Gaming on Neopets
.-+^*’*^+-. CSS/HTML Vector Queen looking for co-ownies to make a scribble guild. ❤❤
I’d frequently post headers like these as advertisements on the “Guild” community board on an online game called Neopets, either searching for others like me to create a sub-community (guild) or advertising my already-made guild. Neopets is a website where children can create virtual pets and play games. Within the website is a community of people that assemble through the chat boards where only people over the age of 13 could access. The categories of chats people could participate in included subjects on the virtual stock market, buying and selling virtual items, discovering new places, and guilds where people would organize and advertise clubs- or “guilds” as they called it. These guilds were essentially groups that further narrowed the focus of interests in this already interest-driven participation website. The themes of guilds was an indicator of what that guild would discuss. In this case, a “scribble” guild would appeal to those interested in “scribble” or cute, hand-drawn graphics. Within the community, people would help each other improve and hone their skills in different computer graphic programs, creating content for the guild and its members. Making guilds was essentially its own game in that the guilds with the highest amount of members and activity would win respect, popularity, fame, and prestige. I always sought a leadership role for the recognition.
The example above would only be the title of my advertisement in search for qualified co-owners (rehashed into “co-ownies” for cuteness’s sake to match the “scribble”, original and hand-drawn-from-scratch, theme). In order to attract more clicks, one would have to make their text ad more appealing with the use of characters, hence the decorations on both sides. Once clicked, more information inside the thread would first list my “resume” reduced to a few lines:
name: misty
age: 14
css/html: both
programs: PS7
past experience: leader of rosebud(200+), co-ownie of teaLEAF(100+)
portfolio: (insert link to a webpage hosted by neopets here)
Names were often fake, and people often chose names they’ve probably wanted to be called by. Age indicated the level of maturity, experience, and free-time someone had. Kids who were 11 years old wouldn’t be taken as seriously. Kids would think older people were weird or uncool. And people in the college-age group would probably be too busy with their school work to contribute to the guild’s growth. Guilds were customizable, so CSS and HTML languages were allowed to create layouts. The layout particularly referred to the graphics created on the forefront of the guild. It was a pretty big deal considering it’s what people saw and what would attract them to join, as the guild’s own chat room would be private and limited to its members. The programs one would use to create these layouts would dictate what that person is capable of doing. For example, different programs have different features. If one had the same program as I did, they could potentially create the same level of quality work I could produce. And if they didn’t, I could make a tutorial or guide them through the process. Past experience shows what other popular guilds you were able to create, implying that if you’ve done it once, you can do it again. The amount of people in the guild indicated how many people you were able to attract to join, which shows how well your tastes and skills in creating original content/graphics were received. It also reveals how many people you are capable of managing on your quest to attain more members. And lastly, the portfolio is a showcase of your past work from your past guilds, giving potential members and potential co-owners a taste of what to expect and what direction you want the guild to go.
Below my own example, I’d copy and paste the same survey (highlighted in the bold) I had just filled in, expecting someone with similar experience to help create the guild with.
Once people would fill out the form, I would begin the process of selecting who I thought was most qualified for the position. People chosen were often those that have owned guilds with many members, which shows their capabilities in advertising and contributing to their guilds’ popularity.
Advertising, like the layout, was one of the biggest contributing factors to the guild’s success. Because without advertising, people would be unaware of its existence. Though advertising could practically be done by any member, it was most often done by the people who felt more obligation to doing it- the leaders themselves. Like the first example of an advertisement, one had to make different textual designs to attract attention. And once clicked, the advertisement thread would start off with the link redirecting you to the guild’s frontpage revealing the layout, maybe a few catchy lines of why you should join like “dont’ delay- join today!”. Then inside the guild’s chatroom, the creator of the board would link others to contribute to the post by “bumping” it to the top. Keeping the guild’s advertisement listed on top of the Guild chat boards was a game in and of itself because in order to win attention, your board must have the most frequent activity. So people would post random emoticons to bump the board to the top.
To ensure a guild’s success and maintain members, activity within the guild would be encouraged through frequent contests, virtual events/parties, and layout changes. Contests were games that could involve creating layouts- only the best layout would be featured and up for a week before the next change. The guild parties would be an organized time everyone would set aside in their day to log online and participate in the chatroom. Often times, parties would host giveaways where rare virtual items were given to those caught advertising for the guild. And lastly, overall layout changes showed the virtual world how much creativity the members had, as the guild front would reflect the talent of the members that could be expected inside.
If you think that this was a lot of work, it was. I spent all my free time growing up on Neopets. I didn’t just “kill time” with it… I devoted my life to it, and even have pictures of me during the holidays with me sitting in front of the computer screen. “Are you making money off of this?” my dad would ask, commenting on how many hours I would spend on it. When I replied “no,” he’d follow up: “Are you learning anything from it that can help you in the future?”
I thought about all the hard work I put into playing games to acquire currency to purchase rare items for the giveaways that taught me to be so generous and giving. I thought about the many hours I put into trying to attract people to joining through bumping the boards and how I learned that advertising is a constant action that must be done to retain relevancy within a community. I thought about how I had to learn all these coding languages and programs to present a pretty frontpage which taught me technical skills, how to be innovative, and understand what people think is aesthetically pleasing. I thought about how I had to stay up during ungodly hours to recruit people to join from around the world, teaching me about globalization way before I took COMM 10 at UCSD. I learned that your power is dictated by how many people you can influence way before the concept of “followers” appeared on newer websites and apps. I learned that the game was about marketing your business- yourself, your brand. I learned how to play the game. I learned to play it well.
That was a definite “yes”.
