WONDERS OF THE WEB Wonders of the Web-- where genius creates a legend. This is the place where I talk about the sites that inspire me-- not necessarily to be a better designer, but a better *artist*. :) (Please note that I made this particular section in 2003, which means that its practically ancient in terms of both screencaps and tech. It's here for posterity, so don't flame if you disagree. Chances are, even my tastes have changed by this time.) Orisinal.com is the playground of designer Ferry Halim. At the rate of a new Flash game every other month, he is the true God of All Things Fun. Orisinal featues dozens of gorgeously animated games, chock-full of original graphics and lush sounds. Also home to a few of Halim's flash experiments, this site proves that not all cutting edge technology has to take itself too seriously. 2Advanced.com is a design folio site that has never failed to impress me. No matter what version it put out, the technology and techniques it utilized were always cutting edge. Eric Jordan, the man who began the phenomenon, has truly set the bar for Flash sites; 2advanced is a perfect blend of sound, motion, and design. Ninjai.com is the home of the infamous Little Ninja. Featuring the once-every-two-months animated series of Ninjai, this cartoon stetches the limits of Flash animation. A pleasing blend of image and sound, this site quite possibly features the best voice acting (of the main character only) that I have ever heard on the net. Definitely a must-visit. Goober.nu is the folio site of Ola Bergner. While maintaining technique on par with that of Ninjai (if not better), what is amazing about Goober shorts is that only one man is behind each and every single one of them. Bergner is truly a one-man circus-- from sketch to design to animation, all of it comes from his pen. (If you view nothing else in this site, view Nim's Winter Story; you won't regret it.) Gaijin.com was probably the only site on this list that I had to debate long and hard over. It is considered run-of-the-mill now, and is hardly something new and exciting in terms of technology. However, Gaijin was on-line before any of the other sites here were-- back in the dawn of time when URLs were still free and server space belonged only to IT companies. Back then, Gaijin was already using Flash. Back when the only font one ever saw on-site was times new roman, Gaijin sported flash loading screens and animated navigation bars. So, here for the sake of history, I present Gaijin.com Go back in time and revel in its change. Days in a Day is an art site that I came across when viewing the winners for Flash Forward's 2003 contest. It's an art site, plain and simple, and it sports the internet as a medium to represent itself. It has no purpose, no meaning, save for the fact that it exists. If you wish to become lost in pointless beauty, this is the site for you. Neostream.com is a gorgeously scripted design folio that features the most user-sensitive flash character known to man. You can push him, punch him, trip him, and beat him up. He sports a new spiffy transition animation every time you shift to view the sections and sub-sections, and he is the smoothest bit of flash I've ever seen. Points off for the almost painfully slow loading time, but aside from that, this site is perfect.