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.
CUT TO: DR. HARE being led to D. and MOREAU’S office.
DR. HARE
All right, I got the gist of it. You want me to do the dirty work for you so you can achieve some sort of thing?
MOREAU and DIRECTOR D. stare at each other. They’ve been uncovered. Their plan is ruined, if Hare can figure this out, then how long will it be until the others–
DIRECTOR D.
We didn’t–
DR. HARE
Hey, I was joking. Of course you’re helping me! Why else would you offer to work with someone as great as myself?
MOREAU hides her amusement and relief behind the clipboard she’s holding.
MOREAU
I must ask…how did this whole “rabbit” theme start?
DR. HARE
First off, it’s hare, not rabbit. And oh, it’s a long and glorious story! Some say it was tragic, but I say it was destiny, if such a thing exists!
(His backstory is shown in childlike crayon scribbles, while his speech becomes increasingly impassioned.)
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the February recap for Community Creations. February’s theme was Comics, so be sure to check out all the featured artists!
The Super Power Island villains are taken a step further here with a Swap AU in which the villains are actually the good guys! Bashful Sword, usually a heroic popsona, is turned Mafia leader in this universe. A wonderfully intriguing story, heightened even more by a wonderfully dynamic composition! The border breaking of the panels and dynamic poses of the characters adds an excellent sense of movement to the whole page. My eyes can’t stop taking in all the little details! Find her DeviantArt here.
Cryptid Comic by Tilly Meow Jings ARSB
So… do you believe in magic? Poptropica definitely has its fair share of unexplainable supernatural phenomena, but our heroes seem to be able to handle it. I love this scene from Cryptids Island, and the comic format is perfect for it! Not only is the coloring and line art super clean, but the composition and speech bubbles add an excellent sense of flow to the panels. Find their Tumblr here.
Merlin AI Comic by BunniesNBowties (Planet-Poptropica)
Imagining Merlin as a more humanoid robot really interests me right off the bat. For this comic, a community member asked “How does Merlin AI eat his foods, especially robot mice?” I love how these panels are educational yet retain a sense of humor and playfulness. The gridded background and square speech bubbles especially add to Binary Bard’s “logical” tone. There’s great attention to detail, from the texture of the chalk to the smooth, clean coloring! Find their Tumblr here and their side blog here.
The Worldly Games by Bronze Socks & Smart Icicle
SATURDAY AFTERNOON, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF PIGLANDIA.
Smart Icicle: Hey Bronze Socks, have you ever wondered if there is another world besides Piglandia.
Bronze Socks: I am sort of wondering the same thing. Hmmmm??
Bronze Socks picks up a clock that looked like it came from Steamworks Island but different. The clock had a purple aura around it with a note attached to it.
Bronze Socks picks up the note off the clock and reads it.
Bronze Socks: DO NOT USE! MAY END YOUR LIFE!
Smart Icicle: Well that was certainly ominous, I don’t think we should take the chance.
Bronze Socks: Are you kidding? This could be our answer to what we have been wondering about for years! Wait, what is happening to Piglandia!
Bronze Socks points to Piglandia as it starts to turn dull and gray. Bits of buildings in the town were starting to crumble…
In the plot of this short story, “two young adventurers set on a quest to find their crystal pig to restore their world, Piglandia. In order to find their crystal pig, they must compete in a series of death defying games against other infamous villains. Can the two adventurers make it and restore their world? Or will it be Game Over?” Dramatic, action-packed writing like this is certainly a huge part of the world of comics! With a dash of Squid Game and a whole lot of Poptropica, it’s quite the exciting read. And I love the spirit of collaboration between these two authors! Keep reading their story on DeviantArt.
The Adventures of Ruby (Part 2) by PegaKid (Muddy Kid)
This cute comic strip makes me super reminiscent of playing Poptropica as a younger kid. And this is just part 2 in a whole series of adventures! The project is very ambitious and clearly fits our comic theme. I love the hard work put into this story and the engaging format of panels and speech bubbles. In fact, Muddy Kid’s story is featured in a series of Creators’ Blog guest posts, where you can catch up and read from the beginning.
Honorable Mentions
Silver Sorceress by Pink CrushTime Traveler by Pink CrushBabysitting by sleepybikerThe Poptastic 4 by Bronze Socks and Smart IciclePop Comic Craze by Lucky Joker
You guys submitted real page-turners this month! I wonder what action-packed artwork awaits us next month issue?
March: How Do I Participate?
Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fics, Pop clubhouses, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.
If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is March’s theme? March’s theme is…
💚🍀 Going Green! 🍀💚
I don’t know about you guys, but when I think of March, I think of the color green. St. Patrick’s Day being a big reason for that! But when I think of something “green” I don’t just think of the color, I also think of being environmentally friendly.
So for this month, I challenge you guys to “go green!” That could mean making something totally monochromatic with green colors, OR it could have all the colors of the rainbow but be centered around the environment. It doesn’t have to be both, but it certainly could be!
Maybe draw your favorite green-themed Poptropicans, like Speeding Spike or Sir Cador the Astro-Knight! Perhaps write a fan fiction about your Popsona getting really lucky on St. Patrick’s day and a villain getting green with envy. Or design your own IRL Poptropica art using recycled materials? Maybe take a crack at both challenges and draw an environmental scene from Twisted Thicket! It’s all up to you.
Enchanted caverns (Twisted Thicket Island)
Submit: Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created, email it to the PHB team on our Contact page, OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, Tumblr, or Discord.
Results: Next month, I will feature 5 submissions that stood out to me the most as well as some honorable mentions.
Limitations: Just make sure you relate to both the theme and Poptropica (and nothing NSFW or otherwise inappropriate).
Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!
I will be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!
So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 