Welcome back to Behind the Journey, our ongoing peek behind the scenes at how Club Penguin Journey’s parties come to life.
This time, we’re sailing straight into Adventure Party 2025, an island-wide celebration of foliage and some pirate flair. From custom room design to Captain Crimson’s treasure, here’s how the team brought this tropical party to life.
Designing the Rooms: Welcome Room, Tour HQ, and the Lookout
“I was in charge of the Welcome Room, Tour HQ, and the Lookout for this party. Three custom rooms is a bit of a tall ask even considering the best circumstances, so I looked around for assets to reuse in order to cut down on work. With some smart editing and context stripping of the original assets, the Welcome Room in particular came out to be one of my favorites in the party! See if you know where these assets come from and where they were used in the final room:“
The miniature rooms you can see from the Welcome Room and Lookout (for the most part) couldn’t be cheated with reused assets and took a lot more time to make than you’d think. Not to mention they tend to be covered up by other assets in the final rooms…
“I was particularly worried about how long it’d take to cover the island in foliage for the Lookout’s view, but thankfully, I could reuse the palm-covered island from last year’s Pirate Party.“
Rockhopper’s Giveaway & Party Items
The original version of Rockhopper’s giveaway for this party was a straight edit of the background he gave out in May 2009!
“I ended up switching out his render, as the change in art style between his playercard (actually from the Temple of Fruit Party) and his giveaway was too jarring.“
To celebrate the grand opening of the Hidden Lake, we introduced a fresh batch of custom items for players to discover. These new pieces were designed to capture the spirit and mystery of the lake, offering fun and unique looks that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
Crimson Items: How They Came to Be
When reimagining Captain Crimson, we did not want to simply retread old waters.
Before the relaunch, Crimson’s items were tied to a randomized system that did not offer much control. This time around, we wanted to rethink that approach and build something more rewarding and fair. Gems would still be the currency, but instead of rolling for a chance at items, players now choose what they want from a catalog. The catch is you never know when Captain Crimson will make landfall again or what treasure he will bring along. That uncertainty adds a bit of pressure. Spend wisely, because he might not be back for a while, but you don’t want to miss what he has if you truly love it!
With the system in place, our next task was designing the actual items. Rather than recycle old content, we started from scratch, challenging ourselves to make the catalog feel bold, weird, and fun.
Here are a few of the sketches and concepts that didn’t have to walk the plank and some that did:
Wrapping Up…
That about wraps up this tropical trip behind the scenes!
Adventure Party 2025 gave us the chance to try new ideas and create fresh experiences. Whether you enjoyed the party events or the new Crimson gear, we hope the journey was just as exciting for you as it was for us.
Until next time, stay curious and stay adventurous…
— The Club Penguin Journey Team
