Put away the pitchforks, Poptropicans… the Poptropica Hate Blog has had its day, and the real PHB’s back to say: April Fools!
All rage let loose for the Poptropica Hate Blog on April Fools’ Day.
Many of you joined in on the mutiny with such fiery passion that sometimes the line felt blurred between genuine and exaggerated criticisms! Enjoy some reaction highlights from the comments (click to view full size). There’s more where they came from!
Now that the ruse is revealed, we want to pull back the curtain and share a bit about the making of the Poptropica Hate Blog.
As evident from all the complaints that came pouring in, our hot takes were in fact inspired by real sentiments from the fandom that have been brewing over years of frustration for what the game has become.
For the prank, though, we mainly wanted to highlight the worst of the outrage mentality and amplify our grievances with over-the-top outcries. The PHB team put together many ideas for rants, with memes and written contributions from Gentle Dolphin, MaryannTheConqueror, Purple Paw, and Slanted Fish. Plus, Purple Paw came up with a brilliant illustrated header to go with all the anger. Check out all the little details!
Most of the people criticizing Poptropica aren’t just “haters” though. Most of us were big fans in the past, which is why we hate to see how they’re ruining the game.
For all the frustrated followers of Pop out there, we hear you! The Pop Hate Blog might be a joke, but it clearly touched some nerves.
So, what to do with all the hate? For sure, we can grieve for what we’ve lost and gripe about dreams that disappear.
But at the same time, that energy can be draining, so it’s worth trying to see things from a more generous point of view, too. And ultimately, that’s what we keep working at here on the Poptropica Help Blog. To critique and affirm. Even when we’re hateful, we can also be hopeful.
Fellow haters, it’s time we rise up against the mutilation of Poptropica!!
With every update that isn’t an old island returning, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Poptropica doesn’t care about building a quality game anymore. And we’re done building them up! From now on, the Poptropica Help Blog is going to be a Poptropica Hate Blog. 😤
Honestly, with so much to be mad about, where do we even begin? 🙄 Let’s count the ways in which Poptropica has sinned against us; everything they’ve given that no one asked for: Costumes. Membership. Side quests. Social media. Contests. And… Roblox??
Perhaps you’ve noticed that Poptropica has developed a strange obsession with costumes over the past few years: new costumes, new areas and revamps for costume shops, monthly costume contests. Booorrrriinnng… and it never ends!! 👘 There’s no denying it: they’re spending more time on these instead of the islands, i.e. the actual game!
Art Attack: No one respects true art anymore.
What is the one thing they can’t stop churning out? Store updates. 💸 They’re more than happy to keep their promises and stay up to date with weekly store rotations and monthly costume contests, but year on year we’re coming up with almost no new islands. What gives??
And okay, we can appreciate a cute fit every now and then. But new stuff every week? That just seems excessive. If this were real life, they’d be indulging in some very unsustainable fast fashion practices right now. And even though it’s virtual, why are they emulating such toxic practices and encouraging so much consumerism anyway? What kind of message does that send to kids — the values of superficial spending, hungrily hoarding, and dressing to impress? Come on, think of the children!!
Poptropica wishes they could be as cool as Club Penguin.
Oh, but the consumerism extends to real life, too — the good stuff is too often locked under the paywall of membership. 🤑 Rare is the parent or guardian who will fork over a few bucks a month for your extra Poptropica perks, but should you be so blessed, only then will you get to enjoy fractions of old islands, new side-quests made for babies, and half the store in exclusive items. Back in our day, we had full islands for free, and now you have to pay for a partial island without all the episodes? Not only is that a terrible deal, but the whole membership model just reeks of capitalist greed and reveals the unfairness of class privilege. Canceled!!!
Or… fine. Let’s try our patience and put up with their weird new additions, their costumes and member gifts, and other wearisome whatnot. But when it comes to their horrible new methods of “storytelling,” we’ve gotta stop and say no to side quests. Disjointed, unorganized, facepalm-worthy, Mocktropica-esque side quests.
When the Creators promised a “year of stories” back in 2021, we were hoping they’d fill the year with real good Poptropica stories; y’know, stories with original characters and intricate plots. Stories told in the space of an island. Guess we shouldn’t have been so quick to assume! Fragments of unicorns and fairytales and bee-themed news reporters and who knows what else scattered about; we can’t keep up anymore!! Creators, if you care at all about our wellbeing, you’ll refrain from releasing such headache-inducing content, please and thank you!!!
Plus, can we talk about Amelia popping up all over the place? Pop’s Amelia, as you may know, is based on a real historical figure, Amelia Earhart. Why use Amelia as the central character of a story when there are sooo many original characters they could instead!? Especially when the real Amelia Earhart didn’t even like tea and had no known affiliations with unicorns?? ☕️ How dare Poptropica call themselves an educational site and then share such obvious misinformation!!
Just the sight of this makes us want to exit Poptropica and never log back in.
While they’re busy not bringing back the old islands, though, they sure like to bring up references to those classics on social media to chase that clout. 📱 After they remembered who Betty Jetty was, it seems nostalgia has been their trustworthy strategy for reeling in the fans — which would work if those characters and islands still existed, but alas, all we have are weird TikToks about how Ringmaster Raven is a liberal.
Train in Vain: Go nowhere fast in this subway tunnel.
Plus, they think they can distract us with all those contests? 🏅 We’re not even playing the game anymore, we’re asked to go offline (excuse me?) and dream up costume designs and islandplotlines for the honor of having them featured in the game or on their blog. What, are we having to do the Pop Creators’ work because they can’t come up with good ideas anymore? And why are we making more costumes when we already have weekly store hauls?? Told you Poptropica has a shopaholic problem.
But wait, there’s more. Let’s talk about that Roblox game Poptropica recently released, which just about embodies everything that’s wrong with the state of the game today. No, we’re not talking about the Zomberry game that’s dropping today, because we already decided to boycott it as this post was being written. 😤
How we feel about Poptropica’s Roblox gamesMaryannTheConqueror’s Squishmallow is 10x cuter than Pop’s Roblox unicorns
That’s because we’re not crazy about Unicorn Frenzy, the pathetic pastel pony pile-up. 🦄 No story or substance related to the game, and it’s not even on Poptropica’s platform? It’s evident that the Pop Creators are making a vain attempt to appeal to Roblox’s much larger fanbase, but what’s the point when we can’t even gather five players to start a game at any given moment?? Besides, the sickeningly saccharine scenery is a poor imitation of My Little Pony Generation 3’s beautiful visuals. Sadly, it reveals the Poptropica of today: soullessly devoid of originality.
Every masterpiece……has its cheap copy
Where’s the Poptropica we loved? All we want are the old islands back, or at least new ones that could be just as good — yet we’ve gotten everything but. If actions speak louder than words, Poptropica’s tone-deaf updates are violence crushing our once-hopeful hearts. 🔪💙
And not for lack of trying: we’ve shared Pop Petition posts, contributed to countless comments on social media, and even made a music video for the cause. We know they hear us, but their silence is suffocating.
Best of the Best: A Poptropica designer’s work is never done.
Meanwhile, the Poptropica of the present just isn’t cutting it. So from this day forth, we’re not the Poptropica Help Blog anymore. We’re more like a “Help Poptropica” Blog now. Because this game really needs some help.
We’re calling it now: Poptropica is canceled. It’s too far gone. Cut it out of your life and join the chorus of haters pronouncing it dead. Until the ashes of Captain Crawfish, Gretchen Grimlock, and all our old faves rise from their graves, we’re just gonna be here to gripe. Let’s let it all out!!
In the comments, bring your rage, your sorrows, your calloused hearts! Join us in taking down these posers who call themselves storytellers. 🤯 LET LOOSE YOUR HATRED! WE DESERVE BETTER!! 😤😤
Ask Poptropica Siri is a Q&A segment here on the PHB where you, dear readers, are invited to send in your Poptropica questions to have them answered with all the wisdom you can expect from a Smart Icicle.
Hey everyone, it’s Smart Icicle! You know how the game works now. Let’s answer some questions!
I am pretty excited for when it comes out. So far the sneak peeks remind me of Arabian Nights and catching the genie. Another desert theme seems pretty cool to me. This one seems fun from what we’ve seen so far, and I can’t wait for it to release! I’ve loved seeing all the ideas everyone came up with for the Dream Island contest.
Would you rather play the old islands on Flashpoint now, or in a few years if they become officially accessible through Poptropica desktop and mobile? ~Silver Ghost
I like these types of questions. It’s fun playing the old islands on Flashpoint, but I am going to have to go with playing the old islands from Poptropica itself if they all become available again because I have been playing on their platforms for years. It’s been a while since Flash has been gone, and I still praise it. Still miss you, Flash! ❤️
What do you like to do on Poptropica when you aren’t playing islands? ~Silver Shell
I either do side quests, check out the store for any cool stuff, or relax in my clubhouse. But honestly, I mainly play Poptropica for the islands — they’re just so fun, am I right?
How can you send in your questions to Ask Poptropica Siri?
That’s a great question! You can use the following methods:
📧 Send an email to askpoptropicasiri (at) gmail (dot) com. This way, you’ll get to keep your questions a surprise when they get answered on the blog.
💬 Comment on the latest Ask Poptropica Siri post. Your questions will be publicly visible before they appear in a Q&A post, but this allows others to interact with your question if they so choose. If you don’t have an email address, you can enter a fake one in the email field when you post your comment.
I hope you all are having some fun and good luck. I’m feeling especially lucky for next month. See you soon!
Hey Poptropicans, we’re approaching the end of the month, which means it’s time to announce another lucky Poptropican to win our monthly membership giveaway! 🎁
If you’re not a member, you still have the chance (or many chances, in fact): the PHB is hosting a giveaway every month, and it’s easy to enter! Just comment on the Free Poptropica Membership page and leave at least two other comments around the PHB within the month to be entered into that month’s giveaway.
We’ll announce a winner sometime in the final week of each month. If you don’t win, you can always try again for the next month! Full details »
Congrats again to Magic Poptropican! Keep on popping on! 🪄
Back in 2016, the PHB wrote an open letter to Poptropica with suggestions based on players’ frustrations. And Poptropica responded! While not every tip was taken, the letter did kick off some good discussions. Now in 2022, we’re back with another, and we’d love to hear your thoughts again. Enjoy!
Dear Poptropica,
Six years have passed and many things have changed since the last letter, from the fanbase to the state of the game as a whole.
The Poptropica community has largely been very passionate. We’ve loved how an online Flash game for kids could have such interesting concepts and fun characters. For years, the Creators spilled their hearts into this game, and it showed. Poptropica was not only intended to be a fun game in the present, but to “inspire a next generation of creators” in the future. But lately, that fire seems to have gone out. And it really boils down to one major point:
We’re not seeing convincing signs that Poptropica can or will fulfill the promise of bringing back the old islands, or at least bringing to newer content the quality we’ve come to love from the classics.
Sure, we know it’s not easy to rebuild the islands that used to live on Flash. But considering the pace in which they were made (at its peak in 2012, Poptropica released 9 islands in a year), it’s a bit baffling how they’re now taking months and years to be ported into Haxe. It doesn’t help that we haven’t heard many updates on this front, beyond the news at the beginning of this year that episodic islands are up next.
Bay Bees Illegal rafting? That’s a paddling.
While we can’t speak for everyone, we do know that many fans (including myself, Maryann) rarely touch the game in its current state. A significant portion of the fanbase we know are only passionate about the Poptropica of the past, not the present.
Poptropica may have always been branded as a kids’ game, but its older stories held a special depth that made it more than a superficial experience. The many fans who grew up with the game and still find things to appreciate about it as teens and young adults can attest to that. But Poptropica’s newer content doesn’t quite capture that magic. Some Poptropica fans, like Jia, who created the Poptropica Dating Sim as a silly but genuine “love letter to the game,” don’t see the appeal in sticking around if Poptropica only gets more childish. For Jia, “That love’s lost.”
Yes, there are still regular players and fans with a more positive outlook about the game’s current state. But how much longer do you think you can keep them with unfulfilled promises and little content in the game? Why should players bother with cool costumes and pet accessories when our avatars barely spend any time wearing them in island adventures?
The Drop: Wait for it…
We know the Poptropica team has changed. We’ve seen top staffers let go unwillingly, confirmed that founder Jeff Kinney no longer works with Pop, and heard the news of former CEO Jess Brallier resigning after his team was devalued by new ownership. All that obviously changes dynamics, but we’re not here to stir up drama. This letter is about the quality and longevity of the game, and compared to the golden days, the current team just hasn’t matched the creative passion of what was.
Poptropica is at a great risk of becoming lost media, and that is sad. You show ads and references to beloved characters from the old islands who aren’t even present in the game. Are you showing that you still hold onto the promise of old islands, or are you just leading us on?
We’re not making insane demands. We just want a quality game, and to know if we’re hoping for something that won’t happen. It’s hard to believe you are hard at work porting lost islands when you put so much of your time and energy into side-quests with detailed and new animations, and even expanding into Roblox — building onto a game that isn’t yours. It’s fine to try new things, but are there resources left for what players want most: the old islands?
Ascend: You will have seen the mountaintop.
You can tell us Poptropica is doing fine now — that it’s not dying — but that’s becoming harder to believe when we look at what the game has become. It’s hard to believe when you used to publish bestselling books and were even within reach of a TV series. Even the player activity and fandom isn’t as big as it used to be. Young and old, we’ve always wanted our perspectives heard by the Pop team, but a lack of communication on our key questions and concerns has not helped.
I love what this game could have been. I love telling other fans how Astro-Knights is still on the Wikipedia explanation of clockpunk, because it’s one of the few examples of such a niche but interesting genre. I loved Jeff Heim’s music scores that went above and beyond, including the soundtracks for islands that have yet to return.
I’ve written quite cringey fanfiction which fortunately was made prior to my online presence. I’ve posted fan art on Instagram of characters that I thought could have been so interesting if they were to return in future islands, or if Pop made more spin-off books focusing on them. And currently, I have been writing and sharing The Villain Saga, a spec script with said characters. But I don’t know how much longer I can keep creating hype for something that doesn’t exist anymore save for a fan-madearchive that one person made in their free time.
Dust to Dust: This gemstone is a smash hit.
Without a passionate team putting out quality islands, Poptropica looks bound for its end in the coming years. Other games and media can, and have, grabbed the attention of your once loyal fans. At the rate things are going, most of the old islands will still be lost to time, and your aging fanbase may not stick around for your next surprises. Whether we’re talking from a business or creative standpoint, it could be game over.
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 