Nowhere Left to Go (2/2) - The Community

Is the popularity of Club Penguin too large for its own good?
Imagine you log onto a server in preparation of meeting Rookie at a preassigned meetup time.  Its four hours before the event and yet the server is almost full.  Things are chaotic - rooms are full, penguins are running around in circles as they wait for the star, and there is a large competition to get into key rooms.  It can be a bit disorienting.

Source: Club Penguin CP

You wait for four hours in the Cove.  Then, Rookie finally comes on the server.  People are excited.  You're nervous that you're going to miss him.  You try to get into other rooms that he is "supposedly" in.  By the time you get there, he has moved on.  You search and you search.  Your stress level is slowly, but surely rising.  Every second ticks closer to moment when the team member controlling Rookie clicks the words "log out".  You are not going to get his limited time background!  You are not going to get his stamp!  You are not going to become his friend!  There's no way you're going to meet him!  What are you going to do!!??

Source: Trainman1405

You finally get back into the Cove!  You hear the stamp ding...

He's there.

There's just one problem.  Your computer is beginning to lag with all the other activity from penguins.  You begin to think you might loose connection from the server.  What then!  So close to victory, but yet, so far!

But you persevere. You try to click on Rookie but he keeps moving - with a hoard of others following him.  He'll leave the room soon!  You're out of your chair and your heart is racing.

Source: Club Penguin Flash

You then try to pull the chat bar down.  It takes a while but it finally does load.  You see Rookie's comment. You try clicking on it, but it escapes your grasp because of some penguin asking what his favorite food is (which is a legitimate question).  Why couldn't Club Penguin still have the "Who's in the room" menu in the friends list?

You finally, miraculously are able to click what Rookie said.  His player card comes up.  For what seems to be an eternity, he is only a green penguin, but it finally loads completely.  You click on his "add as friend button.  You feverishly click "yes".  Within a few seconds, he accepts.  You feel relief but check your friends list just to make sure he's there.  He is.  Part two of three complete.

Source: Gpumpkin

To finish things off, just in case your friends list doesn't work later, you try to get his background.  However, the white spinning wheel appears on the blue.  It spins and spins.  And spins and spins.

It finally loads.  You click yes.  You receive it.  Part three of three complete.  Victory!

Just to make sure you check that everything is where it should be.  Rookie leaves the room.  You start relaxing, just a little.

While to you, meeting Rookie and collecting everything seemed to take an eternity, not counting the time you spent waiting on the server before he logged on, you spent three minutes meeting him.

You know you'll have to go through this again for another mascot.  And another.  And another...

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This story is the perfect way to set up this blog post because it's true.  I have gone through something very similar.

So are there too many people on Club Penguin?  Well, if you look at mascot and team member meetups, you might say yes.  Whenever these take place there is always a crowd.  And if you are meeting a mascot it can be extremely stressful.

Now, I don't want to say this is horrible because it's not Club Penguin's fault.  If anything they're helping.  I like these mascot/team member meetups and hope they continue.  They help more people meet mascots, which is great.  And without them, most people would never get to meet team members.  Also, during meetups, the Team (whether mascot or team member) tries to visit as many rooms as possible and stay on for a long time.  If they have any fault in it, it's that they made the game to good. :)

Source: Club Penguin Cheatsy

And it's great to see people so invested in the game and its characters.  It's great that people want to ask mascots questions.  It's just that it can get in the way.

In closing, with a few improvements, such as bringing back the "Who's in the room" list.  Things could be a little less stressful.  Club Penguin is going in the right direction already, by giving a lot of meetup times.

As Billybob would say, Waddle On!
- Chillin43