Original Neopets Introduction
Source: lingualgamers.com

This is the beginning page that I will always remember when first signing up for Neopets. When you are first signing up, you must pick the type of Neopet that you want. I remember I chose the “Wocky,” because I thought it was cute and somewhat feminine. You could customize your “wocky” by giving it a distinct color.

Wockies!
Source: Wocky Worship

Sadly, I do not remember the distinct colors that I had, but in the picture to the left these are great examples of vibrant Wockies. I remember that my Wocky was colorful, vicious, and playful.

I started playing on Neopets when I was in fourth grade, around age eight. I loved having to attend to the animal only when I wanted to. But what attracted me most to the Neopets site were the copious games available for users to play. These games usually incorporated puzzle and strategy elements that allow children to engage in educational exercises, while being nonetheless entertained. I was first introduced to this virtual world when I saw a close friend play these interactive games. As I started to create a pet and engage in these games, I became more enthused about caring for the pet through game play. I would set goals to earn a certain amount of Neopoints in order to continue feeding and nurturing my virtual Neopet. The game below is one that I used to play often, and as I continued to play more I would earn more points becaus of my advancing skills.

Neopets Game
Source: Play Free Online Games

Now I haven’t accessed the Neopets website for many years, so I was not too surprised that there were many changes. As I recently looked through the Neopets website, I found that there were structural differences in how the links were laid out. There are different advanced and interactive games that have been added to this site, to accommodate to the new population of youngsters. Younger and younger children are being educated on the computer everyday, & this rolling evolution of computer usage has greatly changed what we see on our screens today. There are more links to click when wanting to access a certain page, there are codes and abbreviations that must be known to properly dive into a website, and other nonsense that children must understand to play these games and take care of their Neopets. At one point there will be a turn of simplicity so that it will be easy and convenient to access certain pages without question.

Overall, this research on Neopets and the virtual pet world has given me more interest in playing more games. Not only that, but it has interested me in engaging myself in virtual pets also. I have a dog at home with my parents, but as I am at college I get lonely and miss my dog Sora. Knowing that college students created this virtual pet world makes me feel a little better, honestly. Only one question still stands… will I be a returning player?

My Account
Source: Neopets