2013 was a wild year if there ever was one. There were so many changes and so many surprises. Some were good. Some were questionable. Some were painful. But, I'd say 2013 turned out pretty great.
2013's footprints will undeniably impact Club Penguin for years to come. The new penguin designs. The Time Trekker. The Businesmoose departure. The rainbow puffle being revealed and the quests to go with it. The removal of the April Fools' Day Party, Earth Day, and the Easter Egg Hunt. Party games becoming the norm. A new in-game mission style of giving players dialogue and assignments. Takeovers not just complimenting the source material but actually embracing it. Spike Hike being top dog. The first parts of CPNext being released. The My Penguin app. The full Club Penguin world on mobile. Less-interactivity with players on Twitter. The launch of weekly web series. New games and items exclusive to mobile. The first hint of quests. It's a whole new world out there.
My biggest complaint this year is the abundance of puffle updates. While I like rainbow and gold puffles and I appreciate such things as puffle digging and the Puffle Hotel, I feel that Club Penguin made too big of a deal out of it all. To be honest, I'd rather move onto something else besides yet another small puffle feature. It's all a bit overrated and unneeded.
I also have to say that the blog posts on the What's New Blog disappointed me this year. You see, this year was the first full year of no blog posts from Billybob and Happy77. And, you can tell they are gone.
Now, I don't mean to say this to offend Polo, Daffo, or any of the other people affiliated with the blog, but posts have lost their meaning, in a way. Whereas Billybob used to tell it to you like it is and give you new facts, these 2013 blog posts don't do that at all. Some have only a video attached which I might have seen over a week ago. Others supply information for meetups that are posted far too close to the time they occur. And then there are the Penguin of the Day and Penguin of the Week posts that are a really nice gesture, but end up saying similar things over and over. Very few posts (often the rare ones from Spike Hike) actually give you information that you need to know. I still read every single post, but Billybob's straight and to the point information is a lost art that I feel needs to be refound.
Another thing that seems off balance also partially involves the blog. You see, back in the day, posts by team members such as Billybob seemed sincere, genuine, and casual. Now, everything from The Spoiler Alert to tweets to blog posts seems scripted and filtered. I think Club Penguin needs to free up on the way they talk.
Then there is the Twitter follow/reply debacle. I feel this is one of the biggest downfalls of Club Penguin, as it does cause a lot of controversy. But, rules must be followed.
Twitter inactivity is another problem, as Ninja and others often disappear for long periods of time. The barrage of accounts telling you that a new video is out can also get annoying.
On a more positive note, the new parties this year were exceptional. The Prehistoric Party properly introduced one of the most intriguing inventions in Club Penguin lore, gave us a lot of new canon, and provided us with some incredible party rooms and dinosaur designs. The Hollywood Party marked a break from traditional parties, but nonetheless proved to be an interesting event. The Monsters University Takeover created a new team dynamic and proved to be a faithful companion to the film. The Star Wars Takeover was faithful and full of details just as Monsters was and gave us a load of variety, along with fantastic character crossovers. The Summer Jam proved that a takeover can be universally loved and introduced the fantastic moving rooms feature. And, Operation: Puffle proved to be a decent followup to past installments in Herbert's story.
Meanwhile, every single returning party did not stand still; innovations were abound. The Puffle Party, while my least favorite party of the entire year, gave us rainbow puffles and a hotel, along with a few new features. The Marvel Superhero Takeover was overhauled with awesome new games, costumes, and rooms. The Card Jitsu Party added a snow theme to part of the island. The Medieval Party chose wizardry over quests and dragons. The Halloween Party fully embraced trick or treating for the first time. And, the Holiday Party pumped up trains and innovated Coins For Change.
Twitter inactivity is another problem, as Ninja and others often disappear for long periods of time. The barrage of accounts telling you that a new video is out can also get annoying.
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| Source: Club Penguin Wikia |
On a more positive note, the new parties this year were exceptional. The Prehistoric Party properly introduced one of the most intriguing inventions in Club Penguin lore, gave us a lot of new canon, and provided us with some incredible party rooms and dinosaur designs. The Hollywood Party marked a break from traditional parties, but nonetheless proved to be an interesting event. The Monsters University Takeover created a new team dynamic and proved to be a faithful companion to the film. The Star Wars Takeover was faithful and full of details just as Monsters was and gave us a load of variety, along with fantastic character crossovers. The Summer Jam proved that a takeover can be universally loved and introduced the fantastic moving rooms feature. And, Operation: Puffle proved to be a decent followup to past installments in Herbert's story.
Meanwhile, every single returning party did not stand still; innovations were abound. The Puffle Party, while my least favorite party of the entire year, gave us rainbow puffles and a hotel, along with a few new features. The Marvel Superhero Takeover was overhauled with awesome new games, costumes, and rooms. The Card Jitsu Party added a snow theme to part of the island. The Medieval Party chose wizardry over quests and dragons. The Halloween Party fully embraced trick or treating for the first time. And, the Holiday Party pumped up trains and innovated Coins For Change.
And, finally, we got our first two weekly video series: #WaddleOn and The Spoiler Alert. #WaddleOn, with a season and a half under its belt, has proven to be a hit with players. While some of the humor may be a bit juvenile at times, I really enjoy this show. Its mix of sketches, stories, and music proves to great in mixing things up and the show has given us some great new Club Penguin stuff, such as Statue Roommates, Blacksmith Force, and their various spinoffs. While the short shows sometimes leaves more to be desired, its still a ride worth taking.
The Spoiler Alert, still in its infancy, doesn't have as much charm as its predecessor, but still manages to have its moments. It's nice to hear from new Club Penguin Team members, though I wish the dialogue was a little more off the cuff. We'll see what the team does with this in the new year.
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| Source: Club Penguin Wikia |
Spike Hike has become a good leader for Club Penguin. He knows what information to give and what to with hold and it seems he really cares about Club Penguin and loves his job.
The EPF and Herbert were once again a little shunned this year. Operation: Hot Sauce was a delightful, albeit short mission that was a throwback to the PSA and Field Op days. Spy Drills is a nice addition, though a little frustrating. Herbert being taken on by forces other than the EPF at the Star Wars event was refreshing and Operation: Puffle finally tying up a loose end from a PSA mission was satisfying. The redesigned exterior and entrance of the Everyday Phoning Facility was a really nice touch, though I want the Command Room to finish construction ASAP. It makes no sense why it took no construction to build an entire school but literally now more than a year to rebuild a partially destroyed building.
Speaking of which, the school is a nice touch, along with the other redesigned rooms, though I wish there was a game in there. The Recycling Plant and Ninja Hideout removals were also unfortunate.
So, to close, 2013 was one of the most interesting, variety filled years ever. There were some flaws and a multitude of bugs, but I can live with that. My advice for the Team in the new year: be a little more casual, take a little time off from smaller stuff if it means you can fix the bugs, and keep innovating and surprising us.
See you in 2014!
As Billybob would say, Waddle On!
- Chillin43
I agree, the blog posts definitely lost their meaning. Great review! :)
ReplyDelete~Perapin :)