Rabbit Trail: Winter Vibes

Rabbit Trail: Winter Vibes on the 00s Internet

There was a frosty chill in the air
Yet somehow, winter felt warm and welcoming when you logged in to Miniclip or MSN. That cool, ice-blue background on every site, those animated snowflakes drifting down the navigation panel, and every UI (that’s User Interface) topped with a layer of icing-like snow — it all just felt right.

Winter-themed games, everywhere!

Every major Flash or browser gaming site had a dedicated “Winter Games” section, chock-full of titles themed around snow sports, Christmas, ice crystals — and of course, penguins.

Let's look at a few: 

Adventure Elf

In Adventure Elf, you play as Oliver the Elf, navigating through icy, holiday-themed levels to retrieve the stolen presents. But watch out for those pesky penguins!

You can actually still play this game
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Or through FlashPoint
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SkiFree

While not originally a browser game, you could occasionally find bootleg versions of the 1991 classic SkiFree floating around on gaming websites and winter-themed forums.

My favourite thing about this silly little game has to be its ability to be both simple and intricate at the same time. One moment, you’re whipping down a snowy slope without a care in the world, dodging the occasional randomly generated tree. The next thing you know, you’re being chased by a snow monster! How far did you get in this game?

Play it in the 2020s:
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And also in FlashPoint. Let's set some new high scores!

Club Penguin, Habbo Hotel, and lots of other virtual hangout spots

Every one of ’em. Club Penguin had winter and Christmas-themed parties. Habbo Hotel released festive furniture and held holiday events. The best ones were when they gave away a furniture item as a Christmas gift every day in December — and you had to race to the family computer to get online and claim it before it was too late!

Poptropica, Webkinz, and all manner of other online worlds followed suit. It was a magical time of synchronized seasonal celebration. You couldn’t log into one game without seeing conversations about the others — “Hey, don’t forget to claim today’s gift on Habbo!”

You can still play and experience these awesome winter joys, today!

Club Penguin via the many CPPSs 
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Habbo Hotel (Including the recently-released Habbo Origins, which is basically Habbo Hotel as it was in 2005!)
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Poptropica
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Webkinz
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It really was a cool vibe (pun intended)

I’m going to call it the “winter-net” — the yearly transformation of the web into shiny, colourful, sparkly fun during the colder months — and I think it needs to make a comeback!

Actually, that reminds me… flips through notebook — Note #671: “Make a winter-themed Pixelated Dirt and Glory asset pack.”

Come to think of it, Liero — PDaG’s main art inspiration source — has a whole lineup of winter and Christmas-themed mods, especially in Liero Xtreme and OpenLieroX.

So, what does the internet of the 2020s look like during the winter?

Let’s find out together! Leave a comment with your finds — any website, social media platform, game, or piece of software that leans into that awesome, nostalgic winter theme. Let’s hear it!

I know VLC Media Player still dons a little Santa hat on its traffic cone icon. That one’s stood the test of time — it still pops up every year, and I can’t help but smile when I see it.