Guest posts are blog posts that are written by Poptropicans who are not staff writers on the PHB team at the time of writing. Interested in contributing? Check out our “Write for the PHB” guide under the Contact tab up top.
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by White Fox. Enjoy!
Hello, fellow Poptropicans! Recently, I shared my clubhouse tour here on the PHB, and now I want to share myhouse in Poptropica Worlds!
I gotta warn you, this house is a lot bigger than my clubhouse in the regular Poptropica. Anyway, come inside! To your right is a closet, left is a big-screen TV, and right above are two crossed axes.
I look very different in Poptropica Worlds, don’t I?
Head upstairs, and you will be standing in between two doors. One is locked, and the other leads to the bedroom. Climb the rope…
…And to the left of the rope is a couch right under the one and only… Governor Ridley! This dude was one of my favorite characters from Skullduggery Island back in the days of Flash-based Poptropica, so I put a picture of him in my house over a velvet couch. To the right is another couch, and a table with all my island trophies on it. Confession time: I’ve only ever won Greek Sea Odyssey in Poptropica Worlds. 😂
Even farther over is… DR HARE’S FACTORY! RUN!!!!! Or, you could, you know, go in. On the right, you’ll see that over the door is one of those creepy LED lights Dr Hare has, and over here is where I get to chop up carrots. Hooray!
Above is… The Chair of the Hare! …with a window showing outer space. Don’t worry, that window is fake. I’m not actually in outer space. Or am I?
Head to the left of the rope, all the way across that floor from the Hare Chair, and you see a tiny planter where all the carrots grow. Down the rope, and you are in front of all the carrot shipments, courtesy of Dr Hare’s Revenge from Poptropica Worlds.
Oh, right! Can’t forget my bedroom! On the right you will see my favorite couch. Are you getting tired of couches? Oh, well. I’m not! Anyway, head up the rope to the actual bedroom part of my bedroom. Keep an eye out for my painting of Pelican Rock!
In my bedroom is a canopy bed, a nightstand with a hotel-style lamp, and a statue of Athena. I figured I owed her something after she helped me on both Mythology and Greek Sea Odyssey Islands. Right below is a simple window showing a wonderful view of the beach outside. I also have a potted plant and a chandelier there.
Whew! I think that’s enough for our tour! Remember: Never make a deal with Dr Hare for a ton of carrots in exchange for a factory in your house. He’s pretty bad about holding up his end of the deal. Thanks for reading!
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! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HfEvra (Mess of a Being). Enjoy!
Greetings, fellow humanoid creatures with unrealistic proportions who lack ears and noses! This is HfEvra or Mess of a Being, and I’m here today with another guest post, this time about minority representation in Poptropica — particularly on ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
As a Middle Eastern non-binary lesbian, seeing minority representation in current children’s media brings me immense joy and makes me hopeful that the kids of today will grow up to be tolerant, well-adjusted adults. But recently, I found myself thinking: What if Poptropica also had this sort of representation? And that’s what I’m here to talk about today.
Representation in Poptropica so far
Before talking about how more diversity can be implemented into the game, I wanna go over some instances of Poptropica’s existing attempts at diversity and inclusivity — both the successes and the failures.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the removal of the gender selector from the account creation screen, clearly meant to make the game inclusive for LGBT people who don’t fall into the gender binary of male or female.
Poptropica used to ask if you were a boy or girl when creating a new account.
Instead of a player’s choice of gender affecting whether or not their Poptropican has eyelashes, the player simply gets to choose whether or not they want eyelashes without having to go into the nitty-gritty of gender identity. In addition, it was also made so that both masculine and feminine clothing could be seen at the same time in the (now removed) New You building on Home Island.
In terms of representing persons of color (POC), however, Poptropica is a mixed bag. On one hand, we have C.J., the brilliant young girl scientist from Shrink Ray Island as well as Dr. Rachel Salerno, the courageous astronaut woman from Lunar Colony Island. On the other hand, we have Ringmaster Raven, the horribly mistreated and tragic villain from Monster Carnival Island. (Yes, it does seem that I am incapable of making anything that doesn’t end up referencing him.)
Top: Dr. Salerno, one of the best depictions of a person of color in Poptropica. Below: Ringmaster Raven, one of the game’s worst representations of POC.
There is also the fact that Poptropica is guilty of whitewashing — the act of taking a character who isn’t white (or white-coded) and altering them to be white, or at the least, white-passing. Crusher from Super Power Island and DJ Saturday Nite from Zomberry Island, who were both dark-skinned when they were first introduced, had their skin tones lightened in subsequent appearances in the game years later — quite a problematic move considering that people of color are already lacking representation as is. Here’s the before-and-after of the DJ:
DJ Saturday Nite on Zomberry Island
DJ Saturday Nite on Home Island
And as for Crusher…
Crusher on Super Power Island
Crusher in one of the Super Power Island album photos, a feature released years after the island
That being said, there are ways that Poptropica could add diversity to the game and make things more inclusive without falling into problematic implications. Let’s discuss a few of those ways, shall we?
What else can be done?
In the PHB’sQ&A with Poptropica’s CEOfrom last November, it was mentioned that Poptropica doesn’t currently have any characters whose sexual orientation or gender identity plays an important part in the story, but that it is something that should be considered for future islands. However, there is actually more that can be done in regards to representation than having islands revolve around the minority identities in question.
(Some players read Hazel and Beatrice from Crisis Caverns as a couple. Had it been confirmed in the island itself, this could’ve been an interesting representation of not only gay and/or biracial couples, but also older LGBT couples, who don’t get as much representation as younger ones.)
One of the more subtle ways to establish a character as LGBT is to integrate it into their appearance or environment. Maybe a character could have a pride flag color scheme, or wear something like a pin that has the pride colors on it! Maybe we enter a character’s house as part of the story and we find a pride flag tapestry on the wall! Maybe the character has framed pictures of them alongside their same-sex parents! There’s practically an infinite amount of ways to add LGBT content to Poptropica without being in-your-face about it.
Of course, that isn’t to say that all LGBT content has to be shunted out of the frame by being restricted to subtle design choices and/or background characters. One aspect of representation to remember is that a character’s minority trait shouldn’t be their entire personality, but if the LGBT characters in the game are restricted exclusively to background characters, that’s not fully representative either.
Luckily, Poptropica islands have more moving parts than just “player” and “background NPCs” — they also have a ton of secondary characters who play a part in the islands’ stories! In the future, there could be an island where a sidekick character is explicitly shown to be gay, trans, etc. Perhaps they have a romantic partner of the same gender who’s mentioned or seen alongside them during the story, or perhaps they’re a non-binary person who uses gender neutral pronouns! It’s not a hard thing to add to the story — simply referring to the character in question with non-binary pronouns like “they/them” or “xe/xem” (hey look, those are my pronouns as well!) would help normalize non-conventional pronouns to the game’s audience of kids.
Since the Poptropica Creators advertised 2021 as “the year of stories,” perhaps their current priorities are the Dream Island contest winners, so we likely won’t be seeing this sort of representation anytime soon. But hey, a gay can hope!
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! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Dangerous Dragon. Enjoy!
Hello Poptropicans, I was just heading to my house, which is fully constructed! I’m going to the opening ceremony, so I’ll talk to you later…
Phew! So much work! I met my friends there and I cut the ribbon now I’m inside. Anyway, it’s your turn to see…
When you enter, on the ground floor to the right there is a gaming room for playing Poptropica! It comes with two chairs so that anyone who visits can also sit with me. My Alexa smart speaker makes it easy for me to control my equipment. There are two speakers for high audio, and you might see some customization on the fridge. I put a gaming poster on it. It looks pretty cool! What other customization do you think I should add?
To the left is a peaceful place to relax and watch TV. I’m putting on my favourite movie: “Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph breaks the internet.”
Let’s go up… Above my TV room is a reading room. Just enjoy reading and increase your knowledge!
And over to the right side you have my bedroom! A simple bed and my place to keep my laptop and write for Poptropica. It is lit with candles.
Over to the next floor we have my pet girl Joy’s home! There is the kennel which has her bone. I have a game for her and a ball of yarn to chew on with the bone!
Let’s exercise! In the final room, we have a trampoline, a motivating poster, a hoop, a drink machine for energy, and a water cooler too.
Before I go, did anyone notice my new look? What do you think?
And finally, I have posted a mini writing competition in the comments of the PHB’s Community page! The challenge is to write your own Poptropica side quest. I’m pushing the deadline to April 15, so read the challenge guidelines and keep the entries coming!
That wraps up my house tour. Do visit; my username is AxrnavKrumar on Poptropica! This is DD popping out. Keep popping, Poptropicans!
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! 📰✨
This is a guest post from Cheerful Comet sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey.Enjoy!
Hey Poptropicans! My name is Cheerful Comet and I am here to share with you how I got into Poptropica. I started playing Poptropica in 2012 when I was 8 years old, and now I am 16.
2012–2014 | My neighbor’s introduction
My neighbor was the one who introduced me to Poptropica. His Poptropican’s name was Thirsty Cactus and he had 5 medallions. When I first saw the game, I watched him log in and start playing SOS Island, which was new at that time. He recommended that I play this game.
But to be honest, I did not really like it. I would just go island to island, exploring the place and changing my outfits. This went on for a long time. I made a million Poptropica accounts which I never touched again.
Things changed when I moved out from my apartment, and my neighbor gave me his account username and password. I logged into his account and found myself on the cliff of Super Villain Island (Home Island did not exist back then). It was super hard for me to climb those cliffs, but I enjoyed it once I entered Dr Hare’s dream.
Dr. Hare’s dream in Super Villain Island.
I don’t remember much, but I remember that after a while, I couldn’t get into the Thirsty Cactus account. I figured maybe I forgot the password or he changed the password.
2013–2014 | Beating the Islands
I started beating the islands one by one every day. Just one problem: I had yet to create my own account, and still didn’t do it until 2015. I know, I could have just stuck to one account. Or I guess I didn’t know… I was an idiot, still am.
So basically, each day I would start playing on a new character and win two or three island medallions. I usually beat the easy classics, like Early Poptropica and Shark Tooth Island. This went on for a while.
Shark Tooth Island
2015–2016 | Creating an account
One day, I finally created an account named Yellow Lobster. I did not care about the name for a while, but it did start bothering me later.
I started beating the islands again, but this time without losing progress. I earned at least 33 medallions during this time (with the help of Thinknoodles walkthroughs). Then in 2016, something happened. No, I did not ‘forget’ about Poptropica. I was moving to my family’s country. But it only lasted 7 months. During these months, I had no WiFi on my PC, which meant no Poptropica.
2017 | Discovering the PHB and learning more about Pop
2017 was the best year for me in terms of Poptropica. I am pretty sure that I had come across the PHB a couple of times before then, but I consider my official “discovery” of the PHB to be in 2017, through a YouTube video about the Avatar Studio Glitch. Since then, I became a daily reader of the blog. I was hooked.
I participated in the PHB’s annual Halloween costume contest and won a membership that year, which was sponsored by the Poptropica Creators. But that’s not all. My membership should have only lasted for 1 month, right? It lasted for more than 11 months starting from November 2017. Below is my proof of how long it lasted, along with my winning costume. I don’t know why it lasted that long, but I am grateful it did.
I also learned that Jeff Kinney, the author of my favorite book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was the creator of Poptropica. But that explains the two Wimpy Kid Islands, doesn’t it?
2018–2020 | Costumes and a plan that backfired
In 2018, I also participated in the PHB’s annual survey and the Halloween contest. I won yet again—call it luck maybe. This time I did not win membership, but my membership from the last contest did not expire until 20 days later.
Like my old neighbor Thirsty Cactus, I wanted to give my username and password to someone and inspire them to play Poptropica. I chose someone who I knew more than Thirsty Cactus, but let’s just say it backfired TERRIBLY. I almost lost my account, which had membership, all the medallions, and lots more — and of course, a place in my heart. Yeah I know, it’s cheesy. So I made the sensible decision to talk to her parents. And I literally told her why the account is worth a lot to me. I got my password back after all that embarrassment and begging. If only I knew to contact Poptropica support back then.
2018 Halloween: Top 5 in “Casual” by FA3145
Cheerful Comet
In 2019 and 2020, I did not play much Poptropica. I did not forget about it, but I did not have as much time on my hands to play. Still, I did all my annual traditions on the PHB: the annual survey, voting in the Poppies, and the Halloween costume contest. But I made a mistake in the 2019 costume contest: instead of sending my costume link via the Avatar Studio, I sent a link to the Avatar Studio. So they never saw my costume. But let’s not dwell on the past, shall we?
Anyway, because of a new feature in Haxe, I changed my name from Yellow Lobster to Cheerful Comet.
2021–beyond | The future
I don’t know whether I will continue to play Poptropica in the long run, but it makes me happy, so why should I quit for no reason? I am playing Poptropica more than ever right now, although I miss the classics.
Before ending this post, let me take a moment to say that common rooms aren’t really interactive at all anymore. I miss the prank cans and fortune cookie cards. I hope I will continue to play Poptopica.
Bye Poptropicans! Stay poppin’!
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! 📰✨
This is a guest post from Sleepy Starfish sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey.Enjoy!
Hi! I am Sleepy Starfish. I am going to tell you how I found out about Poptropica and the Poptropica Help Blog. If you want to friend me, my username is 100349.
Forgetting my Poptropica account twice
It all started when my sister was playing Poptropica and she would let me play. I remember watching my brother playing Survival Island: Ep. 1 on Poptropica.
Later, I stopped playing Poptropica. But in 2019, I started playing Poptropica again. I created an account but then I forgot my account. So I made a new account, and this time I wrote it down. However, when I tried to log into Poptropica, my password was incorrect. I think when I wrote my account details down, I wrote it wrong. So I created another account. This time I remembered it. My name was Cool Rider.
Finding out about the Poptropica Help Blog
I used to never decorate my clubhouse because I was too lazy. I would also never check the Creators’ Blog because I thought it contained long, boring articles. One day in December 2020, I decided to check the blog, and that’s when I saw it wasn’t as boring as I thought. Now I check the Creators’ Blog every day!
In February 2021, there were a few guestposts on the Creators’ Blog that mentioned the Poptropica Help Blog. So I searched it up and clicked the first link that popped up. The first PHB post that I saw was the Pop the Difference challenge. From then on, I’d check the PHB every day.
Recently, I even shared my clubhouse tour here on the PHB! Through the friends menu, I also changed my character’s name to Sleepy Starfish.
That’s My Place in Poptropica. Bye!
—Sleepy Starfish
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! 📰✨
🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️ 