Why Do You DO That? An Avatar Collector’s Response

Self Expression - My mood changes from day to day, sometimes hour to hour. So does yours, your Neopets, and your dogs. What better way to tell people how you’re feeling than with an avatar? There are avatars for everything. If you’re feeling a little low, the Wocky *sigh* avatar can show that perfectly. Hit the jackpot on Scorchy Slots, a Paint Brush from Test Your Strength, and a map piece from a passing zombie all in the same day? Let everyone know with the new Lucky Dice-a-Roo avatar. If you’re feeling a bit wicked, click on your Evil Jhudora av! Feeling Silly? How about the Caption Competition or the Quiggle April Fool’s Day avs? Feeling a little snotty? How about Meuka! He’s also great for grossing out people with delicate stomachs. ;) With almost 150 different avatars, you can always find one to reflect your mood.

New Experiences - As vast a world as Neopia is, there are tons of places and things I haven’t tried. Before avatars, I had never attempted Plushie Tycoon. It just looked too difficult. With the release of the avatar, combined with my obsession with collecting them, I play daily, and enjoy it a lot. I still can’t climb over 50,000 NPs, but I’m having a great time trying. I’d never submitted a Neopian Times article before, but I’ll keep trying and improving my writing skills until I finish this goal! Shop restocking at the Chocolate Shop was an impossible mission as well, or so I thought. After four hours a night for a week straight, I earned myself several hundred thousand Neopoints, AND the Chocolate avatar! I wouldn’t have made that profit or experienced shop restocking without the incentive of the avatar.

There are also plenty of things I had done in the past, but gave up on or was no longer interested in that avatars had me trying again! On my old account, I’d own Invasion of Meridell, and hadn’t played again since. With the release of the Invasion of Meridell avatar, I’m relearning a game I loved! The same is true of the Wheels. I’d quit using most of the wheels, but with new avatars, my interest is renewed! Avatars has made certain unpopular part of the site new life with the release of avatars.

Neopian Interests - Avatars can also show what you enjoy on Neopets. If you’ve played Neoquest and Neoquest II a dozen times, you can proudly display the Bionic Cybunny, Lupe Weakling, or Devilpuss avatars! Show pride in your writing accomplishments by sporting the Neopian Times avatar, or your skills at logic puzzles with the Lenny Conundrum av. If you’re a restocker, maybe the Chocolate or the Uni Faboo avatars are your cup of borovan. Fill a stamp page? That’s quite the accomplishment. Let everyone know with one of the great stamp collecting avatars. Battledome fanatics have opportunities to show off as well with avatars from Kasuki Lu to the Black Pteri to the Space Faerie! From collectable cards to games to different species avatars, you can always find one to suit your interests in Neopia.

Friendships - The number of people I’ve met through avatar collecting is ridiculous. Avatar collectors are a diverse bunch, as you have to be to collect something that covers such a broad area. Areas of interests are unending, and opportunities for new topics of discussion are added with each new avatar. Avatar collecting also helps people share their talents with each other. If you’re great in the Battledome and I’m great at Invasion of Meridell, we can get together and trade tips to help each other out!

Hunting for avatar solutions as a group is enormous fun too! :) It also takes away a lot of the costs of trying dozens of approaches to a new avatar! Not to mention sharing of avatar items has gotten extremely popular. It takes a group of people you trust implicitly to work out avatars together. It’s not often you can find people that you’d trust that much on Neopets, but avatar collecting has introduced me to some great and trustworthy people. :)

Discipline - If you’ve taken a look at my user lookup, you'll notice that I have a hard time finishing things. I have a lot of stamps and a lot of collectable cards, but not enough of either to brag about. My problem is I have no discipline with Neopoints. If I have them, I’ll spend them. Collecting avatars is helping with this problem, as well! I set a goal, and I stick to it until I’ve accomplished it. I needed 700,000 NPs for the Orange Paint Brush for the Orange Grundo avatar, which would have been almost impossible in my early days in this game. Now I’m learning to focus on one thing, and keep at it until I get it. Avatar collecting has helped me learn how to save.

Fun - Last but not least, avatar collecting is incredibly fun! :D The anticipation of a new avatar has me checking the news time and time again. The thrill of the hunt when a new avatar is released has me trying every combination of items/shops/games/Neopedia articles/etc. until the solution to an avatar is found. Ever been one of the first people in Neopia to figure out an avatar? Now THAT is a great feeling. Try it sometime! ;)

Avatar collecting has brought a new life to Neopets for me. I am able to set new goals for myself around the site, and I’m given the incentive to try to learn new things! I’m still waiting on my Avatar Collector avatar, and a lovely gold trophy for my collection, but I’ll keep at it until I get them. Avatars are a matter of self expression, and a load of fun.