Only On Neopets!

Then I had a rather humorous epiphany. Perhaps my owning a brand new computer every couple of years was causing my downfall? I mean, how easy would Ice Cream Machine be if my computer was a ratty old thing that was slow and easy to play Flash games on? This realization made me open my eyes wide and laugh out loud. Only a Neopian would wish for a horribly old, outdated computer!

Inspired, I thought it would be cool to collect a list of Neopian quirks that are unique to the players on this site and no other. Plus, I love having an excuse to talk on the Neoboards. It's my favorite form of entertainment on here! I headed to the Neoboards and asked the players: "What are your quirks on Neopets, quirks that are unique to this site?" I got many interesting replies!

Many people admitted that they're slobs in real life, but totally neurotic when it comes to Neopets. For example: one player admitted that she has three laundry baskets full of dirty clothes in the basement, dirty dishes piled in the kitchen sink, and other household things to take care of, but her computer is organized straight as a pin. She has a folder for Neopets screenies, a folder for her Neopian Times comics, and a folder containing her personal user info. Her favorite bookmarks are organized at the top of her web browser, separated into: dailies; favorite shops; favorite Neoboards; and reference links such as the Rainbow Pool and the Soup Kitchen.

Another player mentioned a very unique Neopets quirk that he has, something he doesn't have on any other site. He actually WISHES a bad Random Event will come and steal all his money! Apparently you can get on a high score list by having millions of Neopoints stolen from you by the Tax Beast. I thought this was definitely a very peculiar perk, one that only exists on Neopets!

One player had another unique Neopets quirk. She actually WANTED her pet to be miserable! At the time of the writing of this article, her Acara is sad and crying…and she wouldn't have it any other way! Only on Neopets would the artwork on a sad pet be so amazing that it's better to have a sad pet than a happy one. Thanks, TNT artists, for bringing so much life and character to our beloved pets!

Many people insisted that the places on the site that can be customized by the players, such as our User Lookups and Petpages, helped them to learn HTML and CSS. They were all so grateful for this aspect of the site! Many of them, having been bitten by the coding bug, have gone on to study graphic design and computer programming in college…and they have Neopets to thank for it! This is definitely something unique to the Neopets website, something that happens on no other gaming site that I can think of.

One player stated something interesting, something I never considered before, because I don't play on any other gaming sites. He said that with other gaming sites, "everything you do, has to be done by only you." You have to create your own pet or character, you have to train it, you have to battle with it, and you have to earn gold and treasure by exploring the virtual landscape. With Neopets, most of those difficulties are eliminated! There are plenty of zappers-and-pounders who zap pets with their Secret Laboratory Rays and give the pets away as soon as they become interesting colors. You can always trade a painted pet for someone else's battle pet. And most rewarding of all, you don't have to be good at games or battling in order to enjoy Neopets. Try restocking instead, and focus on dressing your pets up in cool wearables! This player also said that after playing on Neopets for two years, he's cancelled his other four gaming accounts in order to focus on Neopets. Now I call that dedication!

The people who customized pets had a lot to say about their personal styles. Many of them admitted that, while in real life they wear the ubiquitous t-shirt and jeans every day, their pets are customized to the extreme. I have to admit that I'm the same way! In real life, I'm a young adult who wears black lipstick and ripped jeans, obsessed with goth music and tattoos. On Neopets, though, I'm a Faerie-loving freak who can't seem to collect enough pink wearables! Haha, only on Neopets!

A lot of people loved the personal touch that TNT adds to the site, such as the Editorial. It's hard not to smile at the answers TNT gives, and it's comforting to know that TNT knows our concerns and are working hard and fast to fix any problems we're experiencing. My favorite Editorials are when Sloth takes over and writes droll, angry answers to everyone's questions. I literally laugh out loud! Not a lot of other gaming sites have this special touch, nor interact with the players the way that TNT does.

And just think of our hilarious Neopets holidays! For instance, on Gnorbu Day (also known as Gnorbu Shearing Day), people are treated to the crazy sight of their Gnorbus sheared to expose their bare pink skins. And on Talk Like A Pirate Day, all of our comments on the Neoboards become pirate gibberish. (Ahoy!) TNT really does love to make us smile!

Several players enthusiastically said that spending real life cash on Neopets was a lot more rewarding than spending real life cash elsewhere, such as at their local malls or restaurants. These players said that they'd rather spend two hours trying wearables on their pets at the NC Mall, culminating in a handful of purchases totaling 500 NC (just five dollars!), than wandering an ACTUAL mall all day and buying clothes that they don't really need. I had to agree! If I had to choose between a new Neopets wearable and a new pair of designer jeans, I'd rather choose the Neopets item. Crazy, I know!

In conclusion…

Neopets is a sparkling website that uplifts and entertains us in so many ways! It's chock full of site events, plots, holidays, and other amusing things that captivate and enrich our lives. This article was a tribute to Neopets players and the interesting ways in which they love this site, ways that are impossible on other gaming sites.

I enjoyed writing this article, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Enjoy your week, dear readers! And always remember that you are, like this website, special and unique!