Escape Cryptids with the #FreeThe15 Challenge

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Hey there, good players of Poptropica!

It’s me, Purple Claw, with some interesting news — the unknown Creators are hosting another challenge that you should all know about! (There was also the visitors’ center challenge that we didn’t post about, but you can check it out here.)

Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?

FreeThe15_1080x1350 (002)

So basically, the Creators are releasing 15 new house decor items, and we have to be the ones that have make that happen, through the power of social media!

Random PHB reader: Um, Purple Claw, what do you mean by that? We’re just plain fans! And why don’t you post more often?!

I’m glad you asked! Well, the Creators are giving us an opportunity to release some new sweet house decor items, but what we have to do is… uh… post pictures of the Ice Cream Machine inside our houses for some reason, and with the hashtag #FreeThe15. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Poptropicans must post a picture of the Ice Cream Machine from the Home Decor Store placed into their Pop Worlds Home.

Step 2: Don’t forget to use the hashtag #FreeThe15 in your entries so we can find it.

Step 3: Tag your friends and get them to post! We only release the 15 items if we get enough people to share their Ice Cream Machine in their Home and tag with #FreeThe15. The more people who enter, the greater the chances of unlocking these items!

Remember, this is a race against the clock- we need enough people to post with the hashtag by Monday to unlock all 15 items. The more Ice Cream Machines you have & pictures you post, the better! These items would be available for ALL PLAYERS, and we need EVERYONE to participate! Good luck, Poptropicans!

There’s a positive and a negative side to this. First of all, it’s free items, baby! Everyone loves ’em! But on the other hand, this kinda popped out of nowhere, and there seems to be no real rhyme or reason to it…

Don’t get me wrong; I love Poptropica challenges. But this one just felt so… random. In my opinion, I think that they should’ve just added the 15 new items without making this contest, but maybe this was their way of trying to increase the activity on social media. Still, the way they’re going about it feels half-hearted, with not much of a story to it.

If you want the new items to be added, please post the picture of your ice cream machine along with the #FreeThe15 hashtag on your social media pages. If you don’t have any social media, I can share yours on my twitter page – just DM me on Discord.

In other news, yesterday, another post was published on the Creators’ Blog, promoting one of Poptropica’s most popular islands: Cryptids Island. Cryptids Island is well-known for its mythical creatures and its extraordinary adventure.

The post was pretty interesting, but the thing that stood out the most was this glorious drawing of the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie:

Cryptid_Island_1200x627 (1).jpg

It’s really nice! I really like the detail on the ocean, and I wish I would draw like that. However, it doesn’t quite look like the ordinary Poptropica style. When asked about it, the Creators wrote back that a Poptropica artist wanted to do things a bit differently to capture the mystery.

Anyway, Cryptids is one of my favorite islands, and I really want it to be remastered for Poptropica Worlds, so I kinda hope (even though the chances are really low) that it might be. So I guess #CryptidsForWorlds..? I don’t know. XD

Anyway, thanks for reading this post! I’ll try to post more and stop being too lazy – but until then, I’m out!

🐾 Purple Claw 🐾
:mrgreen:🌊

Pop Petition: What We Want From Pop Worlds, Pt. 3

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Pop Petition Header

Hey guys, Spotted Dragon here with another Pop Petition! This one is about Poptropica Worlds yet again.

With my last post on Worlds focusing on all the positives, it was only inevitable that the negatives would be brought back up. Although, remember that these posts aren’t meant as complaints about the game! They are simply voicing what we want and what we are excited for! Click here for our first Pop Worlds Petition and click here for our second.

Anyway, we’ve talking about customization, interacting with friends, glitches, and more, so what could possibly be left? Well, we saw all your feedback and we totally get that Poptropica Worlds still has a lot to live up to. So, let’s get into it!

#1: Item/Power Cards

How could we forget about this? We have a store full of clothes and a store filled with house decor, but there are no items/powers anywhere for purchase! In Original Poptropica, we had gum, balloons, electric powers, followers, and more to choose from.

pgamesmembers

Currently, there is not even a place where we could go looking to buy items/powers. While these items don’t really help game-play, they were always a cool addition to the ways we could customize our characters. I guess it always comes back around to wanting more customization, huh?

We are already seeing more animation in Poptropica Worlds, such as the little movements our Poptropicans make when idle, and I feel like this attention to animation could make item cards even more exciting. Although, now that I think about it, this will probably just lead to even more lag at our multiverse parties!

#2: Old Cursor

Remember how the old cursor we had in game changed length and color? Well I’m sure you’ve noticed that those features are no longer a part of the cursor in Poptropica Worlds. The movement controls are still the same, but the appearance is slightly different. It may not seem like a big deal, but to some it is a big change.

rtvi arrow

With the old cursor, the arrow turned green when you would jump, turned blue when you would just walk, and turned yellow when you would crouch. In addition to this, the arrow grew longer the further it was away from your player. Both of these features helped to determine exactly how your character would move and where they would go.

You can move the same way in Poptropica Worlds, but it can often be a bit difficult when you’re trying to land on a small, specific platform. I found myself falling into lava on Crisis Caverns more than once I admit. If the color change and length change were added back, I think that making precise jumps would be much easier. Don’t you agree?

#3: Organized Store

Now here is something that even Original Poptropica didn’t have! A more organized store. In OP and Pop Worlds, costumes (and in OP’s case: item cards) were simply arranged in a single row, usually by date added with some exceptions for holiday features and whatnot.

sword

Having things disorganized makes it very difficult and time consuming to find something specific. It also means that the things in the “back” of the store get viewed and bought less. It’s especially a hassle in Pop Worlds, since only a handful of costumes are shown on one page and you have to wait for new pages to load. We’ve had a similar problem in the past with Poptropica’s backpack too. Players who had tons upon tons of items had a hard time finding things, even though you could organize things alphabetically and by date.

In the future, when Poptropica Worlds expands, organization will certainly become more of a problem. Not only in the house/clothing stores, but in our inventory as well. The solution? Well one idea is simple… a search bar. Another solution? Instead of selling full outfits, maybe have different pages for different accessories. Just some ideas.

#4: Mouth Customization

At this point, no one should be surprised to see we want more customization! Like, seriously. It’s super limited right now. In addition to being stuck with our hair and skin colors, we are also stuck with the mouths that we chose when first logging in.

tongue tied

This isn’t a super big deal if you’re content with the mouth you chose. But what if I feel like classin’ myself up one random day with a little lipstick? What if I’m down in the dumps and have the urge to needlessly express that through an online kids’ game? Welp, I currently can’t put a frown, nor ruby red lips on my Poptropican.

This isn’t the only problem like this that people have come across. Many things that players chose upon first logging in have come back to haunt them in a mildly annoying way. This seems like something that should be easily fixable. I know it’s weird to “store mouths in your closet…” *ahem* but I mean we are already able to store blush and other facial features, so it’s not that big of a stretch.

#5: First Log-in Accessories

This is something that I briefly mentioned while taking about mouth customization. Yes, yes, it’s yet another customizing concern. Like I said before, many people end up wanting to change whatever design they chose when first logging into Poptropica Worlds. However, it doesn’t just have to do with hair color and facial expressions.

new pop worlds

Maybe when you logged in, you chose a pair of black shoes that you thought were fitting, huh? But then later, you realized you totally should have chosen those once in a lifetime rainbow kicks! Okay, I might be reflecting my own past decisions when I explain this, but my point is still clear. All those cool clothes, hairstyles, and other accessories are not available anywhere else in the game.

We wouldn’t have as much of a problem if the initial clothes we could chose from also showed up in the store. In Original Poptropica, many of the initial clothes we could chose from showed up in common rooms and on Early Poptropica’s NPC’s. Thus, it was still possible to customize the things we seemingly missed out on. Like a few other things on this petition, it’s not a huge problem but it’s something nice that I think a lot of players would appreciate.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with our list? Shout out what YOU want to see in Poptropica Worlds and what other subjects you want to see petitions for!

~SD

Pop 5: Best Poptropica Worlds Features

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Pop 5 Worlds Features Header

Hello everyone, Spotted Dragon here with another post on Poptropica Worlds! But here’s the twist… Lots of people, including myself, have been focusing on the game’s negative features. While those features shouldn’t be ignored, it really isn’t fair of us to negate all the positive things that Worlds has going for it!

This update has been huge and there is still a long way to go for it, so while we deserve to be skeptical, we also have to look on the bright side. Thankfully, there are still a lot of people looking into every pro and con of Poptropica Worlds, including a newbie interview that provides a very refreshing perspective on the matter.

Without further ado, let’s get into our Pop 5 Best Poptropica Worlds Features!

#5: Houses

house

Yes, the house brought along its own fair share of glitches. And yes, not everyone was thrilled to hear that they were being added either. Still, the idea has wandered through many minds at one point or another. The dream of a home in Poptropica has been hidden away in the back of Poptropicans’ heads for quite some time.

This feature, like others, has a lot of unused potential as of right now, but it brought something new and exciting to the world of Poptropica. It’s nice to have a building we can each call home. Who doesn’t love personalizing stuff in video games?

#4: The Quest Log

quest log

Despite the glitches it currently has, the quest log is actually a pretty cool addition to Poptropica. It gives the player a good idea of how far they’ve gotten through an island and helps to remind us what we have to do next. The latter is especially useful if you’ve been away from the game for quite some time.

Thankfully for us, it doesn’t give away too much of the story-line and doesn’t just give away the solution to any problem faced on your quest. In addition to the quest log, the new dialogue format allows for reading text at your own pace, which used to be a problem. Though it too has its flaws, these kinds of features make for less speed-bumps while you’re gaming!

#3: The Closet

closet pw

The closet we have now is not like the members only one in original Poptropica, but that doesn’t immediately mean it’s bad. In fact, in many ways it’s very useful! We can’t save outfits like we used to, but everything we buy in the new Store is organized with this feature.

Our old backpack was arranged by date and by alphabetical order, but it was still very hard to find things when the bag was bursting at its seams. At least the closet provides us with easy access to the clothes we bought, since everything is divided into categories. It’s not without glitches yet and when we all get to the point where we have too many clothes to count, there will surely be problems, but in my opinion it’s nice to have pants with pants and shirts with shirts.

#2: Buying Individual Apparel

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Not something you notice right away when playing the game, but still a significant change when heading to buy clothes. In the past, Poptropicans have had to spend big bucks on costumes in the store, even if they were only interested in a certain piece of that outfit. Say I liked the shorts on one costume and the shirt of another, I would have to spend a ton of credits on both in the Store.

With the Store’s new setup, you can buy each accessory separately, at a fraction of the entire outfit’s price. I know saying that just makes me sound like an annoying ad, but it really is a big money saver when you want to create a totally unique character design.

That being said, you do have to spend a lot when you do want the whole outfit. Plus, not all facial features are for sale and many things are for members only. It’s also important to point out that you can buy any costume now too, since they aren’t gender specific anymore!

#1: Art Direction

crisis caverns explorers wanted

I know, I know, lots of you probably disagree with this one. We are all used to our neckless, fingerless, shoeless old Poptropicans. A lot has changed with our characters’ looks, that’s true, but we can’t deny the artwork’s improvement just because we don’t like some design decisions. Just a glance at the game as a whole reveals how much the design’s quality has been enhanced.

Originally, the game had a very 2D feel to it. While Poptropica Worlds is obviously still a 2D game, the effort put into shading our characters and the detail put into scenes creates a lot more depth than what was previously drawn.

This is especially shown through the animations implemented in our characters, like when they get bored from lack of movement, which gives them a more realistic, life-like feel. It’s shown in the beautiful scenes from Crisis Caverns as well, despite how you may feel towards the island’s storyline.

Do you agree with our Pop 5 Best Poptropica Worlds Features? Let us know what you like about Poptropica Worlds in the comments! Until next time! 😛

~SD

Pop 5: Poptropica Places We Wish Were Real

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This post originally appeared on Pop Blog, which recently won Best Fan Site in the 2017 Poppies! It’s now being shared on the PHB courtesy of the author, Mia, and this list represents only the author’s opinions. See the bottom of this post for how you, too, can write for the PHB!

Hey fellow Poptropicans!

So, this post is about islands – maybe somewhere in Hawaii, where it’s peaceful, quiet, calm– wait, not those islands… Poptropica Islands! You know, fighting crime, wreaking havoc, saving lives, and heck, even ruining lives (for evildoers of course). Anything but peaceful! Yes, there are some Poptropica islands I wish were real places on this very Earth and here’s 5 of ’em! 😀

(Side note: I know some Poptropica Islands take place in real places on Earth, usually straight from the past or realistic places that aren’t specifically named. So yeah…  just makin’ sure you guys know that I don’t doubt the existence of things like caves. xD)

#1: Time Tangled Island

First off, there’s Time Tangled Island. From here, I’d basically like to be able to time travel to all of the different time periods! I mean how great would it be to shake hands with Thomas Jefferson or meet Ancient Vikings!

Time Tangled: Apollo

#2: Ghost Story Island

Secondly, Ghost Story Island! Now, normally people wouldn’t want to live in a place with ghosts or supernatural beings, but how cool would it be to be able to see ghosts! Same thing goes for the vampires on Vampire’s Curse, but I won’t count that as one of my choices since the reason is practically the same. 😛 And hey, who says ghosts don’t actually exist? Boo!

#3: Mythology Island

Then there’s Mythology Island! Greek gods and goddesses roaming around – magic and mythical beings, amazing items and acts being witnessed every day! Enough said! Who wouldn’t want Mythology Island to be real?

#4: Shrink Ray Island

Fourth, Shrink Ray Island! Of course, I would like the ability to be able to change back and forth between normal size and tiny, but wouldn’t it be fun to jump on marshmallows like trampolines and be able to fit in a dollhouse? And who knows? Maybe someday science will get there!

#5: Monster Carnival Island

Last but not least, Monster Carnival! Not your run-of-the-mill carnival, that’s for sure! In this carnival, you’re walking along side disguised monsters and having this old-timey creepy feel. Sure, it would be scary at first – but who doesn’t love a good scare?

Ringmaster Raven’s Tent, Monster Carnival Island

I hope you guys could relate with some of these choices! What other Poptropica places would you want to check out in real life? Until next time!

~Mia

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Mia! If you did, be sure check out her site, Pop Blog.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our Write for the PHB page. We also encourage sharing blog posts on the PHC.

If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in!

Poptropica and Age, Part 3: When Are You “Too Old”?

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Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish.

In this post, I’ll be exploring the topic of Poptropica and age. This is a continuation from two previous posts, so if you haven’t already read them, be sure to first catch up with Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Once you’ve read those, continue on below to Part 3!

Are you ever “too old”? Is it weird for anyone older than 12 to like Poptropica?

Well, this might sound like a cop-out answer, but it really depends on your perspective. Ask a community of Poptropica fans, and they’ll tell probably you no. Ask another person whose tastes do not align with yours, and they might answer differently.

Is Poptropica a kids’ game? By many accounts, yes. Is it also an all-ages game? Though the most populous group will probably continue to be the group the game was made for, you’ll find players of varying ages in this community. By that detail, it’s okay if you fall outside the typical spectrum.

This is a cliche, but: age is just a number. (Or as the memes will tell you, “False! Age is just a word.”) It’s only a recommendation guide, and you are not obligated to follow. You may find an 8-year-old who hates Poptropica, and an 18-year-old who loves it. Stereotypes can be broken. What matters is whether you find joy in it – whether it’s constructive to you and the people around you. Taking this into account, the factor of age becomes less important.

Yujo, a longtime Poptropican who is now 20, says this about his commitment to the game: “Part of what has made me return to the game is nostalgia, I suppose. Another would be the storytelling of Poptropica, continually dishing out something new every now and then. Even with Poptropica Worlds, a new platform, I still find myself enjoying playing it. One other thing that has made me stay for so long, despite my age, is the amazing community. I’ve made some fond memories playing Pop, so I’ll probably make some more before I pop on out down the line.”

There may be people who look at an older player and go, “Really? Don’t you have better things to do?” and, yes, it might strike them as odd. But that’s just the question: if you do enjoy your involvement in Poptropica, whether it’s just the game or something more – then isn’t it something worth doing, despite what critics may say?

And here is another thing critics may overlook: the Poptropican side of Ye Olde Player may be the only side they are seeing. But the truth is that every person on this earth is a complex individual, which means, for starters, that we all have lives offline. We go to school, we hang out with our family and friends, we pursue our interests, the list goes on. Some of us are just a tad farther down the age line than others.

Will most of the high school and college-aged still be playing beyond the early twenties? That remains to be seen. This group has gone past the old recommendation of “6–15 years old” for a handful of years now, and who’s to say there won’t be more years? As long as Poptropica continues to be enjoyable and keeps coming out with new and interesting content, the oldies might just stick around a little longer.

Here’s the other thing: everybody finds things and activities they enjoy, or at least, something to occupy themselves with. If your life didn’t have Poptropica in it, it would have something else: perhaps other games, books, movies, TV shows, hobbies, etc. And these things are not mutually exclusive! You can enjoy Poptropica while pursuing other interests and obligations in your life, too – in fact, it would be pretty unhealthy not to.

Either way, you’ll find something to take hold of and be inspired by.

Why not let it be Poptropica?

Well, that’s my take on Poptropica and age – all three parts of it. In case you missed it, you can catch Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Do you agree or disagree with these thoughts? What has your experience been? Share in the comments below!

Keep on popping on, Poptropicans.

~🐠

Poptropica and Age, Part 2: Where Did the Older Players Come From?

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Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish.

In this post, I’ll be exploring the topic of Poptropica and age. This is a continuation from a previous post, so if you haven’t already read that, be sure to first catch up with Part 1 here. Once you’ve read it, continue on below to Part 2!

Why are there so many older kids/teens in the fandom?

Herein lies a kicker: despite the target audience, Poptropica is still quite popular with many older kids as well. What’s the appeal?

I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak from my own experience and observations. At age 11, when I was first introduced to the game, I was enamored by Poptropica and all its whimsical characters and worlds. At 20, I still enjoy checking out a new island when it’s released, but it has become much more than a game to me. Like many other Poptropicans have reported, it’s not only about the content (though that certainly plays an important role). The community surrounding Poptropica has also played a big part in continuing my interest, accompanied by my own personal passions.

For me, being involved in the Poptropica community has been a huge encouragement to my creativity. I like to write, and heading up the Poptropica Help Blog has been an amazing opportunity to do so with a large readership of fellow fans. I’ve shared before that this blog was almost created to be a fan site for another game called Club Penguin – and if it had been, who knows what would’ve happened?

However, that was not to be the case (fortunately!), and instead, I’ve been blessed by all of your encouragement to keep writing about Poptropica. My earliest work was not the most polished, but I’ve definitely improved over the years. More recently, I’ve been taking on the editorial role of proofreading for guest posts for the blog. Thanks in part to this foundation in my life, I’ve become more confident in my writing ability and it’s become something I want to keep pursuing in my life – not writing about Poptropica necessarily, but writing in general.

I also like to draw, and again, because of Poptropica, I have been inspired to create fan art based on the game and have a community take interest in that work via sites like DeviantArt. So have tons of other Poptropica creatives. Could we have written and drawn inspiration from other subject matter? Sure, and many of us probably have. But why not Poptropica? If we are especially taken by a witty character, a beautiful scene, or a creative costume from Poptropica, why not let it stimulate our creative side?

On that note, it’s amazing how many ways you can customize your Poptropica character, and the lengths some players go through to find certain item parts to complete their costume is impressive. That on its own is a fun creative endeavor, but what’s also cool is seeing some take it further by creating their own OCs, or Original Characters, based on their Poptropica avatars. These OCs (also called Popsonas) are given character traits and sometimes even stories about their lives.

Brave Tomato, who’s 19, creates fan art, fan fiction, and YouTube videos about Poptropica, and has been blogging with the PHB for over 5 years. She says this about her longtime involvement with the fandom: “I believe what kept me in the fandom for so long is not only the game itself, but the amazing people I have gotten to meet and get to know over the period of time. There’s just something really appealing about this fandom in particular that I don’t think I’ve seen in many other fandoms. The game doesn’t make its primary focus elementary education. Its stories aren’t elementary either.”

There’s yet another aspect of the Poptropica fandom I haven’t mentioned yet, and that’s the glitchers. They’re the ones who enjoy digging through Poptropica’s files and code, looking for glitches to exploit and sneak peeks on future game updates. They’re the ones who brought the rest of us techniques and tools like the ASG and Custom Name Genie. And this, too, can be the beginnings of an exploration into how computers work.

Red Lizard, 20, is the developer of a glitching tool called Modify A Poptropican 2.0 and has also contributed to the Avatar Studio Gift, among various other glitching endeavors. He says he’s “more interested in the mechanics of the game and finding exploits. Also, Poptropica has given me inspiration to code a few apps.”

Santorno, who developed another glitching tool called iPop as a high-schooler, writes this on the front page of iPop: “Being able to exploit the game to my liking felt like pure magic. Ever since [being given access to Modify A Poptropican 1.0], I’ve always been interested in software development and learning how computers function. To this day, I still want to pursue a career in the field of computer science.”

To many players, especially teenagers and older, Poptropica is not just a game. It’s the breeding ground for forays into various fields like writing, art, and even computer science. It’s also a community of fellow players who appreciate and learn from the creations of these inquisitive minds, and befriend each other on social networks outside of Poptropica’s limited multiplayer functions.

Poptropica is shaping future writers, artists, programmers, and more. For these players, young and old, Poptropica – the game and the fandom – is worth it.

To be continued…

Thanks for reading Part 2 of “Poptropica and Age”! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

In Part 3, I’ll talk about whether or not it’s “weird” for anyone beyond the target audience to still be involved in Poptropica. Stay tuned!

~🐠

Introducing Poptropi.ca, and comments now open on Creators’ Blog!

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Hey Poptropicans – notice anything new?

If you look at the top of your browser, you’ll see that the PHB is carrying a brand-new URL: poptropi.ca – yup, just the one name and a dot in between. No .com, no .net, no ‘help.’ It may take some getting used to, but we’re hoping this shorter name will stand out as unique and memorable. After all, it’s what our site is all about: Poptropica!

Despite the new domain, we’re still the same Poptropica Help Blog. Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere! And, for our most up-to-date contact info, see our Contact page.

Our former URL, poptropicahelp.net, will continue to bring you to the PHB, so you need not worry about mistyping. However, our new URL will be the one displayed, and you may find that the fewer letters make it easier to find us. Welcome to Poptropi.ca! 😉

In other news, a new thing is also going on over on the Poptropica Creators’ Blog… they’ve (finally) opened up the ability to comment on their posts! As long as your comment meets their standard protocol, it’ll be approved.

So far, there are just 8 comments and they’re all on their latest post. I managed to put in a comment of my own, inviting them to check out the Poptropica community’s thoughts on the latest update. Check it out:

Pretty cool, right? Hopefully readers of the official Creators’ Blog will come to notice the rest of the community through these comments, and hopefully, Creators can respond to these comments as well!

I’d still like to see the new Poptropica social media people introduce themselves and get to know the people in this community. For now, though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Until next time, keep popping, Poptropicans!

<・)))><<