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!
Hey Poptropicans! The last of the March Prizes is here!
Head over to the unnamed building on Main Street of Time Tangled Island on Poptropica Original, to the right of Pendulum’s Lab, and hop up the windows until you reach one to the very right that has the can of Silly Streams. Grab it while you canโthis week only!
As it’s the last the week of March, this is probably going to be the last March Prize. Previous prizes from this month are the Dr. Hare Plushy and Lucky PopGum, which are still in your inventory if you grabbed them earlier.
That’s all for this post. Have fun with the silly string (which, by the way, is also typically available as a gold card item in the store)!
Today we’ve got Poptropica Worlds, but Poptropica Original is the game where it all began over ten years ago. However, the OG Pop is on its way out.
Though we’ve made mention of the situationย a few times here on the PHB, we haven’t yet discussed it on the blog in great depth. The bottom line, however, is simple: Poptropica Original was built on Flash, a technology that will no longer be supported by 2020. That’s why Worlds was created to continue the legacy on a newer technology, Unity.
The question of what will happen to Poptropica Original is best explained in this Facebook post from the Poptropica Creators, written December 2017:
Here are the main takeaways of that post:
With the departure of Flash by the end of the year 2020, Poptropica Original as we know it is likely to be inaccessible by the arrival of 2021.
Poptropica continues to own the intellectual property that makes up Pop Originalโall the art, characters, stories, etc. They’ll be using that, along with new ideas, in their future creations, as we’ve seen from Worlds so far with islands like the remade 24 Carrot or Mythology-inspired, yet original Greek Sea Odyssey.
It’s not just limited to islands on the web or mobileโPoptropica hopes to go where kids go, which could mean more books, comics, or something new.
So that’s that. As it’s 2018, we still have about two years to enjoy Poptropica Original: all its nearly 50 islands, tons of customization options (especially with glitching!), multiplayer functions, and more. Make the most of it and go explore, collect, and compete your heart out on this digital playground while you still can!
And where can we expect the new Poptropica Worlds to lead?
While Pop Original will still be around for as long as it’s able to stick around, expect most updates to come through on Worlds (though, oddly enough, we’re also getting March Prizes on Pop Original?). We’ll continue to keep you all posted with the latest news, both Original and Worlds, but the Creators haven’t been offering much on social media lately (and their blog hasn’t seen a new post since December).
With the recent layoffs of several high-up Poptropica Creators, a mass unfollowing of fans on Twitter, and now,ย this tweet from former Pop social media manager Jessica Devine (Skinny Moon), it seems things aren’t looking so good with the current management at Poptropica HQ.
In Jessica’s tweet, she links to a Verge articleย (link warning: some strong language used) about the “toxic culture” at another game studio that started out small, then grew so fast that it often pushed employees too hard in the race to put out new content. According to Jessica, “not all of it, but a good amount” resonates with her (and former coworker Mitch Krpata’s) experience working at Poptropica.
That sounds a little familiar @mkrpata. Not all of it – but a good amount. Sigh.
Whatever’s going on at Poptropica HQ right now, it’s leaving a lot of Poptropicans confused and apprehensive. Current Creators, if you are reading this, please step up your game (literally).ย Don’t burn yourselves out, but do give us an update here and there!
In the next two years, let’s hope that Poptropica Worlds can catch up some more with the original game, and bring us more of that Poptropica magic we’ve been in love with for so long. But we could use some more assurance from Pop HQ.
As much as we loved the original, we know it’s not going to last. But let’s build a brighter future on Worlds (and beyond, if Poptropica lives up to its statement of being a whole ecosystem). We’ve got lots of ideas. It’s not over yet.
Hey Poptropicans, let’s dive into another Poptropica Portfolio.
Like the last portfolio we showcased, this one features copywriting work, this timeย from former senior story developer and narrative designerย Mitch Krpata, also known as the voice of Captain Crawfishโwriter of Poptropica books, blogs, islands, and more.
Soon after he wasย let go by Poptropica, Mitch decided to compile a portfolio of his written work with the game he’s worked with for the past decade. Though the artwork is not his, the visuals help bring his words to lifeโas you can see below.
You can view the complete portfolio in this Google presentation. The slideshow covers his graphic novels, dialogue, UX/UI elements, titles and brand names, marketing, and walkthrough videosโall for Poptropica, but likely to expand over time as he pursues other projects.
In a blog post, Mitch says this of his work with Poptropica:
Bit odd to look back and see how much of my life’s work has been tied up in this one property. It’s a source of pride, because few people have the opportunity to write for such a wide, enduring audience, and also sobering, because I realize how many creative avenues have gone unexplored.
Thanks, Mitch, for everything you’ve done for Poptropica over the years! Your stories and good wit have brought a lot of life to the world of Poptropica that people will continue to enjoy in the years to come. Sail on, Captain Crawfish.
Hey Poptropicansโthis is a guest post by Leona Henryson, a mother and educator who, along with her son, enjoys Poptropica and its fan community. From the perspective of one parent, here’s why Poptropica is great for kids!
Games have exploded across the years and are now found everywhere โ on our phones, computers and the internet. The good news is that theyโve been coopted into doing more than just entertaining. They now educate in equal measures. This means they are useful for children and adults to learn everything from languages to math.
An example which nicely straddles the border between entertainment and education is the game Poptropica. This game, specifically designed for children and offers them an environment that is safe, even while allowing them to interact with millions of other children. They hone their puzzle-solving skills and collect points with which they can upgrade the appearance of their character. All while being kept safe and secure.
So what are the big advantages of the game?
#1: Itโs hugely entertaining
There really is no getting around it. This game is hugely entertaining. There are so many different games that go in so many different directions that children will be sure to find something theyโll enjoy doing.
In fact, so many people have such good memories of the game growing up that theyโll return to it when theyโre older just to go on a trip down memory lane.
Heck, even parents sometimes get sucked into the platform themselves, due to its entertaining puzzles, its whimsical characters and its funny ideas. That means that this offers a great opportunity to play games together.
And naturally, itโs hugely important that the game actually entertains children. After all, whatever other educational or social advantages the game has, if children donโt actually want to go on there to play, then it wonโt be much use, will it?
#2: It performs as a gateway
In todayโs environment it is important we all learn computer literacy, as a lot of the jobs that are going to be created in the next decades are going to depend on how well we can interact with computers. At the same time, we donโt want to just thrust our children into the world wild web, with its trolls, stalkers and adult topics.
Thatโs where platforms like Poptropica come in. They teach the former, while making sure the latter problems canโt intrude. In this way, it forms a great way for your children to start learning how to use the internet. Theyโll come to learn a great deal of the basic ideas that govern how we interact with virtual environments and begin to understand the underlying ideas.
#3: Safe interaction
Another nice advantage is that the game has been constructed in such a way that children can interact and play games together, without inviting the problems normally associated with that kind of thing. On the different islands in the game, children can play games against other players and even communicate with them โ albeit through a limited repertoire of dialogue options.
This means that children get to enjoy one of the most exciting aspects of the online word โ namely being together with millions of other children who are sharing the same experiences โ while not running any risk.
#4: Itโs great to do together
The game can be at its most rewarding if actually done together with your child โ particularly if theyโre still young. Thatโs because some of the puzzles can be a bit challenging, and they do need pretty decent reading skills to understand the nature of some of the puzzles.
This could be seen as a drawback, but you can also turn this into a learning opportunity. For example, by helping your kid find the islands they enjoy the most and the topics that most excite them, youโre going to be able to get an idea of what they actually enjoy. This you can then explore further offline, for example. Or you can use it as a way to find interesting topics that you wish to broach.
In this way, the game can become a fantastic educational tool as well, as it opens up roadways and paths for you to find topics your kids find exciting.
#5: Itโs worth your time
If youโre looking for a safe and fun way for your children to spend time online, then you have to check out Poptropica. Itโs a highly enjoyable environment that you and your kids will love to explore and learn about.
This can be done for free. Alternatively, you can pay for a month of access for $3 US โ which really isnโt going to break the bank โ in order to get full member access. This opens up some more islands, gives them early access to the new islands being designed, and gives kids full access to the store where they can design the look of their character.
Whatever way you choose, youโre not going to be disappointed by Poptropica.
Hope you enjoyed thisย guest postย by Leona Henryson! For another perspective that offers 5 more reasons Poptropica is great for kids, check out this post with thoughts from a former Poptropica Creator, James Lema (Director D).
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 ourย Write for the PHBย page. We also encourage sharing blog posts onย theย PHC.
Hey Poptropicansโthis is a guest post by Tyler Naimoli, an aspiring childrenโs book author and current illustration/journalism and design college student. The original version of this post can be found on his blog. Minor changes were made for the version below. Enjoy!
Tyler begins his post by giving a few reasons why a Poptropica movie doesn’t seem feasible right now, such as the recent layoffs of several respectable Creators, for whom he is now writing a Poptropica movie script, and the lack of attention Jeff Kinney has given Pop in favor of Wimpy Kid. Despite this, he hopes to see a film happen and has plenty of ideas to share…
No Jorge, I said weโve had it with Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies!
Poptropica, one of many virtual worlds
While thinking about this whole thing, it occurred to me that virtual worlds in general are a largely untapped medium in film and even television. This is all the more interesting in an age that seems to be adapting just about anything that it can for these mediums, and the closest such media right now to virtual worlds are video games (even if nearly all adaptations are sadly lacking), apps (say what you will aboutย theirย reasonability, thoughย The Angry Birds Movieย mostly worked) and perhaps even toys such as the Lego Movie franchise (Oh, the emojis? Umโฆdonโt know what youโre talking about).
Aside fromย Poptropica,ย there are so many other virtual worldsย that, while I canโt speak for all of them, contain varying degrees of potential to be adapted into film and television. Especially in todayโs movie climate, people are interested in new things instead of sequels and reboots, and this interest in adapting as much media as possible is partly to blame.
For this alone, aย Poptropicaย film or TV show or just any kind of major virtual world adaptation makes sense. It would not only be an original idea that would immediately interest audiences, but the goldmines of potential that virtual worlds possess means that if done right, such adaptations can be something that audiences can truly enjoy and appreciate. So why shouldnโtย Poptropicaย lead this charge, before another virtual world potentially beats them to it?
The craziest part about this is that Jeff Kinneyย isย aware of this. When Sandbox Networks acquired StoryArc Media in June 2015 (then called the Family Education Network), Kinney actually brought up the first official statementย regarding the idea of aย Poptropicaย film adaptation:
Itโs a big day for Family Education Network and Iโm proud to be part of this next chapter. The Sandbox team truly understands the informal learning space, what kids want, and how important it is to reach out to parents and teachers at the same time. They will support us with establishing Poptropica as a consumer storytelling brand for all media, languages, territories, and delivery devices, for generations to come, and Iโm delighted that in time weโll be seeing the stories and characters from FEN brought to life on the big screen.
Hmmmmโฆโฆ
And what’s the lore of Poptropica in particular?
Ignore the latest developments of the franchise for a minute. Ignore the popularity that leaves much to be desired for a minute. Letโs justย embrace the universeย as a whole, and everything that all the media has provided and established up to this point in order to understand why a film or television adaptation ofย Poptropicaย is so reasonable.
So, whatย isย Poptropica, anyway? Is it a virtual world? An alternate universe? It just might be both. Poptropicaโs past remained a mystery for years, untilย Poptropica: Forgotten Islandsย (available on iOS and Nintendo 3DS) revealed quite a bit about its history.
According to the game, Poptropica started out as a single landmass. Then a series of cataclysmic battles between giants and monsters took place in an attempt to rule the great land. However, no clear winner emerged. Instead, the beastsโ great power caused the very land they were fighting for to crumble beneath them, triggering what became known as the Great Flood. It would be this flood that would create the islands of Poptropica as they are known today. The original Poptropicans who inhabited the landmass prior to the flood fled underground to escape the destruction, where they emerged many years later as the Mabaya. Poptropicans from distant lands then landed on their islands, who called themselves the Trinity Syndicate.
The Syndicate attempted to colonize these lands which escalated into a war between the groups, and during this war, monks set out to protect the artifacts that would allow the aforementioned history to be documented. The war ended in a Mabaya victory, enticing the Syndicate to flee back to their lands in an attempt to save their pride. But they were forced to make peace with their enemies and remain inhabitants on the islands when they learned that their own people, wretched with greed, were unwilling to take them back. Later, pirates arrived on these islands who ironically attacked the Syndicate themselves, when they were saved by a young hero.
And thatโs justย Forgotten Islands.
Other media such as the graphic novels revealed even more about Poptropica, such as its peacekeeping organization, the Protectors, and their purpose of protecting Poptropicaโs unique time-based properties as a highway of history. Time periods frequently stop their progression in time to occur on some islands, with such islands often occurring simultaneously. They periodically disappear and reappear, allowing a traveler to essentially travel through time without the use of a time machine. Astro-Knights, Mythology, Skullduggery, Mystery Train, Wild West, Arabian Nights and Greek Sea Odyssey are just a few of such islands.
Even when these time periods slip back into the time stream, one can head to Time Tangled Island andย actuallyย use a time machine invented by Poptropicaโs preeminent scientist, Professor Peter P. Pendulum, to continue their travels.
The graphic novels also revealed the nature of Poptropicaโs connection to our world, in which Poptropica is not just an alternate universe but a collection of such universes. Poptropica specifically uses the many-worlds interpretation variant of multiverse theory, in which even the most minor events cause the creation of new timelines, to the point that every possible event that couldโve happened in our timeline happened in other timelines.
Aside from the islands in which time periods settle, many other islands also disappear and reappear, which originate from and move across these multiple universes through a collection of time crystals at the heart of Poptropica known as the Nexus.
This offers much explanation for Poptropica Worlds, the infinite worlds one can encounter and create in Poptropica Realms, the connection to our real world (which Poptropicans may perceive as just another world), and the childrenโs book characters and properties that also occur on some islands such as Nabooti, Big Nate, Great Pumpkin, Wimpy Wonderland, Red Dragon, Wimpy Boardwalk, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Galactic Hot Dogs and Timmy Failure. It also explains why Poptropolis Games sinks and rises every 100 years, why the islands in the online games donโt appear in the graphic novels, comic strip andย Forgotten Islands, and vice versa.
Travel from Earth to Poptropica and back is generally not controllable. The graphic novels show that one can accidentally end up in Poptropica via strange portal-opening storms. Interestingly, the comic strip shows another means via scientific accidents.
However, one gains much control over this travel via access to time crystals from the Nexus. There is also one island in particular that could hypothetically allow travel back to Earth: Mocktropica Island, which explains how Poptropica is also a virtual world. Admittedly, because it hasnโt been explained too well how Mocktropica Island fits into the Poptropica universe, this next part isnโt terribly rooted in fact and comes more from my movie script.
My own take on the plot of a potential Poptropica movie
From what I get, Mocktropica is the result of Poptropica being discovered by computer programmers, when they caught sight of and entered its portal-opening storms in 2007. Inspired by what they saw, they made a virtual world based on their findings, deciding to not reveal Poptropicaโs existence to the world in order to fool the public into thinking it was an original idea.
However, instead of making a game about what they found, they decided to build the game through Poptropica itself. This essentially made the game a window to Poptropica, and with the right technology, a portal to Poptropica through cyberspace. This could explain the comic stripโs technologically-based means of accessing Poptropica, how the player goes so far as to end up in Poptropicaโs servers during the Mocktropica Island quest, and how Poptropicaโs rival developers at the Mega Fighting Bots website got to Poptropica in the first place. The Protectors allowed them to do this as long as it did not allow a global catastrophic risk to either Poptropica or Earth, which the programmers promised to do, and Spencer Albright watched over the project.
The programmers began by settling on an uninhabited island which they called Mocktropica Island, then building Poptropica Worldwide Headquarters and the technology that would serve as the bridge between Poptropica and cyberspace, and cyberspace and Earth. From there, they were able to properly travel between Poptropica and Earth this way, allowing them to build the game from not just the outside (telling the public that this was the only way they built it), but from the inside as well (telling the public that Mocktropica Island was just a metafictional idea).
The game would prove to have a powerful influence on Poptropica, as expanding the window would require technological interference to the islands that would be featured in the game. Although most of it is harmless, when the programmers started out on Early Poptropica Island, they were still learning. This could explain the 8-bit designs of the pilgrims, in which they were still trying to understand the designs of Poptropicans until they perfected the technology.
But even today, the programmers arenโt perfect. Glitches are accidentally created that occasionally menace Poptropicans, which the programmers usually fix without much difficulty. And events such as the Mocktropica Island quest happen. Even so, none of these events were considered great enough for the Protectors to shut the game down. Whew!
And if this explanation of the Poptropica universe isnโt enough to convince you that the franchise is worthy of a film or television adaptation, consider the stories that can be told of characters such as Ned Noodlehead, Super Power Islandโs premier crime fighter who is at odds with the fact that he is the brother to supervillain Betty Jetty. Or C.J., the genius of Shrink Ray Island who designed its namesake device, or the day-to-day activities of the Protectors. Or the story of how the blimp was built on Monkey Wrench Island, or what a typical day on the island is like for Crusoe. Perhaps the most obvious stories to tell, however, are the antics of Oliver Hartman, Jorge Flores and Mya Wong, or maybe even a typical day at work for a Poptropicanized Jeff Kinney (dare we dream).
And thatโs not even getting to the rich rouges gallery of villains that have been created over the years to oppose these heroes, as well asย some of their interestingย and overlooked origin storiesย that could be touched upon as well. Dr. Hare, Copy Cat, Speedy Spike, Sir Rebral, Ratman, Crusher, Betty Jetty, Director D., Vince Graves, Binary Bard, Black Widow, Zeus, Medusa, Captain Crawfish, Gretchen Grimlock, El Mustachio Grande, Mr. Silva, E. Vile, Ringmaster Raven, Myron Van Buren, Omegon, Princess Scheherazade, Octavian, Red Baronessโฆthe possibilities are endless.
Even Dr. Cumulo Nimbus from the Blimp Adventure DLC quest, Arthur Eraser from theย Pencil Warriorย coloring book, and perhaps even the infamous Afro Guy glitch present some interesting antagonistic potential. And when you take all these things into consideration, you might get a synopsis like this:
Oliver Hartman may be the coolest kid in school, with his popularity and good looks, but itโs not all itโs cracked up to be. His genius-hating peers don’t know he’sย hiding a machine that could save the world. They make him bully kids such as Jorge Flores. Heโs also got something of a distant relationship with his half-sister, Mya Wong, that he canโt quite understand.
When his mother learns of his actions, she takes him to the science fair to inspire his intelligence. A malfunctioning science project thrusts Oliver, Jorge and Mya into Poptropica, an alternate world consisting of an uncharted group of islands whose existence is only known from an online game. As the kids try to find a way back to Earth, little do they know that Octavian, a staff member at the school, was a Poptropican and former member of its peacekeeping organization, the Protectors, who exiled him to Earth for his views on governing time and space and his crimes with the organizationโs time crystals.
Now that heโs managed to follow the kids back to Poptropica, heโs redirecting his plans elsewhere to get his revengeโplans that involve where the game was built at Mocktropica Island. Octavian was the only Protector to ever witness the disastrous glitch known as Afro Guy, accidentally created by the developers, before the glitch was successfully contained.
With the game connecting Poptropica and Earth together, Octavianโs plans are going to threaten the existence of both worlds. Get ready for high-octane adventures as Oliver comes to terms with who his true friends are โ and just how important his intellect may be. Be ready to explore, collect and compete!
And letโs not forget the soundtrack โ Iโm thinking an epic remix of Jeff Heimโs music. A remix of the Home Island theme can play at the beginning of the movie, as Spencer Albright explains Poptropicaโs history via voice over, accompanied with breathtaking illustrative visuals.ย ๐
With that being said, a film or television adaptation ofย Poptropica, or just of virtual worlds in general, justย hasย to happen. Itโs not the first thing that can be done to restore Poptropicaโs greatness, but itโs the ultimate dream for the fanbase that can be achieved once Jeff Kinney shifts his focus,ย as I previously explained.
Although I have all the major ideas for the script, Iโm still working on the details and putting it all together. This is where the fans could come in, and Iโm totally open to adjusting the script accordingly to whatever the fanbase believes is the best route to take with it. So, Poptropica fans: What are some ideas you have for a Poptropica movie? Share them in the comments, and let me know if you’d like to work together!
The game may not be thinking big right now, but that doesnโt meanย weย canโt.
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 ourย Write for the PHBย page. We also encourage sharing blog posts onย theย PHC.
The programmers began by settling on an uninhabited island which they called Mocktropica Island, then building Poptropica Worldwide Headquarters and the technology that would serve as the bridge between Poptropica and cyberspace, and cyberspace and Earth. From there, they were able to properly travel between Poptropica and Earth this way, allowing them to build the game from not just the outside (telling the public that this was the only way they built it), but from the inside as well (telling the public that Mocktropica Island was just a metafictional idea).
The game would prove to have a powerful influence on Poptropica, as expanding the window would require technological interference to the islands that would be featured in the game. Although most of it is harmless, when the programmers started out on Early Poptropica Island, they were still learning. This could explain the 8-bit designs of the pilgrims, in which they were still trying to understand the designs of Poptropicans until they perfected the technology.
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