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 🐠 Don't forget to be awesome!
Hey Poptropicans, a colorful store update awaits! ❤️🧡💛
June is Pride Month, and the Pop Creators are joining in the celebrations with various new store items! 🏳️🌈 As they shared on the official blog, “This week’s item inventory pays a special homage to the LGBTQIA+ community! Poptropica is a safe, inclusive space for everyone. It’s only fitting that we recognize and celebrate the diverse identities and backgrounds from those within the Poptropica community and the world.” Check out the technicolor threads at Adventure Outfitters:
Rainbow beanbag
Breezy Pride
Rainbow heart poster
Rainbow Kite
Rainbow Ride
Rainbow Shoes
Sporty Pride
Choose Love shirt
The new rainbow raiments (Breezy Pride, Sporty Pride, and Rainbow Shoes) are available for free right now in the store! You can also find a few Pride-themed items on the shop floor: a rainbow beanbag and rainbow heart poster for your clubhouse, and the Rainbow Ride hoodie.
The Creators’ Blog mentions the Rainbow Kite, but this doesn’t seem to be in the store. However, the kite was released as a member gift in May, which makes it an unlikely candidate to be a store item so soon in June.
Plenty of other hues are available in-store too, with noteworthy new items like the Volleyball Jersey and the Cat Traveler Pack!
Cat Traveler Pack
Plus, pets get plenty of fresh style options too — including a shark fin, flowery bandanna, snorkels, and more! With the recent return of the Colorizer (for pets too) in the character screen update (RIP Costumizer), you can go back to giving your pet the glow-up they need.
Anyway, all this colorful gear is going to go great with our Pride Palooza coming up this Friday at 8 pm Eastern! We look forward to some fun times with everyone at the Arcade and on the PHC or PHB comments. 🥳 And if you’re new to the whole Pride conversation, check out the ABCs of LGBT with the PHB guide, complete with fantastic Poptropica fan art!
🌈 Be proud of who you are, and pop on, Poptropicans! 🌤
This is a guest post from Incredible Fire sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey.Enjoy!
Hi everyone! I’m Incredible Fire and this is My Place in Poptropica. Let’s get right to it!
The year was 2014 or 2015 and it was almost summer. The sky was blue and clear, as California was in the middle of a six year drought. I was at my friend’s house for lunch and she introduced me to this wonderful little game called Poptropica. I loved it.
Drydock: This one’s gone to ground.
The very first game I played, right there, was Mystery of the Map Island. Until then, I had never played a game like Poptropica. A lot of the games I played were platformers or time management games with some storytelling elements. But the focus was always on the gameplay. With Poptropica, I could truly immerse myself in a story while also playing a pretty fun video game. (I first experienced this from the choose-your-own-path Henry Stickmin games.)
The gorgeous and fun tropical art style really appealed to me, and it still does to this day. Mystery of the Map is by no means universally acclaimed, but it will always have a special place in my heart. I made my first account that day, and I’m still using that very account.
Run Aground: Whatever floats your boat.
When I started playing, there were so many islands that even in my immense free time, I actually never finished them all. And I played a lot. It was my go-to game whenever I got any time on the laptop.
After a year or so, Poptropica stopped working for me, and it seemed like I would never finish the game. In a couple of years I moved back to India where I was absolutely sure it would never work again. But I never forgot Poptropica. It was still my favorite game. When I first started playing, I looked to Thinknoodles for help, but since I prefer written guides, so then I discovered the PHB. And I’ve been following it ever since. Even when I wasn’t playing, I still kept up to date with the PHB’s latest posts.
Thankfully, Poptropica started working again after Poptropica Worlds came out, and I was grateful for the chance to finally finish the game. I finished most of the islands, but then began what I would call the downfall of Poptropica. I actually really liked Poptropica Worlds, especially compared to the dumpster fire that is, unfortunately, Haxe Poptropica. It really started falling apart with Greek Sea Odyssey, which I found very lackluster. That’s about the same time Poptropica laid off a lot of its senior staff, so take from that what you will.
Greek Sea Odyssey on Poptropica Worlds
During the pandemic, I had a lot of free time on the computer. All my life, I’ve never had an online presence because the internet is a weird place with stranger danger. Those are still very real concerns. But I felt like the PHB was a very safe, friendly environment. So I finally took a plunge and joined the PHB on Discord (also known as the PHC).
I actually had a lot of fun and made some friends on the PHC. I loved getting to know and sometimes even helping creative people: artists, bloggers, writers, YouTubers. But after having an unpleasant experience on other, less friendly sites, I decided to go back into my shell. I still occasionally comment on the PHB, and I may write guest posts like this every once in a while.
Playing Poptropica today is… disconcerting. I really miss the old, good quality, polished game. Although it still makes wonderful art, I miss what made Poptropica my favorite game. The stories. The fleshed out, whimsical, sometimes silly stories.
Basket Case: What a deflating voyage.
I’m not as old as the Poptropica veterans, but I have grown up a bit since 2014 or 15. And somehow, California is still in a drought. Poptropica brings me back to my childhood, though not with its recent direction of treating players as children in need of handholding, if you know what I mean. I love Poptropica, but I don’t know if it can make a comeback, considering the track it’s on right now. But I’ll always have great memories of the game and there’s always hope.
It’s difficult to end this post, considering my journey with Poptropica hasn’t ended. I’m still finding my place. But Poptropica will always have a place in my heart.
Pop on, Incredible Fire
Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.
If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. 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! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!
Hey everybody! Surprised to see me? After my complete collectionof Poptropicaclubhousetours, I wasn’t sure I was going to post anything else here. But when I looked at the comments section of my last tour, I was suggested to try Poptropica Worlds next, so here I am!
Like with Poptropica Original, I gave my Worlds clubhouse a recent makeover. I made a video of what my Worlds house looked like before I changed it, so it can be compared with my tours. What do you think?
It’s time for me to get down from this swingset and get into my clubhouse!
So this is what my clubhouse on Poptropica Worlds looks like, huh? Hmmm… I like the lighthouse painting and aquarium, but I wonder about that map. I can’t quite put my finger on it…but I think it looks just like the map of Skullduggery Island!
Speaking of skullduggery, I think I want to watch a pirate movie!
…oh no, not again! Do I not have a remote for this TV either?? I have a bone to pick with whoever is in charge of all the clubhouse TVs. If we don’t get remotes, there should at least be an on/off button on our TVs. Otherwise, how the heck are we supposed to watch ‘em?!
Oh, well. Moving up to the second floor… hey, it’s dark up here! …wait a minute, it’s dark out there, too! This place is REALLY giving me the creeps…
Oh, look, a door. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about going in that door and seeing what’s inside, but not this time! I’m NOT looking for trouble around here. I’ll use the rope over there and move up to the third floor instead.
Holy smokes! Is this the top floor of my clubhouse? It’s incredible! It looks just like an ancient fortress or the inside of a warship or… something that’s mysterious and awesome. It feels like I just traveled back in time!
I like how that Athena statue is pointing right at that map! I can almost hear her tell me, “Go forth, young warrior!”
Ok, I’m ready to go forth and open this door — Aw, snap, it’s locked! Open Sesame! …Doggone it, it won’t open! Maybe these musical instruments will help… no? Too bad I don’t have my reed pipe with me, I bet that would’ve opened the door!
And on this side of the museum… it doesn’t feel like that adventure hallway over there.
I think this feels more like a warrior hallway. There sure is a lot of Viking stuff on the walls, and it looks like this knight won’t let me through that door. Not that it matters, though, it’s locked anyway. Perhaps I’ll just sit here for a minute and finish sightseeing. Then I’ll keep exploring!
I’ll just drop down like a ninja and… GERONIMO! Woohoo! Perfect landing right on the bouncy chair! WHEEEE!
That was fun. Hey, wow! Look at that! This is COMPLETELY different than that dark hallway over there. I bet whatever is behind that door is gonna be just as great as what’s out here! But I’ll have to come back to it later. I’m not quite done with my tour yet.
Another garden? Cool! If I buy more plants and trees, I can make another indoor jungle to explore! It seems sort of controversial to pair it with the skyline painting and rocket lantern up there, but then again, I can pretend I’m on a cross-country adventure! Yeah!
…This could make a great movie. I should’ve taken the movie director from my first clubhouse tour with me.
I’m back where I started already? Wow. That was quick. But why am I surprised? I know for a fact that Poptropica Worlds’ clubhouses are years older than the Poptropica Original clubhouses. I bet that’s why these Worlds clubhouses are that much smaller.
What am I going to do with my two bonus rooms on the second floor? I’d better root through my closet and think of something quick! …um…
Thanks for joining me, hope you enjoyed my tour, and I’ll be back soon to share the other two parts of my Worlds clubhouse tour! See ya!
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy her many other Poptropica clubhouse tours, such as this dreamy one!
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨
Happy weekend, Poptropicans! We’ve got a few fun updates in this post: a video and more behind-the-scenes from the Candy Crazed Mini Quest as well as some fan art features. Let’s pop into it!
First, a small nod to the LGBTQ+ came through in the latest Creators’ Blog post, which begins, “HELLOOOOO all you guys, gals, and non-binary pals!” 🏳️🌈 The post includes a playthrough video of the Candy Crazed Mini Quest from Silent Frog, Poptropica’s social media voice:
“Do you think Hansel and Gretel are the villains of the story?” Silent Frog asks. As the video is part of YouTube Kids, comments are turned off there, but you can share your take in the Creators’ Blog comments!
The blog also shared some BTS (not a K-Poptropican group, but behind-the-scenes) of the making of the mini quest’s decadent designs. 🍫 Take a look at the candy palace pics below and read more about this tasty treat tower with juicy puns and alliterations on the official blog:
Treat tower
Colorful cast
Portraits of Little Witchy, Nanny, and Gumdrop Pup
In other news, earlier this week, the Pop Creators shared some fan art features on their Instagram stories! Check out these peachy portraits:
Hey Poptropicans, we’re getting right to the heart of Poptropica with OG Poptropica CEO/publisher Jess Brallier! We’ve shared his vision for Pop and even interviewed him here on the PHB before, but there’s more…
from JessBrallier.com
Jess identifies as Zeus in Poptropica
Jess recently shared a personal blog post titled “Storytelling, games, and Poptropica,” discussing how it all began with our favorite virtual world—and it’s well worth the read. (Thanks to Brave Tomato, former PHB staffer, for bringing it to our attention!)
The post starts off affirming the success of Poptropica co-creator Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Jess ponders further potential…
What I really wanted (as I always did) was to publish stories for kids. What was different this time, was that those kids were now intensely engaged in games.
Hmm. There’s gotta be a gaming literacy with which to tell stories.
…considering that print, film, and theater all have their ways to tell stories. Jess goes on to share how, throughout his career, people didn’t take seriously his ideas for using gaming to tell stories to kids. That is, until he began collaborating with Jeff Kinney to create Poptropica.
Jess captions this photo: “Top row, second one in, is actually me. Makes sense, the old guy, with a worried look on his face, “How am I going to sell this up to ownership?””
The characters in the stories would be avatars. The user would be the story’s protagonist. So this avatar had to be human-like. Able to fashionably dress in any historical or imagined time or place (just like stories!). They would move—jump, slide, flip. And express—facial emotions. Just like humans. This would not be a virtual world of cute little animals moving stiffly around getting rewards of bananas and apples. The art and design would be second to none.
Jess Brallier
Jess even quotes from an old PHB post, though without naming us. The commentary from “one critic,” about the scene of bubbles in Realms, comes from our post Pop 5: Most Beautiful Scenes in Poptropica, by Happy Lobster. Jess writes, “Good stuff! Our fans “got it.””
The PHB described this scene: “Based on Yggdrasil from Norse mythology, the tree containing all worlds, this scene may seem simple, but really, it is quite captivating. The minimal sky background, the way the colossal tree’s branches twist, and the shining bubbles containing enigmatic pinpricks of light all add up to its enthralling aesthetic.”
Jess continues his story of how Poptropica got started by describing the scramble to find room in the budget for two positions, a front-end and a back-end developer. They eventually track down Pearson’s CEO, Marjorie Scardino, who gives them ten minutes of her valuable time—and the green light to hire the people they need.
That wraps up Jess’s post, which you can read in full on his blog! The PHB reached out on Twitter to ask if he’d be sharing his thoughts on where Poptropica is at today, and he wrote back that he would. Considering how much the game has changed since his days as CEO, we’re definitely keen to hear what he has to say. Stay tuned with us!
Thanks for kind words. I will continue to speak of Poptropica (among other things) in my blog, and that will include my current thoughts. Stay tuned over next two weeks. https://t.co/tCchDRmH2k
— Jess M. Brallier (@Jess_M_Brallier) June 8, 2021
The cool thing about all of this, which we thought about from day one, is if we did it right, we’d also be developing a next generation of storytellers, artists, and designers. Cool!
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 