Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Unknown Shadow, who was obsessed with Poptropica until a point of identity questioning that eventually came to pass. See below for details on how to send in your MPIP!

mpip unknown shadow

Hello, people! I’m Unknown Shadow! Here’s a “My Place in Poptropica” post. I’m not the best at writing, but here we go!

2013 | The Not-So-Dramatic Beginning

When I was 9 years old, I was bored on a weekend one day, so I went on my computer and decided to search up “Fun Free Games.” I found one with a fun art style called “Poptropica” that didn’t need a download, so I clicked on it.

I spent about an hour creating my first character, or “Poptropican,” as I would later learn it was called. Most of that time was spent randomizing the character’s name until I got one I liked: “Silly Sword.” My username, which I still use today, was lula4schmidt.

When I was ready, I hovered over the blimp and entered the world of Poptropica. I’m pretty sure the first island I stepped into was Super Power Island, though I don’t remember if I ever beat it.

2014 | Is there such thing as TOO obsessed?

Soon, I went into “special interest mode” and became absolutely OBSESSED. I spent all my spare time on Poptropica. If I wasn’t playing Pop, I was begging my parents for a membership. When they finally gave in one day, I got everything in the store that I was able to, since members could get all store items for free.

My most vivid Poptropica memory from back then is having my character in a wolf costume on Shark Tooth Island. I printed out a picture of one of my outfits, and I think I still have it. I also remember that at one point, a bug in the game turned my girl character into a boy.

Also, I found the PHB, and even made my own Poptropica blog. Mine was really bad—the name was something like “The Pop and Bop.” But I was confident and went ahead with it anyway.

2015–2016 | Oh…

In 2015, I was diagnosed with depression. With the depression, I didn’t have the motivation to do anything, not even play Poptropica. I felt sadder and sadder with each passing day.

Then in 2016, I started questioning my gender. (Spoiler: I’m trans.) I also went into therapy. I logged into Poptropica every once in a while, but not much. By the end of the year, I had stopped playing completely.

2017| Yay!

Sometime this year, I found an old bookmark on my laptop that I had some vague memories of. Yup, it was Poptropica. And I clicked on it.

I made a new (boy!) account called “ace-hq” and logged in to my old favorite website. And even now, I’m still playing.

That’s my story, as best as I can remember it. Anyway, I hope you have a good day! Thank you for reading! ❤

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story!

If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own. Please include your username and a minimum of 500 words, typed with good spelling and grammar, and divided into labeled sections. If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more. We always welcome new guest posts!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Guest Posts

Why do Poptropicans change their look so much?

December 6, 2017December 2, 2017 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Poptropica community member Gabren, who discusses thoughts on the frequency of changing one’s Poptropica avatar look. Enjoy!

change look

Why do Poptropicans change their look so much?

This is a question I get a lot on sites like Quora, which is a question asking-and-answering website I discovered recently. Anyway, I’ve wondered about this question myself. I’m not one to frequently change my appearance in-game, but when I do change it, I look back on how I looked before, and I think to myself:

“Wow, did I REALLY look that bad?”

And that is why I believe we like to change our avatars around so much. We see something that looks better in our eyes, so we feel like changing to it. But that doesn’t mean we have to change.

outfit stealing meme — meme credit: Yujo

I don’t change my character on the game very much for two reasons:

because I am content with what I have.
because the items I own took a lot of effort to collect them all in just the way I like it, even though I got most of them through the PHB’s Avatar Studio Gift.

My recommendation? Be content with what you have! So many people are always anxious about how they look, and in this game, it’s no different. Look, I’m
not saying you shouldn’t be open to change. I don’t want you to get bored with your avatar.

I always try to achieve the point of perfection with how I look. When I see someone else with a cool skin tone on Poptropica, I don’t covet it. I think, “Oh wow, that looks really cool, but I’m content with my own.”

If I do want to change, it’s never a big change. I might change my beard style a little here, or change my eyes a little there. But I try to have a standard recognizable avatar, like Thinknoodles, the YouTube gamer known for his Poptropica walkthrough videos, among others. He almost never changes his avatar, and it looks pretty cool.

Well, that’s it for now. I hope to post more on this blog, so keep an eye out for more posts like this.

Tell me what you guys think in the comments below!

Keep popping,
Gabren

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Gabren!

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 Portfolio

Poptropica Portfolio: Tyson Burnham

December 4, 2017November 25, 2017 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans!

Another Poptropica Portfolio has been uncovered—this time we’re featuring the work of Tyson Burnham, lead animator and motion designer for StoryArc Media (which includes Poptropica). He’s the guy behind many of the island trailers and more.

The work below is taken from his portfolio website. Over in the section labeled “Game Environment Vector Illustration,” you can find these sweeping scenes from Poptropica (as well as some designs for what became the Mech on Steamworks Island):

In addition to illustrating, Tyson also created many of Poptropica’s animated trailer videos, such as the ones for Arabian Nights and Virus Hunter, among others. You can find a bunch of his animated work compiled together in this demo reel that includes work from Poptropica as well as other projects:

Tyson Burnham still works at StoryArc Media, and also enjoys taking on freelance projects, as seen in the video above.

If you liked Tyson’s portfolio, be sure to also check out other Poptropica artists we’ve featured: Kyle Miller, Geoff Hassing, Nate Greenwall, Chris Goodwin, Abraham Evensen Tena, Jordan Leary, Lance Fry, Nasan Hardcastle, and Ashley Lange.

Speaking of artwork, be sure to join in on the PHB’s Community Creations this month! December has only just begun, but it’s never too early to start brainstorming.

Hope you enjoyed this portfolio! Stay awesome, Poptropicans.

<・)))><<

Poptropica Portfolio

Poptropica Portfolio: Kyle Miller

November 27, 2017November 25, 2017 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans!

We’ve found another Poptropica Portfolio—this one belongs to Kyle Miller, who has worked as a senior designer for Poptropica.

The work below is taken from his site, Gamecreature. If you click on each display on his site, you can view images in full size and read a little bit about what each project is about and how Kyle contributed to them.

Portfolio8 — Poptropica Avatars by Kyle Miller

In addition to that cool collage of Poptropica avatars that were designed for ads in the game, Kyle’s portfolio also features Poptropica ad areas he has worked on.

Monster High Freaky Fusion

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Strange Magic

You can find even more examples over on his portfolio website.

Finally, there’s a video at the end of his portfolio that demonstrates a sample of his work in developing and designing with Flash for Poptropica. Many of the animations are from ad games, though there are also some Store items in the mix. Check it out:

Kyle Miller currently works as a designer, artist, and developer of games with his own company, Gamecreature.

If you liked Kyle’s portfolio, be sure to also check out other Poptropica artists we’ve featured: Geoff Hassing, Nate Greenwall, Chris Goodwin, Abraham Evensen Tena, Jordan Leary, Lance Fry, Nasan Hardcastle, and Ashley Lange.

Speaking of artwork, be sure to join in on the PHB’s Community Creations this month! You’ve got until the end of this week to enter for November’s theme: “heartwarming.”

Hope you enjoyed this portfolio! Stay awesome, Poptropicans.

<・)))><<