Petopia Needs a New Mascot

[Wain]

Since it'd be effectively a "brand icon" I wouldn't be too concerned with what is the most popular as much as what is eye-catching but is still very recognizable as a hunter pet. What is distinctive and doesn't remind people of other sites or brands? Also something that complements your chosen colour scheme (something that isn't a clashing colour, but I also suspect most things pale or green would probably blend in too much).

I think the purple tallstrider would probably look effective (and has a green streak that matches the site), the blue felboar, red raptor. A dragonhawk would look effective also, and is quite ornate.

Alternatively, perhaps a pair of beasts of different types. They could be used individually in different parts of the site, but could also flank the Petopia logo like a coat of arms.

[Vephriel]

Ahh, thinking of complementary colours, a red/orange would off set the current scheme.


The orange is a nice complementary colour to the pale green, plus the tiger has green eyes. Distinctive pet, eye-catching, and a Cataclysm addition while not being an entirely new skin.

[cowmuflage]

Why not a "common" skined pet. Not everyone likes unique rares :S

[lilatha]

A BOAR! A black one!
Or a Gorilla ... c'mon how many times was 'whats the best leveling pet?' and Gorilla was the answer ... good times :')


or idk maybe a sporebat 8D

[TygerDarkstorm]

[lilatha]

Its wrong that i was teh first to mention that c'mon people!
Tbh I really do love boars they are so cute >u<

[Kurasu]

Chitter, naturally. He was given birth by the people of Petopia. Who's more fitting?

[SpiritBinder]

I still have a rather soft spot for Mazzranache , being the original Forums mascot, and even more so now she has 4 little ones running after her (Both her and the Petopian family has grown dramatically since then ) but as the forums is the sister site, I'm gonna go with Veph and say the teal Strider would be perfect


Maybe a combination of 3? (A ferocity, cunning, and tenacity pet?) I guess I'm coming back to the family/group unit of us all again

[Xella]

I cannot disagree!

In all seriousness, I will have to give this some thought. My first thought was "well, why not have a random image script with several choices? Sure, it doesn't have as much a "mascot" feel but then more pets can be submitted—if anyone's ever visited Overclocked Remix, they have a similar thing going on up by their search bar on the top-right. Each "mascot" is also a link to their bio—taking a similar route, clicking on a pet on the top bar would link to their taming page, so clicking on Sporey/Squishy above would link to the blue sporebat page.

This presents two different issues: first, finding (or creating) a script to rotate the images that's both secure and isn't going to explode if someone's running NoScript or similar (or if it does, having a static image underneath so that there's not just a blank spot on the site layout, similar to Wowhead's "we're supported by advertising, don't block our ads " thing that you see sometimes if the ad company's site is being slow to load... or if you actually have some sort of ad blocker, lol). Secondly, creating the different images—this could end up being an artsy/modelviewery contest, or could be done by one or two people in order to keep a consistent style.

A third potential issue: the favicon.ico would have to be static, unless it was manually changed out every few weeks. My petopia favicon appears to have gotten eaten but I could have sworn I've seen one there in the past, so it might just be my browser (because my own website's favicon is also missing, but my guild's is not). In that case, the question again becomes "do you want a specific pet as a mascot, or some non-pet but pet-ish logo in its place?" e.g. Pokémon, where the pokéball is NOT the logo/mascot (unless things have changed since I stopped paying attention), but is nevertheless a widely-recognized symbol of the series. The only thing that immediately springs to my mind in that vein for hunters is the Tame Beast icon: which works but doesn't feel very much like Petopia to me

[Moonlost]

Hmm, it's a good question Mania. I've gotten so used to the old Ghostsaber, it's hard to think of a replacement. XD
I like Spiritbinder's idea of three, one from each family. Perhaps have them cycle though randomly, or have them on different parts of the site? In a way, a variety of pets would be the perfect representation of Petopia. Or perhaps a completely custom chararacter, something unique to Petopia. :3

As for what pets I would choose... Well, that's a whole other question. I'll list my favourite choice from each family and list why.

Cunning

The Brown Tarrantula, a.k.a Chitter.
Yeah, for obvious reason. XD I love the story of Chitter and how he came to be. On the PTR he is the most precious thing when you see him. XD He's all hyperactive and awesome, I can't imagine anybody hating the little guy. Spiderbaby needs to be recognised!

Ferocity

The Black Lion, a.k.a Humar the Pride Lord.
You can't get more iconic than Humar. For many new hunters he's the first rare pet they camp. Even today, in the age of Spirit Beasts and other amazing looking rare pets, you'll still see someone running about with a black lion by their side. His green eyes also match up with the green theme of petopia. :3

Tenacity

The Ancient Turtle, a.k.a Ghamoo-ra.
Honestly, it was hard for me to pick a tenacity. I was half tempted to choose one of the gorillas to remember the Gorilladin phase we had at the end of BC and the start of WotLK. But I decided to go with the current king of pet tanking, the humble turtle. And I really love the new look of Ghamoo-ra. Again, his pale green look would match the colours of Petopia pretty well.

[Lisaara]

I do like the triple idea. If we do that then....



I also like the rotating idea too. Let it rotate between the most popular, iconic beasts, plus the ghost saber.

[Litlemouse]

What about a fox? I think that really shows the hunter's nature, y'know clever and swift, etc. I'm just throwing my ideas out here, so I'm not really thinking much :\
I think BM would be ok, it focuses on pets, and there is dual talents now only for 10g ^_^ if it was I'd choose the spirit leopard, or King Krush. They're eye catching B)

[AdamSavage]

As much as I love my little ghost saber, I think Petopia needs a new hunter pet as its mascot.

Should it be:
The most popular pet?
The most recognizable pet?
A Cataclysm pet to represent the expansion?
A spirit beast to represent the pinnacle of Beast Mastery?
A starter pet to represent young hunters?
A pet that has specific meaning to me, or the community here?

What are your thoughts? Suggestions?


Edited: I want to skip the discussion of exotic/non-exotic right now. Give me suggestions of each for now and we'll go from there.

April Fools ?

[Cialbi]

^ Forgot that Mania is a few timezones ahead of me, and probably in tomorrow already.

That said, if this isn't a joke, then my idea would be..

Its wrong that i was teh first to mention that c'mon people!
Tbh I really do love boars they are so cute >u<

..what she said.

[lilatha]

..what she said.

/flex

[Maladramatic]

Red crab would be too much like the dev watercooler, where ghostcrawler is a red crab.

[Azunara]

Actually, I did say sporebat before you, Lil. Just so you know. *cackles.*

I win!

(Not that it's important or anything.)

[Starzein]

Any pet in camouflage I mean come on how cool does that effect look.....

[Tyuriwen]

I like the idea of the Strider Clutchmother, actually, since when I first found Petopia Mazza caught my eye instantly =) And I definately second the Sporebat, they're majestic, beautiful creatures.

When I think hunter, I think every hunter has either had a wolf or a cat at some point (I'm terribly sorry if anyone here's an exception, but that's just my opinion). So perhaps a common wolf skin?

I know Winna's Kitten is very popular/a tad overused, but it's always been a favourite of mine; or perhaps Rema or Old Cliff Jumper? OCJ has those beautiful green eyes that made me fall in love with him, and Rema's always held a special place in my heart. =3 Purely personal opinions, though.

A rotating picture would be a wonderful idea, but I presume it might be too much work?

[Ana]

Keep the ghostsaber ! OR Mazzy who have been on the petopian pages as well

or alternatively

have two mascots with a theme.. let me illustrate what i mean

one in the left side, one in the rigth side

Other matches Two wolves howling one on the left ,one on the rigth (worg/wolf/nortrend model) in the colors white/black (opposite colors) or two spiritwolfs howling ( i know thats an excotic )

Two Lions roaring, one on the left ,one on the rigth

and so on