Games! Games! Games!
- Madison Everlith
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
Growing up in the 2000s and 2010s meant exploring the internet with curiosity and few restrictions, often stumbling upon random websites by chance. There were no TikTok game recommendations, and Instagram was in its infancy. My after-school ritual in grade school consisted of sitting on my family’s computer playing hours and hours of online computer games, all while soaking my feet in my Orbeez Soothing Spa. Looking back now, this was the life, an at-home foot spa, accompanied by an after-school snack, unlimited internet access, and the only “financial stress” was not having enough coins to buy every color puffle on Club Penguin. Some of the most memorable games from that era weren’t just pastimes, they became miniature worlds we escaped into, each one leaving its mark on an entire generation, good and bad.
MovieStar Planet
MovieStarPlanet (MSP) made every kid growing up in the 2000s and 2010s feel like an actual star. It was a virtual world where players could dress up in outfits we were far too young to wear in real life, direct movies like James Cameron or Sofia Coppola, and even find “romantic interests” in chat rooms, which we were also far too young for. One of the game’s most addictive features was its high scores system: a leaderboard that ranked the popularity of players, called “movie stars”, as well as their creations, including short films, artwork, outfits, character animations, and room designs.
Autographs were another crucial element of rising to fame on MSP, giving players the power to boost others' rankings. One notable player on the game's platform went by the username Pumpchkin, who reigned at the top of the U.S. high scores list until 2019. In the world of MSP, everyone knew Pumpchkin. You either loved them because you wanted to be them, or hated them because you wanted to be them, especially due to their artbooks and coordinated clothing looks.
While MSP still has active users, and developers even created a sequel to the original, it remains, for most Gen Z players in the U.S., a relic of internet adolescence: a chaotic, glittery, and unforgettable universe you might still remember… if only you could recall your login.
Club Penguin
Club Penguin was my all-time favorite game growing up. Unlike having a designated area for chat rooms like MovieStarPlanet, Club Penguin turned the entire virtual world into one big chat room. Every location, from the bustling town where you could buy outfits or dance in the nightclub, to the plaza where you could adopt colorful puffles, to the ski hill where you could race other penguins on sleds, was open for conversation and connection. With over 200 million users, the game felt expansive and alive, offering endless spaces to explore.
A unique aspect of Club Penguin was its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company in 2007, which led to frequent in-game “takeovers” that promoted Disney films and shows. These crossovers included Teen Beach Movie, Monsters University, Shake It Up, Star Wars, and more, turning the island into a constantly evolving playground.
Although the original Club Penguin was discontinued, it found new life through Club Penguin Legacy, a fan-made revival released a few years ago. Naturally, this piqued my interest, and I made an account to see how similar it was to the original Club Penguin. The map, stores, and mini-games were almost perfectly recreated, and there was still a solid number of players online. While the Legacy version has no affiliation with Disney, users wouldn’t expect to see any new collaborations, but it does host regular events and parties to keep the game fresh. Whether you’re a nostalgic Gen Z veteran or a curious new player, Club Penguin lives on and is still just as fun.
GirlsGoGames.com
GirlsGoGames.com was the ultimate hub for tween girls, and often, younger girls as well. Unlike the games mentioned earlier, GirlsGoGames did not provide any maps or live chat features, but instead hosted a massive collection of games ranging from cooking simulations to dress-up challenges and personality quizzes. On the surface, it appeared to be a wholesome, bubbly site filled with fun and creativity, but for many, it also served as an early, and often unintentional, introduction to more inappropriate content.
GirlsGoGames featured different categories of games to play, such as animal games, makeup games, and adventure games, but one category in particular stood out: kissing games. These games often involved three characters, where the objective was to make two of the characters flirt or kiss behind the back of the third character, who would usually be portrayed as a boss, teacher, or parent, without getting caught. Unsurprisingly, many parents weren’t in favor of their children playing games like these, which led to a common ritual of quickly exiting the browser when parents walked in, or deleting history to avoid getting in trouble.
That said, GirlsGoGames was still home to plenty of age-appropriate classics such as Sara’s Cooking Class, or the Polly Pocket games, my personal favorites. Looking back though, it’s clear that for many Gen Z kids, sites like this blurred the lines between harmless fun and questionable content. It makes you reconsider just how unfiltered and unsupervised our early internet experiences really were.
Poptropica
Ending on a more positive note, we travel to the world of Poptropica, an adventure-based game where players explore islands and complete storylines unique to each island. This game wasn’t just fun; it was surprisingly educational. Created by Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Poptropica featured narratives that introduced players to figures like Marie Curie, the first woman to win Nobel Prizes in both physics and chemistry, as well as immersive lessons on mythology, including stories of Greek gods such as Athena, Zues, and Poseidon.
Though the game is still up and running today, it now offers a limited number of islands compared to its original run. The classic Poptropica experience included everything from light-hearted, easy quests to darker, more challenging adventures. For example, Cryptids Island, which featured the legend of the Jersey Devil, scared many young players with its eerie storyline. Another famously spooky island, Survival Island, based on the book The Most Dangerous Game, required players to escape a hunter stalking them through the wilderness. It terrified me as a kid, and it is still available to play.
Despite the reduced island count, Poptropica continues to draw in both old and new players. Many find themselves replaying islands they once struggled with as kids, discovering new meaning or finally solving puzzles that once seemed impossible. It’s a reminder of how even the simplest childhood games left a lasting impact, teaching us more than we realized at the time.
Overall, growing up in a world with technology already widely available and rapidly evolving came with both joy and risk. While many games were genuinely kid-friendly, others only appeared to be, making it all too easy for Gen Z to stumble into spaces they weren’t ready for. With little supervision, many young users were exposed to inappropriate or even harmful content, from suggestive themes to online grooming, and experiences that left lasting impressions well into adulthood.
While it is nostalgic to revisit the games that once filled our afternoons with laughter and imagination, it’s equally important to reflect on how those early digital interactions shaped our sense of safety, trust, and identity. As Gen Z continues to navigate adulthood, carrying both nostalgia and caution, we’re uniquely positioned to push for safer, more thoughtful digital spaces, places where exploration and creativity are encouraged, but never at the expense of our well-being.
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