If you look up my account on Neopets, moonseedtwayblade, at the time of writing this the cute little plaque with the Flotsam on it will tell you that Ive been a member for one week. This is not entirely accurate. The account, yes, is about one week old (actually, now I think its over a week old), but I have been a member of Neopia for much longer than a week. To explain, its probably best that I start from the beginning.
I believe it was about five or six years ago that I first discovered the wonderful world of Neopets. At that time, Terror Mountain was freshly discovered and the Grarrl had just gone through a makeover, as I recall it anyway (and my memory is rather fuzzy). The site had come up as a pop-up ad. I thought it was cute. I joined, and I adopted a few pets, and I played for a few weeks, maybe a month. I wasnt serious about it, though. Not then.
It couldnt have been too long later maybe as early as six months before I started up again. And this time, I cared. I cared a lot. I got involved. I had up to a dozen accounts, maybe more (this was before account number restrictions, but I never once cheated). I roleplayed a lot on the roleplaying forum, sometimes with original characters, but more often than not with my Lupes. I was really heavily into the Lupe Pack Roleplaying culture that was popular at the time. This kept up for at least a couple years. Then, well I admit, I got a couple accounts frozen. I let a couple stupid words slip, unthinkingly, and I was punished hard for it. Oh, I persevered for awhile, but I was disheartened, and slowly I just came to give up entirely.
I dont know how long it was before I started up again, but by the time I did, Neopets had changed a lot. Or perhaps it had already changed and I was only just noticing it. You know, they say that, if you do it gradually enough, you can freeze or fry a frog and they wont even notice anythings wrong? Maybe it was like that. Whatever it was, coming back into Neopets at that time was like diving into a cold pool. Prices on Neopia had skyrocketed. Sponsor games and sponsor-related paraphernalia had infiltrated every inch of the site, like parasites. This wasnt the adorable pet-adoption game I remembered from so many years ago. This was a mass-marketing ploy, one huge advertisement geared towards kids. I tried to play around it but it was upsetting. It wasnt long before I gave up again.
I think its been about a year and a half, maybe two years since then. Now Ive gotten hooked in again. You know why? Because this game has a great premise. And its adorable. And its fun. And, quite frankly, its just too hard for me to resist. Now, though, rather than bottle up all my little irritations about the state of the site and all my spontaneous ideas on how to better the gaming experience now Im going to vent everything. And if youd like, you may listen.
Now, some of my viewpoints may sound a little cynical. Or, more appropriately, they may sound like the rantings and ramblings of some crotchety old geezer (and at 18, by Neopian standards, I am a geezer). Still, I feel the need to speak up for those of us who remember a more innocent Neopia, and for those of us who still hope for a Neopia one step better than that. I am advocating for a Neopia for everyone, a place where the children and their parents can have fun together oh wait. I think thats what Walt Disney said when he founded Disneyland. – moonseedtwayblade
Wwesome piece of content once again. Your website is in my Google reader feed and I check to read what you’ve written at least twice per week. You entertain me. Thanks for all the great stuff.