Hello! I'm Slanted Fish, the editor-in-chief and creator of the Poptropica Help Blog (PHB). I'm a writer, Hong Kong native, and Christ follower. My Poptropica username is slantedfish ๐ Don't forget to be awesome!
This is a guest post written by Spotted Thunder, a Poptropican whoโll be sharing her original “Popsonas,” or Poptropica personas (characters). Enjoy!
Oh hey everyone! Today I will be sharing my some of heroes, created in Poptropica, whom I call the Dragon Keepers of Lightning and Ice. (I’ve got more characters up my sleeve, but we’ll start with the main ones.) Let’s get into it!
Spotted Thunder
Perhaps one of the most experienced magic users out there in Poptropica, Spotted Thunder comes from a family of humans and elves, including her aunt, Lumia, the elf of water and fire.
She doesnโt know which island she came from, but was raised on Mystery of the Map Island. At some point, she was taken by Zeus, who gave her the golden spearโSTโs first magical item. These days, she lives on Home Island with her magical pets, ready to protect Poptropica from whatever dark life lives out there.
Fearless Dragon
Fearless Dragon was born in a world of elves, where she learned how to use her acacia wand. She doesnโt know why she had to leave the elf world to come to Poptropica, but she did know it was important.
Fearless Dragon became friends with Spotted Thunder, not knowing she was related to her as a cousin, the only daughter of Spotted’s aunt Lumia.
Fearless has a pet, a light fury named Pelus. She spends much of her time flying to the hidden world and protecting dragon life from fizzing out.
Speedy
Speedy Coyote comes from a rich family. Heโs a huge fan of Speedy Catfish (aka Thinknoodles) so he dresses up like him.
Born on Home Island, Speedy has traveled all around Poptropica, but his favorite place is Camp Keepers, a summer camp for Dragon Riders. Speedy is a gifted Rider whose main weapon is his Enchanted Sword, which cuts the desires of the heart.
Icy Bird
Icy Bird discovered Camp Keepers when his blimp crashed into the forest nearby. Prophesied to hold the power of ice and defeat a strong evil force, Icy still doesnโt have a dragon, but heโs a great rider, or that’s what he thinks. Icy Birdโs main weapon is his bronze sword that transforms from his pen (which comes with a lid).
Icy Bird is also in the same class as Fearless, Speedy and Spotted at school.
And those are my main Dragon Keepers! Let me know in the comments what you think, and whether you’d like to hear more about them. I’ve written some chapters about this crew, and I’m thinking of adding some PHB staff into the stories as well.
Finally, I’d like to give huge credits to ANNE14TCO for the inspiration behind the Dragon Keepers. ST out!
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.
This is a guest post written byย Red Tomato, a Poptropican whoโll be sharing a โPop 5โ list of Poptropica characters who take up too much of the spotlight among the fan community. Enjoy!
Hi everyone! It’s Red Tomato and today I have the sequel to my Pop 5: Most Underrated Characters from last week. This list is all about the overrated charactersโthe ones who get a little too much attention. Let’s go!
#5: Zeus
Zeus aka Spruce aka Moose aka Santa Claus is the Greek god who is the main villain of Mythology, Super Villain, and Greek Sea Odyssey. This deity is probably one of the most popular characters in the fan community. It’s easy to see why, though! Just look at that beard!
#4: Balloon Boy
No, not the one from “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” but the kid from Counterfeit Island! Ever since you gave that a boy a balloon and he floated away, we’ve caught glimpses on him, still in the sky, in the island adventures that followed. Is he still up there? We may never know….
#3: *gasp* Your character?
Think about it… most of the fan art and fanfics in the Pop fandom are about somebody’s own Poptropica character! (Also known as someone’s “Popsona,” or Poptropica persona.) Anyway, my Poptropican (Red Tomato ๐ ) is very happy to make it on this list!
#2: Dr. Hare
Ah yes, the first Poptropica villain besides the Early Pop spiders and Booga shark. This furryโI mean, mad scientistโgets second most overrated because, well, he’s everywhere! His hometown island, 24 Carrot, was re-made twice: once for SUI format on Pop Original and more recently on Pop Worlds. He also appears on the Daily Pops, in countless fan art pieces, and even Super Villain Island!
And now… the number one most overrated Poptropica character is…
THE CRAB FROM TIME TANGLED!!!
JUST KIDDING!
#1: Shark Boy (aka Shark Guy)
It was tough to pick between this guy and Dr. Hare, but I think Sharky deserves the #1 spot because this guy has been around longer than Dr. Hare. And don’t forget the whole Mystery of Shark Boy drama! Shark Boy, do do do do do do do…
Well, that was my Pop 5 list of most overrated Poptropicans! This post is not meant to be negative, but rather to point out some of the more popular characters. Bye!
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.
This is a guest post written by Red Tomato, a Poptropican who’ll be sharing a “Pop 5” list of Poptropica characters who don’t get much attention in the fan community. Enjoy!๏ปฟ
Hi everyone, Iโm Red Tomato! I haven’t been around for about a year, but now I’m back! Anyway, here’s my list of Pop 5 most underrated Poptropica characters. If I missed anybody, let me know in the comments!
#5: Joe Stockman
Not your average Joe.
You gotta love this guy and his love for Chinese food! This Joe Schmoe was just an average guy until he became Patient Zero on Virus Hunter Island, but he could use a little more appreciation. You never see any fan art of him; poor dude, heโs been through a lotโฆ plus, he’s my Poptropica crush.
#4: Poseidon
Poseidon helped you defeat Zeus in both Mythology and Super Villain Island! (Plus, not Poptropica-related, but he is Percy Jackson’s dad.) He also rocks a cool mustache! Anyway, this Greek god deserves some more attention compared to his bros Hades and Zeus! (Also, that is a cool trident. I want it.)
#3: Mr. Silva
Probably the most underrated villain, Mr. Silva is the evil science teacher from Shrink Ray island. He shrinks you and CJ so that he can steal CJ’s shrink ray and pass it off as his own invention. Pretty devious! For all the villain fan art we see, though, he’s not often among them.
#2: Dr. Lange
Another one from Virus Hunter Island, Dr. Lange wants you to stop a deadly virus. Plus, you can take some funny pictures with her in the Photo Booth. She definitely deserves more love, because she discovered the virus. Without her, Poptropica would be plagued with a pretty serious virus!
#1: Harry Houdini
From Mystery Train Island, Mr. Houdini helps you capture the thief with his expert lock-picking skills. Plus, he is based off one of the most skilled magicians of all time! This guy should get some more love. Other Mystery Train characters get more fan art than he does, but in the end, it’s his water tank that saves the day.
Well, that was my Pop 5 list of most underrated Poptropica characters! As for honorable mentions, pretty much every character on Steamworks Island would fit this list, too. Until next time.
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.
This is a guest post written by Quick Fang, a Poptropican whoโll be sharing a โPop 5โ list of what Poptropica might be like without its villains. Enjoy!
Poptropica is known for its island storylines โ and one of my favorite plot twists is whenever someone you had known to be a good person turned out to be the exact opposite (take Black Widow from Counterfeit Island, for example).
Other islands simply identify who the villains are right from the onset. Whichever the case, villains bring a fun flavor to Poptropica, and to highlight that, here’s my list to show what would happen if there were no villains in all of Poptropica.
#1: Super Villain and Super Power Island would not exist
On Super Villain Island, you have to go into the dreams of four super villains and remove the sources of their evil. Without them, the island would not have existed at all. And the same goes for another island based primarily on its crooks, Super Power Island โ your motive, pretty much, is to capture the loosed criminals.
#2: No boss fights
On many Poptropica islands, there are final showdowns between good and bad. For example, in Mythology Island, you battle Zeus, and in Spy Island, you face Director D and his army of mini-robots. But if villains didn’t exist… well, there’d be no one to fight!
#3: Less snark from sassy scoundrels
With every villain comes their own personal quirks. Who could forget Mademoiselle Moreau from Mystery Train and her overly fierce allegiance to France, or Ringmaster Raven from Monster Carnival and his sad story that pushed him towards his mania? Without these colorful characters, life on Poptropica might be kind of dull.
#4: No heroism
Your main role on Poptropica islands is to get rid of the problems that each island is facing. But if there are no villains running around causing problems, how can you be the island’s hero? The storyline would have to come from elsewhere. It’s been done (take Mission Atlantis as an example), but to me, it feels less exciting.
#5: No prisons
Prisons in Poptropica, such as Erewhon Prison in Super Villain Island, or the facility in Escape From Pelican Rock, would simply not need to exist. After all, there would be no criminals to put behind bars!
My point in making this list is to show that, without the villains, Poptropica wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as it is. Quick Fang out!
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.
Now there’s a question. Is Poptropica now fulfilling the prophecy about itself it set out in its own self-parody in the 36th islandโand not in a good way?
I’m Slanted Fish, here to examine just how much Poptropica is falling into the traps it once warned about. Let’s take a look at the evidence.
For those who need a refresher, Mocktropica Island is a bit of a self-parody of Poptropica, imagining what things would be like when development of the game world goes haywire. It’s a fictional tale, but like many good stories, it does contain some truth.
And lately, it seems like Poptropica’s development is in crisis: we don’t hear as much from the Creators as we used to, and when we do, they’re tinkling with visual updates here and there, rather than the meat of the game: the story quests. In fact, it’s been a whole year since the latest island, Greek Sea Odyssey, was released on Poptropica Worlds, and Poptropica Original hasn’t had a new island since 2016’s Monkey Wrench. So, robot boss battles aside, has Mocktropica predicted the fate of the game?
One feature Mocktropica played with was the idea of pets for Poptropicans. Back when the island first came out in 2013, there weren’t exactly pets in Poptropica, though we did have “Followers” available from ads or in the store (such as the dragon in the picture above). But the Creators knew when they were making this island that pets were a popular requested feature for the game, so in the story, we have kids cheering for the introduction of pets.
Pop Coin currency is suggested on Mocktropica Island.
While Poptropica hasn’t gotten quite as extreme as Mocktropica when it comes to currency, the Pop Coin system does hint at something sinister: charging players to pay real-life money for basic features of the game. In Poptropica, we know it as membership.
Membership wasn’t always like it is now. These days, every update seems to come with a significant portion exclusive to members only: store updates, pets, the new friends profiles, and so on. But back when we saw new islands every once in a while, each update wasn’t so member-focused, in part because membership already had a big draw: early access to new islands. With no new islands, the Creators have to find more ways to make membership attractive for the sake of profits, but it’s only causing playersโmany without the means of purchasing powerโto resent them for it.
Achievements? Well, Poptropica has had ways of marking a player’s achievements with features like island medallions and album photos, and fortunately, they’re not annoying pop-ups like on Mocktropicaโin fact, they’re pretty creative.
But not so fast. Remember the ad sales lady on Mocktropica and the obnoxious pop-up ads she made float around on your screen? While Poptropica hasn’t quite reached that level of distaste, it has since introduced a pretty off-putting pop-up ad at the bottom of the screen that re-appears whenever you change scenes. Sadly, it’s been there for a while and looks like it intends to stay. As if the banner wrapper ads weren’t enough!
Advertising your own game on your own game? Not exactly effective, either.
Developers: Where have they gone?
On Mocktropica Island, Poptropica developers were fired by new management.
A year ago, Poptropica inexplicably let go of some valuable senior-level employees who had contributed to the game for about a whole decade. A former Creator, Jessica (aka Skinny Moon), even confirmed in March 2018 that “most of the company is gone,” referring to employees she’d worked with prior to that point. Since then, we haven’t had namesโnot even aliases!โto connect us with the Poptropica team.
On this front, Mocktropica definitely predicted a bleak turn for Poptropica. These days, Poptropica rarely updatestheir official blog, on time if it allโeven for bigger releasesโand as outlined above, game updates are not only fewer and farther between, but when they do occur, they’re not what anybody really asked for. Sure, releasing some new items and redecorating some interfaces is mildly interesting, but they’re not going to keep anybody’s attention for long. But you know what will, Poptropica Creators?
Storiesโspecifically, islands!
Former president of Poptropica, Jess Brallier, says it best in this video from 2013, recently discovered by Osmium and re-posted from “Future Think” by idk:
Right out of this publisher’s mouth: “We’re not doing a virtual world to create a social networking opportunity, not to house games, not to host a virtual economy, but to tell stories… the point of Poptropica is to tell kids stories in the literacy of their choosing.“
Does that sound like the Poptropica of the present to you? Well, I’ve been following Poptropica through the years, and let me tell you: the success is in the stories it tells. The most anticipated updates have always been the islandsโthose quirky quests were what made Poptropica “Poptropica.” Pets, member perks, fun itemsโthose are best left as secondary.
I think it’s pretty clear that Poptropica has, in not all, but some ways, followed right into the footsteps of Mocktropica Island. An island created as a cautionary tale is unfolding right before us, and the Poptropica Creators of the present would do well to pay attention and revisit what the Creators of the past have tried to warn us all about when they created Mocktropica.
What does Poptropica need right now? Well…
I think I speak for many Poptropicans when I say that I truly hope to see Poptropica return to what made it successful: the stories, or in other words, the islands. Oh Poptropica, where will your yellow blimp take us next?
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