How Do You Feel About Robot Pets?

Robot pets are quite unique because different parts of their casing can be removed to create different looks, revealing the wires and circuitry pulsing underneath. Some people will remove all the casing from their Robot pets, opting for the ultimate “scare” effect by exposing the electronic skeleton. Some people will keep all the casing on, preferring the “sleek” look by flaunting the stylish metal shell.

There’s a new movement of people who customize their Robot pets in special ways, however. Some will take off most of the Robot casing and leave just one part covered, while others will keep most of the Robot casing on and leave just one part exposed. The look just screams “assimilation”!

So what’s your own take on Robot pets? To find out, I posted a poll on several different Neoboards. The answers I received were quite insightful and interesting, and revealed a lot about each Neoboard’s personality! Read on, my curious readers, to find out how different segments of Neopia feel about their Robot pets!

Question: Do Robot pets look better with, or without, their shiny metal casing?

Battledome Neoboard: Most Battledomers preferred the look of Robot pets with their casing on! This surprised me, since Robot pets without casing are notorious for being the scariest-looking pets in Neopia (yes, even scarier than Mutant pets!). I thought that Battledomers would prefer the fiercer-looking pets to the sleeker-looking pets, but it seems that in this case, the polished look has won out!

Customisation Neoboard: Most Customizers gave mixed reviews, such as “It depends on the species” and “It depends on the shell.” Most of them customized their Robot pets depending on the individual looks for each species. For instance, someone kept the shell on their Robot Lupe and Robot Buzz, but took it off for their Robot Draik. Customizers (no surprise) were also the most willing to add extra clothes and trinkets to their Robot pets.

Help Neoboard: The Help chatters were similar to the Customizers in that they gave mixed reviews. One user even admitted that Robot pets without the casing tend to scare her, but also insisted that they also look cooler that way. The Help chatters were most intrepid of the Neoboard bunch. Several users admitted that Robot pets without their casings looked creepy but still preferred them that way!

Virtupets Neoboard: The Virtupets chatters were diverse in their opinions. Some preferred the casing on, and some preferred the casing off. One joker said that “they should be scrapped and used to make soda cans. Something useful.” What a bizarre suggestion!

Question: If you own a Robot pet, do you change its look frequently?

Battledome Neoboard: Most Battledomers tended to keep the look of their Robot pets the same style week after week. They settled on a specific look and stuck with it for long periods of time.

Customisation Neoboard: Most Customizers tended to alter the look of their Robot pets frequently. They were the most willing to add items of clothing that weren’t necessarily robotic, such as removing pieces of shell to don a hat or a coat.

Help Neoboard: Most Help chatters kept the original Robot casing on their pets, rather than removing them altogether and customizing them with non-Robot clothes and accessories. They liked the look of smooth metal casing.

Virtupets Neoboard: None of the Virtupets chatters I interviewed owned Robot pets, so this question was moot.

Question: Do Robot pets without their casing on scare you?

Battledome Neoboard: The majority response was yes, Robot pets without their casings on were scary. What a surprise, coming from those brave and courageous Battledomers!

Customisation Neoboard: Most people on this Neoboard were not scared at all by Robot pets lacking casings! They casually took off the Robot shells at whim, depending on what they wanted the overall look to be, and depending on what they wanted their Robot pets to wear, such as masks and shirts. One user even said that Robot pets without their casings “look more exposed and weak if anything.”

Help Neoboard: Around half of the Help chatters were scared by Robot pets that weren’t wearing their casings, while the other half were not. Much of it depended on the individual look for each species.

Virtupets Neoboard: The Virtupets chatters were noncommittal, meaning they didn’t care either way. Robot pets were just cool, period. Every single one!

Question: Do you think Robot pets are rare?

Battledome Neoboard: The general attitude on this Neoboard seemed to be “rare, but not as rare as they used to be,” mostly due to the One-Use Robotification Zappermajig given out as a plot prize from the Return of Dr. Sloth plot. People were still impressed by Robot pets despite their slightly reduced rarity in the Neopian population.

Customisation Neoboard: The response was similar to the response given by the Battledome Neoboard in that the Robot pets were still rare, but slightly more prevalent due to the plot prize.

Help Neoboard: The Help chatters viewed Robot pets as being semi-rare. They were desirable due to the fact that Robot can only be obtained through the Secret Laboratory Ray and the One-Use Robotification Zappermajig.

Virtupets Neoboard: The Virtupets chatters thought Robot pets were rare and highly desirable.

Question: Given the choice, would you adopt a Robot pet?

Battledome Neoboard: The Battledomers weren’t really interested in adopting Robot pets. This is probably due to the fact that Battledomers are more interested in stats, weapons, and battle wins than in their pet’s appearance.

Customisation Neoboard: The Customizers weren’t really interested in adopting Robot pets, either! With all the customization options open to pets of every species, why set your heart on adopting a Robot pet?

Help Neoboard: The Help chatters were biased in favor of Robot pets that had good names. Around half were interested in adopting Robot pets, while the others weren’t.

Virtupets Neoboard: The Virtupets chatters loved Robot pets. They also mentioned their love of Robot Petpets, which are more attainable than Robot Neopets due to the existence of a Robot Petpet Paint Brush that costs around 88,000 Neopoints.

Question: Do you consider Robots to be the “good” pets, while Mutants are the “bad” pets?

Battledome Neoboard: The overwhelming response was that Robot pets are good pets, and that Mutant pets are not bad but misunderstood. There was a lot of love shown towards both Robot and Mutant pets, to be perfectly honest.

Customisation Neoboard: All pets are good pets, according to the Customizers. Some just do bad things. -wink-

Help Neoboard: All pets could be either good or bad pets, depending on the personalities of their owners.

Virtupets Neoboard: Robot pets are good, while Mutant pets are really cute!

This ends my survey of the different attitudes of each Neoboard towards Robot pets! My reasoning behind the selection of each Neoboard was simple: finding out whether the Battledomers have any opinions about their pets other than their stats; finding out whether the Customizers have more experience with Robot customization than any other Neoboard; finding whether the most populous Neoboard, the Help Neoboard, illustrates the majority view; and finding out whether the Virtupets Neoboard is more fond of Robot pets than any other Neoboard (being the most galactic/technological Neoboard). And the results were quite informative!

I’d like to end my article on a sunny note, so here is a Robot joke to amuse you. Enjoy!

Q: Why did the Robot Lupe turn into a Ghost Lupe?

A: He just couldn't rust in peace!

-ducks rotten tomatoes-

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article! Stay tuned for more of my articles about painted pets, and please take good care of your beautiful Robots!