Author: Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! My name is Gentle Dolphin, and I have been a long-time fan of Poptropica. I like drawing, baking, and being an overall dork. In real life, I'm pretty much the same except for the fact that my hair is brown instead of pink. You can befriend me on Poptropica if you'd like. My username is "magicalyre".
Glitches, Poptropica Junior

Junior Programmers and Players Wanted, Senior Glitchers Shunted 👶

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, Poptropicans young and old! The Pop Creators debuted an extension of the Poptropica brand and are now promoting it across social media. Introducing Poptropica Junior, a new website for “play-based learning” geared to Pre-K and early elementary kids! 

Poptropica Junior Instagram page
Promo from @poptropicacreators‘s Instagram story

While Poptropica characters (without line art!) like Amelia and Xavier headline this new site, there’s also plenty of non-Pop content from sister site Funbrain. Pop Jr currently hosts a variety of mini-games, short stories, and coloring pages to preoccupy young players. The videos tab doesn’t work at this point, but let’s hope it gets fixed soon. 

Poptropica Junior website homepage

It seems that the Creators are trying to attract a new generation of Pop players with this website for those in early childhood. It kind of makes sense, with older players aging out of Poptropica, which is celebrating its 15th birthday next month. But what happens if those new players don’t stick around, especially with the current state of the game?

We’ve seen Pop trying to appeal to many demographics with mixed results. From the Steam bundle to Roblox games, this is yet another example of Pop throwing a reel into the pond of potential players. As a simplified version of an already simplified game, will Pop Jr be the gateway for new players, or the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

Screenshots from Poptropica Jr’s Dress Up Game

Meanwhile on the Creators’ Blog, Poptropica is promoting Coolmath Coding, a new Coolmath Games program dedicated to teaching kids how to code Roblox games and Minecraft mods. Check it out if you’re interested in learning game development at your own pace!

While the Creators’ Blog post mentions that you can try the first programming courses for free, the rest of the courses are locked behind a paywall. Pricing varies depending on which membership plan you pick. 

Pricing plans for Coolmath Coding

Now for some bad news related to coding. Due to the impending closure of free plans on cloud-hosting site Heroku starting November 28, we may lose access to various unofficial Poptropica glitching tools: the Save Data Converter for Flashpoint, Poptropica Format Loader for Flash-supporting browsers, and Modify a Poptropican for customizing your character. Fortunately, Flashpoint will not be affected. You can still access the oldest islands on Flashpoint, but say goodbye to saving future progress on them. (Thanks to Prof Robin and Oof for the news.)

So let’s make the most of what time we have left with these beloved programs! Finish those classic islands and dress up your Popsona in whatever old, obscure items you can find. Celebrate while you can!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Baron's Airship, Clubhouse, Fan Art Features, Member Gifts, Store

Cloaked in Mischief: Baron’s Rumpel Return

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! Be on your guard, a suspicious sight has shown up…

The Red Baron has returned, but she seems a bit off this time. Her visible eye is twitching, which she claims is caused by the thrill of adventure.

Her Cabin of Curiosities is chock full of Rumpelstiltskin-branded… things. You’ll find gold statues, a lamp, plushies (including a cursed version of Amelia’s unicorn), and even a Rumpel-fied Dr. Hare costume.

Okay, Baron, what’s with all of this? You deny that something is amiss, and you’re suddenly a big fan of Rumplestiltskin. Look, we know you’re not the most morally upright person, but vouching for Rumpelstiltskin is insane! And why does Ack keep missing his shots, throwing grapes at your convulsing eye? Something’s definitely up. 👁⚫️

At least one thing hasn’t been corrupted by Rumpel’s influence: June’s winning costume, the stellar Star Kid by Busy Bee! 💫 Be sure to grab this free outfit before the Baron — err, Rumpelstiltskin?? — takes off.

Thankfully, Adventure Outfitters’s latest lineup is Rumpel-free. Summer styles are in season for the costume racks! 🌞

On the shop floor to the left, you’ll find the two costumes teased last month. The dark medieval garb is called Cloaked Rogue, and the fuchsia demon is called Demon Mischief. The Creators’ update post doesn’t mention anyone who correctly guessed the names. Meanwhile, on your right, you’ll find plenty of cabana goods for your clubhouse.

Member gifts have also flown in for July! Inspired by our recently rewritten fowl friend Ringmaster Raven, this month’s exclusive spoils are a Crow Cloak, Crow Mask, and Baby Crow Follower. 🦅

Wrapping up this post, enjoy the latest fan art features of curious characters from Poptropica’s Instagram stories!

Rider (Pop OC) by @a.jbox
Maroon Ring in 3D by @happyclonetrooper
Unused character redraw by @pinklightningmc

Anyway, what’s your theory on what’s up with the Red Baron? Baronstiltskin? Are you twitching in excitement at what will unravel? Share in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Steam Bundle

Mighty Hints Toward AS3 Steam Release 💥💨

Gentle Dolphin

After two weeks of island-based riddles, the Pop Creators dropped the thirteenth and final clue for Poptropica’s upcoming Steam bundle! (Visit past hints: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

“Piece together the powers of one mighty hero to defeat this island’s storied villain. But first, you’ll have to play your cards right.”

The island that best fits this description is the episodic epic of PoptropiCon. In Episode 2: Spoiler Alert, the player partakes in the popular Mighty Action Force card game (“play your cards right”). Then, in Episode 3: Reign of Omegon, the player collects the three Mighty Action Force weapons and becomes Alphaon (“mighty hero”) in order to defeat Omegon (“storied villain”).

Now that all of the hints have been given, here are our final guesses for which islands will be featured in this upcoming Steam bundle:

  1. Survival (hint here)
  2. Mythology – classic version (hint here)
  3. Galactic Hot Dogs (hint here)
  4. Mission Atlantis (hint here)
  5. Shrink Ray (hint here)
  6. Poptropolis Games (hint here)
  7. Arabian Nights (hint here)
  8. Time Tangled (hint here)
  9. Monster Carnival – with a twist! (hint here)
  10. Mystery of the Map (hint here)
  11. Virus Hunter (hint here)
  12. Mocktropica (hint here)
  13. PoptropiCon (scroll up!)

Looking at everything so far, our theory about the Steam bundle only including AS3 islands may be true after all. While it’s nice that these islands will be preserved in the upcoming bundle, it’s disappointing that older classics like Astro-Knights and Skullduggery are yet again pushed to the backburner. Maybe they’ll be accessible in a future DLC expansion? Only time will tell.

Now that the hint parade is over, all we can do is wait for news about pricing and release dates. The official Pop Twitter account stated that we should be getting more info within the next 1-2 weeks, so be on the lookout for that!

UPDATE: Yet another tweet indicates that the upcoming Steam islands may be available for Mac. The wording is a bit odd, as it seems to point toward Steam in general rather than Poptropica’s bundle specifically, but we’ll see! 🤞 If it’s true, that makes it more accessible than the Windows-only Flashpoint unofficial access for old Pop islands.

By the way, happy Earth Day from Poptropica! 🌳 You might recall this Twisted Thicket postcard from last year, but sadly, it doesn’t look like this classic island will be among those returning soon.

Anyway, which islands do you think will be present in this Steam bundle? Which islands do you hope make a return in the future? Leave a comment down below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Baron's Airship, Fan Art Features, Member Gifts, Social Media, Steam Bundle

Kick Back at the Cabin of Curiosities ☺️🍹👟

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! Yesterday’s big announcement certainly grabbed our attention, but let’s not forget the other stories lost in the shuffle.

The Red Baron is back with new treasures for all, so let’s climb aboard and check them out. Head into the Cabin of Curiosities and check out the winner of March’s costume contest: Spa Day by Chilly Feather!

The soft robe, cucumber face mask, and drink make this the perfect thing to wear after a long day of exploring Poptropica. This free ‘fit also comes with an equally free pair of pink bunny slippers, which the Creators clarify are not made from Dr. Hare. Sure, Creators, we’ll take your word for it… for now.

The Baron seems to have taken a liking to this particular costume, as she can be seen wearing the same cucumber face mask. She’s chillaxing after finding some fancy footwear. Players can purchase Grey Loafers, Red Shoes, and Yellow Flipflops for their feet as well as a Shoe Rack for their clubhouses, all of which cost 100 credits each. 👟👟

But wait, there’s more! Members can check out April’s member gifts: a pair of Butterfly Wings, a Butterfly Follower, and a Baby Fox Follower. This gift pack definitely fits the ongoing spring season, but I can’t get over how everything is so… orange. Not sure what you guys think about color choice, but five year old me would have loved these. 😂🧡

The hype for Poptropica’s Steam release has officially begun! On social media, the Creators released their first hint at one of the returning islands: “Don’t be shocked when life gives you lemons.”

The two most popular guesses so far are Survival Island and Shrink Ray Island, which use lemons in certain puzzles. The player powers a radio with a lemon battery in Survival Island: Episode 3, and CJ writes a secret message with lemon juice in Shrink Ray Island. Which classic island could this be referring to? 🤔🍋

Finally, the Creators featured a meme redraw by Instagram user happyclonetrooper aka Maroon Ring. Don’t worry, Maroon, we’re sure that Pop’s Steam game will have plenty of medallions for you to collect.

That’s all for now. What do you think of these new items? Which islands do you hope will appear in Pop’s Steam port? What do you think of the color orange? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Baron's Airship, Monthly Costume Contests, Roblox, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Zomberries are coming to Roblox! 🧟‍♀️🎈🎮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! We just received more details about Pop’s upcoming Roblox game. If you have questions about island inspiration, gameplay, or other miscellaneous details, then you’ve come to the right place.

Many fans speculated which classic island inspired this little collab, with the most frequent guess being Monster Carnival. While our guesses were close, Pop’s debut Roblox game is actually based on the similarly spooky Zomberry Island! 🧟‍♀️🫐 I guess the swan threw us for a loop. 🦢

Sneak peek from Poptropica of their upcoming Roblox game

This crossover event will pit humans and zomberries against each other in an all-new multiplayer experience. Considering the fact that zombie games have a great presence on Roblox, it’s easy to see why Zomberry Island was a prime candidate for a Roblox spinoff. However, it would have been nice to see another island get the spotlight since we got the Zomberry Hero event less than two years ago.

Some fans might also be disappointed that this game won’t prominently display Pop’s storytelling capabilities. While I don’t play or watch anything relating to Roblox, it seems storytelling is not Roblox’s main priority. Plus, we hope the best stories are being saved for Poptropica’s main projects.

Update: Turns out the following featured image is just fan art. Still cool nonetheless!

We also got an inside scoop outside of the Creators’ Blog. DataSigh, a 3D modeler for Roblox, revealed a 3D recreation of Poptropica’s iconic yellow blimp on Twitter. The model looks great, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the game!

DataSigh’s tweet also included one of my own Poptropica illustrations. The original tweet did not credit any artist for the illustration, but proper credit was added after I asked for it. I’m honored that my art was featured by a game developer even if I would have appreciated credit from the beginning. That begs the question: why was fan art included and not any official Poptropica images? 🤔

According to their Twitter bio, DataSigh works for Dubit, a games studio with a slight connection to Pop: a former Pop Creator published an article about the game on Dubit’s website back in 2013. It’s possible that Poptropica hired Dubit to create the new Zomberry-inspired Roblox game, or DataSigh might just be a Pop fan — another Roblox project they shared was a boat combat system inspired by Skullduggery Island.

Before I sign off, here’s a reminder that today (March 11) is the last day you can visit the Baron’s airship and purchase the latest collection of curiosities. Grab every item to your liking before the Baron sets off on her next adventure!

If you want your costume design brought to life in Poptropica, why not submit it to March’s costume contest? You can enter via social media or Poptropica’s submissions page until March 21 at 8pm PST/11pm EST.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬