April's Fool

As a self-described clown I feel as if I have to lament the decline of today's date, known as "April Fools." At least when it came to the internet. I feel like websites don't go in as much as they used to. Back in the day you'd see whole websites completely rebrand and take on a whole new visual identity just to make a joke. Sometimes it would come at the expense of usability but to see the effort and care put into these overhauls was always a joy. Now we're lucky if we even get a singular changed element on the webpage.

I know some video games have kept up some funny yearly gags but there have also been others that have turned it into just another yearly "event" which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Just another chance to put fomo items into some kind of in-game store to make people spend more money. It completely goes against the spirit of the holiday. We're supposed to come together for a fun time, not gatekeep the joy behind paywalls.

It really seems like the best "jokes" we get in recent years are the ones where the joke is that there is no joke. You see a trailer or social media post about something silly and it turns out to be true. Pretty commonly, this would be some kind of short video game with a silly premise. Although not all are made equal. You have good examples like "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Lovers of Aether" whereas other attempts feel so cynical and disingenuous like Palworld's "More than Pals"

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I miss when it seemed like more of the "core web" would have fun for a single day. The core web already feels so stagnant and corporate that having some fun for a day would be a nice breath of fresh air.