A Blast from the Past

A giant pink Meepit blinked in our faces. ‘You are not prepared,’ it declared. It was spot on, for most of us did not expect what was to come. Questions filled the board, and we all waited not-so-patiently for TNT to reveal their much anticipated news. What on earth could it be? Questions filled the minds of Neopians.

“Is Sloth really a good guy? Fyora is actually a Meepit in disguise? Jelly World actually exists?!”

No, no and definitely no. But one thing was certain; the Meepit was just a sneaky diversion tactic and Neopets as we knew it was about to change. It was out with the old and in with the new. Simply put, Neopets was given a face-lift. From the bright yellow sidebar and original pets, almost everything was replaced and updated. We were given a new streamlined navigation, new art, pets and pet poses.

Yet the layout and updated art were just the tip of the iceberg. There was another change, something that had been requested for years; the handy and exciting option to dress our pets. In other words, Neopians were given the chance to finally customize their pets to their liking. However, like most things, this came at a cost. New art meant that the majority of the old, yet desired art was changed; loved pets were given new looks and poses. Many looked almost unrecognizable.

Conversion, as it is known, refers to the option to convert your pet with old-style art pet into the most recent and updated art which you can view at the Rainbow Pool. Expensive-painted and rare zapped pets such as Royal Kyrii, Faerie Draiks and MSP Poogles stayed the same and their lucky owners were given the option to keep these pets the way they were or ‘convert’ them. Some owners couldn’t wait to dress up their pets and chose to convert their rare and expensively painted pets. Others couldn’t dare part with their beloved pets, and chose to keep them just as they were.

This left two types of pets; converted and unconverted. One glance at the Pound Chat boards instantly reveals that unconverted pets are desired and sought after as you can no longer create or paint pets with the old art. To many players, an unconverted grey pet is just as ‘valuable’ as and ‘worth’ a painted Krawk or Draik... although that’s a whole ‘nother story!

Trading pets with other users became a huge part of the site due to the implementation of the transfer system. Rather than transferring pets via the pound, which was always a very risky thing to do, particularly with painted pets, users are now able to use the transfer system to safely move their pets from one account to another. It’s a great option, although it’s important to note that the transfer option is limited to one ‘in’ and ‘out’ transfer per account each month. But one is better than none!

Customization is now a big part of the new and modern Neopets. The NC mall opened and people went crazy, buying clothes and accessories for their pets. It would be an understatement to suggest that some users went crazy over this new alternative to customizing their darling pets. If they want their ghost Lupe to wear a tutu and don a pair of sparkly wings, nothing will stop them from doing so. Everywhere you look, pets are wearing the latest fashion from the NC Mall. Converted or unconverted, there’s something for everyone. While unconverted pets aren’t able to wear clothes, they can show off their trinkets and proudly display their backgrounds.

For most, the change that took place in April 2007 was unexpected. Even the Island Mystic could not predict such a thing. For others, they believed it was bound to happen sooner or later. Many phrased the new layout, others complained that it was too hard to navigate; a lot of us needed time to get used to it. Many criticised the new art, others love it. Nearly three years later, customization has certainly had an impact on how people feel about the new art.

“I love the new art now,” says one Neopian. “I didn’t at first, but I’ve grown to like it and I don’t know what I’d do without the option to customize and dress up my pets!”

Another user says, “Customizing my pets is fun. I’ve spent a lot of real life money on NC, but it’s worth it because my pets each have an individual personality and their clothes reflect that. They’re unique now.”

Since 1999, Neopets has made a lot of changes. Whether you are a new player and just learning the ropes of trading pets, avatar collecting, etc, or an older player who proudly displays a six year shield on your lookup, Neopets has something for everyone. It’s always fun to reminisce about what used to be. Who could forget the faceless faeries, or when the now cutesy Bruce resembled a cheesy-grinned man in a tuxedo. What about Macy Gray (yes, I’m not kidding) and Quiggles that resembled crazy blobs? And let’s not forget the Wockies that look like they had been drawn by a two year old.

Every so often new colours are introduced, with the latest and greatest being Magma. Old Neopians may remember unicorn, stone and glass paint brushes that are old and deactivated colours. Now there are over 45 paint brushes, plus lab only colours such as jelly, ice and all of the fruit/veg colours exclusive to Chias, Kikos (garlic, chokato, clay) and JubJubs (garlic, coconut, clay). Zombie, faerie, grey, biscuit, Maraquan, silver, the list goes on. Who knows what might be introduced next. Maybe a ‘grandparent paint brush’, where pets don beards and walking sticks?

In ten years, Neopets has evolved into the site we know and spend hours of our life on. Each day new things are introduced, items are retired and the site is always changing. For as long as it is around, Neopets will always change. Users will come and go, new games will be added and who knows... maybe there’ll be another drastic site change in another three years. Only time will tell!