Almost all video and pc games are based on the stuff you can earn. We are just pawns in the game inventors hand who strive to obtain all the stuff possible to insure that we rule supreme in the the game that we are playing. Club Penguin is a master at making us want our penguins to be dominant over other penguins by accumulating stuff.

First off CP has devised the inventory system. Our inventory, in theory, shows how successful our penguins are. Arranged from the oldest items to the most recent items it is a way that we gauge our age, status, and shows the treasure of all our efforts.

Inventory ~ Shows how successful we are. We feel important when our inventory contains a complete collection of all the stuff that Club Penguin has sold and presented for free to our penguins. How many times do we suddenly become early risers when new catalogs, pins, and parties are released?

Card ~ A place for us to display our oldest and rarest items. It also reminds us of how rich in coins we are,  thus insuring us that we are winners and advid game players.

Pins ~ Never to be repeated. This is how the beta penguins will always be able to show how long they have been around. By posting the lucky clover these penguins suddenly become someone we want to meet and befriend.

Backgrounds ~ Sometimes repeated, but there will always be extremly rare ones that when posted to our cards show that our chronological age exceeds those of the newer penguins.

Buddies ~ This is there to reinforce that we are popular. I remember the buddy gliche where you could accumulate more that 100 buddies. I was like sweet and proceeded to see just how many buddies I  could have. Eventually I had 315 buddies. Most of these people were penguins that I randomly clicked on and invited to my list or penguins who randomly clicked on me. It was fun at the time but then became a burden because I wanted to add someone special back onto my list and had to delete 216 penguins to add the one. Some of the penguins I had added had become special to me and it was gut wrenching to have to delete them. Club Penguin took care of some of the thought process I was put through by deleting a few penguins each time that I logged on. Eventually my list returned to normal and I was able to add the penguin. I predict that somewhere in the future CP will allow for us to purchase extra buddy spaces for our list.

Missions ~ Our stuff on a more personal level. Although we can’t wear medals or show our certificates to others they provide us with an inner statisfaction that we have achieved them.

Codes ~ Now Club Penguin has added another way to show that we are special penguins. They have hit the retail market with cute toys and just to make sure that we want them all they have attached plastic coins redeemable for “treasures”. These items purchased with our codes from the Treasure Book allow us to show other penguins that in real life we also have a certain status because we have real toys too. We are compelled to purchase multiple collections of penguins, books, and figurines so that we can obtain the codes and collect all the items from the treasure books.

Membership ~ Of course this should be obvious by now…We all want to be members because this allows us to have stuff that non-members are not able to own. It gives us status and makes us suddenly become more popular. I get so aggitated by penguins that want to be my friend because I’m a member. I also hate penguins that only want members as buddies….its all about the stuff! Recently Club Penguin has been reproducing past items (sometimes these items were released years ago and haven’t been seen since). This duplication of old items has led many penguins to be upset and in extreme cases quit Club Penguin. Suddenly, they can no longer prove their status, age, and dedication to the game through the rare items that have become new once again.

It is not in our nature to submit to our fellow penguins a blank card. A penguin that has one color, no background, no pin, and no coins. Thus, Club Penguin and other games will continue to draw us in for the stuff that we can earn.