Operation: Blackout

Operation: Blackout
Operation: Blackout logo.
Information
Members only	No
When	November 14, 2012 - December 5, 2012
Free Item(s)	See list
Catalog(s)	Special Move Catalog
Mascot(s)	Herbert P. Bear and Rookie
Where	Club Penguin Island
Preceded by ← 7th Anniversary Party Succeeded by Holiday Party 2012 →

Operation: Blackout was an Elite Penguin Force mission party in Club Penguin. It started on November 14, 2012 and ended on December 5, 2012. Herbert visited the island for the first time. It was rumored since August 2011, when a video showed the behind the scenes of Club Penguin. Herbert captured the most famous EPF agents (except PH), blocked the sun of the island and destroyed the Everyday Phoning Facility and EPF Command Room. All the island was covered with snow. For the first time ever, EPF became known to all penguins (considering the fact that the Operation: Hibernation and other EPF events were secretly executed) and the identity of the Director was revealed.

History

An art concept

According to Megg, in 2010, a picture of a white board with the plans for the next months was published accidentally and it was written “Operation Blackout". The Club Penguin team used the phrase “Operation Blackout” as a bit of a joke, to block out time for the development guys to work on new tech. The players were so excited that the Club Penguin team decided to create it. On August 2, 2011, Club Penguin posted a video on its YouTube channel showing the behind the scenes of the game. In one part of the video, Herbert, Klutzy, Protobot and the Old Crab were seen in a computer. Other part showed a text on the computer with the title "Operation: Blackout". It was confirmed on Herbert's, Polo Field's, and Billybob's Twitter accounts. Polo Field also blogged about the team making specific music for November. To promote the event, Club Penguin created a Twitter account for Herbert (@clubherbert) and a website called Club Herbert.

In-game development

It all started when Gary accidentally gave Herbert the instructions to build a High Frequency Infrared Reversion Laser to block out the sun in Club Penguin Times issue #365. In November 8, 2012, Gary disappeared and everyone searched for him and started to think he had been kidnapped.

A week later, in November 15, the EPF command was destroyed and the was activated. In the 369 Club Penguin Times issue, everything was explained by Herbert. He was the one who caused all the destruction and also kidnapped Gary. He took over the newspaper and said Club Penguin was at that time Club Herbert.

During the event, the island turned really dark, due to the Solar Laser concentrating all the sunlight in Herbert's Lair which became a paradise. All the other places started to freeze and the snow was accumulating and burying trees and buildings.

As the EPF Command Room had been destroyed, the EPF built a Secret HQ to serve as a temporary base and the secret agents were at that moment members of The EPF Resistance. The Director was the one who was giving orders now, as Gary was frozen by Herbert. Also, for the first time we could hear The Director's voice.

Each day the island became darker, colder, more covered in snow and more secret agents were being kidnapped. The first was Gary (November 8), then Dot (November 18), then Rookie (November 20), then the Jet Pack Guy (November 22) and finally, The Director (November 24). Before being captured, The Director gave us the final orders to defeat Herbert, so we defeated him hacking the Solar Laser's system and after there was a video showing that we had won and the island was saved.

The secret agents started to destroy the Solar Laser in November 24, but only in November 29 did the light start to appear in-game and the Operation only finished in December 6 when the Club Penguin Times finally announced that Club Penguin was saved.

Free items

A total of sixteen free items were made available for this party. The Herbert Security Clearance pins count as one on the inventory (the most recent pin is the one which is shown in the inventory). The item marked with a badge () indicate that it can only be obtained by members.

• 
  Klutzy Disguise
  EPF Briefing - First Task
• 
  Grappling Hook
  EPF Briefing - Second Task
• 
  Plasma Laser
  EPF Briefing - Third Task
• 
  Deflection Vest
  EPF Briefing - Fourth Task
• 
  Smoke Goggles
  EPF Briefing - Fifth Task
• 
  Anti Lava Boots
  EPF Briefing - Sixth Task
• 
  Covert Agent Station
  EPF Briefing - Sixth Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 1 pin
  EPF Briefing - First Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 2 pin
  EPF Briefing - Second Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 3 pin
  EPF Briefing - Third Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 4 pin
  EPF Briefing - Fourth Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 5 pin
  EPF Briefing - Fifth Task
• 
  Herbert Security Clearance 6 pin
  EPF Briefing - Sixth Task
• Herbert's Giveaway Background Meet Herbert
  Herbert's Giveaway Background
  Meet Herbert
• Rookie's Giveaway Background Meet Rookie
  Rookie's Giveaway Background
  Meet Rookie
• 
  Herbert Disguise
  EPF Briefing - First Task

Trivia

• It is the first party to be announced over a year before it occurs.
• Herbert took over the newspaper and the selection "Ask Aunt Arctic" in the Club Penguin Times was renamed "Ask Herbert".
• Herbert revealed Dot and Jet Pack Guy's secret identities in the selection "Secrets" in the Club Penguin Times.
• Herbert froze the secret agents in Freezer Pods as revenge for his trapping from Operation: Hibernation.
• At the Town there was a thermometer that showed the temperature in the island. Each day the thermometer marked lower temperatures until the island was totally buried in snow.
• The secret agents could try to defeat Herbert, but there were also clothes for them to help the regular penguins. Tents, campfires, shelters and hospitals were created to assist them.
• PH was the only famous secret agent that wasn't captured.
• Herbert was a meetable character during the event, and when you saw him he would say that he already knew The Director's identity.
• Rookie was a meetable character after the Solar Laser had been broken and the sunlight started to show up.
• It was the best Herbert's plan that actually worked. The second was the Popcorn Explosion in 2010.
• Oddly enough, in the EPF files there are photos of the Protobot appearing in Operation: Blackout rooms, even though he was supposed to be destroyed at that time since Marvel Superhero Takeover 2012 ended and Herbert was the main villain during the Blackout.
• This was the first time you could meet Herbert in-game.

Gallery

Party Pictures

• 
  The Beach
• 
  The Beacon
• 
  The Book Room
• 
  The Coffee Shop
• 
  The Cove
• 
  The Dock
• 
  The Dojo
• 
  The Dojo Courtyard
• 
  EPF Command Room
• 
  The Everyday Phoning Facility
• 
  The Fire Dojo
• 
  The Forest
• 
  The Gift Shop
• 
  The Herbert HQ
• 
  The Iceberg
• 
  The Lighthouse
• 
  The Lock Down
• 
  The Lodge Attic
• 
  The Mine Shack
• 
  The Ninja Hideout
• 
  The Paradise
• 
  The Pet Shop
• 
  The Pizza Parlor
• 
  The Plaza
• 
  The Secret HQ
• 
  The Secret Tunnel
• 
  Sector 1
• 
  Sector 2
• 
  The Ski Hill
• 
  The Ski Lodge
• 
  The Ski Village
• 
  The Snow Forts
• 
  The Stadium
• 
  The Town

In-game development

• 
  The first clue of Herbert's huge Crab Army back in 2010, meaning that the Blackout was planned years ago.
• 
  The EPF files showing what Herbert had done.
• 
  The Director reporting that Dot was captured.
• 
  The Director reporting that Rookie was captured.
• 
  The Director reporting that the Jet Pack Guy was captured by the crabs.
• 
  The Director being captured.
• 
  Herbert's rules.
• 
  Herbert's other rules.
• 
  The EPF Resistance secret message hidden by The Director.
• 
  Dot's secret files revealed by Herbert.
• 
  Jet Pack Guy's secret files revealed by Herbert.
• 
  Protobot spotted during the Operation: Blackout as seen in the EPF Case File: Protobot.
• 
  Another photo of Protobot being spotted in the Blackout.

Sneak Peeks

• 
  A Club Penguin planning board from 2011. It was the first sign of Operation: Blackout (look at June).
• 
  An image with the script for Operation: Black Out
• 
  Beside the script, there's an image of Herbert, Klutzy, the Protobot and an Old Crab. That could mean that the Proto-Bot and that old crab would have shown up during the Operation: Blackout too, but that idea was canceled.
• 
  Herbert holding a piece of paper with the sun crossed out in the Ghosts Just Wanna Dance video, which eluded to the Operation: Blackout.
• 
  A sneak peek of Club Herbert for the event.
• 
  A sneak peek featuring Herbert's capture list.
• 
  A sneak peek with Dot shown in it.
• 
  A sneak peek with Rookie shown in it.
• 
  A sneak peek showing Gary is captured and Jet Pack Guy is added.
• 
  A sneak peek of the rooms.
• 
  A sneak peek of a jungle area.
• 
  A sneak peek of a possible message from Gary.
• 
  Herbert's question for the Club Penguin Times.
• 
  Most likely part of the Town.
• 
  A hole with a ladder.
• 
  A part of the machine to block out the sun.
• 
  What appears to be an animation.
• 
  Gary being kidnapped by Herbert.
• 
  A sneak peek of Everyday Phoning Facility.
• 
  Another sneak peek of the Town.
• 
  A sneak peek of the Snow Forts.
• 
  A sneak peek of the Plaza.
• 
  The Everyday Phoning Facility burning.
• 
  The inside of the Everyday Phoning Facility.
• 
  The EPF Command Room.
• 
  A sneak peek of Herbert in the Ski Village.

Login and Exit Screens

• 
  The first Login Screen.
• 
  The second Login Screen.
• 
  The third Login Screen.
• 
  The first Exit Screen.
• 
  The second Exit Screen.
• 
  The third Exit Screen.
• 
  The fourth Exit Screen.
• 
  The fifth Exit Screen.
• 
  The sixth Exit Screen.
• 
  The seventh Exit Screen.
• 
  The eighth Exit Screen.

Miscellaneous

• 
  Club Penguin's homepage

After the Party

• 
  ClubHerbert.com (December 6)

Videos

<youtube>3m9wOlSB0ao</youtube> <youtube>qX7t7CxEHRE</youtube> <youtube>NOEdC7FxS0I</youtube> <youtube>usxZ32qijDg</youtube>

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Portuguese	Operação: Apagão
French	Opération: Black-Out
Spanish	Operación: Apagón
German	Operation: Blackout
Russian	Операция: Затмение

Links

• clubherbert.com