Former Staffer Snarkie - AMA's

[♥ PrettySarcastic ♥]

Snarkie periodically answers questions on her website, and most of them are about her time at Neopets.

(you need an account to see links)

(you need an account to see links)

The new ones are transcribed for the lazy. If you want to read every 'AMA' answer she's ever done, you'll have to click through them.

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Plotting a Plot – Faerie’s Ruin As Engaging As An Event?
AUGUST 22, 2020
Disregard this if it’s already gonna be in Part 2 of “Plotting a Plot”, but if “Events” were/are more engaging than “Plots,” how did you make The Faerie’s Ruin as engaging as an “Event?” If you were able to? You mentioned you had some “tricks up your sleeve(s)” to get participation numbers up.
- Kaljinyu


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
I’d planned for a bit of that to be in a future breakdown—if I ever actually get to that point —in my patented rambling format but the super short answer:

We literally stole some event mechanics like achievements (which were in other Plots but still, extended in TFR) and recurring/high max rewards to encourage “endgame” participation, plus the combo plot/war approach to extend reach, plus “multiplayer” steps to encourage teamwork. Not to mention more extensive puzzles not only to make the challenges more fun but that also required more discussion/strategization with fellow players to figure out mechanics. And the NC bit had its own mini version of the same types of engagement. Overall, we wanted to get more people re-engaging with the puzzles/challengers multiple times (while not feeling too grindy) and encouraging people to work together and help each other for the social aspect, which always keeps people engaged.

It didn’t match what could have been done with Events over that same timespan but it did much better than we anticipated. Part of that was by design but, to be fair, part of it was also just PLOT HYPE too.



Regular account
MAY 28, 2020
Did you have a regular account you played on other than your admin account? If so, would you disclose what it was now since you no longer play?
- _y0urm0m_


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
I do! But no, I’ll never give it out. I like being anonymous there… and I actually use that username on a few different sites so I won’t be recognized, so I don’t want to give myself away. 



staff drama and all that fun stuff
MAY 07, 2020
hi snarkie 
after many years away, i’ve returned to the site in the midst of quarantine (on that note, i hope you and your loved ones are well.) i stumbled across your website and was incredibly happy to do so. to cut to the chase, i have a few questions. i guess i am mostly curious about TNT staff, and the politics that go on….
what was working in the office like? (i imagine something like office space but more fun).
do you still speak to any of the staff now that you have resigned?
do you have problems with anyone? i wonder about adam and donna, hrobi, mari_jhane, mistressfaerie, ad0… where are they now? i’ve read older ama’s from donna but would love to see a fresh one. anyways, all the best to you in this crazy time, snarkie  thanks for reading!
- toki


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
Hi, toki. It’s hard to explain the office without rambling for hours, but it was great. I mean, it was like any job so there were frustrations and hardships and angry pranks involving many bean bag chairs but overall it was great. Everyone was super nice, talented, professional, and friendly. We all trusted each other to do what we thought was best for the site, could speak in shorthand and get things done really quickly, and also just hang out and relax. The team was super awesome.

I talk to some old staff members, like, every day. We’re still really good friends.

No problems with anyone. There are some folks that I wasn’t super best friends with but like I said, everyone was professional and friendly so they’re good folks and I wish them well. (Like any place, we also had a few bad apples over the years but they never lasted long at all and I don’t really consider them TNT. )

Haven’t spoken to A&D since Meteor Games days. The other folks you mention either never worked for Neopets or were before my time. 

A bunch of us did an (you need an account to see links)a few years ago if you want to check that one out.

Thanks for the well wishes! I hope you’re staying safe!



Pant Devil
APRIL 29, 2020
long shot, but I guess it can’t hurt to ask.

When the one player battledome opened way back when, what color was the Pant Devil?

He’s always been blue, but before the challenger launched the images were of a red Pant Devil. (which I didn’t save, and to this day can’t find anyone else who has them)

Any insights on why he was going to be red in the BD?
- Joe


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
That was slightly before my time but I don’t remember a red pant devil ever. Could have been temp art and they decided to change his colour… or maybe he was just angry for a while? Or maybe you’ve gone completely mad?

Sorry! I started in 2002 so unless it’s actual Neopian Lore from before then that I learned to catch up, I’m not much help.



[Not Neo-Related]
Creating Plushies
APRIL 05, 2020
Hey Snarkie,
My question is how did you get into making plushies? It is difficult and what are some tips you have for beginners? Thanks and hope you are healthy and safe.
- Angela


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
LiveJournal! That’s how long ago I made plushies, heh. I saw someone post a pattern and tutorial there for a really simple sitting doll and had to give it a try. I could already sew from making costumes so I really only had to grasp the bit about sewing 3D shapes. I made a few and then fell out of it because of other crafts, but I really want to get back into it. I had a whole list of plushies to make back then and I found it while we were moving. I have a hankering now. ANYWAY…

For starting now, I’d recommend free patterns from cholyknight.com and makeshiftwings30 on YouTube (or just search beginner plush on YouTube). They’ve got really easy-to-follow stuff to get your feet wet and learn about the basics. And you can start out with hand sewing if you don’t have a sewing machine. Little by little, you’ll start to learn about more complex shapes and how to draft your own patterns for custom plush. Good luck! It’s really fun to do and the bonus is that you make yourself a bunch of pals to hang out with as you learn. 



Treasure keepers
JANUARY 06, 2020
Would love to hear a little bit on Treasurer Keepers. Why it was cancelled, what prevented its porting to the neopets site, just anything! Miss it much
- Travis


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
I know I’ve answered this before but I can’t find it for the life of me!

AH HA! Scroll down to see an answer in this post about why it wasn’t ported to the site once it was cancelled. Long story short: It couldn’t be. It was made for a completely different site with completely different architecture.

As for why it was cancelled: Meteor Games (the developer) went out of business suddenly. We got an email one day telling us so and that the servers were going away. There was nothing we could do. (We had to quickly come up with a thank you reward for players before it disappeared and, thankfully, there was time for folks to redeem it.) Prior to that, though, it wasn’t making the money it needed to be sustainable but we were working with Meteor on trying to solve that. The revenue might have gotten better and let the game survive for a while, or it might have had to be cancelled anyway eventually. We’ll never know. 

Thanks for your question! I miss it too. I had tons of fun working on that and really enjoyed playing it.

Old AMA: (you need an account to see links)



Tooth Faerie
JANUARY 03, 2020
Did you create the tooth faerie?
If so, what was the inspiration for her design, specifically the pink fluffy part underneath the cleavage?
- Shel


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
She was created before my time so I couldn’t tell you specifically. But the pink fluffy part is… just a dress? Like, a sarong over a bodysuit? I’m not sure what else to tell you haha.



Original PS2 Game Development
JANUARY 01, 2020
I’m curious to know if we’d ever get to see more of the development work on The Darkest Faerie game? And why Google shows a cover for a PS1 game that was never made?
- farm_hole


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
That was all Sony and the dev house so I wasn’t too involved with that outside of testing and some vague story review/feedback but I’ll look in my archives and see what I have. Added to my list to post something if I find anything. 

The Darkest Faerie was originally going to be released for PS1 but got pushed to PS2. I’m not sure what cover you’re talking about but I imagine it’s that. Amazon even still has a listing for the PS1 version that was never released.



Did you ever done those articles about the process of writing up plots?
DECEMBER 20, 2019
Did you ever published those articles about the process of writing up plots? I beleive you mentioned that in the TNT AMA a few years ago, but I don’t seen to find anything on yout tumblr
- Jo�o


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
They’re here on this site… when I can find time to write them.  I don’t have much free time but I intend to keep posting them some day.



[Not Neo-Related]
Suggestions on Games to Play
DECEMBER 14, 2019
Do you have any game suggestions for PC, mobile, consoles? If so, why do you like them?
- Nikki


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
Hi, Nikki! You asked this like a year ago so maybe you’re not looking for games anymore  but still… right now I’m all about GENSHIN IMPACT. It’s an RPG you can play on mobile or PC, and play with friends. It’s got great story and art direction, fun team-building strategizing, plenty of hours to invest as free-to-play without spending a dime, and the music is . It’s grindy but in a fairly relaxing way (unless you plan to min/max your characters and shoot for very specific weapons/artifacts; then you’ll go a bit crazy).

Otherwise, I’ve been playing a lot of my fallbacks right now to relax, since I’m fairly busy and in the middle of moving. So Overwatch (mindless face shooting; short gaming intervals), Ooblets (relaxing pet collecting and farming), Slay the Spire (chill turn-based deck-building combat), and Hades (grindy combat fun). Plus WoW. Always WoW. 



Plotting a plot
DECEMBER 10, 2019
When is part ii coming?
- Rihen


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
When I can get around to it.  I don’t get paid to write them or anything so it’s a spare time thing, and I have a limited amount of that. As much as I want to answer questions and enjoy talking about our process and storytelling (and clearing up misconceptions), I have other things that get higher priority when that spare time does come around.

I have been working on Part 2 and gotten a first draft together so that’s something… but I have no ETA when it’ll be done/posted.

[PS Note: Here's Part 1: (you need an account to see links) ]



**We found who's to "blame" for which pets are UC and which aren't, uh oh!**
UC Pets
DECEMBER 02, 2019
I realized after that I posted this in the comments and didn’t use the form. I am very sorry for the double posting mess. Just wanted a chance to ask
–
Hey, Snarkie! *tosses some red vines*
What is your personal take on UCs?
Who’d decision was this? Why were certain pets only chosen from some colours that remained UC? Why not all Faeries, or Royals, for example?
Did TNT EVER have a plan of making them available, or did they try? Did they think they could sell a UC PB, or a potion in the Mall?
Coming from a lover of one single UC (I won’t reveal, because that will reveal me), I can’t fathom the feeling some may have gone through losing their hard-earned, painted pet for one that may not have been as extravagant as its UC form.
Please lighten the darkened places for us. And sorry for bombarding with a million questions right off the bat.
Having a lovely time browsing your site!
- Emerald


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
Hi!!! I’m pretty sure we’ve answered this in a few places over the years (it’s a common question) but it would be nice to have it here for reference so here you go. I’ll try to keep it short this time.  Thanks for asking!

Personal take: UCs were a huge mistake and the bane of our existence. 

Whose decision: Since I was in charge of content at the time, it was ultimately my decision after we all discussed for weeks and weeks about how to handle conversion. Feel free to blame me!

Choice for UC colour/combo options: We didn’t want *any* unconverted combos for a number of reason—the maintenance it would require on the back end over time, Customisation was the new direction and we didn’t want a ton of remnants, it would confuse newbies, etc.—but felt that there were certain combos that would be really harsh to convert so we came up with the limited UC option as a compromise. (And we felt we could keep up the maintenance on the dwindling number of them over a long period of time since they would eventually be painted, the owners would abandon their accounts and they’d be purged, etc.). There were many factors that went into which ones had the UC option, like how customised the art was, how expensive/difficult it was to get the combo, when the combo was released, how many we were allowing overall, etc. We had a bunch of checklists and went over every combo to decide if it got a UC option.

Sell UCs: It would have very likely made us a TON of money in the NC Mall, sure, but we always felt it was pretty dang unfair to take something away from everyone* and then sell back access to it. That reason alone prevented us from ever seriously considering it. (Plus, like I said, we didn’t want any UCs at all so adding back an option to create them didn’t really make sense anyway.)

I hope that answered all your questions!

* We saw Customisation as a huge benefit. It was a feature that had been *frequently* and *adamantly* requested since the dawn of the site. And added much more extravagance and uniqueness to your own Neopet than the static art of the old days. So we didn’t really see conversion as taking something away so much as giving something new and different… but still, some people did feel that way. And regardless, charging you for something you used to have didn’t seem right.



Long Lost Blue Zafara Plushie Prototype
NOVEMBER 15, 2019
Hi Snarkie! I ran into an odd item and I was wondering if there was a story behind it- the Long Lost Blue Zafara Plushie Prototype. The art for this guy depicts him with a little tag around his neck in the shape of a star with a clear sleeve around it, like the traditional KeyQuest plushies have.
Was there ever actually a Blue Zafara KeyQuest plush that never got released, or is this item just a silly joke to spark exactly this sort of question?
- Cassie


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
This is a nod to the fact that Dragona had been trying to get a Zaffy plushie made for years but never succeeded. Poor Dragona. 

Since Zafaras were a species created via a fan art contest back in ye olden days and Lawyers are nervous folks, they were just avoided for certain merchandise. I don’t think one was ever actually made. (I’m not 100% certain! But given what I know about the process and the various merch rules, it’s not very likely.)



Unused Art/Characters
NOVEMBER 11, 2019
So there’s now a mobile game for Neopets called Legends and Letters, which has a gacha element using Neopets characters to build a team. For the most part, it uses existing art for established characters that we’ve seen before, like Battledome poses and TCG art. Some previously unused characters have also shown up, like that Lutari Island Ogrin (now called Thogrin):
(you need an account to see links)

However, a couple of other characters have shown up with art we’ve either not seen before, or entirely new characters. I assume most are from canned/cut down features, and I was wondering if you had any insight on them? The first is the Pirate Supporter:

(you need an account to see links)

He appears with other pirates from the Curse of Maraqua plot, but he was never a challenger. I assume he was a cut challenger? Does that mean there were entire waves cut from Curse of Maraqua? (And, I guess, given CoM’s mechanics that would mean another 5 cut challengers exist?)

They’ve also released a character that appears to be a coloured version of Gladstone from the Seekers:

(you need an account to see links)

Does that mean all of the characters that appeared in the Obelisk trailers had full art drawn? Or was Gladstone also a cut challenger? Were there others?

Finally, there’s new art for Captain Bloodhook, the Eyrie that was thought blown up by Hannah in the Neopedia (new art shown far right here):

(you need an account to see links)

He was thought dead after that, but does this art mean there were plans for him in some cancelled feature as well? Or was he another of the possible cut CoM challengers?

Thanks for any answers you can give!
- Herdy


snarkie
JANUARY 04, 2021
Heyo! Interesting question. The broad answer is that I don’t know for sure about any of these. There are a BAJILLION art files with art in various stages so it could be anything from concept to off-model/unapproved to incomplete-but-touched-up to final-but-unused, etc… and since I don’t remember these pieces specifically, it’s hard to say for sure. Especially since we never reused art for different features, so unless a piece was super prolific throughout a feature or marketing, it’s easy to forget it.

But for each one specifically…

I don’t really remember specific CoM challengers very well since it was a LONG time ago but I do remember there were cut/extra waves… I’m fairly certain. Though I can’t say for sure where any of that art is from, it does makes sense to me that Pirate Supporter would have been a cut one or a concept and not chosen as a final, which is also common, especially for more generic BD challengers. (We’d request a handful and use the ones we liked.) You mentioned Pirate Supporter appears with other challengers in other final art… if you have an image of two that I can look at, it might jog my memory more. But I would bet it’s cut or concept, yup. /nod

Can’t really say about Bloodhook because he’s a “hero” character that was used in a few different things, so there could be lots of art files that come up when you search for “bloodhook” that have nothing to do with CoM. Heh. (I have a very vague notion that we used him in something external/licensed at some point… though I couldn’t tell you what or why I think that. ) That could also be pulled from a comic… I’ve seen JS do that before when other people have sent me stuff. Although I’m inclined to believe you guys already checked for that heh.

The Gladstone one is pretty weird! Firstly because there were no cut challengers (I’m like 99% sure) and we never drew extra full-body art of the trailer characters who weren’t BD. Secondly because I could swear I know who drew that image and that artist left WAY before Obelisk… so that’s super odd. I could be wrong, of course, but I would bet NP on it. So it’s either a huge coincidence that Gladstone looks like old art, or I’ve gone mad. Is that coloured version only in the game or does it exist anywhere on images.neo that I can look at (for upload date and filename and such)?

Sorry this is all very vague! Like I said, it’s easy to forget specifics on these. But there are a lot of reasons why there’d be “unreleased” art of a character other than they were cut from something so I wouldn’t default to the cut challenger explanation on most stuff. It does make sense for features that had generic BD challenger waves like the CoM pirates, though!

As always, feel free to share more or ask anything else if needed!

[Ice]

Wow the UC question was very interesting and nice insight to have on the backend process of it all... honestly of course I am thankful the team ultimately decided to greenlight keeping even the pool of UCs we have currently, even though there are plenty to still mourn the loss over, and I do respect Snarkie's moral decision backing not selling an UC item. From a moral standpoint I appreciate it, but from an idiot standpoint a part of me wishes they did go that route haha. I'm 99.99% sure users would have overlooked any greedy capitalistic angle and embraced buying it wholeheartedly. xD

[Ariealle]

damn, I asked a good question, lol. never thought it would get answered and forgot about it. (thanks, Snarkie!) Interesting to know who was behind it all. I couldn't even blame her if I tried because she was my favourite staff. it's slightly heart-wrenching though to hear that they were a mistake.. that's like the nail on the coffin for me to never ask about it again. Thank you, @(you need an account to see links) for the post. love reading this stuff.
*whose, bc that is embarrassing.

[Flordibel]

What a great share! Snarkie's really cool. She sends a little note each time you buy from her shop. My Christmas tree this year was heavy in Snarkie charms.

That's a reallt interesting perspective on UCs, too. I can definitely see why they were afraid it would seem scummy to sell a UC item, and I'd never considered thst before.

[motherfucker]

I am so happy you've shared this. Simply reading about the UCs made me rethink how TNT (or at least old TNT) does stuff sometimes. I really appreciate that they didn't want to be scummy and resell something they took away.

It would be nice if new TNT was transparent like Snarkie is, though I understand as most businesses, customer's don't particularly have a "right" to know what goes on behind the scenes. I'm happy that Snarkie is still doing her thing, but she would have been such a blessing to have during this mobile transition. From what it sounds like, she would likely clash a lot with current staff and management.

It's a super weird feeling to read more of this behind-the-scenes stuff. I can't really describe it. It's exciting and makes me feel a little different about this obsession with Neopets.

[kittyray]

I'd also never considered how it would be scummy to sell UC options in the mall, but I totally see where they're coming from. I think after all this time it'd feel a little different, but it makes complete sense. Still always sad to see them say it was a mistake even if I understand why it feels that way.

Did pop into my head of what if they did the opposite, left all pets UC and you had to pay to convert them and use the mall, but I think that would have gotten more people angry.

[Erik.]

I'd also never considered how it would be scummy to sell UC options in the mall, but I totally see where they're coming from. I think after all this time it'd feel a little different, but it makes complete sense. Still always sad to see them say it was a mistake even if I understand why it feels that way.

Did pop into my head of what if they did the opposite, left all pets UC and you had to pay to convert them and use the mall, but I think that would have gotten more people angry.

I think if that were the case almost no one would've converted their pets. Especially considering the first wearables were terrible (heh that rhymes). Remember the potato sack? Or the gummy lips? Or that mountain bg that was pretty but everyone had it.

[Sakuras]

Her answer regarding the UC question was super insightful. Funny to know now she's the one responsible for it (which I totally get her perspective from a business/corporate-y perspective) and that TNT just didn't really want UCs in the first place. (though we knew that already, sort of)

Respect to Snarkie and how transparent she is, I love reading her AMAs!

[kittyray]

I think if that were the case almost no one would've converted their pets. Especially considering the first wearables were terrible (heh that rhymes). Remember the potato sack? Or the gummy lips? Or that mountain bg that was pretty but everyone had it.

That's almost definitely true. I went on hiatus within a month of the mall rolling out and stayed about for a few years, so I missed a lot of that fallout and how bad the early items were, tbh, so I can't say from experience, but I believe it.

[j03]

Did no one catch the one person that brought up "ad0"? Dude was one of the most notorious hackers, gave Adam a headache on the regular back in the day...