Ninjas and Penguins

/
The original penguin ninja from Penguin Chat 3

The original penguin ninja from Penguin Chat 3

I have always had a fascination with ninjas. As a kid I would spend endless hours doodling ninjas and reading my favourite comic GIJOE. Snake Eyes was my favourite.

The penguin ninja first appeared in Penguin Chat 3 early 2005. To unlock the ninja you would have to click the "n" in "penguin" to unlock the ninja. The secret penguin ninjas proved very popular.

The History of Club Penguin Ninjas

I had always planned to release ninjas before pets, pirates, and secret agents in Club Penguin. The original plan was to include the dojo in the Plaza, but the Pet Store and the Pizza Parlor were not ready, so the Dojo was hidden on the map with the iceberg. The mountain became the perfect home for the Dojo and later Card-jitsu. When Club Penguin launched on October 24th, 2005 the Dojo and all the clothing items were ready to be unlocked. (Including the sword) Then something happened.

The players wanted pets for their penguins!

The original Dojo was in the Plaza

The original Dojo was in the Plaza

THe original dojo was inspired by the Matrix

THe original dojo was inspired by the Matrix

I immediately stopped working on the ninjas and started working on Puffles. I did not realize at the time how popular the Puffles would become, and how many years until I returned to the ninjas. The new Plaza, Pet Shop, and Puffles launched March 2006.

The original concept animation for the penguin ninja in Club Penguin. The game was inspired by Monty Python's Fish Slap Dance 

The birth of Card-Jitsu!

For years I wanted to add a comedic paper, rock, scissors game to Club Penguin. The original game was going to appear on Rockhopper's ship as a pirate sword fighting game, inspired by the insult sword fighting of Monkey Island. We decided not to launch the this game.

In early 2008 the Club Penguin team was looking for a collectible card game. Disney introduced us to the design team at WizKids Games. I was inspired after our first meeting. I went home and decided to write the design document for Card-Jitsu. I wanted something more than a collectible card game. I wanted a card game that worked with the digital world. Card-Jitsu was born. Card-Jitsu was launched November 17th, 2008 and quickly became the most popular game on Club Penguin with millions of daily players.

Penguin Ninja Demo

Below is the original penguin ninja from Penguin Chat 3. Waddle around, enjoy!