Hey, Poptropicans, it’s LJ here! I hope you’re all doing great.
If you log into Poptropica, you’ll find there’s a new advertisement for the Galactic Hot Dogs novels — which means there’s a new prize to be collected. Or does it?
No game this time. All that’s required of you is that you sit through a short video clip that promotes the book series. Once you do, you’ll acquire a F.R.E.D. Follower — which if you’ve been around for a while, will recall was available in the Pop Store back in 2015 when Galactic Hot Dogs Island was released. So I suppose it’s new for some players, but it’s not an entirely fresh item to the game itself.
Also, if you’re unaware, we’re currently in the midst of a Tribal Tournament happening all throughout the month! The first round is still underway, so check out our opening post to see how you can join in the fun. For now, check out the PHB staff’s staggering style in spirit of the event:
Lucky Joker (Pathfinders)
Spotted Dragon (Nanobots)
Gentle Dolphin (Seraphim)
Sporty Boa (Flying Squid)
Slanted Fish (Nightcrawlers)
Additionally, Community Creations is going on; this month’s theme is tribes. What a coincidence, right? 😉 We encourage you to participate in that as well.
Welp, that’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll talk to you in the next one. Pop on!
This is a guest post by Tiff on why Poptropica should focus more on their older players.The following is the writer’s opinion only. Enjoy!
Hi, I’m Tiff, and I want to talk about a few things—but most importantly, the idea that Poptropica should gear the game toward older kids.
Despite the fact that Poptropica bills itself as a children’s game, fewer and fewer young kids are interested in Poptropica these days. In fact, if you look at the PHB’s surveys, you’ll find that the majority of players are 13 and up (at least, the majority of who read this fan site are teens and young adults).
If the Creators want to keep Pop going, they’ll need to create content suitable for the audience they have and expand on that, rather than holding onto the past ideal of being suited for kids. They need to grow with their fanbase, so that they’re not left behind by their competitors.
After all, Poptropica is my favorite game, and I really want it to stay. Plus, with an evolving games market, and a growing trend for augmented or virtual reality, I wonder if they can explore that avenue further.
And as we know, Poptropica has been putting a little too much emphasis on Membership. I know they’ve been working on the Islands, and bringing the old ones back, but they really should be available to all players, not just members. This post isn’t necessarily about the paywall, but more on the fact that the Creators seem to only orient their game for a subset of players that they find more valuable—whether that’s members or younger kids—rather than focusing on the majority of who’s already here: the non-members and the older players. I’m here to say, Creators, focus on who your players are now, not who they used to be, and expand from there.
Creators: grow with the game, and grow with the times. We are not kids anymore, we’re teens and young adults. Poptropica’s demographic has changed, so let’s change the game with it. It’s supply and demand: the demand is the older demographic, the little kids who aren’t so little anymore, who’ve grown up with Poptropica and have stuck around for the fun and nostalgia. And the supply is Poptropica, which needs to adapt for this crowd which seems to make up the majority of our community these days.
Let’s be a little less forceful in trying to promote our game to a younger audience, who seem to have already moved on to other things—after all, there’s not much a new player can do on Poptropica these days as they’re locked into a Haxe account with few islands—and perhaps, with careful consideration for the older demographic (and particularly our desire for islands with deep storytelling), Poptropica’s demand may rise again.
Hope you enjoyed this Pop Petition guest post by Tiff! If you did, be sure to check out our other Pop Petition posts on the PHB, as well as our series on the topic of Poptropica and Age.
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 page on how to Write for the PHB, and share blog posts on the PHC.
📰 If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! ✨
What’s up, Poptropicans? It’s Lucky Joker here popping in to bring you the new member gift bundle and all the latest updates to stores (plural)!
The Party Popper, one of August’s member gifts.
The items this time around are pretty cool and are Poppercini (a parody of the old-school Tamagotchi virtual pet), Colorful Clothes, and Party Popper! I actually really like this set quite a bit. If I wasn’t sporting my tribal gear for our Tribal Tournament, I would totally throw these items on.
When you press the space bar while carrying around the Poppercini, the little gadget will open up on your screen, and you can see what your digital pet (a simple circle with antennae and limbs) is doing. It only has two moves, really: sleeping (catching z’s) or eating (what appears to be pizza).
The Poppercini “pet” in action.
The store has been restocked with lots of familiar looks, but a few new outfits too. Another thing to be glad about is that only 12 of the 32 available items are exclusive to members only(that means 20 are available to everyone)!
This week’s items are:
Costumes: Spring Fling, Unicorn Girl*, Navy Raglan Outfit, Rib Wrap Outfit, Chomper Outfit*, Red Heart Outfit*, Clover Kid Outfit, Lilac Star Outfit, Friendly Face Masks, Galaxy Girl*, Bookworm Kid, Retro Robot*, Sweet Strawberry, Firefighter, Vibes*, Rainbow Ride
Followers: Narf Follower, Mini Astroknight*, Noodle Guy Follower*, Charlie the Chocomonkey*
Misc: Notebooks, Marshmallow Roaster, Hiking Shoes, School Backpack*
A * indicates the item is for members only.
It’s cool to see a few new costumes this time—including one (for members only) that is simply (and perhaps hilariously) called “Vibes.” Non-members can also enjoy a new “Sweet Strawberry” summer dress and a “Rainbow Ride” hoodie with a flair of Pride. Each one is just 75 credits!
Our Poptropicans are not the only ones that have access to style and flair, though, because the pet barn store has also been rotated about. You can’t dress a Poppercini, but you can certainly dress your kitty (or other, more modern-age Poptropica pets)!
The items this time around include Pink Afro*, Cool Cap, Flower Headband, Black Pointed Bangs, Tear Drop Glasses*, Hero Mask, Grey Beard, Eye Patch, Spike Collar*, Pink Tutu*, Flower Necklace, Blue Bow, Zomberry Eyes, Yellow Dead Eyes, Stars Eyes*, and Cute Blue Eyes*.
As always, everything here is really cute—well, maybe except for those Zomberry Eyes. You could probably use some of these pieces to create an adorable tribe-inspired look for your pet as well!
There are also some new options for clubhouse decor! There are a total of 20 furnishings and accessories now, with 9 of them being available for paying members only. We’ve got bikes, lights, and more—check ’em out:
That wraps up the latest materialistic updates, but that’s not all that’s going on in the Poptropica universe. In case you missed it, we’re hosting a big Tribal Tournament this month here on the PHB, so check out what’s poppin’ in our post below! And don’t forget to participate in this month’s Community Creations—the theme is “tribes,” which fits right in with our tribal festivities.
I hope you all are staying safe and well, and I’ll talk to you soon. Pop on!
Welcome, Poptropicans, to the 2020 PHB Tribal Tournament! Can you believe it’s been 4 years since the last one? Although the Tokyo Olympic Games that were set to take place this year have been postponed until 2021, that doesn’t mean we can’t compete head-to-head… in Poptropica!
Here’s how this works: You pick a tribe (one of the 8 tribes from Poptropolis Games Island), then check the PHB for our competitions (we’ll have a new one each week this month) and compete for points for your tribe… and maybe even a Poptropica membership for yourself!
The Tribes of Poptropica, from left to right, top to bottom: Flying Squid, Wildfire, Yellowjackets, Pathfinders, Black Flags, Nightcrawlers, Seraphim, Nanobots. Pick wisely, because in this tournament, you can’t switch sides!
It’s more fun on Discord
Throughout the tournament, you can meet and hang out with your fellow tribe-mates (and competitors) through our kid-friendly, moderated Discord server, the PHC (Poptropica Help Chat). It’s free, quick, and easy to join!
On the PHC, we’ll have special chat channels for each tribe—to join yours, simply message a PHC staff member (PHB staff, PHC overlords, and guardians) to request the role of your chosen tribe and someone will add you in as soon as possible. No one outside your tribe can see your tribe’s channel besides PHC staff. You can use it to talk with new friends about anything from sharing your entries to the competitions to your ideal breakfast of champions!
Plus, each tribe will have a representative (mostly PHB staff) who you can message anytime with questions or just to have a friendly face who’s on your side in the tribal games. These are the reps for each tribe:
🐝 Yellowjackets – Silver Wolf, a former PHB author
You can find the PHC by going to the Community tab in the PHB menu, and once you’re in, the server will stay with your Discord account.
Now allow us to announce… the Creative Competitors round!
Round 1: Creative Competitors
It’s time to rally up some spirit and get artsy! To compete in Creative Competitors, all you have to do is create Poptropica fan art and share it with us. The best way to do that is to post it to your tribe’s channel on the PHC, but you can also contact us in other ways.
Each creation will be worth 10 points, so the more you send in, the more you’ll earn for your tribe! Acceptable art forms include:
Visual pieces (can be traditional or digital)
Written pieces (a fan fiction, a cheer, poem, song, etc.)
In-game costumes (see what you can do with your tribe’s colors!)
This round will transpire throughout the entire tournament — but don’t hesitate to start creating now! Incidentally, our theme for Community Creations this month is also Tribes, so if you can create something tribe-inspired, you’ll be entering two contests in one!
🌟 As we mentioned earlier, yes, you can win a membership! In each round, we’ll be picking an MVP (Most Valuable Player) whose entry we think stands out most, to win a one-month Poptropica membership. It could be you! 🌟
Many of you expressed a hankering for more community activities at the Poppies last week, so we hope you’ll have just as much fun participating in this quadrennial event. Stay tuned, because there’s more to come!
The next round (which has yet to be announced) will commence next week on Monday, August 10. You won’t want to miss it! But right now…
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the July recap for Community Creations! July’s theme was Classic Islands (and the featured work is not in any particular order). Be sure to check out all the featured artists!
Though this piece was not made in time for our Wild West theme, it certainly still fits among the classic islands! The blurry effect adds a lot of hilarious motion to the scene, perfectly capturing a great photo from the island. It has a lovely composition and demonstrates wonderful craftsmanship! Very well made! Find her DeviantArt here.
The 4 Knights by BlazingAngel123
Wowza, what a heroic looking scene! Astro-Knights won “OG Island We’ll Miss the Most” in the Poppies this year, so it is obviously a fan favorite adventure. The symmetrical composition is excellent and I love the strong contrast between colors. Each knight is showing off their unique set of powers, but certainly remaining strong and unified. It really captures the atmosphere of the island! Find her DeviantArt here.
Here Comes a Giant Fist by WitchyArtistGal
Although Shrink Ray eventually got its own sound update, I think it’s fair to say that it’s still a classic considering its initial release. So this submission deserves a spotlight all the same! Comics are always a refreshing format, and a challenging one at that. Luckily, the framing and humor in this one turned out excellent! The dialogue and build up are great, bringing together the perfect little story. Keep up the great work! Find her DeviantArt here.
Spy Island by MissEligon
Oooh, another very interesting composition! Though busy, all the figures are portrayed in such a way that they are not lost within the frame. I love the subtle effect of Director D.’s hair, the incorporation of background scenery, and even the inclusion of the spy in the trashcan! This piece really acts as a summary of the whole island without giving too much away. There’s a great variety of emotion, poses, shades within a unified color scheme, and a wonderful sense of mystery! Find her Twitter here (where she has also recently posted art of some other classics).
Game Show Island by AdventurersNHunters
Hmmm, intriguing! As I previously mentioned, the format of a comic is always refreshing! And the added challenge of having no dialogue is very interesting. This long visual story really builds a world, and draws the viewer’s eye all down the page. The detail is fantastic, the shading is quite dramatic, and the diagonal lines of the frames create a great sense of action! You can really see the effort poured into the work. Find her DeviantArt here.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Traitorous Spy by Midnightoilstudios
If Joe Puddy was in Twisted Thicket by thehypercutter
Gosh guys, all this amazing work is really making miss the classics! These adventures have really been immortalized by your submissions this month.
AUGUST: HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fics, Pop clubhouses, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.
If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is August’s theme? August’s theme is…
Poptropolis GamesTribes!
Although the summer Olympics have been postponed until next year, why can’t we still celebrate with some fun “athletic” competition, right? That’s why we have the internet in times like these! We all have witnessed the sinking of Poptropolis and the mystery that surrounds it, but we have also gotten to experience the excitement of the games! Let’s revisit those games in this month’s theme, shall we?
No matter what tribe you’re a part of, we want to see your artwork! We want to see your stories! Your costumes! And all the crafts in between! So show us your tribal pride this month, and I promise that I won’t be biased in favor of the Nanobots (or at least I’ll try).
Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!
I will be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!
So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!
