This site is operated much like a fanzine/fansite with updated episodic content in the form of cartoons. The tone of the site is very much in the vein of irreverence and silliness covering such random topics as videogames, caffeine, techno music, etc...
Homestarrunner.com features a cast of oddball characters each with their own distinct looks, voices, and personalities. The main, and probably most popular, character of the cast is named Strong Bad. He's a short, bare-chested fellow who sports a red, mexican, luchadore wrestling mask. Yes, you read that right... :)
One of the most popular sections of the site, which features Strong Bad, is called Strong Bad Emails. Here, actual letters submitted from fans are featured in the section as Strong Bad reads them aloud and then responds to them in his own, comical way. Here Strong Bad responds to an email asking about Action Figures.
Though decidedly, and probably deliberately, low on the technical proficiency or flair of many other flash powered sites, I've been a big fan of this site because of its brand of irreverent humor. Another hallmark of this site that I enjoy is how they incorporate the flash
"roll over" button functionality. During some of the cartoons found throughout the site, especially during Strong Bad Email segments, hidden roll over buttons will be placed over specific parts of the screen. Clicking on these opens up some other piece of content, usually occurring with (or above) the main segment currently in play. What makes these roll over button interactions fun, aside from the obvious fact that they are hidden, are that they are oftentimes occurring in a sort of "real-time" manner where you usually only have a short amount of time to both locate the hidden roll over area and click on it before the segment "times out." Here is an example.
(hint: keep scrolling over the text as Strong Bad types them on the monitor screen)
The very nature and implementation of these hidden roll over buttons lends a certain games element to whole package as well as helping keep readers on their toes.
What I found interesting with this site was how a specified low number of Flash functions were purposely implemented and highlighted to uniquely deliver the site's content despite the plethora of powerful features Flash offers. I feel Homestarrunner.com proves that a site need not necessarily incorporate all of the bells and whistles Flash has to offer to be an effective and entertaining one.
-Jeff J.
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