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Post by Thorn on Dec 25, 2023 2:36:56 GMT -5
I like the idea of there being multiple desings =) Several people have some really fun ideas and I think it'd be nice if everyone got to use them, if they want to. One unifying name might be fun, though. Adds an additional prank vibe if everyone is talking about "new pet X" but descriptions and artwork are all wildly different. Maybe park of the gimmick is that when you paint this pet different colours it looks really REALLY different?
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 25, 2023 11:55:40 GMT -5
Maybe park of the gimmick is that when you paint this pet different colours it looks really REALLY different? While that could have been a fun idea, I think it would stretch "believability" as a known reason we haven't gotten new Neopets for a while is because they would be incompatible with older clothing (and also when they make new clothing that is now a new model to fit the clothes around). So to say there's a new Neopet which is said to drastically change appearance when painted when already it's coming into the game with no old clothing options (and something which will keep repeating for every of its new Colours)? I think the artists would prefer to come up with hundreds of new and unique Dung items. Maybe an idea for a Petpet (though the Rock sort of does that now). THAT said, that doesn't mean it can't have something unique to Customization. Like plenty of Neopets have clothing items they come with when painted (Aisha's collars, Kiko's bandages, Usul's bow, etc.), not to mention the Colours which come with clothing (Royal, Pirate, Zombie, etc.). We could say the new Neopet also comes with a new clothing or trinket which will change along with the Neopet when painted. Or, maybe to stick closer with your idea, while the body shape won't change for Customization reason, maybe each Colour can add in new body parts and/or clothing. Of course, if we do that, it would have to be explained why this new Neopet has this special gimmick. Like, is it a shapeshifter (maybe an idea for a Chameleon Neopet)?
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Post by Lex on Dec 25, 2023 12:59:47 GMT -5
My preference would be to pick for myself how I want to handle the new pet (if I want to visually depict it or not). I'd rather have that creative freedom vs to broadly say we aren't going to depict something. It being a project does not preclude it from being a prank and it's a "do at your own risk" sort of situation anyway (since visually depicting may well put you at a DISadvantage given it isn't "official").
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Post by Twillie on Dec 25, 2023 17:08:10 GMT -5
I'd also personally like to have some design(s) to work off of, and it be up to each author how they want to go from there. Back during the Faerie Wars prank, users here came up with official designs for the fake Faerie mascots for each team you could "join," so there's precedent for there being imagery as part of an NT prank. I feel like that could even add to the frustration of not being able to find info outside of the NT, because all these people are being consistent with their imagery, but where'd they get it???
I was originally imagining that we have another poll here with a few potential fake Neopet designs, and whatever the winner of that is will be the species featured in the upcoming prank. That being said, I'm also open to the prank being that there is a new species poll currently running on the site, and we have a few designs to work off of (maybe people can write articles weighing the pros and cons of each design, persuade people to one option, come up with theories on these species origins' and native habitats before one is chosen, etc.).
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Post by Liou on Dec 25, 2023 18:08:23 GMT -5
From what I remember of the discussions that led to the fake new neopet prank concept, the possibility of coming up with designs for the pet was a big part of the excitement. I think keeping this prank non-visual would deny much of the fun that people were looking forward to. And finally meta-wise, it sells this is a joke and not some secret "testing of the water" or "fan submission". Without a clear design it'll mean all authors will likely add in their own details which others lack, thus creating a muddled image on what exactly it is. Because that what it all needs to be, a vague mental image, because it's a joke; it'll never become a Neopet species thus not give players anything that makes them think "actually that does look neat, I want one". You mean you want the joke to be obviously given away from the get-go so that people don't have a chance of falling for it even briefly? Maybe park of the gimmick is that when you paint this pet different colours it looks really REALLY different? This could be one of the ways in which the wonderful news of a new pet becomes a trap full of inconveniences! Wait a minute, it can only be painted with limited edition items from the plot shop? Wait a minute, it can only be painted with NC items? We didn't end up with the easiest prank to organise, for sure. I think settling on a single name for the new pet, through another poll here? is a reasonable goal. As for visual designs, I say: pitch yer designs! How about if the people who *do* have visual designs for the pet start pitching them here, and if the designs are ready quickly enough, either a favourite emerges, or people are free to tag along and rally behind one of the designs. I do like the strategy of having the prank include a "choose the new neopet design" poll that would be somewhere on the site where players just can't find it, and articles trying to sway players to vote for one potential new pet or another. I think the organisation will depend on who has visuals and how fast we get them and if we have pet concepts and descriptions to go with the visuals.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 25, 2023 20:07:18 GMT -5
From what I remember of the discussions that led to the fake new neopet prank concept, the possibility of coming up with designs for the pet was a big part of the excitement. I think keeping this prank non-visual would deny much of the fun that people were looking forward to. (...) We didn't end up with the easiest prank to organise, for sure. I think settling on a single name for the new pet, through another poll here? is a reasonable goal. As for visual designs, I say: pitch yer designs! How about if the people who *do* have visual designs for the pet start pitching them here, and if the designs are ready quickly enough, either a favourite emerges, or people are free to tag along and rally behind one of the designs. I do like the strategy of having the prank include a "choose the new neopet design" poll that would be somewhere on the site where players just can't find it, and articles trying to sway players to vote for one potential new pet or another. I think the organisation will depend on who has visuals and how fast we get them and if we have pet concepts and descriptions to go with the visuals. Well, I think we might have just run into a classic problem here: Illustrators VS Imaginers. For those who like to draw they would of course want to have a chance to draw what a new Neopet would look like, obviously. But not everyone wants to nor feel like they'd want to. They have other ideas which works better imagining it then having an associated image someone drew. And you could be further restricting what some people may think of by having one or a few designs be the suggested design of the new Neopet. Note I never said an artist couldn't draw the new Neopet, what I suggested was that for those who did have it be presented as an interpretation of what the artist saw. That way the new Neopet won't have an "official" design for those who don't want one, those who do want an image can have the interpreted design fit into their article, and add on to the confusion of the reader that despite every artist seeing the same image they all have come up with different variations so "who is right?" & "what does the new Neopet look like?". The joke wouldn't be obviously given away, it would just be a "hey, wait a minute" moment: " Oh, cool, there's a new Neopet coming!" *Reads a few articles, stories, & comics about it*" Hm, would like to see what the new Neopet looks like; they've described it but no one put up any pictures." *More stuff is read*" Only descriptions but not a single image, I'm questioning if there even is image and isn't like... wait, what's today's date... D'OH!" I feel the simpler the better. We don't want to stretch things so much that it feels like we can be interpreted as mocking the idea of a new Neopet (or the horrible ways of customizing and/or monetizing it). Though, maybe having the "gimmick" be TNT releasing accompanying wearables in the NC Mall could be used to give the credence of a new Neopet some legs (while also pushing a suggestion TNT could actually do...).
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Post by Stephanie (swordlilly) on Dec 26, 2023 0:10:37 GMT -5
I am not super excited by the "New Pet" idea personally but am willing to be flexible and work with whatever you guys come up with. ^^;
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Post by Liou on Dec 26, 2023 6:18:48 GMT -5
Good points all around!
I am in several minds about this theme, myself. (It will definitely be a challenging theme for me to personally contribute to, as well.)
* the possibility of settling on a single pet design is unlikely, but not implausible, I'm not discounting the possibility that our super cool friendly neighbourhood visual artists upload a design so fabulous that it sweeps all of us off our feet! * or that having several designs would turn out to be super inspiring.
Which is why I repeat for emphasis, to those who were up for this theme, please Pitch Yer Designs as early as possible because so, so much hinges on that - we have to see what we're working with, or not.
* a collab theme is like a snowball that we start rolling on the forum and that we unleash unto the rest of the playerbase when it's big enough to catch other people in it, but there will /always/ be beautiful different outliers who don't do it the way we expected, and even if we had a single fake pet that we all fell in love with here, more users out there would be free to join in for added prank-realism or to come up with different pranks of their own.
* While it would be cool to have many entries rally behind some designs, who's to say that some articles about the TRUE new pet -with none of those fake visuals, that's how you can tell it's real!- wouldn't add to the wondrous chaos?
* the fake pet poll with several options still seems like the most realistic and versatile outcome to me.
* we do need to check with staff how to work with a fake pet theme, rules-wise! June and I are on that and will likely need to wait for staff to get back to the office after the holidays, so Watch This Space.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 26, 2023 7:45:49 GMT -5
Good points all around! I am in several minds about this theme, myself. (It will definitely be a challenging theme for me to personally contribute to, as well.) (...) Which is why I repeat for emphasis, to those who were up for this theme, please Pitch Yer Designs as early as possible because so, so much hinges on that - we have to see what we're working with, or not. (...) * While it would be cool to have many entries rally behind some designs, who's to say that some articles about the TRUE new pet -with none of those fake visuals, that's how you can tell it's real!- wouldn't add to the wondrous chaos? * the fake pet poll with several options still seems like the most realistic and versatile outcome to me. * we do need to check with staff how to work with a fake pet theme, rules-wise! June and I are on that and will likely need to wait for staff to get back to the office after the holidays, so Watch This Space. Just before anyone gets the wrong idea, I'm with Stephanie (swordlilly) that, whatever the NT writing community decides to go with, that is what I'll go with too. I'm just giving my thoughts on how I see the issue being presented, but if most writers want something like a poll of many designs made by NT illustrators, I'd be more than happy to write about that. I guess you can say my way of thinking is more focused on the punchline, I'll admit when it comes to what the community feels would be more engaging I don't have a clue. If I seem pushy, once again I apologize, it's more that I just want people to get my view of things which I don't think people do sometimes. Back to the issue at hand: I suppose another possible idea is that would include many unique designs could be that, while there was a new Neopet announced, their exact design isn't known. I say 'exact' because "TNT revealed" a whole batch of designs however have neither confirmed nor deny if any of them are the new Neopet. Thus the issue's joke is sort of a Schrodinger's Neopet, we have a new Neopet, tons of potential designs, and no confirmation (and, at the end of the day, was all made up). This could also allow the possibility of a wider range of designs and having more designs than a poll would normally have (polls usually have 3 or 4 options). I'd say, if this theme gets approval by TNT and they'll allow for fake Neopet designs, that if we want to run with the poll idea the max that would feel like would be on a poll would be 6 or 7, MAYBE 8 or even 9 if pushing. But when we're hitting double digits would I say the poll idea may need some reworking.
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Post by Lex on Dec 26, 2023 10:12:10 GMT -5
For what it's worth, "I don't think we should ever show an image of the "new Neopet"" is hard to read any other way than "don't show the pet". When I voted for the theme my thoughts were that it was going to be like prior collabs and be somewhat open-ended and up for interpretation. I'm just not super jazzed with having to do something super specific or especially limiting for this theme. I also don't think the theme being open to visual interpretation limits writers at all; someone making a comic where a prank pet walks by in the background and makes someone go "hey now wait a second", does not preclude someone writing an article about "top 5 theories on how to unlock the new pet" or someone from writing a short story that just casually mentions "Timmy, you know, the new Qwyvjxz pet" as a throwaway gag. Which is what I figured the April Fools theme was all about anyway; some of these replies make it seem like this issue is going to be fully 100% committed to the idea of the new pet, which I don't really see being necessary and isn't what I was personally anticipating. The banana gag was something most people did in the background and that didn't act as the central focus of every entry (though people could if they wanted). That's what I figured was going to happen here. Anyway, here was my prank design. And the joke acquisition method, inspo courtesy of Themeguy and Coaster: 1. Combine both a Niptor and Airax together at one o the cooking pots, which produces a Strange (color) Egg 2. Enter the Lair of the Beast and complete all the steps, after the pterodactyl roars your egg will hatch into a Rapatil When I made it I didn't assume there was going to be one single design that people would rally behind and pick, I figured it was going to be more silly and freeform and people were just going to do whatever. edited for the most obnoxious autocorrect ever
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Post by Twillie on Dec 26, 2023 12:52:30 GMT -5
Here's the design I have to offer:
Name is still pending, but it's like a cross between a lemur and a butterfly and native to the island of Dacardia. Adopt yours when you visit this new land!
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 26, 2023 14:57:56 GMT -5
Name is still pending, but it's like a cross between a lemur and a butterfly and native to the island of Dacardia. Adopt yours when you visit this new land! Butterflies (along with Moths) are part of the Lepidoptera Order. Lepid(optera) + Lemur = Lepimur.
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Post by Twillie on Dec 26, 2023 15:52:45 GMT -5
That could work, I'm not too picky with the name! Also a side note, but I like the red one because it looks like it came fresh off a killing spree (I used the Xweetok as reference for the body pose and a source for the base colors, so maybe a different pet's red would work better lol).
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Post by Themeguy on Dec 26, 2023 22:17:19 GMT -5
Just catching up on the discussion now, while my original idea for the 25th pet prank involved a mini in-forum contest to design and come up with a pet, then collaboration on its details, I can understand the worries about adhering to a single design and agree that it might not be the best path forward. My only other worry is that if every design is so far removed from each other, it might lose an element of cohesiveness that is a good hook for the suspension of disbelief despite how everyone will come up with different designs and methods. With that in mind, I think I have a good idea for a middle ground that allows for people to have different pet designs and ideas while still being uniform and cohesive enough to feel believable as a prank. In the past, they'd reveal new Starter Pokémon with silhouettes and people would speculate on what they could look like and fill them in. Examples of this: I think we could adopt a similar prompt for our April Fools mystery. Rather than the narrative being that TNT revealed the pet outright, we can instead have the prompt that they reveal only the silhouette and leave finding it out to us (kinda like what they did with the Almost Abandoned Attic). We'll have to take that extra bit of time to design and decide on silhouettes, but this idea will allow everyone to stay on the same cohesive page without committing to a singular design or idea, and opens up a lot of different potential avenues for tackling it. Some people might elect to speculate the mystery of what can be behind the silhouette without revealing, others might make something goofy in the spirit of the silly holiday, while some might make a full on cool design and work with that.
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Post by RielCZ on Dec 30, 2023 0:43:50 GMT -5
Honestly forgot to vote but this is one of the themes I wanted to win. I'm coming at this from someone whose primary NT contributions are writing. I would prefer if we settled on one "final winner" design and species name, as IMO this would allow really flexible access by writers to name/species-drop said pet in their stories in literally any circumstance. However, I think we should also do the whole (fake) "official vote" thing. Then, articles could be written about the vote, or ANGERY articles about how a different proposed species should have won and why, or why TNT should have considered THIS pet design instead of whatever pets were actually on the "ballot", etc. And I presume this could be extended to artists as well, and comics could still feature different/other species than the "winner", under the pretext that their new species should have been the winner/considered, or that this is their take on the idea of a new species. So... maybe I'm proposing that there are really 2 concurrent joke subtexts. An official "winner as proposed by TNT selected by us user vote" joke as well as offering the freedom/creativity for participants to say "well actually I don't like the 'winner' I'mma do my own twist on the new species." Anyway, I didn't wanna say anything without also throwing my sacrifice into the ring to show I'm serious about this. Here is the PERIDOT (name still under consideration). Part platypus, part something else, all cursed? its gimmick is that every paint job has a slightly different hat.
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