Hey, since I have a program that can convert SWF files to WMV (with varying results), I can upload those to YouTube, unless of course someone has already.
EDIT: Unfortunately, the converted files only have the backgrounds for the visual footage, although the audio is pretty much there.
Your effort is appreciated lol
I'm working on making a video for my channel showcasing that PLL has been found. Once that's complete, I'll be working on uploading the shorts to YouTube. I actually created a channel just for this lol. Look for updates within the next few days!
I CAN'T BELIEVE I WENT 4 MONTHS WITHOUT HEARING ABOUT THIS.
Guess that's what I get for not being active here lol
In any case, this is the moment I've always hoped for, but never thought would become a reality. After the site being shut down for 10+ years, very few files left in the public, and the death of flash, I truly thought the search was over. I'd pretty much given up hope of finding more PLL and had moved on. But this is...wow...I'm at a loss for words lmao
Thank you soooo much for not only downloading these files (and keeping them for 12+ years), but sharing them to the public!!
and thank you to everyone else who has helped out in the search for PLL!!
1) I decided that it was time to give PLL a proper LMW article. I had one on the old LMW Wikia site, but it's extremely outdated and didn't go into nearly as much detail. Check out the new article here!!
2) A small update, but I think I found a new lead. Dave McMahon is an artist and creative director who, according to his portfolio, worked on PLL in 2007. I tried emailing him, though he has yet to respond.
3) Finally, More PLL footage was found!! It's the Watch segment from the "Online Safety" episode, and was uploaded to Newgrounds in early 2009.<NSFW Link>
There was a problem with this version, however. Unlike the "Water Cycle" footage uploaded by the same user, this version contained many edits (Quinn was a pothead, NSFW images in the search results, etc). Thankfully, after getting the swf (and after many, many, MANY headaches with SoThink's Decompiler and Flash), I was able to undo most of these changes and get a version that more closely resembled the original episode.
Additionally, if you go to the archived version of the website, it's possible to download some worksheets from the trial courses!
Congrats on the find!! Glad to see more people are joining the search
This also got me thinking......since the Water Cycle video was found on Newgrounds, and now this one on Comdotgame, maybe other Flash game/animation sites would be a good place to look.
Btw, have you heard anything back from 360KID yet?
While I haven't gotten a reply from anyone at 2A!, I did get a response from Scott Traylor, head of 360KID. He told me that while he still does have the front-end content for PLL, he's unable to share it for legal reasons. Can't really say I'm surprised there.
"Yes, my company developed a majority of the assets for Pokémon Learning League. I have all front-end content........Over the years I have been asked many times to share what I have related to PLL. Sadly there are some legalities in place that prevent me from doing so in a broader way."
He did, however, mention that he has plans to give a lecture on PLL at a school in New York, talking about the creative process and even showing a few episodes as examples.
"I recently gave a lecture at a university in New York about the process of developing PLL. During that lecture I shared about three episodes from the service and described in some detail how the site was created, and all the players that were involved in it’s making, right down to marketing and research. The presentation was recorded on video, but we discovered afterwards there was a problem with the recording. I have everything still available to record another presentation, but have been too busy to do so."
As for now, that presentation sounds like our best bet for more clips/info regarding PLL. 2A! could very well respond soon, and Entropy Multimedia (who created all of PLL's back-end data) might be a good lead, but I'm also a bit afraid that legal issues might get in the way of us getting clips from either comapnies. Maybe we could try contacting The Pokemon Company or showing them that there's interest?
After some more research, I think I found a new lead
The images here were made by Two Animators! LLC (2A!), another company behind PLL. They created the character's vector art, and even animated a few lessons. They still have a page on their website dedictaed to PLL, and even show a short, muted snippet of Ash and Pikachu in their 2007 demo reel (at the 1:23 mark).
2A!, like 360KID, also seems to still be farily active, with multiple social media accounts and an email adress listed on their website. I'll be emailing both of these companies sometime either tonight or tommorow, and hopefully we'll at least be able to get some more info soon, if not some more clips
I was the one who uploaded the video to Youtube. At that pont, I'd been searching for actual footage for years. I found it on Newgrounds after someone on the old LMW wikia directed me there. It's not much (the interactive segments are still lost), but it was nice to finally have something that wasn't another screenshot or slideshow.
Anyway, some other interesting things I found while researching Pokemon Learning League (PLL) include:
2) The site can technically be accessed via the Wayback Machine. However, most of the site's flash content wasn't archived. This does give us an idea of the site's layout, but unfortunately, since PLL was created in flash, none of the actual lessons are accessible.
3) The series was written and animated by a company named 360KID. They still have PLL listed on their portfolio page, and even show a small snippet of Ash throwing a Pokeball in their animation reel (which is odd, since PLL was shutdown sometime between 2009-2010, while this reel seems to be from 2012). They also seem to be pretty active on social media, having accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, so contacting them through one of these methods might help us get more info.
Hope this helps and that it won't be long before new info/clips surface!