Welcome Aboard

Commodore 64 box with speech bubble sticker.

Alternate cover from the photo shoot.

The photo used for the box art, altered to remove the computer-based references.

Welcome Aboard: A Muppet Cruise to Computer Literacy is an educational computer game starring The Muppet Show characters. It was produced by Broderbund in 1984 for the Commodore 64 and Apple IIe.

A 1984 article in the magazine Compute! described the Welcome Aboard game:

“You begin your voyage with the Muppets by viewing a cross section of their ship on the computer screen. The picture of the ship is really a disguised menu. You can choose different activities by pressing the arrow keys to position a small anchor in any of the rooms, including a Message Center, Computer Room, Joke Library, Salon de Beauté, Game Room, and the Bridge.

The beauty of Welcome Aboard! is that on the surface you're playing make-believe games with the Muppets, while actually you are learning about important computer applications, such as using the computer as an electronic typewriter, post office, and file cabinet. You are learning how to create computer pictures, or graphics, and how to program the computer. And, most importantly, you are learning to take control of the computer and use it as a tool to accomplish meaningful goals.

In the Message Center, for example, you don't just write letters. Instead, you send messages to the crew of the Muppet boat, and then they send messages back to you. You can choose to edit the messages or save them on disk for later reference. On the Bridge, you use a Logo-like Muppet programming language called Slowgo to pilot the Muppets' ship across the treacherous sea to its goal — either Pig Island or Frog Island.

In the past, I've been a major critic of teaching children how to program in regular computer languages such as Logo or BASIC because I feel that programming has little meaning to a child, and it has little practical use in the child's world. In Welcome Aboard!, however, both of my criticisms have been at least partly answered. Children program the computer to help the Muppets navigate a boat (a practical task), and to help them reach their destination without sinking (a meaningful objective).”

Game screenshots

Box art

Apple IIe box

Insert

The Muppet Guide to Computerese

Credits

• Designer/Writer: George Brackett
• Programmer: Gene Kusmiak
• Graphics & Animation, Glossary Illustrations: Gene Portwood
• Designer/Writer for Henson Associates: Christopher Cerf
• Producer: Franklin E. Smith
• Art Direction: Michael K. Frith, Rick Wetzel
• Illustrator for Henson Associates/Brochure illustrated by: Lauren K. Attinello
• Project Manager for Henson Associates: Sheila Kinney
• Project Manager for Broderbund: Cricket Bird
• Game Programmer: Martin Kahn
• Contributing Writers: Henry Beard, Paul McMahon
• Photography: John E. Barrett
• Contributing Designer: Gary Carlston
• Special thanks to Mary Ann Cleary, Lauren Elliott, Joanne Koltnow, Mary Strieff, and the Ha! Photo Studio
• Brochure written by Steven Morgenstern/Morningstar Communications

External links

• Review — THE WORLD INSIDE THE COMPUTER: Muppet Roundup by Fred D'lgnazio, COMPUTE! issue #55, December 1984