“Smile because it happened.”

Hello, everyone!

In today’s post, I want to talk about the “end of Club Penguin”. Those are 4 scary words which I have been dreading for a while now. Now we know that the game will be ending on March 29th 2017. In response, the community have been heart-broken – even the whole world who knew this game! As we all know, Club Penguin is almost symbolic of childhood (for our time, anyway). It used to be so popular when I was 7 years old, so I was practically forced into playing it. There was no escape, thank goodness.

This game changed my life.

So, yes, I am deeply upset about the discontinuation of Club Penguin. Why wouldn’t I be? Whilst several other penguins around me have been ranting about it, I have been doing that internally. Except, I don’t feel anger – I feel emotional. I guess that’s an ambiguous feeling to use but I am not unbelievably sad about the end of Club Penguin. Honestly, I feel happy. Mix that with some woe and you feel what I’m feeling. Funnily enough, the “happy” is not there because of Club Penguin Island (although I do admire that game). In fact, I am happy about the next several weeks we have before the closure of this life-changing game.

A lot can happen in a day on Club Penguin. Have a guess at what can happen within a matter of weeks? Time does fly (I have no idea why) and it will fly (oh yeah, because we’re going to have fun).

“But how are we going to have fun? The Waddle On Party is a constant reminder of all things sad in life.”

We are the Club Penguin community. If we are to prove that we are one of the best communities ever, we need to give Club Penguin the best ending it’s going to ever get. There’s a lot of ways to do that!

But, hey! This post is not – at all – going to advertise my project (which I will not even name in this post). This is a discussion about Club Penguin.

So, as I was saying, I feel emotional about the end of Club Penguin. I also feel that it is right for the game to go. This view is in contrast with a lot of your views but I have some reasons as to why I think this.

First of all, Club Penguin is getting old. The game is over 11 years old – but the development of this game even dates back to 18 years ago! That’s a very long life for an average online virtual world. Therefore, this whopping age proves that Club Penguin is simply a legendary game; the best online virtual world. If Club Penguin were to get even older than this, the game would die in the worst way possible. At the moment, Club Penguin still has stamina. Not as much as it used to have, but it’s still a decent game. What if we didn’t have the Waddle On party in years to come? What if there was no warning? What if there wasn’t a new game? Club Penguin would die – along with its community – if it were to live on for many more years. So, I think we should appreciate why we are going to be witnessing the end soon.

Is Membership Fair?

Hello, everyone!

What would your ideal membership be? Would you want a lot of privileges? Would you want to have an advantage over players without membership? How far can a membership go?

In my opinion, membership is important. If no one had membership on Club Penguin Island, the team will not make money. Without money, they cannot make the game better for everyone. Membership is a big deal, which is why I have heard so many different thoughts on it. I want to share my thoughts with you all because I think it’s important for everyone to hear different responses to these issues. It encourages us to be more considerate and thoughtful.

Well, it’s true – membership is an issue. But why? The answer to that lies within many interpretations of a membership. In other words, it’s almost indecisive. The team use a membership system to encourage and tempt users into purchasing it. That’s why a lot of things seen within membership deals appear awesome! And that’s the rule: you pay money to get better things in return. Club Penguin Island, at the moment, is in beta so it is missing some depth. Hopefully, more features will be added after the release so this means that membership will probably seem a lot more reasonable than it is right now. So, what are the main issues?

First of all, non-members have nothing to wear. For many, this is an annoying feature because none of us would like to be naked…right? Club Penguin Island is over-the-top with customisation but it seems that only members can experiment with it. This is a shame because the clothing customizer is such a great feature. Non-members have no access to it, whatsoever. I can see why this has disappointed many users.

Secondly, what is the point? Being a non-member means that you have no adventures to do, you earn hardly any experience points (in order to level up) and you can’t do one simple thing – eat. These features are all for members. I think that these are good features for members but why can’t anyone else have access to them? Not everyone can get a membership. I think that there should be some adventures that non-members can complete. I think everyone deserves to eat food too! I still don’t understand why food is such a big deal anyway. 

Blogging Has Changed

Hello, everyone!

I have always noticed something unusual about Club Penguin blogs when I compare them to other miscellaneous blogs on the internet. I happen to regularly read all kinds of blogs but the Club Penguin community has its own twist on the word “blog”.

Have you also noticed this? If you read other blogs, I am sure you would.

Most blogs in the Club Penguin community have one vision. This is to post updates and (basically) news reports, regarding what goes on in the game. While these are very useful “blogs” to visit, I always question the purpose. A blog, in my opinion, is a personal website which has its own, distinctive taste. On my blog, I happen to vary my style from formal to informal and I find it quite comforting because it means I can be who I am in real life. My blog mirrors my passion and that makes it so much easier for me to have the confidence and the motivation to write my posts and share them with you all. Therefore, the purpose of my blog is to be who I am and that in itself should make this blog unique; everyone in this world is different.

Now, I can think of more blogs which have a similar vision, and that makes them different from any other blog. It makes them memorable. However, I am not going to name any of these blogs because it may be manipulated into favouritism. Neither am I going to label the generic news blogs. But when you visit as many Club Penguin blogs as you can – trust me – you will notice the difference just by looking at the very first page.

What is the point?

When I see all of these similar blogs, it makes me confused. When I see the evident competition between them, it makes me angry, and it shouldn’t do. Basically, I have detected that there is a need for being the biggest and best blog in the Club Penguin community. Most of these blogs are competing just so they can get the most views and attention. I see this competition on a daily basis and I just think to myself how unnecessary it all is.

First of all, we are the Club Penguin community. In other words, we are a family that sticks together to support a good game. The game relies on its community but I think that some of the community seems to struggle with this concept. Instead, there is just a war which should only happen (if it really wants to) outside of the community – between rivals. Inside of the community, we should be supporting each other and not encouraging aggression.

Secondly, it is only these people who cause the jealousy amongst the community. When you see a blog that does the same thing as yours, but it does it better, that causes jealousy – and I see it all of the time.

Now, back to the purpose. If more than one Club Penguin blog has the same purpose, it is not going to be a gentle journey for them. That is why the purpose of a blog is to share one’s individual thoughts. Look it up online and define it. The definition is distinctly different and I wonder what has caused this issue. Perhaps, it all started from one blog and then other people were inspired to do the same thing; the chain goes on and then we have a problem. Well, let me tell you, I was inspired by many blogs but I wasn’t inspired by the ideas – I was inspired by the passion.

Practically every Club Penguin blogger has a passion for writing about the game they love. The problem is how to use that passion to the advantage. And the solution to that problem is right in this post. Be different, but be you. Because who you are is different from anyone else.

And that would make your blog interesting!

So, it is not necessary to see blogs competing with others. Obviously, these are just my opinions so don’t be forced to stick to them. However, I think they are sensible thoughts. My only intention of this post was to highlight how blogging has changed. So, if you feel I was targeting your blog, please don’t be offended. In fact, if you have any concerns or additional thoughts, type them down in the comments section or email me via the Contact page on this website. Feel free to add to the discussion too! Thank you for reading.

Waddle On!

Island Discussion #22: Decipher

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to this week’s Island Discussion! In this post I will be focusing on the new Elite Penguin Force Handbook that arrived to the island in November. This handbook is packed with information on EPF agents and villains and I am very impressed by it. In my one of my previous Island Discussions, I was trying to find out who the new recruit was. My guess is that Franky is the new tech guru that has now joined the EPF. I hope that we can see him in action soon!

Anyway, today I will be going through all of the handbook to decrypt all of the codes. The EPF use a code called Tic-Tac-Toe and it has been used by the PSA, also. I am hoping that we will see more of these codes in future; preferably in an operation or around the island. Once I decode one, I will explore what it means and how it could have an impact on the future of Club Penguin. I hope you will enjoy!

The first code says “Maintain your cover”. This message is from the Director as it is on her page. I guess that this is an order to all EPF agents to stay secretive like herself. It shows that being an EPF agent requires stealth and responsibility so messing up would give away classified intel. This could hint for further attacks from the island’s most wanted criminals so stay sharp and listen to your orders.

The second code says “I miss the Sport Shop”. This message is located on Gary’s page and shows us that he misses his old job at the Sport Shop. Back in the old times, the Penguin Secret Agency had a secret base leading on from one of the changing rooms in the Sport Shop. Gary used to work there as a clerk at the counter. He was undercover and his job was to maintain responsibility over who was allowed to enter the PSA HQ. Obviously, Herbert blew it up in 2010 so the Sport Shop and the HQ was destroyed. This led to the evolution of the EPF! Loads of people miss the Sport Shop – like Gary – so this message may hint to a redesign of one coming later. Why put it there otherwise unless it was made to tease us, penguins?

The third code says “You did it! You found me!”. This message is from Dot and it is more like a joke than something important. Since Dot is a stealth agent and hides around a lot (it is part of her job after all), this message is like a representation of her and to decode it means that you have discovered what it says. I guess that it is quite funny to some people. Since it is just a silly little joke, there is nothing within it that could have an impact on the island in the future…DOT THE JOKER GAL CONFIRMED?

The fourth code says “Click Clickety Click!”. Rookie says this since it mentions that Rookie can speak fluent crab – which is a language that Klutzy can use. Rookie has used it a lot in the past. For example in previous PSA missions such as ‘Questions for a Crab’ and in the ‘System Defender’ game. Nobody really knows how he picked it up; it is just one of his wacky qualities of being Rookie. The translation from crab to english also remains unknown so we do not know at all what Rookie is saying. Let’s hope he is doing his job! Nothing in this message seems to have an impact on the island however it ties in with Klutzy and I have always wanted to know the back story of Rookie and how he became an agent and a fluent crab speaker. It’s a bit weird, don’t you think?

Island Discussion #21: New Recruit

Hello everyone!

Welcome to this Island Discussion. I am back with another season for everyone to enjoy. Club Penguin mysteries still remain on the island. Lots of them have been uncovered but new ones have opened up ever since the return of the Elite Penguin Force during ‘Operation: Crustacean’. I am excited for the future of the EPF, especially when they will make another return this month to conclude the current operation to restore the energy source within the UFO. Things will also get a little prehistoric once again!

Anyway, the main topic I would like to discuss today is the mysterious new agent that has been recruited with an anonymous identity. The reason behind his highly classified figure is his “public persona”. I would like you to take a look at this page.

At the top it says “Highly Classified Intel”. Already, we have the impression that this figure is very secretive and we get an explanation of this at the bottom. Their “public persona” suggests that this newly recruited agent is already popular, publicly. Therefore, this penguin is likely to be a famous penguin! But which one? We will find out soon.

It also lets us know that this penguin’s status is active which means that they have already begun to get involved with EPF operations. So this implies that the new recruit has already begun their work within Operation: Crustacean. However there have been no reports of this new recruit on the scene…so far!