neopets is the opiate of the masses

Essentially, Neopets won’t ever be even close to it’s former glory, its bustling fanbase of children and adults, unless it makes some serious changes to the entire game itself. I’m talkin about Neopets rescripting to be an MMORPG, or to be entirely 3D Animal Jam-esque models and scrap other things all together. That’s what it looked like at SDCC, at least. Neopets needs to break its own rules a bit, while incorporating the old story elements and flash pages somewhere else. And if we want it to survive, to see our pet pages not lead to a 404 error in the next few years, we have to be okay with that, and encourage it.

The thing with Neopets that breaks my heart, is that people who aren’t currently players will see content of it, feel the nostalgia, and will try to check back in only to see the site a complicated jumble of activities. They will be greeted with an interface that hasn’t been properly updated since 2007, stripped of both nostalgia and practicality. Even with the tutorial, it’s hard for new and returning players to unearth all the activities and mini-board cultures beyond playing and feeding with your pet. And that’s NOT to mention how so many of the funner aspects of the site (like the Roleplay boards) are now ghost towns thanks to over-moderation. Tamagotchi, Furby, and Webkinz are developing new things to reach people thru nostalgia and innovation. New pets, new LED lights, mobile connectivity. Neopets has remained in an awkward, post-nostalgia pre-evolution stasis since being robbed of its charm by Viacom.

you know what? i deserve a 2007 neopets™ gifted teenage escape roleplay

i will never care how ugly or offbrand the decision is, as long as neopets ventures into new things i am always delighted to try it because i am desperately clinging onto any sense of fleeting childhood happiness that jumpstart will offer.