This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Big Leopard, who discovered Poptropica through her cousins, forgot about it for years, but kept coming back. See below for details on how to send in your MPIP story for publication here on the PHB!
This write-your-MPIP thing seemed like fun, so here we are: now you can waste about 20 minutes of your life reading my Poptropica life story!
The Beginning
I started playing Poptropica at a very, very, VERY young age. I can’t even remember exactly how old, maybe four or five? It’s a little hazy. But, I digress.
Anyway, when I was about four (or five), my dad took me to New Jersey to visit my cousins. There was nothing to do in their apartment, especially since I was the youngest and all of my cousins were in high school or middle school. I was bored out of my mind! I normally spent the time just sitting around and watching them play video games, since, at the time, I was absolutely ENAMORED with them. (I vaguely remember watching a bit of TV with them too, but that doesn’t matter.)
Then, one day, something happened that would change my free time of boredom into fun-filled pointing and clicking. One of my cousins had taken notice of my boredom and told me that they wanted to show me something. I followed them to the only computer in the house, where I sat down beside them. They told me they had found a new online computer game: Poptropica. (I had actually begun playing the year when it first came out. Maybe it was fate!)
I don’t remember much after that, but I do remember playing on my cousin’s account for a while. Being super young and not understanding the concept of the game, I mostly just mindlessly walked and/or jumped around the current island my cousin was on. I didn’t know about making an account, either, so whenever I wanted to play, I had to make a NEW Poptropican each time. Considering I played it so often, I probably have at least a hundred Poptropicans by now. (Poor little duders! I wonder if they’re thriving in the vast world of neglected game player avatars…)
The Girl With Many Names: or multiple accounts, rather
After I returned home with my dad, the first thing I did was rush to his laptop. I was addicted to Poptropica, and I had the urge to just play it whenever I was bored or had free time.
I created another Poptropican, and played with that one for the ENTIRE day. I remember not going to bed until FIVE in the morning the next day! But during the time I was playing, I finally learned how to create an account. I remember being extremely vain, and all of my usernames were just adjectives to describe a woman’s attractiveness: gorgeous, pretty, beautiful, etc.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out how to log back in to any of these accounts, despite the “Returning Player” button on the home screen. It was like this for a while, until I finally figured it out sometime later.
How to Complete??? Please Help???
After playing for long time, I finally completed my first island: Early Poptropica. When I figured out there was actually a point to the game, I made it my life goal to complete all the islands. But, whoops! Being too stupid to know what to do, I got lost extremely easily and would leave each island to start another one.
When I finally ran out of islands, I knew I had to look up what to do. At the time, I hated reading, but loved YouTube videos. So, when guides for Poptropica popped up on Google, I instantly clicked the first video that popped up. That video was by what I call the Poptropi-God, Thinknoodles. (You can’t call yourself a Poptropica fan if you don’t know who he is, come on.) I remember being so in love with him and his guides that instead of playing the islands as the video went on, I just watched all of his guide videos until there weren’t any left. I still do, and even go back to watch old ones.
Forgetting, then Getting Smacked in the Face with Memory Triggers and Nostalgia
I continued to play Poptropica for a long time, perhaps two years or so. But, after a while, I completely forgot about it. It was strange—how could I forget one of my most beloved online games? I still don’t know to this day. Anyway, for a few years, I involuntarily buried my memories of Poptropica deep within the dark recesses of my mind.
Then, one day, they were dug up and thrown at my face. During sixth grade, I usually stayed in the library around the corner from the school building after school. I stayed there, waiting for my parents to pick me up, and as I waited, I would use the computers and play games or watch videos.
One day, I was watching videos, when I noticed the girl beside me playing the one and only Poptropica. She was struggling to get the peace medal in Da Vinci’s house on Time Tangled Island. I helped her, and somehow, it reinvigorated my love for the game. I immediately began playing with the account I had last made. (I still have it and remember the login info! I also know that my Poptropican was called Busy Peanut. I don’t use this account anymore, even though I have completed most of the islands on it. I will explain why soon.)
Forgetting Again, but it’s Different This Time Because the PHB is Involved
Then, once again, I completely forgot about the game and stopped playing. It was probably because I was distracted with anime and other games and electronics instead.
This brings us to present day. I recently got a new laptop for Christmas, and I mainly use it to make videos. (Check out my channel, by the way!) Anyway, I brought it to school and was bored during a period, so I whipped it out and began using it. Suddenly, a random thought appeared in my head: “Hey, remember that game you loved so much, Poptropica? You should play it again!” So I did.
I decided to make a new account—it’s the one I currently use, Big Leopard, the character featured at the beginning of this MPIP. I would’ve used my old one, but I didn’t for a few reasons:
- It was extremely old and outdated. I didn’t want to use a neglected account.
- It didn’t matter that much to me. I knew how to complete all of the islands I had completed on the old one, so it wouldn’t be different.
- I thought it’d be fun to start anew! It’d be nice to replay some of my favorite islands.
Anyway, I was playing Poptropica a couple of days ago, but I got stuck on Red Dragon Island, an island I have completed before. I couldn’t remember what to do about Basho telling you he was in East Edo, so I decided to just look it up, since I was super lazy. That was how I found the Poptropica Help Blog! The first link on Google was the PHB’s guide for Red Dragon Island, so there I was.
I continued to use the blog’s guides to aid me whenever I got stuck on a certain part, and continued to use it for all of the new islands. Then, I discovered all of the other things on this site, such as MPIP stories, the island trivia, etc. I got extremely hooked and decided, “Hey! I’ll start following this blog!” So I did exactly that, and here we are now.
I am still pretty new to this blog, having discovered it only a few days ago, but I hope to be acquainted with the admins and some of the fellow followers of the blog. Who knows? Maybe I can become an admin too one day. ^-^
And that is my “My Place In Poptropica” story! I hope you didn’t mind reading this autobiography monstrosity. XD If you like, you can add me on Poptropica: thietanavenus is my username.
~from, Thietana Venus, a.k.a. (currently) Big Leopard
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
