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Post by Chiswick Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:50 pm

I forgot about this forum for a while but never GoPets. Anyways my laptop makes a beeping noises sometimes that is similar to the mewing noise the cats made in GoPets so I thought about revisiting here... And the forum is really, really dead.

I guess everyone is busy with real life or other games. I see other lurkers once in a while but almost no new posts at all. I wanted to post but I didn't want to necro an old topic so I decided to make this one after much contemplation. I guess it's basically a free-for-all. You can post what you've been up to and such if you want. Sorta like the b/s/t when there was no trading going on. Anyways with the general discussion, replies wouldn't be too awkward or forced if this thread got necroed.
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Post by Asynjur Tue Jun 14, 2011 3:11 pm

I've never understood what was wrong with "old threads"--I guess I should throw out any books I have that weren't written in the last week, they're no good! XD

People don't come here much, but I have many GoPets friends on Twitter and Facebook, so it's not like I don't see GP people. It's hard to make a stand alone forum a "destination" these days, the huge social sites have more of your friends and family. So people are drawn to those, or mostly see the people they're currently gaming with.

I'm trying to cut back on Facebook games. They're very frustrating and demanding now, not the simple games that originally appealed to people so much. Like if you miss clicking one link one day, you miss the item or have to pay cash instead to get it, there's all different kinds of requests and gifts and it goes on and on, a million things you need to do every day. I still love my virtual pets there, but doing all that stuff is a waste of time. So I've been playing World of Warcraft a little more again, you don't have to play every day and you can pick up right where you left off.
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Post by Chiswick Tue Jun 14, 2011 4:12 pm

I guess there's nothing wrong with the old threads. It's just I don't have anything to contribute to them but I still wanted to post something and talking to people.

Yah, I know what you mean about the state of this forum right now. There isn't really much to talk about but it's nice to see whatever has been up to lately. I try to stay off the online social radar though so I only use FB for work/school... though I did get really addicted to Pet Society for a while. I quit for the same reason you specified though. It became more of a grind to get more coins than actual gameplay. I haven't played any online games recently. Nothing seems able to hold my attention long enough.
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Post by momtomaeghan Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:01 am

Hey there everyone - has been pretty quiet around here lately. My daughter just graduated from high school (I find this very hard to believe as I am, of course, still VERY YOUNG). So we have been busy with family visiting for the graduation. She was valedictorian - we're so proud of her. She'll be going to the University of Chicago in the fall to study Astrophysics. That is, if I let her go - I think I'm gonna miss her too much.

As for games, I'm playing Happy Pets the most these days I think. If you just wait around until the cash animals get a little older then you can find them in the trader and not have to cough up the cash. I still play Pet Society too, but am frustrated for the same reasons Hodge is. It's hard for those of us who are collectors to have stuff come out that is available for just a 24 hour period - only on the fan page, or by visiting the mayor, or on the forum - how many places do they expect us to check each day anyway? So, I still play but have given up on trying to get everything.

I guess that's it for me right now. Smile
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Post by Asynjur Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:56 pm

Congratulations to your daughter! And good luck with her future studies and career. It sounds very exciting.
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Post by Chiswick Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:11 pm

Congratulations to your daughter! Ah, astrophysics sounds exciting. When I was younger I always wanted to be an astronomer but I was never good enough at science. Anyways, I hope she has fun at university~

Never heard of Happy Pets before, but then again the only pet games I've ever played were GoPets and Pet Society. Oh, and of course Neopets, haha.

And yes, I used to compulsively collect every newly released item on Pet Society but then with the introduction of cash items and non stop flood of new items, it became next to impossible to keep up.
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Post by yew Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:07 pm

Congratulations to your daughter, M2M!

I'm playing Pet Society too. It has occupied most of my online time, and recently I've been cutting back my time spending on it. But because of the Romantic Garden, since 3 weeks ago, I was indirectly forced to play more because I want to get that garden. Sad
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Post by KittyJuan Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:05 pm

I've actually been thinking a lot about GoPets again recently. Yesterday I went through several Google search results pages. I found several YouTube videos, reviews, blog posts, the GoPets Facebook page and the old GoPets Wiki at Wikia. A common trend were comments from people wondering what happened to GoPets or upset that it shut down (a lot of these comments are quite recent). I guess not everyone got the message while GoPets was still up and running. :'(

I find that the emotional attachment I have is not to the game itself but more to the people that made up the game. I watched the "GoPets - The Very End" video on YouTube for like the fifth time and it was so exciting seeing all the familiar usernames. *Sigh* I don't think I have ever or will ever again find such a community on the internet again.

Another interesting thing I discovered is that these forums don't show up when you do a Google search for "GoPets". That is a pity as it would redirect a lot of the lost souls looking for GoPets here. (It does come up when doing a search for "GoPets forums" though.

I can't believe its been a year and a half since GoPets shutdown. After writing this, I think I am suddenly depressed.
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Post by Asynjur Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:22 pm

Back when GoPets closed, I put a link to this forum at the bottom of the Wikipedia page for GoPets, and it stayed there for a long time. I think that's how some people wandered in here. But it's been edited out now - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoPets
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Post by Chiswick Sun Jul 03, 2011 4:31 am

I just watched the "GoPets - The Very End" and noticed that I am not in b/s/t so I guess I wasn't on when GoPets ended. I can't believe it's only been a year and a half since it shut down. It seems like ages. As for the community thing, I totally agree. It's hard to find a game with a community as close knit and friendly as GoPets'.

I still have the original game files untouched on my external hard drive. It's too precious for me to delete, LOL.
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Post by KittyJuan Fri Jul 29, 2011 7:01 am

So, a about a week ago I got another urge to read GoPets stuff. However, I am pretty sure I've already looked at every one of the 597,000 results that come up when you Google "GoPets" (okay, so that might be a bit of hyperbole). I instead came up with the idea to run a search for "Erik Bethke" and see what turns up. I discovered this page: http://casualconnect.org/lectures/2010-seattle-lectures/east-meets-west-virtual-goods-social-media/.

It seems he spoke at a game conference of some sort last year. His presentation was entitled "East meets West: A Post Mortem of GoPets". I was hoping to get some insight into how the company went from having several employees and producing content regularly to virtually bankrupt in what seemed like less than a year. Unfortunately, he was very vague and mostly talked about stuff I already knew (being a GoPets user and all).

It was still interesting though and brought back a lot of memories. However, I get the feeling that if GoPets was ever started back up it would be not be the same game we knew and loved. Erik seems to think that social games like the ones Zynga produces are the way to go.

He is probably right - social games are hugely popular and I am sure they generate tons of income. But I hate Facebook games. I hate how my feed is filled up with FarmVille and MafiaWars requests and how you need to force these games down your friends' throats in order to get anywhere in the game. I fail to see how they are "social" except that they ride on the backs of social networks to gain users.

I think GoPets in its old form was a lot more social than any Facebook game currently out there. If GoPets was turned into just another flash game that runs on a social network like Facebook, gone would be the tightly-knit community and everything that made GoPets unique. All the features we had become accustom to (like the custom item maker) would likely have to be dumbed down or removed. It would be a different game that I don't think I would be interested in playing.

Of course this is all speculation. And perhaps I am the only one that feels this strongly about "social games". But I would almost rather have GoPets stay lost forever than have it reincarnated as some "social game".

Anyway, enough of my ranting. The presentation is interesting to watch or listen to. The video is not particularly great as you cannot see any of the slides on the projector but you can download an audio file and the PowerPoint and just page through the slides as he speaks - this is what I did.
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Post by Asynjur Fri Jul 29, 2011 3:11 pm

I'm not going to watch it, but here is my take on games today - Facebook games have taken a huge dip, the last time I looked at the number was quite a while ago, but many of the most popular games had like half the number of players they'd had before. I think they've peaked, and the rest is down hill. The reason flash games became popular was their simplicity. It didn't take a lot of time or brain power, it was fun to play with friends and just click a few links. But now it's crazy! The industry needs a major reboot in their thought process designing these games.

It started when Facebook made some changes that impeded games (they have this snooty attitude they're too good for games, even though it's actually their bread and butter). These games are all owned by huge companies now that have a million games, so they are not heavily invested in any particular game. If one is not raking in enough cash, they'll dump it for something new, their are always some people who will try a new game even if it's bad so that's always a way to generate interest. So each game division was scrambling to make more money from the smaller number of people still playing their particular game, hence pushing the customers to spend more in both subtle and not so subtle ways. This tends to piss people off and the number of players continues to dip. When the inevitable drop in Facebook revenue came after those changes, they backpeddled, started to squawk again about being such a great gaming platform, and made new changes to attract games again. But those new changes just increased the newsfeed clogging posts and made the games more of a pain to the actual players, even though some of the changes the gaming companies might have been happy about.

The combination of all these forces has left us with games that want you to add a ridiculous number of friends or get a ridiculous number of clicks, make you log in every day or lose out on special items, among other stupid ideas, and often have an option to buy anything you missed with cash. I hear all the time that people have quit games, I never hear people raving about a new Facebook game that you just have to try. I don't think social games as they currently exist are the thing of the future, more a thing of the past. People are sick of it.

I'm not currently playing Pet Society or Happy Pets, in fact I have them blocked. If I unblock them, I'll be flooded with requests, requests I can't ignore because if I'm playing, too, I'll need people to click all kinds of links. I'd like to stop in and see my pets once and a while, but it's just not worth it. I wish it was still simple and fun, and I could look at the cute little graphics and smile. In fact I might even still be spending a dollar here or there, if a dollar could actually buy you anything in these games anymore. But it can't! They want a crazy investment of time and money for a silly flash game.

I've gone back to playing Warcraft because my husband and best friend play that almost exclusively, and because unlimited play for a set monthly fee is easy to budget. WoW certainly isn't perfect, but it's a lot less of a hassle than Facebook games!

If GoPets comes back in whatever form, I'll probably try it. But I don't know if I'll like it.
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Post by Chiswick Mon Aug 01, 2011 11:19 am

I would weep if GoPets came back as a "social game."
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Post by niquae Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:47 pm

I forgot about this forum too! Sorry!

I was thinking about GoPets recently on my rare visit to Facebook (attempting to leave Facebook behind), and realized how much I missed the community. While I enjoyed the game, it was the community that really stood out for me.

What's everyone doing these days?

I went back to school and am now in my first year in a nursing program. During the summer, I started playing Maple Story again. This was the game I had been playing around the same time I started playing GoPets! Actually, I think it was because of Maple Story I went on my first hiatus. lol. Missed all the summer premium items due to that.

Before that I spent a lot of time on Goodreads. Since classes started, I've returned to my first love, reading, and slowly getting active in Goodreads again. I'm hoping to catalog and organize my e-books, both in Goodreads and in Calibre. I intend to keep my Maple Story account active by logging on occasionally.

If anyone plays, PM me (I should still get email notifications, I think)! I'm on El Nido.
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Post by Chiswick Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:34 pm

Happy (belated?) New Year's, everyone!

School started as well and it's crazier than ever. The workload is ridiculous. :I How's nursing? I've heard rumours that nursing programs are usually a lot of work... Speaking of reading, I've been getting back into it too though I've been mostly reading non-fiction. Do you have any recommendations? I haven't played MS for years now. I remember joining when it first came overseas. I played for a week before the grind became too much.
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Post by niquae Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:55 pm

*headdesk* Wrote out a full reply but pressed the wrong button and lost it all! ARGH!

But yes, nursing is pretty rough for me. I am just hoping to hang out for the one and half years I have left.

I don't read much non-fiction, preferring genre fiction.

There is Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling by Jane Hyun.

Do you like philosophy? I really enjoyed Plato and the Platypus Walk into a Bar, and Aristotle and the Aardvark Go to Washington wasn't bad either.

I recently read Sh*t My Dad Says which was really fun. I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator was pretty good.

I also liked Learn Me Good by John Pearson, an engineer turned teacher who wrote about his first year teaching. It is self-published, and I think I got it for $0.99 on Amazon.com.

I had to read How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman for a pre-req course, which I found rather interesting. I heard that Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder was good. Since I heard a dramatized reading of Critical Care by Theresa Brown, R.N., I have been interested in reading it.

I've stalled on reading three non-fiction books: A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm; Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way by John Paul, II; and A Priest Forever: The Life of Father Eugene Hamilton by Benedict J. Groeschel. None of them are uninteresting. Non-fiction is just not a genre I'm keenly interested in reading. However, I do have to admit that Rise, Let Us Be on Our Way is pretty dry, or maybe it's the narrator since I was listening to the audiobook version. Hopefully, I will complete these three by the end of the year. I also hope to read Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through the Pearly Gates and Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts from History's Great Wits and Wordsmiths this year as well.
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Post by Chiswick Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:18 am

Ugh, I hate when that happens. Especially with e-mails. Thank goodness for the auto-save features.

I've never read a book on philosophy before but Plato and the Platypus Walk into a Bar sounds pretty interesting. I'll be sure to check it out the next time I go to the library.

I use to read a lot of fiction but it's hard to focus on the characters and the story when real life is so busy. Plus with fiction I sometimes lose track of time... :S Haven't read a good fiction book in years! I'm currently reading People and Empires by Pagden and seems interesting so far. None of my school books are very fun reads... great for reading right before bed though. Knocks you right out. For one course last semester, I read he Business of Women: Marriage, Family, and Entrepreneurship in British Columbia, 1901-51; 200+ pages on what could have been summed up in a page. Even the professor told us it was a really boring book but that it was mandatory for us to read anyway. I heard they switched it this semester to something different. :I
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Post by niquae Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:11 pm

Plato and the Platypus was rather fun. It's kind of like Philosophy 101 for Jokesters. Very Happy

Perhaps you might want to consider checking out fiction audiobooks from the library. You can listen to them while you clean, exercise, cook, travel, or maybe even eat. Although not a huge fan of audiobooks myself, I am listening more and more to it, especially if they are dramatized or a Radio Theater version which are more fun than having a single narrator read aloud.



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Post by Chiswick Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:58 am

I read an excerpt and it seemed pretty good so I put it on hold at the library. I prefer reading a hard copy of a book versus electronic or audio since it's easier to flip back and forth. Also, I'm a terrible listener. I'll get distracted by the easiest things and tend to zone out quite a lot. However, I do prefer electronic textbooks. So much lighter. Very Happy
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Post by niquae Mon Jan 23, 2012 5:32 pm

That's what I thought as well but I am reading more e-books than hard copies because of several reasons:

1. No shelf space. My father warns me not to buy anymore books and complains about how many books I've got.

2. Easier to read under the covers at night. Wink

3. Instant gratification.

Smile

I started becoming more interested in audiobooks after listening to a couple of Radio Theatre ones. Those are basically voice acting and they are more interesting to listen to than regular narrations. They have sound effects and soundtrack included. It's kind of like turning on the television or film to listen while you do something else.

And then there are the few special few narrators who are wonderful storytellers and make story come alive. I have seen this in action when I used to do an observation of a K-1 classroom (one of the teachers was a great storyteller) and my own aunt. I haven't come across a narrator like this who reads a book I'm interested in though (mostly children's books).

The two Radio Theatre ones I've tried are The Chronicles of Narnia and Anne of Green Gables. If at any time you are interested in checking them out, I recommend trying The Chronicles of Narnia over Anne of Green Gables though. I liked that one better.

While I did find my mind wandering while I listened to Shelly Frasier's Anne of Avonlea (I was also reading along on an e-book copy and would often read ahead ^_^), I find that this happens far less often with the Radio Theatre versions.

What I like about the audiobooks:

1. I can listen to it while I'm doing things I can't do and read simultaneously i.e. cooking, cleaning, dishes, working out, while walking from subway to location and back, etc.

2. It is also easy to listen to audiobooks at night before bed.

It's funny what you say about electronic textbooks. I am not that fond of them myself, to be honest, but that sentiment is definitely flavored by my current "textbooks online" deal with the textbooks I have right now. They are online, not user-friendly, do not have bookmarking or highlighting capabilities, and when I scroll down, a wide vertical streak of color hides half the text! *gnashes teeth* Thank goodness I have hard copies, anyway.

I definitely need the hard copies for textbooks, especially if they come with important diagrams and images that are not as convenient to look at electronically. If I can't get a binder version, I just cut the bindings on the textbooks so that my load is lighter. It definitely drops resale value, but at least I can carry it around and read it, right? I find it easier to read a hard copy of books, and I find it easier to highlight, underline and make notes on hard copies rather than electronic versions. The electronic versions are definitely more convenient on a commute though.
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Post by Chiswick Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:03 am

I've listened to some of my mom's audio books but I find I just can't do it. I have a lot of difficulties with listening. If my eyes so as much wanders if I'm doing anything, I'll be guaranteed to be distracted. I find with an actual book I'll be less distracted cause all my attention will be diverted to it... so for now, I'll stick to reading physical books. I borrow most of mine from the library since I don't have a lot of shelf space either. I do buy the occasional book if I feel it was really good and rereadable (though the latter is super rare so I own very few books that aren't reference books.)

I read Chronicles of Narnia when I was a kid. The series ending was really disappointing to me. Funnily, I own one book from Anne of Green Gables series which is Anne of Avonlea... but I really didn't like the writing style. I loved the television series though and I ended up visiting Green Gables in P.E.I. It was really lovely!

As for sleeping, I am usually so exhausted I just pass right out. Plus my schedule is pretty tight so even if I can't sleep, I force myself to so I can get as much rest as possible. Same goes for reading on commute. I just sleep during my commute. Way to tired to read. I make notes for all my readings and just read those instead. I keep my hard copies at home for notes and use the electronic copies in class. They are far too heavy to lug around and I can't bring myself to breaking them.
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