''Club Penguin Rewritten'' was a 2017
fangame
A fangame is a video game that is created by fans. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises. Many fangames attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but it ...
based on the
massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...
''
Club Penguin
''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Disney Canada Inc.). Players used cartoon ...
''. It was created by four
indie developers
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
as an alternative to the original game, which had been shut down by
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
on March 29, 2017. As a voluntary project, ''Rewritten'' had in-game items once limited to paid members in ''Club Penguin'' available to everyone in the game. After ''Club Penguin'' ceased operations, development for ''Rewritten'' began to expand as the team expanded. The game was built on pre-existing
Flash files and simulated older versions of the original game but was distinct through its absence of
monetization
Monetization ( also spelled monetisation) is, broadly speaking, the process of converting something into money. The term has a broad range of uses. In banking, the term refers to the process of converting or establishing something into legal tend ...
and in-game purchases.
The ''Club Penguin Rewritten'' site was launched on February 12, 2017. The game accumulated a large online community in relation to the consequences and restrictions from the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Teens and young adults who played the original game used it to host in-game events during the pandemic. As it provided
escapism
Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or genera ...
, ''Rewitten'' was subject to
speedrun
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
s and a
virtual concert
A virtual concert, also called V-concert or virtual live, refers to a performance in which the performers are represented by virtual avatars. Virtual concerts can take place in real life, where digital representations of the performers are projec ...
for
Soccer Mommy
Sophia Regina Allison (born May 27, 1997), better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, is an American singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee.
History
Born in Zürich, Switzerland in 1997 to Michelle, an elementary school teacher, and Joh ...
's album ''
Color Theory
In the visual arts, color theory is the body of practical guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. Color terminology based on the color wheel and its geometry separates colors into primary color, seconda ...
''. During this time, a staff member reported that the game averaged 30,000 new registered users daily. ''Rewritten'' was praised for its nostalgic environment, as well as its focus on the community and player freedom. The remake was recognized by Lance Priebe, one of the developers of ''Club Penguin'', in which he respected the social impact the game brought during the pandemic.
The site was shut down on April 13, 2022, by the
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
in compliance with a copyright investigation request from Disney, where three suspects were arrested. Prior to its shutdown, the game had accumulated over 11 million registered users.
Gameplay and development
''Club Penguin Rewritten'' was an identical
recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
of ''Club Penguin''.
It featured much of the same gameplay and policies, including a dedicated moderation team and a chat filtering system.
The main attraction of the game was the absence of a
paid membership, which allowed players to collect any in-game item for free.
To appeal to an older audience, ''Rewritten'' simulated earlier versions of ''Club Penguin'' in addition to the last publicly available version.
The ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' reported ''Rewritten'' gameplay as having fewer restrictions, older game mechanics, and servers that could support up to two million concurrent players at a time.
''Rewritten'' was developed voluntarily by fans of the original game. It was created by four semi-anonymous developers known as Joe, Josh, Lewis and Tim, who were all UK-based students at the time of its creation. The developers had previously gained experience developing their own projects and offered ''Rewritten'' as
freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
.
Working without permission from
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, one of the main goals of establishing ''Rewritten'' was to
preserve
The word preserve may refer to:
Common uses
* Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment
* Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected
Arts, entertainment, and media
...
the original game.
The foundation of the game was developed by restoring the original
Flash source code.
After ''Club Penguin'' shut down on March 29, 2017, ''Rewritten''
's development gained prominence and media attention.
At that point, the development team claimed that ''Rewritten'' fell under
fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...
protections in the United States.
At ''Rewritten'' legal page, a disclaimer was given, calling the game an "independent recreation of Disney's Club Penguin" and "not affiliated with
Disney Interactive
Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company.
History
1995–1996: Formation and beginnings
In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
or Club Penguin Inc.".
After ''Club Penguin''
's shutdown, the ''Rewritten'' team expanded and began supporting email troubleshooting and moderation.
In a written response to the ''New Statesman'' via
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, the developers of ''Rewritten'' said that they wanted to ensure the gameplay experience would be enjoyable, safe, and appealing to a nostalgic audience or those who want to interact with others globally. In order to achieve this, the game would strive to be "as authentic as possible", while including new features to maintain interest.
Release and reception
''Club Penguin Rewritten'' was launched on February 12, 2017.
''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' reported that ''Rewritten'' saw an influx of users during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, calling it a "thriving fandom". The game consisted of teens and young adults that had played the original game, who used the remake as a way of
escapism
Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant or boring aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or genera ...
from the pandemic.
''Rewritten'' leaned into its user growth by hosting virtual recreations of events such as
proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
and
graduation ceremonies
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is al ...
that had been cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' described the demographics of ''Rewritten'' as primarily being high school and college students.
The majority of ''Rewritten'' players were based in the United States.
The game reached 100,000 registered players in April and one million registered players on October 4 of the same year.
''
Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
'' described the game as the most popular Club Penguin Private Server and highlighted the game's
speedrunning
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
community.
The shutdown of other private servers contributed to ''Rewritten'' growing popularity, such as the closure of ''Club Penguin Online'' in 2020.
On April 3, 2020, Singer-songwriter
Soccer Mommy
Sophia Regina Allison (born May 27, 1997), better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, is an American singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee.
History
Born in Zürich, Switzerland in 1997 to Michelle, an elementary school teacher, and Joh ...
hosted a
virtual concert
A virtual concert, also called V-concert or virtual live, refers to a performance in which the performers are represented by virtual avatars. Virtual concerts can take place in real life, where digital representations of the performers are projec ...
for her album ''
Color Theory
In the visual arts, color theory is the body of practical guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. Color terminology based on the color wheel and its geometry separates colors into primary color, seconda ...
'' through the site as part of an
internet trend of musical video game performances influenced by the pandemic.
Allison stated that ''Club Penguin'' was "a game that everyone remembers
sa kid", and alluded to the nostalgic desire to play the game during the pandemic: "I feel like a lot of people were also doing the same thing I was doing: logging back on when we were all stuck inside, and playing
..just for fun."
At an interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Lance Priebe, one of the developers of ''Club Penguin'', praised ''Rewritten'' use of communication during the pandemic. In March of 2020 a ''Rewritten'' staff member said that the game was receiving 30,000 new users every day.
The developers described ''Rewritten'' culture as revolving around
social media phenomenon such as
Vine
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
, and classic in-game trends such as "tipping the iceberg".
In April 2020, Disney sent a
DMCA
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or s ...
notice to
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
with concerns over the ''Club Penguin Rewritten'' domain, which they claimed infringed upon the ''Club Penguin'' trademark. A second notice was filed a month later. Google did not respond to or address Disney's request.
By late 2020, ''Rewritten'' was estimated to have eight million registered users.
Shutdown
On April 13, 2022, the ''Club Penguin Rewritten'' site was shut down by the
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
. The main page was replaced with a disclaimer reading that "This site has been taken over by Operation Creative,
Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit
The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is a unit of the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud. It was established in 2013 with the responsibility to investigate and deter serious and organised intellectual property c ...
(PIPCU)." ''Rewritten'' moderator Thorn gave a notice through the game's official
Discord
Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
server, stating that the game was "shutting down effective immediately due to a full request by Disney". The game was being investigated for
copyright violations
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the cop ...
after the developers had granted the police control over the website.
Detective Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal Police, law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Ot ...
Daryl Fryatt of the PIPCU confirmed that on April 12, 2022, three suspects related to the game were arrested on "suspicion of distributing materials infringing copyright". It was reported that the suspects were released two days later to provide assistance in the copyright investigation.
''Rewritten'' had over 11 million registered users and 140,000 members on its Discord server after its shutdown.
''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' reported that other private servers experienced an increase in registration afterwards, and players noted that the game had briefly included advertising in exchange for an in-game reward.
''Rewritten'' moderator BigChun confimed that advertisements were placed in the game since mid-2020, as "running a game like this costs money".
In response, Lane Merrifield, one of the developers of ''Club Penguin'', opined on Twitter that Disney did not understand "that controlling IP at the expense of the community will devalue it, not preserve it".
American
streamer
Streamer or streamers may refer to:
* a person who streams online on an internet platform like twitch or youtube
* Pennon, a small pointed flag
* Streamer, a kind of confetti consisting of strips of paper or other material
* Streamer, a common nam ...
Ludwig Ahgren
Ludwig Anders Ahgren (born July 6, 1995), known mononymously as Ludwig, is an American live streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, esports commentator and competitor. Ahgren is best known for his live streams on Twitch from 2018 through late 2021, an ...
said that the shutdown was too extreme for a children's game, calling it "overkill".
See also
*
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry
The video game industry has been substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, most often due to concerns over travel to and from China or elsewhere, and delays in the manufacturing processes within China.
Overview
In contrast ...
*
Intellectual property protection of video games
References
{{Club Penguin
Club Penguin
2017 video games
Browser-based multiplayer online games
Fangames
Free online games
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry
Inactive massively multiplayer online games
Internet properties established in 2017
Internet properties disestablished in 2022
Internet services shut down by a legal challenge
Persistent worlds
Unauthorized video games
Video games about birds
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set in the Arctic
Video games set on fictional islands
Video games with customizable avatars