Camp Chaos
By John Evans
Camp Chaos is a website that provides satirical and irreverent media
content to today's hip and cynical web surfers.
In today's world, there's a lot to make fun of. Economically, it
should make sense that someone would come along to fill this niche,
and Camp Chaos has thrown their hat into the ring. Camp Chaos mostly
deals in satirical Flash cartoons, animation with occasional bits
of interactivity. Their "flagship" cartoon series is of
course the (in)famous "Napster Bad". The original "Napster
Bad" features a hyperactive, extraordinarily profane Lars Ulrich
and a monosyllabic James Hetfield of Incredible Hulk proportions ranting
(quite hypocritically) about how Napster is costing them money. Hence,
"Napster BAD!". The series continued throughout the saga
of Napster, with episodes like "Metallicops", "Metallica
Millionaire", "Sue All the World", "Napster Dead?",
"Napster Bad Special Fucking Edition" and "Bizarro
Napster Bad". Of course, Camp Chaos didn't rest on their lampooning
such popular culture mainstays as the 2000 election ("Flori-Duh!"),
Jackass ("Grabass") and reality shows like Big Brother ("They
Shoved a Camera Up My Ass!"). Camp Chaos also features entertaining
original Flash comics such as "Monkey For President" (starring
the Camp Chaos mascot), "Puke-n-Chunder" (a twisted comedy
about roommates), "This Thing of Ours" ("The Only Mafia
Cartoon. Ever.") and "The New Adventures of Nippleman &
Teat-Mutt" (you can probably guess).
Of course, there's more to Camp Chaos than cartoons. They offer some
simple (but fun) Flash-based games, including the Napster Bad spinoff
"Fire Bad - the Combustible Video Game". "The Idiot
Box" is another interesting feature, showcasing outtakes of famous
celebrities swearing blue streaks as well as various prank calls.
(Britney Spears cursing is kind of disappointing, but Isaac Hayes
is worth the wait.) These files use RealPlayer software for streaming
audio. Camp Chaos also issues "trading cards", small downloadable
programs containing more parody images. These cards come in series
that are only available for limited times, and some are apparently
offered at random times during the day, making them actually collectible.
When I was there last, the theme was video game parodies like "Mario
Rave Party" and "Womb Raider". Camp Chaos also hosts
a periodic web-radio show called "Wild Takes", where top
industry players talk about the future of Flash and web animation.
And finally, there is of course the merchandise section, where you
can buy official "Napster Bad" caps and T-shirts, as well
as other Camp Chaos stuff.
Camp Chaos could be just another Flash site, but in my opinion they
have several things going for them that could set them above other
sites. They've obviously tapped into a vein of parody that appeals
to today's surfers, as evidenced by the reported 5 million downloads
in the first week of "Napster Bad"'s release. They also
know how to develop and franchise series, creating recurrent characters
like the monkey, Nutty McShithead, Nippleman & Teat Mutt and even
Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield themselves. They continue to update
and evolve with new features all the time. All of this adds up to
brand-building, something every company strives for. I think Camp
Chaos will be successful for a long time to come.