On August 9th, 2000, as part of their "smart surfing" campaign, Disney launched Surf Swell Island, a game designed to teach children about proper internet behavior (or, as it was sometimes referred to at the time, including in the title of a series of animated comics released as part of the same campaign, "cybernetiquette"). Today, August 9, 2020, marks the twentieth anniversary of the release of Surf Swell, therefore, I now present to you the History of Surf Swell Island, as best it can be reconstructed from contemporary sources (all of which are listed at the end of the article) and my own research. Extant assets from the game are rare, but I have made an attempt to illustrate this article with whatever relevant images I could find. Let's begin!
Disney's smart surfing initiative was a large facet of their online presence, Disney.com, managed by Disney Online, which was established in 1995. The initiative itself was established in 1999, first in Europe and then in the United States, with the intention of setting Disney.com apart from other sites. It included such endeavors as National Smart Surfing Week, Doug's Internet Safety Page, the GetNetWise Coalition, a game called "Don't Be in the Dark", the aforementioned Cybernetiquette, and, of course, Surf Swell Island.
The creation of the game was preceded by a study known as the "Annual Surf Swell Barometer" - a study of over 4000 families designed to measure habits and thoughts about the internet, conducted by Disney.com so as to better narrow down the type of content that would appear in Surf Swell.
Throughout the early months of 2000, Disney conducted further research to determine what the media reception of the game was likely to be, and what sort of features might be expected by a general audience. Disney didn't just want to create a game - they wanted to establish themselves as a leading online brand and the top provider of internet safety tips. They wanted, as one PR agency put it at the time, to "own" internet safety. Therefore, they wanted not just a game, but a media sensation.
To achieve this end, they began an expansive promotional campaign which lasted until the game's release.
Working with the PR network MSLGROUP, Disney began their campaign, hoping to build anticipation for Surf Swell's August launch. The first promotional stunt consisted of an e-mail sent to various media personnel containing a cryptic description of the game and a wish-you-were-here postcard from the titular island. Next, a trailer was released, and sent alongside a Surf Swell Island poster to media personnel. And finally, a series of press kits were distributed.
Surf Swell Island was officially announced to the public on July 22, 2000, via a Disney press release (unfortunately, as the official Walt Disney Company press release archive only contains press releases from 2001 or later, I was unable to locate the original announcement). The release outlined the goal of Surf Swell Island, and described the game in detail, listing for the first time the individual mini-games playable within Surf Swell Island - the Cliff of Mean Manners, No Privacy Beach, and the Virus Caves, each of which would teach children lessons about internet safety, and finally, Coconut Bowling, located in Tiki Fun Stuff Village, which would recap the lessons taught in the previous games. Once these mini-games were completed, the release stated, players would be able to access the Print Hut, wherein they would have the ability to print internet safety tips, pen-and-paper activities, and a certificate stating that they had completed the game. The release also stated that the game would be updated periodically as needed.
After this announcement, the promotional campaign continued. Disney announced a "Surf Swell Island Beach Bash" - a real-world event to be hosted on launch day, August 9th. Media personnel were invited, as were over 100 children from various camps and other such organizations.
Meanwhile, the Surf Swell Island PR network, MSLGROUP, secured coverage for the launch of Surf Swell Island in over 30 newspapers, over 70 news stations, and approximately 640 radio stations, thereby ensuring extensive media coverage of the game and the smart surfing campaign as a whole. Footage related to Surf Swell Island was distributed to television stations, and five announcements about the Surf Swell Island Beach Bash were issued to the media.
On August 9th, the day of the launch, the Surf Swell Island Beach Bash was held, and children were invited to interact with media personnel in attendance. Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine the location at which the event was held, or even whether or not it was held at an actual beach, although I can only assume that it was. The launch was also marked by radio broadcasts announcing the release of the game. And, of course, there was the most important launch day event: the release of the game.
Surf Swell Island went up at surfswellisland.com, a URL which would redirect users to http://disney.go.com/family/surfswell (both of which now connect to the main Disney site).
The version of the site which went live on August 9th, 2000 - the same version that was described in the press release - was only up for a few months, before the game was updated for the first and last time in July of 2001. Information or images from this first version - Version One - of the game are extremely hard to find due to the fact that it only existed for a brief period of time, however, I'll do my best to describe it in as much detail as has been discovered.
Above, you'll see the map of Surf Swell Island which appeared in-game. Clicking on any part of the map would take the user to one of the five locations of Surf Swell Island, apparently a vacation destination with a culture themed entirely around internet safety.Upon the start of the game, a flash animation would play, showing Mickey and friends driving to the airport, where they would take off for the island. The narrator would then reveal that all of Mickey's friends had gotten themselves into tricky situations on the island, and that the player would have to rescue them in order.
The map would then appear, and the user could select a location (unlike the later Version Two, which had a flash map, the map in this version was plain HTML). Each location would feature a game themed to a particular facet of internet safety. Upon finishing each game, the player would be directed to a short quiz about what was learned in the game.
First, there was the Cliff of Mean Manners. Designed to teach about proper internet etiquette, the game featured Goofy, who, having fallen off the cliff, had landed in a tree. The player would have to judge whether phrases displayed onscreen and read aloud by an announcer were "MEAN" or "NICE" - choosing correctly would elevate Goofy to the top of the tree and to safety, while getting it wrong would leave him at the mercy of the crabs that dwell at the bottom of the cliff.
The game featured the following description: Oh no! Goofy fell off the Cliff of Mean Manners into a tree! Do you know what good Internet manners are? Right! Well, help him climb away from those crabs by answering each question correctly. When you're done, stick around to see what you've learned.
And now, my first Surf Swell Island 20th anniversary gift to you: downloadable MP3 files of each of the questions as read by the announcer of the Cliff of Mean Manners. That link will take you to a MediaFire folder of them; do with them as you please. (Oh, and here's a line spoken by the narrator in the intro, as he tells the player that they must rescue all of Mickey's friends in order.)
Next was the Virus Caves, designed to teach about the danger of internet viruses, which saw Donald trapped in the aforementioned caves with a horde of living, talking computer viruses with only a peashooter. The player would take control of Donald, aiming his peashooter at the viruses and firing to stop them from conquering his computer. Each defeated virus would yield a blue file with which the Duck could repair his device.
The game featured the following description: Hey! Look who's stuck in the Virus Caves! Get Donald out of there before those yucky viruses jump into his computer and wreck it! Use your pea-shooter to shoot the mean, green viruses and pick up as many happy, blues files as you can. When you're done, stick around to see what you've learned.
Up next was No Privacy Beach, which starred Minnie, who had planned to relax on Surf Swell Island's beach, but gave her information to an online stranger and now finds herself stalked by mysterious people with cameras. The player would have to click the pests (including people with periscopes and menacing men) as they popped up from their hiding places, while a talking parrot nearby would explain that one should never give out information on the internet.
The game featured the following description: Uh-oh! Minnie gave her name, address and vacation information to that stranger on the Internet! Now Privacy Beach is No Privacy Beach! Help her get rid of all those nosy pests by clicking on them as they pop up. When you're done, stick around to see what you've learned.
And now for a second gift: downloadable MP3 files of all of the parrot's lines. Enjoy!
Finally, there was Coconut Bowling, a game hosted by Tiki Bob, a resident of the island, in Tiki Fun Stuff Village. In the game, players would take control of Mickey as he entered the Surf Swell Island Bowling Tournament, and would have to answer questions recapping the lessons of every other game. When a question was answered correctly, Tiki Bob would hand over four of the twenty coconuts necessary for completing the game. Upon gaining all coconuts, the player could start the game, upon winning, the player would gain access to the Print Hut.
The game featured the following description: Welcome to Tiki Fun Stuff Village! Before playing Coconut Bowling, Tiki Bob wants to review all that we've learned. Every correct answer earns you 4 coconuts. You need 20 to play. Good luck!
Above, you can see the Print Hut in all (well, most of) its glory, in what may be the only surviving image of Version One aside from the map. As you can see, the printable items included a certificate, a coloring page, a Virus Caves maze, a Cliff of Mean Manners maze, a word puzzle, three printable tiki heads, and a list of "top 10 smart surfing tips". A wallpaper was also available. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the actual files for any of these things - had I managed to do so, I'd have offered them here for download, but alas, we must make do with the thumbnail images above.
(To the left, you'll see a resident of Surf Swell Island who may or may not be the above-mentioned Tiki Bob, and who may also - judging by the limbs - be Mickey Mouse himself wearing a mask - I have been unable to confirm, as no footage or images from Coconut Bowling exist as far as I know. Nevertheless, I have made an attempt to create a version of the image of this mysterious person with no blue line running through it; I present it to you below)
Because there are so few images from the game itself, I'll also show you the only surviving images of the 'Feedback' page and a mysterious page labeled only 'Beach Party' (possibly originally featuring images from the Beach Bash event, although this is only speculation), below.
From here on out, this History will be much less sparsely illustrated - there are plenty of images from Version Two for me to choose from.
Above, you'll see the map of Version Two. The shape of the island is broadly similar, but there are many differences, chiefly the games, most of which have been changed completely. Let's take a look at the two maps side by side to compare:
Here we can see that the island is the same general shape in both, but the specifics of the landscape have changed. What was once the Cliffs of Mean Manners now has a waterfall flowing down it (and there's a possible narrative explanation for that, too - as we will soon see, the Privacy Falls can be blocked off by a dam). Someone has apparently constructed a door at the entrance of the Virus Caves - to keep the Viruses in, no doubt - and removed the skull-rock formation (presumably to increase tourism, although it doesn't seem to be working - note that the fancy cruise ship has been swapped out for a much smaller boat). No Privacy Beach seems to have been closed, with the lifeguard chair removed - and I can see why. The Temple of Tact, meanwhile, has been constructed between the central peak and the volcano - and the Tiki Fun Stuff Village behind it appears to be gone (note, though, that the boat in the Village was reused as the boat in the water on the second map, while one of those huts is now on the beach facing the other direction). The Challenge of Doom has been set up on the volcano, and, finally, the Print Hut had been removed, and the Treasure Palace has been erected atop the mountain in its place.
Now, then, on to the games!
Many things have been changed from Version One - the Cliffs of Mean Manners has been replaced by the Temple of Tact, No Privacy Beach has been replaced by Privacy Falls, Coconut Bowling has been replaced by the Challenge of Doom, and the Print Hut has been replaced by the Treasure Palace. The Virus Caves are still around, but they've been renamed "Virus Cave", in the singular.
Version Two started with a loading screen on which the player could solve a shuffled image of a Surf Swell mask while waiting.
Version Two also featured an intro in which Mickey and the gang travel to Surf Swell Island, where they are greeted at the shore by someone known as "The Great Tiki" (seen above).
First up in Version Two were the Privacy Falls. This game, featuring Mickey and Minnie, was designed to teach about privacy on the internet, much like No Privacy Beach. Questions about what information should or should not be revealed on the internet were displayed on a sign held by a statue, and also read by an announcer much as questions were in Version One.
Players would have to choose "Yes" or "No", and, when all of the questions had been answered correctly, a dam would stem the flow of the Falls, allowing access to the minigame's "Challenge Chamber" - a new feature that would follow each of the Version Two minigames, requiring the player to answer more in-depth questions about the topic on a representation of a handheld computer that would appear onscreen (meant to "acknowledge the wireless movement", because, in the words of Disney themselves, "children will soon be able to access the Internet through their handheld computer games and other wireless devices.")
Upon the completion of the Challenge Chamber, the player would receive a jewel which would slot into a small totem, as well as one word of a sentence displayed on the bottom of the screen - in the case of Privacy Falls' Challenge Chamber, a red jewel and the word "Always."
Next, the Virus Cave. This version of the game was quite similar to that found in Version One. Viruses would emerge from all sides, heading for the Surf Swell Island mainframe computer contained deep in the caves. Donald, now wielding some sort of electric zapping device instead of a peashooter, faced them once again, and the player, again, had to click on the viruses to defeat them. Upon their defeat, the Viruses would tell about the sort of damage that they could have caused had they reached the computer - things such as "I could have crashed your hard drive" and "I like the taste of picture files". If the player did not manage to stop the Viruses in time, the screens of the computer would be replaced by a red screen and a blinking "System Error" message, until every screen had been virus'd and the player was forced to restart.
If every Virus was defeated, though, the computer would pull into the wall, allowing access to the next Challenge Chamber, where questions about computer viruses would have to be answered, the completion of which would award a blue jewel and the word "Be".
Now, onto the Temple of Tact. This game, like the Cliff of Mean Manners, was designed to teach proper internet etiquette. Once again featuring Goofy, this game took the form of a temple with a locked door that Goofy needed to open. In the first round, words would be displayed on Goofy's handheld computer, and the player would have to select the corresponding emoticons displayed on the temple door to open it. In round two, a second door would appear, and Goofy's handheld computer would display "mean" phrases - the player would have to select the corresponding "nice" versions of those phrases from the door.
Once both doors were open, the player would proceed into the final Challenge Chamber. Once all of the questions were answered, the player would be rewarded with a green jewel and the word "Cyber".
Finally, it was on to the Challenge of Doom. In this minigame, starring Mickey, the player would have to answer all of the questions from the Challenge Chamber over again, each question making Mickey move further up the mountain towards the Treasure Palace, through three areas - the rope bridge, the rock climb, and the vines.
Once this was done, Mickey would retrieve the final jewel - a yellow one - and the final word of the sentence, "Smart", would be revealed, making, all together, "Always be Cyber-Smart!"
Now the player could proceed to the Treasure Palace, where rewards were available. These included a printable "Certificate of Swellness" (available in color or black and white), a set of emailable e-cards (one featuring the Temple of Tact, one featuring the Virus Cave, one featuring Privacy Falls, one featuring the Challenge of Doom, and one featuring the completed totem with all of the jewels set in it), and a "Comic Creator" that allowed the player to match a Surf Swell character (Mickey, Minnie, the Great Tiki, or a Virus) with custom text and print it.
I have uploaded a full-size image of the color certificate below:
And there you have it! Everything that Version Two had to offer.Version Two was taken down from the American site sometime in the early 2010s. The Australian and United Kingdom versions (which featured an Australian-accented narrator in place of the American-accented actor of the U.S. Version Two) lasted longer, staying up until 2016 - but they, too, were taken down. Now, all Disney.com has in the way of internet safety is this list and a page on their Timon and Pumbaa safety site.
Now, I give you the final set of Surf Swell Island 20th anniversary gifts:
First, here are downloadable MP3 files of all of the music from the first version of the game: https://app.mediafire.com/nkrspq6uj0agh. Give 'em a listen - some of them are pretty good, for what they are!
And, finally, here's the entire second version of the game, as an swf file: https://app.mediafire.com/fp5s3lmywt7zd. That folder also features separate swf files for each of the games, should you want to play them separately (note: the comic creator only works properly in the separate file, not in the full game file). Also included are the original pdfs of the glossary, teacher's guide, and parents' guide provided by Disney, the Certificate of Swellness, and the background image of the website on which the game was hosted.
If anyone reading this has any more information about Surf Swell Island, don't hesitate to contact me!
Well, I guess there's only one thing left to say - this chat room's lame, I'm outta here! Er, I mean, happy twentieth anniversary to Surf Swell Island!
Sources:
Disney.com to launch to Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety by Laughingplace.com (July 2000)
With special thanks to
the Internet Archive, for the invaluable assistance they provide in researching any defunct website
and
Aristide Twain, for telling me about Surf Swell Island in the first place.