Creators, Roblox

Q&A with Jonathan Pitcher, Art Director at Poptropica & Suit Up Games 🎤🧑‍🎨

Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a minute since we’ve conversed with the Poptropica Creators, and with Poptropica’s recent move to Coolmath Games and focus on the Roblox studio Suit Up Games, we wanted to take a deeper dive into how these shifts happened.

So we reached out to someone who’s been involved with the game since its early days and continues to work on both Pop and its spin-off Roblox studio today—Jonathan Pitcher, Art Director at Poptropica and Suit Up Games—for an interview. Happily, he obliged, and below is our Q&A!

Robot Revolution: These bots have blown a fuse.

PHB: What’s your current role with Poptropica / Suit Up Games? 

Jon:
I get to wear several hats here. Many others do as well. 

Poptropica: My title is Art Director, but my main role is a director for branded games for our clients like Disney, Sony, Paramount, etc. When we create new content for Poptropica like islands, I work as an artist with our amazing team of artists and developers. 

Suit Up Games: I’m happily animating. This is what I love best. I help lead the efforts for our animators. I’m responsible, with others on our team, for creating the animations for our Roblox games.  I also help build character rigs and work with some of our newer artists as a manager. 

Fill Er Up: Get your pitcher taken.

PHB: What’s been your history with Poptropica?

Jon: 2009: I was hired to create our branded games. Some remember that as a Poptropica Creator I was known as Master Mime. During these years I also assisted with the art for island creation. I helped lead the animations and created new content for the store.

2011: I became the advertising director. In this role I managed the team of artists and developers that created branded games for Poptropica.

2017: I became an art director. As I continued to direct the branded game projects some of my focus shifted to helping create new islands and managing the Poptropica store.

2022: We started Suit Up Games. My focus moved to character animation for our Roblox Games. During this time, I’ve continued to direct and create branded games for Poptropica. 

PHB: Poptropica is now with Coolmath Games and it’s been announced that there are no plans to update it with more content, new or old. Meanwhile, the spin-off Roblox studio Suit Up Games, which you’ve been working with, has been growing. From your perspective, how and why have these shifts occurred, and how do you feel about them?

Jon: We worked very hard for many years to keep Poptropica rolling forward. It was our main passion to keep telling stories through creating games. For many years that was solely through Poptropica. It was an amazing ride. Like all studios there have been bumps along the way, but we continued to learn. Our passion for creating these kinds of games has not stopped. It was time to position Poptropica with Coolmath Games. They have been wonderful partners with us. Their traffic is very strong, and we hope many of our dedicated Poptropica players will join forces with those that play on Coolmath Games. With this transition I hope our Poptropica community of players will grow even more. The more people play and have fun on Poptropica, the greater the possibilities can open for Poptropica’s future. 

Holmes Run: Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could do it…

As we made these kinds of transitions, we needed our company to keep moving forward. As gaming evolved, we did too, and we created Suit Up Games. We have a strong relationship with our clients who want to keep making games with us. We also have our own ideas for games from the stories we want to tell. The future is bright. There are many cool things to come. 

Still Not Constantinople: Why they changed it, I can’t say.

PHB: What does the future hold for Poptropica and Suit Up Games? Will the Poptropica brand develop further beyond the game — for example with Poptropica Junior, potential animated series, and expansion of the graphic novels?

Jon: Regarding Suit Up Games, we have more games in the pipeline, and we’re excited about what will be coming up next. I wish I could share more, but you’ll see! For Poptropica, we’ve just recently moved to Coolmath Games, so we are not ready to make any big moves. Our clients that work with us to create Poptropica games are still engaged in conversations with us, so the door is open to possibilities. We are keeping our perspectives open to what makes the most sense for our studio and our audience. 

PHB: What are you most proud of having achieved with Poptropica?

Jon: I’m sincerely grateful to have been part of the team that helped create and supported the growth of Poptropica. During the first couple months I got to illustrate the Underworld scenes for Mythology Island, and I created a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs mini game experience. It didn’t take me long to realize how cool it is to be a Poptropica Creator. Because my role has been more focused on the branded games that generate revenue for Poptropica, I’ve been in more of a supportive role. While the team has been more like the working parts of the engine, I was like the fuel to help it keep moving. Today I get to be an active part of the character animations in our games so now maybe I’m a piston. Haha. 

PHB: Anything else you want to share with Poptropicans everywhere?

Jon: Keep having fun on Poptropica. Six years ago, the phrase “Poptropica Forever” came to my mind and our team kept this focus as we continued to figure out how we’d keep this legacy going. As you keep playing and having fun, who knows what the future will bring for Poptropica? Stick around and we’ll find out.

Not a Nursing Home: It’s a retirement community!

Thanks, Jon, for all that you do for Poptropica, and sharing your insights with us! Though Poptropica isn’t ready for more updates now, we’re hopeful about how the door remains open for future possibilities.

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy other interviews we’ve done with various Poptropica Creators, such as Jess Brallier, Mitch Krpata (twice), Abhi Arya, and the team collectively. Keep on poppin’ on!

Creators, Graphic Novels, Member Gifts, Store

New sheriffs sink Pop’s long story arc 📘🔫

Hey Poptropicans! Pop in for shiny sheriff gear, enjoy how aquatic is back, and hear about what happened to Poptropica’s book series. 👀

A new month brings a new set of member gifts, and this November we’ve got some sharp shooters with a New Sheriff Outfit, New Sheriff Defender (the space bar action is reloading the gun), and… a Chicken Follower? 🐔 Bawk-ward.


Over in Adventure Outfitters, there’s a new rotation of costumes, plus the shop floor is stocked with outfits and decor from under the sea! 🐡 The last couple times this happened, it foreshadowed the re-release of an episode from Mission Atlantis Island, which is awaiting its third and final episode. Could this be the case again? 🤔 We’ll have to sea.


In other news, here’s a juicy bit of noise from a former Pop Creator! Poptropica fan artist and Tumblr blogger Sleepy Biker recently reached out to former Poptropica CEO Jess Brallier about his comment in a 2015 interview with the PHB where he shared that Poptropica had planned 12-book story arc for their graphic novel series, of which only four have been published to date. So where’s the rest? 👀📘

“All of that work — i.e., the Poptropica story — was owned by FEN (Family Education Network). Then FEN was sold… The new owners chose to pursue a different growth strategy… We have no legal right to discuss what is owned by somebody else,” Jess answered. In other words, it’s in the hands of Sandbox now. Read his full response below:

Jess Brallier’s response to Sleepy Biker’s inquiry about the fate of the Poptropica books.

Welp, we’re certainly disappointed that the current leadership of Poptropica is sleeping on this gold mine. But thanks to Jess for shedding some light on the situation! To read more insights from Jess about his decade+ of experience creating Poptropica, check out our Jess Brallier mini-series from 2021 here, here, here, and here.

Keep on poppin’ on,
~🐠

Creators, Popstorms, YouTubers

Let’s Explain the Poptropica Iceberg! No Comment? 🧊

Good evening— or good morning depending where you live. Are you ready for Pop news? Let’s go!

Pop player KrishMortyJunior aka Krish made a video called “The Poptropica Iceberg Explained”. The 18-minute video covers each layer of the Poptropica iceberg, which details fun facts, Easter eggs, notable creators, and scrapped content relating to the game. Check it out:

There are so many facts covered in the video that you’re bound to learn something new. And we appreciate the inclusion of the PHB around the 5:44 minute mark — thanks, Krish! 🥰


In other blog-related news, it looks like we can no longer leave comments under posts on the Poptropica Creators’ Blog. We find that pretty suspicious, since fans have been calling for the Creators to update their blog, which has been silent since February. Instead of answering fans’ cries, they cut off one avenue of communication.

The Pop Creators’ Blog no longer accepts new comments.

What’s going on behind the scenes? The game still receives small updates, but the Creators don’t talk about anything outside of social media. For example, they recently shared a “Popstorm” tutorial on drawing a planet using artwork from Galactic Hot Dogs. It’s neat but nothing substantial, even with the Gatorade joke in the caption.

Poptropica is definitely in a weird state. At least fans like Krish are able to keep the game alive. If you want to talk to fellow fans, come join us over on our Discord server, the Poptropica Help Chat (for ages 13+).

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Comics, Creators, Member Gifts, Membership, Social Media, Uncategorized

Phantom Pop Creators make an artistic return 👻

Hello again, Poptropicans! Dropping by with a few updates!

Unfortunately, the Creator’s Blog still hasn’t been active since the end of February, but there have been small updates on social media and additions — or in one case, a subtraction — to the game itself.


First, let’s show off some wonderful fan art features from the official Pop Instagram. Click the artists’ names to view the original posts!


The Creators also announced this month’s member gifts: a White Phantom Rogue costume, White Phantom Rogue Power that turns you partially invisible, and a White Phantom Butterfly Follower. 🦋

The ensemble is a little unusual compared to most other outfits in the game, particularly because of its monochrome color palette. Nonetheless, it’s interesting and quite refreshing!


Meanwhile, non-members and members alike can go shopping with the new rotation at Adventure Outfitters, now stocked with swords aplenty. If only these Astro-Knights came with the long-lost island itself! ⚔️


Have you been keeping up with the Daily Comics from the in-game map? After 300+ strips from the series which began its daily showings in July 2022, the comic strips have been reset. So rather than continuing on with the story, which had ended on a cliffhanger, the strips have been removed and are now being re-uploaded from the beginning. Seems like this was just another way for Pop to manufacture novelty!


Finally, long-time Poptropica Creator Jonathan Pitcher posted a couple tweets on his personal account related to his work for the game: a piece of concept art for the Multi-Tool in Steamworks Island, and compliments to pop band AJR for being his muse as he works.


So, are you about to join a masquerade while donning your phantom costume? Will you listen to the music of the night as you work late into the days on fanart? Are you interested in going down once more into the antics of Jorge and Oliver?

Whatever you plan on doing, all I ask of you is that you think of me and the PHB team as you continue on your adventures!

…I’ll see myself out.

Castori honorem ~ Smart Bubbles