1000 Avatars: How We Can Get There

     In this article, I have listed 500 avatar ideas (rounded up from the 470 needed to make 1000 total). Hopefully, with these ideas, we can quickly reach the 1000 avatar milestone! These avatar ideas are designed to give players new goals to achieve, new ways to express themselves, and new ways to explore Neopia. Additionally, these ideas remain faithful to the existing avatars in that their solutions are inspired by the previous avatar solutions. These solutions also offer a range of difficulties, from one-click solutions to end-game milestones. With the introduction of several new avatars, Neopians will have more goals, more ways to engage with the site, and more opportunities to catch up to veteran avatar collectors.

     In the interest of keeping this article a manageable size, I have included many avatars that are similar to one another, with a generic naming template that can be applied to every avatar of that type. In other words, the set of avatars called “[Pet] Fan” would include avatars called “Acara Fan,” “Aisha Fan,” etc. Below, I organise the avatar ideas by type, and I keep track of the number of avatar ideas via a running total counter at the end of each section.

      Defaults:

      There are several avatars that are available to all users by default, including ones representing each type of elemental Faerie (such a Fire Faerie and Air Faerie) and most of the Neopets species. These avatars are designed to give people who aren’t avatar collectors some options to represent themselves when posting in the Neoboards or sending a Neomail. However, a new default avatar hasn’t been released since 2006, so I think that it is time for an update!

      Vandagyre - As the newest Neopet species, the Vandagyre is the only species that does not have a default avatar associated with it. This default avatar is sorely needed!

     Pride Flags (15) - What better way to let users express themselves than to allow a wide range of pride flag default avatars! To be maximally inclusive, I suggest the following flags: Lesbian, Gay Men, Bisexual, Pansexual, Asexual, Trans, Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Intersex, Aromantic, Disability, and Two Spirit. I also suggest several options for “umbrella” flags for the sake of variety: the Traditional Pride Flag, the Intersex-Inclusive Pride Flag, and the Queer Flag. Having the widest range of flags possible would allow players to pick the one that represents them the most, so this category should be open to suggestions from the community as well.

     Running Total: 16

      Clickables:

      “Clickable” avatars refer to avatars that merely require visiting a certain page on Neopets, meaning they are available with just a single “click.” Some people might say that these avatars are pointless “fillers” since they require minimal effort, but I like to look at them in a different way: they require players to explore every area in Neopia. Also, since the current list of clickable avatars requires you to visit the lookup of a Neopet with certain features, I have included some avatars requiring a visit to a Neopet’s lookup as well.

      Explorer (9) - Visit a certain place in Neopia. I suggest the following obscure places: Igneot’s Cavern, Glass Bottom Boat Tours, Old Maraqua, Tyrannian War Memorial, Tyrammet Village, Wanderer Camp, The Forgotten Graveyard, Xendrick Mansion, and Neopets Masks.

      Petpet Protector - View the lookup of a Pet who has won a PPL award. PPL winners are so rare that spotting one should be acknowledged.

      Fancy! - View the lookup of a Pet who has won a Customization award. Customization Spotlight awards are so rare that I think they should be admired!

     Running Total: 27

      Games:

      Avatars awarded for games are notorious for bringing Neopians to their wit’s end. The skill and patience required for such avatars makes them truly coveted by collectors, separating the casual avatar fans from the true over-achievers. Additionally, I think that including more avatars for these games could make the site explode with activity, giving players the incentive to play games that have not been relevant in some time.

      - Top 50 (212) - Achieve a top-50 place on the high score table of the respective game at the time that avatars are awarded. So far, there are five games that have avatars for getting in the top 50 on their high score table (Maths Nightmare, Escape from Meridell Castle, Kiss the Mortog, Brain Tree Quest, and Avatar Collector), and I genuinely believe that TNT should implement an equivalent avatar for every game that has a high score list. The top-50 avatar reward would serve as a runner-up prize for every game, with trophies awarded to only the most impressive scores. This way, Neopians will be encouraged to play every game on the site, driving engagement and competition. If we add up all of active high score lists– including the more obscure ones like the cumulative high score tables, the Stamp and Collectable Cards high scores tables, and the high score tables for being taxed– and subtract the five high score tables that already have avatars, we are left with 212 high score table avatars. Ideally, TNT should release all 212 top-50 avatars in an absurdly short amount of time, ensuring maximum site-wide mayhem (and engagement!).

      Player (3) - Participate in the tournament for the specified Multiplayer Game. Kacheekers, Geos, and Armada are fun, but I have noticed that participation in the tournaments has been quite low. Making an entry-level avatar for each multiplayer game tournament could reignite interest in those games.

     Double Prizes - Send a score for that day’s Featured Game. This entry-level game avatar can help to teach new players about the Featured Game system.

      Bankrupt - Go bankrupt in Plushie Tycoon. There is already an avatar for making a profit in Plushie Tycoon, but what if there were another avatar for the other extreme: complete bankruptcy. This is also an avatar that I might use during the weeks directly after I empty my bank account to buy more stamps.

      Daily Puzzler - Complete a Daily Puzzle. I only recently realised that this feature existed, and I know that an avatar would have brought it to my attention way sooner.

      Dizzy - Take your Pet to ride on the Roo Island Merry Go Round. This site feature is one that I regularly forget exists, and I believe that an avatar would bring attention to it.

      Scratchcard Cybunny - Win a prize from a Lost Desert Scratchcard. Since both of the other two scratchcard types have avatars, I think that it is only fair that the Lost Desert Scratchcards get one, too!

      Sooo Huunggrryyy… - Complete an Esophagor Quest. Other quests give avatars, so I think that the Esophagor should award one as well. Additionally, the Esophagor is such an iconic Neopets character that I am surprised there isn’t already an avatar featuring him.

      Underwater Chef - Complete a Mystery Island Kitchen Quest. The Kitchen Quest is the only quest other than the Esophagor’s quest that does not award an avatar, so this avatar would provide balance.

     Bagatelle - Win a prize from Bagatelle. I might actually play this daily if there were an avatar associated with it!

     The MVP - Achieve rank of All Star in the Altador Cup. The dedication it takes to achieve the All Star rank deserves the highest recognition!

     Favourite Games - Mark 15 games as one of your Favourites. Until I researched this article, I did not know that older accounts can favourite more games than newer accounts can. Favouriting 15 games requires your account to be at least 19 months old, so this avatar could serve as a reward for loyal Neopians.

     Haunted House - Complete “The Haunted House” choose-your-own adventure game. I had no idea that the game existed until I researched for this article!

     Storyteller - Win the Storytelling Competition 10 times.

     Artist - Have your art published in the Art Gallery 10 times.

     Poet - Have a poem published in the Poetry Gallery 10 times. I think that the Storytelling Competition, the Art Gallery, and the Poetry Gallery should all have avatars analogous to the existing avatar Neopian Times Star, which requires you to publish 10 works in the Neopian Times.

     Running Total: 256

      Battledome:

      Although the revamped Battledome has shown some promise, the current challenges leave little reward, and the most rewarding battles can be beaten relatively effortlessly. New avatars would give Neopians more of an incentive to train their Pets, purchase Battledome equipment, and learn Battledome strategies. Engaging more aspects of the Battledome could even inspire Neopians to engage with the Battledome community!

      Destroyer (100) - Defeat [challenger] on Hard Mode. There are currently 100 available Battledome opponents (including the Battleground of the Obelisk challengers), and there is currently little incentive to beat most of them, and even less of an incentive to beat them on Hard Mode. These challenges would cover the widest possible range of difficulties, giving Neopians achievable goals throughout their Battledome training journey.

     Battledome Champion! - Beat all 100 challengers on Hard Mode. This would be quite an accomplishment and should be rewarded!

     Sparring - Participate in a two-player battle. This will give new battlers an introduction to two-player battling without the pressure to actually win.

     Winner! - Win 10 two-player battles. This is a natural step up from Sparring, giving players an incentive to improve their battling skills.

     Gladiator - Win 100 two-player battles. This avatar would require even more dedication to two-player battles.

     From the Top Rope! - Get a total score of 1,000,000 points in the Battledome. Although the Battledome records keep track of a score based on your total Battledome wins, these numbers currently have little meaning. An avatar associated with the total score would give use to this feature.

      Bully - Get 100,000 total points against a single opponent in the battledome. Just as the Battledome records keep track of your total score, they also list the total points for each opponent individually. This feature should also be put to use.

     Salty - Defeat a battledome opponent with a Salt Mote. This idea is inspired by how often I feel salty over petty grievances, and that it would be nice to have an avatar to represent that feeling. This avatar could alternatively be awarded for being defeated by a Salt Mote.

     Running Total: 360

      Items:

      Item avatars play an essential role in the Neopets economy, as they give additional value to any item that is associated with one. Neopets items themselves are also strangely iconic: I have lost track of the number of times I have said in real life, “That sounds like a Neopets item!” Additionally, there are many items that have strange effects that many people may not know about. Therefore, the following list of avatar ideas are designed to stimulate the Neopets economy, to acknowledge iconic Neopets items, and to highlight the unusual effects of obscure items.

      To design avatars that would be good for the Neopets economy, I focused on solutions that require the user to consume items, effectively lowering the supply of that item while raising its demand. Additionally, I have included some avatars that act as a Neopoint sink to curb inflation.

      End of the Rainbow - Using a Paint Brush at the Rainbow Pool. With all of the ways that you can change your Pet’s colour nowadays, I wonder if I have ever actually used a Paint Brush at the Rainbow Pool, and I think that is a real shame!

     Splash of Colour - Use a Petpet Paint Brush at the Petpet Puddle.

     Infested! - Have a Petpetpet from your inventory attach to your active Pet’s Petpet.

     Avid Reader - Neopian - Awarded for being in the top 50 of the Neopian Book Award high score table when trophies are awarded.

     Avid Reader - Booktastic - Awarded for being in the top 50 of the Booktastic Book Award high score table when trophies are awarded.

     Connoisseur - Awarded for being in the top 50 of the Gourmet Club high score table when trophies are awarded. Although there is already a prize for being in the top 200 of these high score tables (the Honorary awards), I think that there should be an award for the top 50 as well, just as with the game high scores. This gives players an achievable milestone between 200th place and 17th place (which awards the Bronze trophy).

     Ice Cream Cart - Use an Ice Cream Machine Coupon at the Ice Cream Cart.

     Neocola Enjoyer - Use Neocola Token at Neocola Machine.

     Stocking Stuffer - Open a Stocking that gives other items.

     Party Favour - Open a Goodie Bag. This avatar solution would include Birthday Goodie Bags and Halloween Goodie Bags.

     Convention Participant - Open a Usukicon Gift Bag

     Treasure Hunter - Open a Treasure Chest.

     Magical Plushie - Play with your Pet using a Magical Plushie. This action makes the plushie disappear and transforms your Pet into the colour and species of the plushie.

     Portable Rainbow Fountain - Use a Flask of Rainbow Fountain Water on your Pet.

     Swirly Potion - Mysterious - Use a Mysterious Swirly Potion on your Pet.

     Swirly Potion - Rainbow - Use a Rainbow Swirly Potion on your Pet.

     Retro - Use an 8-bit Powerup Potion on your Pet.

     Strange Reaction - Use a Mutox Syrup on a Grundo. Doing this changes your Grundo to the colour Mutant.

     Super Worker - Use a Job Coupon at the Faerieland Employment Agency.

     Down the Hatch! - Go home with leftovers after eating at The Golden Dubloon. This avatar is analogous to the existing avatar Bon Appétit, except that it takes place at a different restaurant that requires dubloons.

     Cured - Cure your Pet’s illness with an item.

     Got a Freebie! - Awarded when a book read to your Pet doesn’t disappear. Trying for this avatar would require players to consume many books.

     Divided - Paint a Pet using a Split Paint Brush at the Rainbow Pool.

     Swamped - Paint a Pet using a Swamp Gas Paint Brush at the Rainbow Pool. This avatar is another idea that could help Neopians display their current mood.

     Too Rich - Have your Pet read the book Grimoire of Opulence. This book would be a new sequel to the Grimoire series and would be sold at the Hidden Tower for 100,000,000 NP.

     Next, I have included items with unusual effects to showcase unique items that many Neopians might not know about, including items that give more items, items that change your Pet’s colour or species (or both!), and items that give other items.

      Too Flour-y - Use Chia Flour or Kacheek Flour against an opponent in the Battledome. Doing this changes your opponent into a Yellow Chia and a Blue Kacheek respectively.

     A Taste of Turnip Tonic - Use a Turnip Tonic on your Pet. This changes the Pet to a default colour (red, yellow, green, or blue).

     Unexpected Consequences - Use a Potato Potion on your Pet. This changes the Pet into a Brown Kiko.

     Mysterious Kaleideonegg - Feed a Kaleideonegg to your Pet. This changes the Pet to a default colour and has the chance to increase their Level or Hit Points stat by zero or one.

     Tuskaninny - Oops - Feed a Witchy Negg and have it change the Pet into a Tuskaninny. This is one of many effects that the Witchy Negg can cause at random.

     Becoming More Dense - Eat a Pumpkin Negg to increase weight and decrease height of pet.

     Vengeful Lenny - Have your Pet read Vengeful Scroll. Doing this changes your Pet into a Pink Lenny.

     Making a Gnome - Have your Pet play with a Gnome Making Kit.

     Meal Prep - Open a Picnic Hamper or Packed Lunch.

     New Grub Friend - Feed a Bitten Green Apple to a Pet and have it leave behind a Wriggling Grub. This effect is random.

     Cracker - What’s Inside? - Open a Cracker.

     How Lovely... - Have your Pet read Curse of the Foul Odour. Doing this will give you a Pile of Dung and the book Being Stinky.

     Doctor’s Orders - Open a Doctors Bag.

     Wondrous Negg - Feed your Pet a Negg that gives more items.

     Allergies - Have your Pet catch an illness by feeding them an item that their species is allergic to. This includes feeding a Kyrii an Apple, feeding a Skeith some Cheese, feeding a Quiggle some Cream, and feeding a Tonu a Negg.

      Finally, I have listed several avatar ideas that I think reflect the most iconic items in Neopia. Additionally, I have included some ideas involving items that I like in particular, because this is my list and I can include whatever I want.

     Petpet Wrangler - Have 50 unique Petpets in your inventory.

     Lupe - Ferocious - Feed a Lupe an item with the word “Chia” in it. This is a reference to the site lore that the Lupes eat Chias.

     Dressed to the Nines - Have 500 unique items in your Closet.

     Lutari Paint Brush - Refresh in your inventory with a Lutari Paint Brush. This avatar would finally give this item some use!

     Historian - Have 25 unique books containing the word “History” in your inventory.

     Scientist - Have 10 unique science books in your inventory. This would include books containing the word “Science,” “Biology,” “Physics,” or “Anatomy.”

     Mathematician - Have 10 unique math books in your inventory. This would include books containing the word “Math” or “Statistics.”

     Anagram Sword Collector - Have all 6 unique anagram swords in your inventory. These include the Sword of Skardsen, the Sword of Tawre, the Sword of Ari, the Sword of Thare, the Sword of Thigl, and the Sword of Reif.

     Artists on Vacation - Have 20 unique Artist Day’s Off items in your inventory.

     Puppet Master - Have 50 unique items with the word “puppet” in your inventory.

     Scorchstone Collector - Have all 12 unique Scorchstones in your inventory. This would be a particularly coveted avatar due to the popularity (and expensive price!) of Scorchstones.

     Draik - Hydra - Dress a Draik in the Hydra Draik outfit. This includes the Heads, Body, Tail, and Wings.

     Pondering - Have 10 unique items containing the word “Orb” in your inventory.

     Bard - Have 50 unique Instruments in your inventory.

     You Scream - Have 50 unique edible items containing the words “Ice Cream.”

     Suit Up - Equip 8 Battledome items to a single Pet.

     Generous - Donate a rarity 99 item to the Money Tree.

     Assorted Snow Puffs - Have all 7 unique Snow Puffs in your inventory.

     Assorted Brucicles - Have 30 unique Brucicles in your inventory.

     Moving In - Put 50 items into your Shed at once using the Quickstock feature.

     That’s the Tea - Feed your Pet an item containing the word “Tea.”

     Running Total: 424

      Annually Available:

      Annually Available Avatars give Neopians something to look forward to and add extra excitement to Neopian holidays. There are, however, some annual events and holidays that lack avatars, and I think that this should be remedied!

      [Pet] Day! (55) - On the day celebrating a particular Neopet species, visit the lookup of your Neopet of that species. There should be 55 versions of this avatar to cover all 55 Neopet species.

      [Holiday] (12) - Visit the New Features page on the particular Neopian Holiday. In addition to the Neopian Species Days and the Neopian Holidays that already have avatars, there are 12 other Neopian holidays that do not have avatars associated with them, such as Tyrannian Victory Day and Discovery of Meridell Day.

      Illusen Day - Clover - Get a clover from Pick Your Own on Illusen Day. Although Illusen Day already has an avatar, I find that, every year, I see long-item players learning about the Pick Your Own clovers that are only available on Illusen Day. An avatar would bring attention to this feature.

      Scamander-in-chief - Grab a Scamander from the Money Tree during the yearly Scamander Swarm. The Money Tree fills with Scamanders every October 12th, and I nearly forget about it every year! This avatar would draw attention to this event.

      Limited Edition - Create a Restricted pet when they're released for their Pet day.

      Scores Galore! - Send 5 scores in one game during Scores Galore. This event occurs as part of the Neopets Birthday celebrations, and I always forget about it entirely!

      I Did My Part! - Vote at least once during the Neopies event.

      Countdown! - Log in between 11:00:00 pm and 11:59:59 pm NST on New Year’s Eve.

      Candy Hunt - Collect all goodie bags on Halloween. Every year, I see veteran players suddenly learn about the yearly trick-or-treating event for the first time. An avatar would bring this site feature to everyone’s attention!

      Kiko Match - Pumpkin - Send a score in Kiko Match II on Halloween. Did you know that, on Halloween, some of the Kikos in Kiko Match II are replaced by Halloween Kikos? This avatar would highlight this obscure fact about Kiko Match.

      Kiko Match - Christmas - Send a score in Kiko Match II on Christmas Day. This time, the Kikos instead turn into Christmas Kikos!

      Running Total: 500

     Conclusion

     With these 500 avatar ideas, I have listed ways to improve the Neopets economy, to explore little-known facts about Neopia, and to celebrate every Neopian holiday and event. Additionally, I have provided ideas for giving Neopians additional challenges in every facet of the site, including Battledome challenges, game challenges, and collection-based challenges. These ideas, if implemented, would increase site engagement, especially from long-time players who have run out of avatars to collect. Hopefully, many new avatars will be added in the future, so that we can one day reach 1000 total avatars!