We may or may not have broken Pico.

This morning around 11AM (EST) a lull in what I was working on and boredom drove me to try logging onto Pico to get a head start on maxing out my earned Gummies for the day.

I was a little surprised, but not overly surprised to be met with the Server Maintenance page. I didn't remember a notice for scheduled server maintenance for today. But okay.

Almost 8 hours later, Pico was still down!

Usually, maintenance takes an hour or two. Something is definitely amiss. What could it be?

Here are some of the scenarios that Gem Rock, Peggy and I think are likely for causing the mess:

1. Some intelligent and devious Pico completed the newly released laboratory set and created a bomb. Pico moderators had to shut down operations and call the Bomb Squad to diffuse the device. Teams are still working on it.
2. Since Peggy Hill's head has been gradually expanding since she joined, it's reached the limit of the Picoverse and can no longer be contained. This cranial expansion has locked down the servers. Pico has top geeks working to solve the problem.
3. Pico developers are preparing for Gem Rock's glorious return and are pulling out all the stops! Rumor has it there is parade in the works with a large Phở bowl float.
4. Distressed by her bad luck at Premium Gacha, Ayuhime is holding the Gacha machine in the Chess Field room hostage until she gets her crown. To ensure no one is hurt during her mad rampage, all Picos not involved in the stand-off must go offline.
5. In an expression of her undying love, chikemuri began sculpting a statue of Pinkerton in the most noble of poses. The statue reaches so far up into the grey abyss above her room that it overloaded the server circuits. Sources claim that a falling block maimed Pinky's trusty companion, Flapjack.
6. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Picostyle team, Catero is the leader of the guerrilla rebel group, Los Picos de la Libertad, charged with a mandate to force Pico developers to give us more inventory space. The group's planned hostile take-over of the Pico headquarters backfired when a stray bullet damaged the server.
7. The people who run Pico are taking a secret day off to play chess.

What do you think was going on behind the scenes? Let us know in comments!

Note: I can't claim all of these ideas as my own! Peggy Hill and Gem Rock came up with them too.

The wrong sign language?

Does the photo above look familiar to all you gamblers out there? It's the facade of the beloved Pico Casino. But ... if you look close enough, you'll see that it bears Pigg's branding! The name of the chat wasn't changed from "Pigg" to "Pico" when it was brought over for our enjoyment.

Some naughty game developer in the Ameba head offices needs their hand slapped for such an oversight.

Of course, most of us spend time inside the casino, not outside of it staring at its walls.

Thanks to the ever-observant nature of our very own Peggy Hill, I'm bringing this little bit of information to you.

How long do you think it will be before The Powers that Be over at Ameba notice this blunder?

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For those of you who don't know, Pico is the little brother of Pigg - Ameba's first Kawaii-style avatar social environment. Our version of an alternate Picoverse, you might say. And they're always ahead of us over on that side.

Don't believe me? Read for yourselves ...

Inside Social Games • CyberAgent’s Ameba Pigg Virtual World Comes to Facebook as Ameba Pico: Japanese internet company CyberAgent is bringing its popular virtual world, Ameba Pigg, to the U.S. market, and to Facebook, as Ameba Pico.

Ameba Pigg has gained around 2 million users in the last 11 months, making CyberAgent one of the larger Japanese companies of its ilk. Here’s our look at the new app.

At first glance Ameba Pico does not look like much. It has a very simplistic art style, and a stiff, child-like, and limited set of animations for the avatar. But the variety and activity within this virtual world bring it to life. (Read more ...)

That being said, you should also note that many of the rooms and features that you find in Pico were in Pigg first.

Virtually all of the Travel rooms - including Time Travel destinations - appeared in Pigg first and have been transferred over to Pico. The same goes for clothing and accessories.