Numbering it makes it better to respond
1) I use smaller pics because I don't want them to be too large for smaller screens. Transparent would be an option, but cutting them out and then have them looking well on our different templates is a bit tricky. Oro is cut out, and does not look that nice really.
If you can make them fit in nicely, I am open to any size / dimension.
2) That is a very good idea - never thought of it myself. But it would make villages feel more alive.
Can be managed by using a different CSS file. I can include that when loading the page.
Another option (discouraged) would be javascript-set. But that would still show a plain background a few microseconds, and that might be displeasing.
If you know HTML, you can use i.e. FireBug (Extension for FF) to check out the general template DIVs and such, they are pretty much the same names for IDs and classes.
3) Certainly. I believe we have either here a few with pictures.
Yokai or other Ghosts would be fine, yes.
We can also add more / other enemies there.
Towns:
1) any image can be shipped to the web browser, the browser needs to display it. If you check out the village map -> that is a generated map by the server. It takes a basic picture + paints the location etc etc on it when the site loads.
nifty, but I can do "on the fly" modifications for images.
Animated gifs are something I deliberated did not put in -> the rest of the site would be awfully static, and animated gifs are just repeating the same thing endlessly ...
we could, if you want, program something "lively" with JQuery (yet not used on SL). Though that would be a different effort
Tiny movements should be ok in a gif.
2) Any is okay. I usually have for a few towns 1-3 pictures in it that get chosen randomly on page load.
3) See 1 + In this case, animated gifs might be okay, because they are repeating the same thing, and it looks more "natural".
Mini bosses: We should see what the players alltogether think about that, I am "in-between".
I usually played the game doing other things beside it, so I liked the static pages =)
@work
Any work you do is welcome and I won't bicker if you don't find the time to do all this =)