Sannah Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Having loads of avatars seems to be the ultimate status symbol on Neopets nowadays. Many of these avatars are frustrating and annoying to obtain, depending mostly on luck and endless refreshing / spinning wheels / doing dailies. The avatars can be used on the Neoboards but are not really good for anything else, and most of the avid collectors aren't even active on the boards. I myself have never seen the appeal of collecting avatars. So this is my question to TDN users: why do you care so much? Not judging anyone who does like collecting them. I have just found it rather surprising how some neopets users have judged me and my account as not properly invested in Neopets and therefore untrustworthy - solely based on the number of avatars I have. This seems to suggest that avatar collecting is the most important activity on Neopets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angeló Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I love collecting avatars because they are a sign of dedication to the game ... for example : - game avatars show you have a certain skill or you practiced that game for so long since most game avatars are really hard to obtain - item avatars mean you went the extra mile to collect a certain item and use it - random/expensive avatars like Kelp or the Wheels mean you are committed enough to try time after time after time at that daily or willing to pay again and again and again ... - pet/petpet avatars mean you own or you once owned a certain rare color/species (even if you're just borrowing) - battledome avatars represent passion about fighting - certain avatars just show what a billionaire you are , like Stamp Collections ... = even though you can only use one ... and most of the times you collect avatars you never use (for example I never used the "Pink" avatar but I still value it in my collection) .. it's still a nice hobby and a goal to look forward to ... it's just one of the many features on the site ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkt Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Like Angelo said, it's a hobby just like any other on Neo. Some people like collecting pets, some like collecting trading cards, and some like collecting avatars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachiee Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I like collecting avatars mainly because they're something I can be proud of, even though they are just pixels. I only have 173 at the moment, but I'm glad I have all the ones I do...yeah, even the clickables. :) It just so happens that some avatars tend to be more like status symbols rather than pixels. (The avatars that come to my mind are SUAP, ZDAP, MSPP, BGC, etc.) Also, another reason why I like collecting avatars is making matching fonts. I'm still an amateur (and sometimes, it can take a while to perfect a font, even without a Neoboard pen) but I find fontmaking to be an added bonus to collecting avatars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piticent Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Well, I post on the guild board A LOT. so I want a good avvy to go with em :) (plus its good to have a choice ;)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab_02 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 100% agree with Angeló, nicely summarized!! I collect avatars because I am a trophy-collector, I really really want to get the avatar trophy to add to my trophy collection~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Fever Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 While I really like and agree with Angelo's explanation, I pretty much do it because I like collecting things. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaos Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 So I can show off. b) Even though the only avatar i have on my new account, KhaosBeast, is the Kass Basher one, i still don't care. :P But really, I do it for the sake of doing it. I get bored easily with most games, why not do something else? I've got a new *weak* pet, so no battledome. I hate refreshing. I like collecting books for my pet, but i'm broke. Dailies take 5 minutes. So i'm forced to collect avatars. ;) Shut up about neoboards. So basically, I like collecting. I collected over 500 pokemon cards in a few months about 4 years ago. I have been collecting games since i was 4. In this one site, (forgot what's its called) I collected almost everything a few years ago. I collect books of a series. Yeah. I actually LIKE collecting avatars, o mah gawsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiff Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I care about avatars because I want to have something representing me to show who I am and to look good on the NeoBoards. I have quite a few but I am not an avid collector, I just collect for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuika Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Because I am OCD. The only thing that gives me more joy in life than making lists is collecting things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masaryk Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I like collecting avatars simply for the sake of collecting. I'm the kind of person who always wants to collect all the items in a game, or get all the achievements. I know I'm not good enough to be a trophy collector, and Neopets has way too many items for me to have one of everything, but avatars are something for me to collect that I can achieve most of. It's really just an added "hobby within a hobby." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritzie Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I'm one of those avatar collectors that almost never goes on the Neoboards. (And when I do, it's even more rare for me to actually post.) I currently have 285 avatars, and plan to get as many as possible. I'm a big collector. I have been my whole life. I've collected all types of things, and my family had a running joke that I even collected dust. (On my collections.) So being a collector type is part of the reason, another is that to collect them, it requires a variety of different things, from game abilities, to saving up certain amounts of NP (like for the books in the Hidden Tower), or getting your hands on certain items/pets. It makes things interesting, instead of just collecting items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sannah Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 Thanks all for taking a little time to answer my question. I guess I just lack the collector-gene. I earn neopoints by playing games that I like and easily get impatient / bored. I do collect items, but that is simply because I enjoy shopping, even virtual reality shopping (the pack rat avatar was easy for me). I don't necessarily agree that avatar collecting shows dedication to the game in a way that other Neopets activities don't - after all, I have been on the site for over 10 years and if that is not dedication, what is? - but I do see the appeal of collecting something that asks for a variety of achievements: playing games, shopping, battledome, refreshing... I guess I would still only do the activities I enjoy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandra Puppyblew Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I have just found it rather surprising how some neopets users have judged me and my account as not properly invested in Neopets and therefore untrustworthy - solely based on the number of avatars I have. This is precisely because of the reasons you stated earlier - because some of them are so hard to obtain. Someone who has invested a lot of time, neopoints, etc into getting them would be less likely to do something that might get them frozen or banned. That is why people use that to judge trustworthiness. Otherwise it would just be your word, and if they don't know you, it could be hard to tell if you're lying. I myself, don't really care about avatars but I like collecting them anyway because again some of them are hard to get, and that makes them kind of prestigious in a way. Not that I'm exactly looking for prestige, but I think it's natural for people to want to do their best, and on Neopets this is one way for people to "do their best". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capital_soccer_kid_1 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Honestly, I basically do it because I get bored with the site and like to gear towards something I can try to achieve. Plus, I randomly collect hundreds of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masaryk Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Avatars are only one of the ways that some people assess dedication to the game. Everyone looks to different things when assessing another user's account. If you have a really nice lookup that you coded for your account an all your pets, some would see that as a sign of dedication. Other people look at the "value" of your pets (expensive species or colours), some look at game trophies, battledome training, fishing skill, your Neohome, or the amount of NC you have spent on your account. It all depends on the preferences of each individual user on the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulgaraverde Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I pretty much collect them just for fun. As I see it, avatar collecting is another aspect of the neopets 'game', along with things like customising and earning NP. It's a game to me as much as any of the other games on the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tafeltennisden Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 with collection you have a goal to play. and collecting makes a bit addicted, you want more and more till as much as you can. Only after a while you get on your limits and are not able any more to collect new avatars (because they are very expensive, retired or require extreme game skills or extreme luck). When you reach that state the fun becomes less. Mostly that is the point i go for another goal ,such as trophies, collectable cards, stamps or the one that never ends collection of NP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcoolb Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I collect because it is fun... I love the look of some of them, and to get it is an accomplishment. The only status symbol ones really are "the big three" Which are SuAP, MSPP, and BCG. It is also nice to have it go along with your user lookup, a pet, ect. I use Kass - Minion and it goes perfect with my lookup. Bliziz's petpage is a showroom of avatars I need and have, along with my application. So that is why I like to collect avatars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avat0r Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 What is the aim in playing neopets in the first place? There is no final level or goal and its not even possible to "have everything" obtained (like e.g. in dragon cave). But there are a lot of different achievments you can go for. Be one of the best gamers in yout favourite games, get some nice pets, get a lot of NP or collect coins, stamps, TCG or avatars... You can get the first 70% of the avatars very easy, so its nicer to start with, than with stamps or TGC - an you have the boards to display them. So i think its no wonder so many players decide to go for them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erin mcd Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I've only recently started collecting, and I like it because it basically catalogues your journey through the game. The "endlessly refreshing" avatars are irritating and kind of unnecessary in my opinion. I prefer ones where you actually have to do something to get the avatar. I know the shapeshifter one isn't that hard to get, but I was SO proud when I got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 It's just a fun little goal. It gives me something to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastie Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 For me it's just something to do, like training pets for the Battledome or reading all the books. Shrug. Initially I would just try to gun for avatars I wanted because they looked nice, and eventually I decided I might as well go for as many as I can get. (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biscuitchinois Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Avatars are nice to collect and to show on the boards. Also, I think it's lots of people's goals on neopets. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alynniae Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 then it's easier to find a goal for saving np, so i can pay the colleratal(or whatever, i'm not good at hard-to-spell english words :whistle:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.