love Balthaser's site. It's the mother of all sites for a lot of different reasons and I have great respect for it. But in eating, sleeping, and sh@ting flash for the last 4 months - my goal has been to do a site better than Balthaser. I challenge myself in this manner all the time to accelerate my learning. My site is coming out in a matter of a few months and is so action packed and really great I can't even reveal the name for business purposes. But I promise it will be worth the wait. I often frequent these boards to make sure my site is above average from the rest of the sites mentioned here. Even though it's still in production, the scenes still kick ass. I just had a person tell me they liked the look of my site more than Balthasers. So I'm definetly on the right track.

Expect original content in the form of soundtracks (and I won't be using the same ole run of the mill techno beats found at other sites). Expect some 3D animation. And a really off the wall interface that's simple to use with colors that would have you believe you are under the influence. Expect a lot of natural special effects. Don't expect any end user games. Expect special effects of the visual and audio kind that are used properly and not just there for the hell of it. I used Swish (love that app)but don't expect the default effects Swish uses, because I customized my own. Don't expect any freakin sliders or floating bubbles. Everybody is doing that. Expect a freakin movie, literally down to the preloader. But most of all, expect the unexpected. I will begin submitting scenes to Flashkit for some to take a look at my .fla time lines in a few weeks. To all the original Flash artist out there, don't stop doing what you do. My favorite sites to name a few are Bathaser,Ray of Light, and some of Mano-1's sites. But my site is going to attract a lot of attention. I'm going totally against the mainstream. Cool is an understatement. I promise to list it here for all to critique and rip apart. I like criticism - cause it makes you better at what you do some times. I can dish it and take it.

PS - Don't expect content as long as this post in length. Unlike the folks at Destiny, as you can see I have no problems writing content.


[Edited by maxam on 08-09-2000 at 10:27 AM]

[spencermckeown]

Flip, your confident. Your like my older brother who has just finished writing a book on the "E-customer". Commenting about his own the book, he said . . . "When I pick the book up and start reading, ....I think to myself this BOOK IS AMAZING!"

OK

So tell us what the URL is and we can check it until you readu. Also give us a taster. ? ? ?

Cheers

Spencer

spencer@mckeowns.org

[maxam]

I'm tempted to Email you a sample directly and spill my guts. Also unfortunately the URL is not active and won't be until early October. I may have said too much this morning. I guess I took it to heart when I saw the content theft commited against Balthaser. Those b@stards. Who do they think their audience is anyway? The Flash community is tight. Word spreads quickly and people aren't stupid to fall for a one word replacment. It's copyright infringement. Try that with my site and you'll need Johnny Cochran to save an @ss or two. Another reason why I would be reluctant to show a portion of the movie to a real Flashing individual such as your self is because the movie is so tightly interwoven and yet some what abstract that one would not understand a scene out of context with the other scene. It's one big movie. 5 years of graphics experience has taught me to never unveil a project before it's complete. A person not understanding part of movie could likely reject the whole project. I take my education and further development of Flash extremely seriously. It's the future of the internet, and if anybody disagrees they'll be taken outside and shot. Please be patient. I apologize if I came across cocky. No more trash talking from me - after this. Don't expect the site to be interactive either. Why? It's a site that will kick of the start of my newly formed designed firm and is designed to hopefully attract some clients. There may be some iteractive movies added later on in the year after I have gotten into advanced action scripting. The current movie will be a "sit be and be blown away type of site" designed to display my talents. Nuff Said
Didn't get much sleep last night. Now I've got to get back to my 3D Studio Max work for the movie. I'll be around here nosing around later. By the way does anybody know where to get the best book out on action scripting. If there is a good knowledge base out there I'd like to know, before I spend $150 on Flash Advanced Action Scripting video tapes from Lynda.com.
[Edited by maxam on 08-09-2000 at 02:27 PM]

[Hadron]

Now that’s what I call putting your credibility on the line.

[Sigma3]

Now here's a good question: why is everyone so "blown away" by Balthaser? Why is everyone panting at the thought of creating the mythical "better site"?

Have you really SEEN Balthaser, I mean really looked at it? It's a nice experience, it's dynamic and has some cool motion and content to it. But it's also not that great of a website. It's completely derivative of a slideshow or kiosk - there is nothing there truly taking advantage of modern web capabilities. If anything I give credit to the DestinyWW people for making an actual interactive website, even if they couldn't handle the "original content" aspect.

So the question - and this is THE question for designers - is why are you still trying to emulate a dead medium? The web today is moving in entirely different directions, emulating the physical and natural world. The sort of pre-defined, static movement that Balthaser offers (at least for the moment) is not exactly the cutting edge future. The one aspect of Balthaser that shines is the sound design, which is extremely well done and compliments the remainder. But haven't we seen enough of the vectorized buttons and the cheezy spinning 3d? I hope so. I'm in the business of finding a dozen better sites every single day, yet this one keeps popping up.

I would worry about the fate of any site whose only design goal was to be "better than Balthaser."

Think. Process. Discuss. Explain to me what's so compelling about Balthaser.com.

(Disclaimer before flaming commences: I'm not saying the Balthaser people don't do good work; they do. What I am saying is that their own homepage does not personally impress me.)

[vitamixmasterb12]

don't confuse dramatic with good.

there are many sites out there that push the envelope of interactivity. balthaser has a dramatic opening sequence, but that can be done with other applications. when i see a well done flash site the first thing i like to see is the actionscripting for that site. for me creative design + innovative programming = a good site.

[Hadron]

Why does Balthaser keep popping up? It must have some appeal to have the effect that it does on people. Perhaps it is Balthaser’s esoteric presentation that is so compelling.

“there is nothing there truly taking advantage of modern web capabilities”

Look again. Just what is lacking?

“The sort of pre-defined, static movement that Balthaser offers (at least for the moment) is not exactly the cutting edge future “

Neither is a candy apple red 1956 corvette, but it sure is pretty.

I think you are confusing style with implementation. Just what is the cutting edge future? It sure as hell is not HTML.

“It's completely derivative of a slideshow or kiosk”

And a damn fine extrapolation it is. I think this was the intent. Good job. Great slide show aka kiosk.

“why are you still trying to emulate a dead medium?”

What dead medium? The only medium that should be dead is HTML.

Look, Balthaser is not the BEST of everything, but it is at worst a very creative and entertaining work that has all the elements it needs to draw a crowed.

The soundtrack is outstanding!!
It’s fast and I think rather dynamic.
All the imagery, words, colors, pace, sounds, transitions etc. fit perfectly together.
You can tell the designers had FUN creating the EXPERIENCE. That sums up Balthaser. It is an experience. It is an introduction to cutting edge technology and shows a degree of freedom you will not find with other web technologies.

I guess if you really look at it then it is not the most complicated site ever created. It sure is sexy and I think that was the point.

“I'm in the business of finding a dozen better sites every single day, yet this one keeps popping up.”

That should tell you something. I see references to Balthaser on a daily basis. What makes you right and so many others wrong?

“What I am saying is that their own homepage does not personally impress me”

That really is all you can say.

“Think. Process. Discuss. Explain to me what's so compelling about Balthaser.com”

I cannot because -- “What I am saying is that their own homepage does not personally impress me”

Balthaser evokes an emotional response. It may not appeal to you but that does not mean it lacks appeal.

I witnessed the sole of balthaser studios and it was beautiful.