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If All Avatars Were A Coincidence!


by willie12_15

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The recent events in outer space caused a big controversy when items previously known as junk became more valuable than anyone (even TNT themselves!) could have predicted. We all thought it would take some time before we saw such controversy in the boards- Oh, how wrong we were.

Soon after the countdown reached zero, people started reporting what kind of prizes they could receive on the soon to be new daily- A lot of people received a whole lot of nothing, others rejoiced when the machine gave them neopoints, items, or pet stats, whilst others became extremely sad when the machine decided to take away their stuff. Me, I even got lottery tickets, quite interesting I thought. But a new kind of prize arrived to the scene, a prize no one could have ever predicted- Avatars.

Game avatars, stamp avatars, even avatars from long gone plots, it seemed everything was permitted- I do not recall seeing so much fury on the boards. The situation it seems close to is when the War bosses in the Obelisk War last year of certain factions were defeated by a single person before everyone could have a chance of fighting for their faction. Well, just like when Envy and Wrath fell earlier than their time had come, TNT promptly stepped in and tried to fix the issue, this time by removing the avatar awarding Random Event. Permanently? Temporarily with the purpose of tweaking it? With the intention of being temporary, but then to end up forgetting about it forever? Well, only TNT knows that. But nobody can stop the users from giving their opinion in the matter, and that's what this article is about- To give you my informed opinion in the matter, and hopefully help you form your own.

Well, first of all, let's understand that there are four big groups who voice their opinion on the matter, and they are the following:

Avatars should NOT be awarded by The Coincidence.

This seems to be the group with the majority. No matter what, they seem to think avatars are off limits to be awarded by a random event. A lot of these people seem to be someone that worked really hard and spent a lot of money to get an avatar, or simply people with a very straightforward sense of justice that just think, "If you didn't earn it, then you shouldn't have it."

Avatars should be awarded by The Coincidence.

This is a small group, in fact, I've only encountered about five people who think like this. They think all avatars should be awarded, as long as the Event that gives them is rare enough.

Maybe some avatars should be awarded by The Coincidence...?

The group I currently stand in, it tries to find some sort of bridge that can make everyone happy. Little does it know, that that is something that cannot ever be achieved. I'll discuss more about this later.

Meh.

The group I was in at first before deciding to give more thought to the matter. They don't care, and don't see why it is such a big deal. This is the group I hope to make an influence to join one of the other three.

So now that you know that I believe maybe The Coincidence should give some avatars, but not all, I'd like to tell you what avatars I feel could be added, and why that is. Remember, this is my opinion, and you are free to disagree. :)

  • Clickable Avatars

These avatars are the ones you can get by simply visiting places in Neopia. There's one if you visit a certain statue in the Hall of Heroes, for instance. Also, the ones you get for visiting certain species of pets with a certain age, or another specific thing. I debated on this for a while, because I can't see a reason not to add them, but I cannot see a reason to add them as well. They are easy enough to get around the site, especially if you follow one of those guides fansites have to offer. My final opinion is that they should NOT be added. They can encourage the player to explore the site, and discover places they were not aware of. Everyone can go ahead and get them, and everyone SHOULD go ahead and get them.

  • Random Avatars

This was the easiest one to decide- YES, random avatars should definitely be awarded by The Coincidence. It IS a random event machine after all, right?

The hard part is, what defines a random avatar? Sloth and The Tooth Faerie are clear choices- But how about Snowager? The Wheels avatars? Turmaculus? They are essentially random, but also require some sort of "other thing". Risking getting blasted by the Snowager, calculating the turmy hour, spending NP... It seems we're dependent on TNT's definition of a "random" avatar for this one, and that's something I'm mostly okay with.

  • Item based avatars

Just like the Random Category was a big "yes, yes!", this one is a big "no, no!". Items are something you need to achieve on your own, and it's very much unfair for someone to spend months or years saving for an item with the sole purpose of getting the avatar associated with it, just for someone getting it with a single stroke of luck.

  • Games/Competition based avatars

Another big "no, no!", and the reasons are very much the same as for the item based avatars. A high score, a competition you won, are things you battled to get. Luck had little to do with the matter (unless you're talking about the Spacerocked avatar. I admit avatars for luck based games are what kept me from deciding about this one for a while).

  • Pet specifics avatars

Now, this one is really something personal. I have only one account, and only one pet. He's the only pet I've had for five years, and it will probably be that way for a while. But having avatars that force you to have certain pets to get them, that's what keeps me from saying it for certain. Having the Coincidence giving me these avatars without the need to adopt a pet just with the intent of obtaining an avatar? That'd be awesome. Again, there's too much personal preference clouding my judgement to be able to make an informed, neutral decision. D:

  • Annual Avatars

Same thing as clickables. No point in giving them out because they're easy enough to get, no point in not giving them because nobody would get upset about it. Like before, I defend they should not be given.

  • Retired Avatars

Oh boy. This. This is the big one.

And it's probably the most dividing to think about, because most of us can see both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, most of us missed plenty of plots and events. Who wouldn't want to get that "Free Jhuidah" avatar that was only available way before you even knew about Neopets, or that "Atlas of the Ancients" avatar that was given just one month before you joined?

On the other hand, you also have that "Ruined" avatar and the thought of someone who didn't experienced what you did in The Faeries' Ruin getting it just for fetching some items to Dr. Landelbrot feels somehow wrong.

It's definitely a predicament, and right now, these are the only ones I have not a clear answer for, though honestly, I lean more to "should not get awarded". See it as selfishness, if you will, that is just my opinion.

So overall, I think avatars are a neat prize to get, as long as the system is properly regulated and is not as chaotic as the Dr. loves things to be. I hope TNT fix this however they see it's better for the wonderful community, and I hope my arguments helped you form some opinions on the matter, or perhaps change yours!

Until next time, have a great day!

 
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