Imagining the rebirth of a classic web game.

2019 marks 20 years of Neopets, the online game that I played obsessively back in grade school and inspired my interest in graphic design.

Neopets reached its dominance in the 2000s, but as time went on, online gaming evolved and it fell behind to adapt.

It just so happened that prior to JumpStart’s official announcement of a forthcoming revamped site and mobile experience for the game in 2019 – and before I discovered that former Neopets creative director “snarkie” published details of a companion app in development that was never released – I had already started brainstorming what it would be like to play Neopets in a mobile-first, app-based world.

The result? A revitalized Neopets that doubles as a fun mobile gaming product for adults and a fresh experience for newer, younger players.

Some context

In recent years, popular video games have had success bringing their core products from other platforms to mobile (think Pokemon Go, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Run).

I imagine there’s an opportunity for a similar revitalization of the Neopets gaming experience.

In this “Neopets Mobile” app, the world of Neopia is brought together in a tappable, interactive environment. Players will have complete control of their shops, trading posts, and auctions right at their fingertips. They can customize their pets and Neohomes with drag-and-drop functionality, interact with other players in community forums and contests, and participate in all the plot and event activities they usually enjoy on the desktop game.

The app will be rife with opportunities for revenue generation through microtransactions, particularly with a mobile NC Mall.

And with push notifications, players will never have to leave their pets “starving” or “dying” again! 

Hub

Currently, the Neopets “community hub” is a place where players can access contests, chat boards, and guilds.

On the app, the Hub can serve as the homepage – serving a carousel of the latest news and a number of quick-access buttons to popular once-a-day activities (known to players as “Dailies”), quests, contests, the NC Mall, and more.

Explore

The ability to explore Neopia’s various locales is what makes the game special – and it’s personally one of my favorite aspects of playing Neopets.

In the app, exploring is as easy as dragging around the map and tapping on a location. Upon selection, a small pop-up appears with a blurb about that place, and players can tap again to confirm their visit.

Games Room

Just as important to the broader game are Neopets’ mini games.

Players can scroll through the Games Room to find their game of choice – sortable by categories, popularity, newness, featured, and favorites.

The mini games – which are currently playable in-browser on desktop – can be adapted for play on a mobile screen. Players can play landscape-oriented games by rotating their phones.

Pet Lookups

Players spend a lot of time and energy customizing their Neopets’ outfits and perfecting battle stats. The app’s Pet Lookup pages are designed to highlight both of these, with buttons for customization and battling quickly accessible on top.

And just for some visual flair: the colors behind the pet’s image are matched to the pet’s paint color and/or background color.

* See footer for credits for icon designs.

Create A Neopet

Creating a Neopet is a necessary step for all players, so the process here should be made intuitive and easy.

Players can tap on their species of choice, select from one of the four main colors, and scroll through personality characteristics to craft their perfect pet.

Shops

Shopping also gets a simplified interface that puts the focus on the image, item name, stock, and cost.

Purchasing items requires just a few swipes and taps – to refresh a shop, players can drag the page down and release (a gesture that’s instantly familiar to social media users!).

Random Events

Are you even playing Neopets if you’re not hit with Random Events?!

Random Events are not forgotten here – they show up as pop-ups in the app, and depending on the event, players will either have further actions they can take or they can dismiss it.

It’s about time

Even though I stopped playing the game almost a decade ago, Neopets is still instantly recognizable today—for better and for worse.

Of course, it means the site hasn’t kept up with the times, no matter how hard the Meepits have worked. But, more importantly, it means the game still resonates, allures, and charms. It’s still a simple joy to prance around the fictitious, colorful world of Neopia. And, as I have shown, the classic Neopets aesthetic shines in a modern format.

In the past decade, the internet experience has evolved tremendously. So should Neopets. With every passing day, more and more internet traffic is coming from mobile devices, so a Neopets mobile app could very well be the boon that takes Neopets from bygone Y2K internet novelty to instant 2019 classic.

Happy 20th Anniversary, Neopets! New year, new you?

* Special thanks to the following designers and their icon designs I borrowed from thenounproject.com:

Inventory (Sack) – Gregor Cresnar
Bank (Coins) – Chanut is Industries, TH
News (Megaphone) – Ralf Schmitzer, DE
Explore (Globe) – Creative Stall, PK
Shop (Shop) – Astonish
Community (People) – Dmitry Baranovskiy, AU
Games (Die) – Jenya K., RU
Customize (Pen and Paper) – Andri Sulistyo, ID
Battle (Sword and Shield) – Xinh Studio