Recruiting July Journalists

Hi friends!

July is just around the corner, and guess what? We are on the lookout for our new monthly journalists!

Every beginning of the month, we ask the blogging community to submit their blogs to be selected as our best journalists. These special journalists represent our community, and they are rewarded with exclusive prizes for their dedication to updating everyone with news and events!

In case you are unaware of how to become a Journalist, here are the requirements (you'll have to follow at least one of the following things):

•      Publish your own content on your blog (post on your blog with your own words — don't copy the content from other places like the Official Blog). However, you are free to use the pictures from the Official Blog in your posts! 
•      Be active in the community — in-game (by helping people, being nice, be aware of all the latest updates and news in the game) and out of the game (post often on your blog, post on the forum, reply to the tweets from the official Twitter, reply to the posts on the official Facebook page).

If you are selected to be a Journalist, you will receive the following sweet features (only the main owner of the blog will receive these prizes; no author or partner will be rewarded):

•      You get your own Journalist-badge for your player card, at the bottom right corner, along with the Journalist player card skin.
•      You will receive a feather (if you don't already have one) and two weeks of citizenship.
•      Your blog will be added to our blogroll in the blog sidebar.
•      And... a chance to write your own very blog post for the main blog!

If you would like to become a Journalist, leave a comment with your Chotopia username (only the main owner can submit his/her blog) and a link to your blog by July 1st. We will closely review all the blogs in few days, choose our new July Journalists, and will announce them in a new post.

Note: If you want to become a Journalist, your blog must be active, posting at least every 2 weeks. Former Journalists will have to re-submit their blogs!

Keep blogging!

Sylva

Design Contest Results

Hi friends!

It's the moment we have all been waiting for — it's time to announce the winners to the Summer Design Contest! After reviewing all entries closely (and we had a total of 30 entries!), one thing was very clear to us: we have an extremely talented community! Thank you all so much for your participation in this contest, but sadly there could only be two winners.

Surprisingly, these two winners have submitted multiple entries, and we actually found some of them to be very awesome ideas... and so we have been kind enough to not only announce them as winners of one design that they created, but multiple that will be implemented in-game! Please congratulate our following designing winners:

Cliché

Natsu

You both have earned yourselves 12 days of citizenship, 10,000 bugs, a paintbrush, and your own designed items in-game (the designers are still working hard on implementing all six of these items, so please be patient and you will receive them as soon as possible)! If either of you already have a paintbrush, you will receive a basia suit. Again, congratulations to the both of you and enjoy your well-earned prizes!

Don't forget that you still have lots of time to enter in the Garbage Collector competition (ends on July 2nd), so make sure you enter in if you have not yet!

Stay cool,

Sylva

Party Recap, Garbage Collector Competition

Hi friends!

Wow — what a blast! We had so much fun with you guys this evening at the beach, and I can't help but share some awesome pictures that were taken at the party (special thanks to Bebot for being the photographer). Take a glance below and see if you could spot yourself in any of the pictures:

At the end of the party, we had surprised you with a special treat: a Citizenship Trial for three days! Please enjoy the few days of being a special member on Chotopia by making sure you check out all the benefits of being a citizen! Also, as we had promised, we did select a handful of stylish chobots who dressed the best for the summer. Congratulations to the following fashionistas:

You four each have earned yourselves 10,000 bugs — spend your money wisely!

Not only did we announce the Citizenship Trial after the party, but also a new competition in-game!

Starting today until July 2nd, you will need to head on over to Space Quay with some friends and knock some of the junk floating around Chotopia's space in Garbage Collector! The top three competitors on the scoreboard will be rewarded nicely for their hard efforts.

Best of luck!

Sylva

Beach Party

Hi friends!

Woo hoo! School is out and it's summer vacation! The tides are high at the beach and the sun is beaming brightly on Chotopia, and what better way to start off the summer than throwing a beach party?! On June 24th, you all are invited to join us for a splash of fun at the beach, where we will have lots of music, magic, rain, and much more!

5pm EST, 2pm PST

Make sure you stop by the shop if you have not yet to take a glance at all the new summer style selections there are, as there will be a small contest of the best summer dressed chobots! If you are selected as wearing one of the coolest summer outfits, you will receive a small special prize and your outfit will be shown off here on the main blog!

Don't forget to wear sunglasses; see you then!

Sylva

P.S. If you have not noticed, there is currently a public poll (at the top right column of the blog) asking what improvements you'd like to see on Chotopia. Make sure you cast your vote if you have not yet so we can make sure the community's voice is in our top priorities. There will be more public polls, as we'd like to continue to stay connected with you all, so make sure that you check the main blog on a daily basis!

Pinball Results, Summer Design Contest

Hi friends!

After about a week of some pretty competitive playing, it is time we conclude the Pinball Competition. After spending some time skillfully hitting the right keyboard buttons to avoid the ball from going into the gutter hole, and meanwhile trying to gain as many hit points as possible without messing up, three individuals have managed to finish with incredible scores. Let's take a glance at the scoreboard and find out who the top competitors were!

•     1st place: 7 days of citizenship, 5,000 bugs
•     2nd place: 5 days of citizenship, 3,500 bugs
•     3rd place: 3 days of citizenship, 2,000 bugs

Congratulations to our winners – Oreo, Jesse, and Fearlesseph – who managed to accumulate an impressive amount of points. Thank you all for your participation in this competition, and if you didn't win this time, there will always be many more competitions in the near future!

In other news, we recently had a clothes refresh to celebrate summertime here on Chotopia, but it would be lovely if we had a more varied choice of stylish items to get ready for the season! So, if you would you like to see an item in-game, here is your chance to design one and see it implemented!

Please read the information below very carefully in order to find out how to participate in this contest:

Guidelines & conditions:

•     You may design any item of clothing: hair, shirts, trousers, shoes, accessories - you name it!
•     Your design can be hand-drawn on paper or done digitally. If you are experienced with Adobe Flash, please use this template.
•     You are not required to illustrate your design from all perspectives! 
•     You must enter your submission in the comment section of this post, not elsewhere. Please only provide an imgur link. 
•     Go wild with your imagination as we will be evaluating your creativity, uniqueness, and effort!
•     You may submit multiple entries if you wish to - in fact, it is encouraged
•     Please try not to include innuendos. 

The summer design contest ends on June 25th, when we will begin to review your designs! Two winners will be prized generously and will of course receive their own designed item in-game. With that being said, we certainly look forward to seeing what our talented community comes up with!

Good luck and have fun,

Sylva & Katic

P.S. We have recently made a new Agent Poll, as we need more help to protect our environment from harm, so please make sure you cast your vote soon (you will need to sign into the "My Account" feature in order to participate in the election)! Congratulations to Novo, Oreo, and Jesse for making it to the poll, and best of luck!

Three Contest Results, Pinball Competition

Hi friends!

Over a week ago, we had announced many competitions; and today is the day when all the competitive gaming will come to an end, as it is now time to announce our glorious winners!

Before I go on to announce our hard-core players, I must admit, I was extremely impressed to see many users enter into all three contests — and not only that, but to see everyone with such good sportsmanship! Thank you to everyone for participating in all of these events, and I hope you had fun while trying to compete to the top.

Now lets first start off with the Robots Contest results!

Staff members are not counted

•     1st - Oldryan6872: 1 month of citizenship, 20,000 bugs, and a golden trophy
•     2nd - Becookie: 3 weeks of citizenship and 17,000 bugs
•     3rd - Dawn: 3 weeks of citizenship and 17,000 bugs
•     4th - Heath: 2 weeks of citizenship and 14,000 bugs
•     5th - Jesse: 1 week of citizenship and 10,000 bugs

Congratulations to you five, and enjoy your super sweet prizes! Not only do the top five robot players get some prizes, but so do the top three teams!

Top three teams:

1st - Shadow's Team: 30,000 added to team treasury
2nd - Becookie's Team: 20,000 added to team treasury
3rd - Burgerox's Team: 10,000 added to team treasury

And now on to the next contest winners: Nichos! Lets take a look at the scoreboard:

•     1st place: 7 days of citizenship and 5,000 bugs
•     2nd place: 5 days of citizenship and 3,500 bugs
•     3rd place: 3 days of citizenship and 2,000 bugs

Congratulations to Chloe1206, Becookie, and Sony, who managed to accumulate an impressive amount of points, and also kept those nasty Nichos out of Chotopia and back where they belong!

Lastly, we had a CMV (Chobot Music Video) Contest on the forum, and only users who had a registered account on the forum could enter! Please congratulate the top three video makers:

Velo_Eire - New York, New York by Frank Sinatra

Katara - Settle Down by No Doubt

Pineapple - Sad Song by We the Kings

You three will receive 10 days of citizenship, 10,000 bugs, and a video camera for your amazing work!

If you would like to view all of the video entries, please click here (you must have a forum account to view this page).

Are you sad now that all the contests are over? Well, cheer up because starting today, the scoreboard for the Pinball Competition will be open! Get as many points as you can without letting the ball fall down into the gutter hole.

You have until June 18th to enter and place yourself in the top three for some prizes!

Good luck,

Sylva

Summer Shop Refresh

Hi friends!

It's Summertime on Chotopia, and we need some new clothes to help beat the heat!

The in-game catalogues have been restocked once again — but this time, with more items than ever! You will see that it has been updated with a wide array of clothing items, ranging from headgear to accessories; and you may have also noticed that many great items returned. Here are a few outfits modeling some of the new items that you can find in the shops:

Awesome, right? But quickly hurry to the shops, as a few of the old items will no longer be available for sale in the next few days.

I cannot wait to see what creative outfits and fashion combinations you will create! Submit a picture of your chobot wearing some of these new items in the comments to enter to a small contest for a prize!

So what are you waiting for? Go make those purchases now before it's too late!

Stay cool,

Sylva

Surprise Mini Events

Hi friends!

Many of you have started your Summer vacation from school (woo, thank goodness!) and you've got more free time now to play Chotopia — and so do we! We've noticed some of our users are bored though, and I think I might have a solution to this!

For around the next three months, there will be Surprise Mini Events! Every week or two, a special mini event or party will be held, but you won't know what it will be or when. These events could be held at any time, on any day, so we encourage you to be more active to not miss out!

I am aware that we have a variety of time zones, and so I will try to make sure that all users can attend at least one of these small treats! These mini events and parties will include magic, music, prizes, and of course, entertainment!

So spread the good news among your friends, and I can't wait to spend lots of fun with you all!

Sylva

P.S. Just a little hint to start you guys off, one of the events might be today, June 8th, so keep an eye out! ;) Hints about times, locations, and/or any other information may be given out here on the main blog, in-game, or on the forum!

P.P.S. There is still time to enter into any three contests still on-going (Robots, Nichos, Forum Video Contest). Make sure you attempt to enter and win any if you have not yet!

Checkers Contest Results, Party Recap

Hi friends!

After about a week of skillful playing, the Checkers Competition has come to an end, and it's time to announce the winners and award them their sweet prizes! Lets take a glance at the scoreboard:

•     1st place: 7 days of citizenship and 5,000 bugs

•     2nd place: 5 days of citizenship and 3,500 bugs

•     3rd place: 3 days of citizenship and 2,000 bugs

Congratulations to Sony, Dawn, and Becookie, who managed to accumulate an impressive amount of points.

In other news, the team and I had a blast with you all this evening! Here were some pictures of the party (special thanks to Bebot):

Not only was the party awesome, but so was Game Night! Congratulations to our five top winners:

... and Pineapple! (missing from photo)

You guys have well-earned yourselves 5 days of citizenship, 5,000 bugs, and a black game controller!

I hope you all had fun during this special event; we sure did! Leave a comment on this post to let us know what you thought about the party.

Remember, there is still time to enter into any three contest by June 11th (Nichos Contest, Robots Contest, and Forum Video Contest)!

Have fun,

Sylva

Game Night Party

Hi friends!

Did you hear the exciting news? No? Oh, you didn't get an invitation... well don't worry, I got a spare just for you!

5 pm EST, 2 pm PST

Tomorrow is Saturday Game Night and I'm inviting all of you to attend and have some fun (and of course, win some prizes!).

For those who are unaware of what "Game Night" is, let me break it down for you. For one hour of the event, all scoreboards in the Gamezone will be open (no other game outside the Gamezone will be open for contest). During this hour, users can enter and compete against other players to place first, while others less competitive stick around in the Gamezone to enjoy the party. Once the hour is over, the users who only place first place in any of the games will receive some awesome winnings!

So don't miss out on this fun and eventful evening, and mark your calendars on June 4th!

See you there!

Sylva

P.S. We will be celebrating two very special birthdays at the party too! Can you guess who's staff members' birthdays they are? Comment your prediction below, and you will receive a prize if you correctly guess both names!

June Journalists, Forum Contest

Hi friends!

Say hello to June and our new journalists! After closely reviewing all submissions, we have picked our June Journalists, and we also would like to give our personal feedback! Congratulations to the following new journalists and their blogs:

Natsu: I absolutely adore your header and animations, but I would love to see some pages and additional things on your blog.

Realm: The vivid and bright colors definitely caught my attention, and I love the gadgets you have, but I'd love to see more context and input in your posts.

Shattered: I really like your blog layout and formatting, as I find it very organized, but I would love to see more creative pictures and gadgets.

Bebot: I found myself extremely happy reading through your posts as it brings out your personality and your own words, and your header is very colorful, but it would bring even more personality to your blog to see more added pages and some small detailed accessories.

Congratulations to all of you! Again, please make sure to stay active or you will be taken off the blogroll.

In other news, we have recently made a new section of the Forum, "Forum Competitions", and you can guess what that means! We are hosting a Video Contest on the forum, but that's all I can tell you from here.

If you would like to find out more information about the contest, click here. You must have or make a forum account to view and enter into this competition.

Happy June!

Sylva