This is a guest post by Tiff on why Poptropica should focus more on their older players.The following is the writer’s opinion only. Enjoy!
Hi, I’m Tiff, and I want to talk about a few things—but most importantly, the idea that Poptropica should gear the game toward older kids.
Despite the fact that Poptropica bills itself as a children’s game, fewer and fewer young kids are interested in Poptropica these days. In fact, if you look at the PHB’s surveys, you’ll find that the majority of players are 13 and up (at least, the majority of who read this fan site are teens and young adults).
If the Creators want to keep Pop going, they’ll need to create content suitable for the audience they have and expand on that, rather than holding onto the past ideal of being suited for kids. They need to grow with their fanbase, so that they’re not left behind by their competitors.
After all, Poptropica is my favorite game, and I really want it to stay. Plus, with an evolving games market, and a growing trend for augmented or virtual reality, I wonder if they can explore that avenue further.
And as we know, Poptropica has been putting a little too much emphasis on Membership. I know they’ve been working on the Islands, and bringing the old ones back, but they really should be available to all players, not just members. This post isn’t necessarily about the paywall, but more on the fact that the Creators seem to only orient their game for a subset of players that they find more valuable—whether that’s members or younger kids—rather than focusing on the majority of who’s already here: the non-members and the older players. I’m here to say, Creators, focus on who your players are now, not who they used to be, and expand from there.
Creators: grow with the game, and grow with the times. We are not kids anymore, we’re teens and young adults. Poptropica’s demographic has changed, so let’s change the game with it. It’s supply and demand: the demand is the older demographic, the little kids who aren’t so little anymore, who’ve grown up with Poptropica and have stuck around for the fun and nostalgia. And the supply is Poptropica, which needs to adapt for this crowd which seems to make up the majority of our community these days.
Let’s be a little less forceful in trying to promote our game to a younger audience, who seem to have already moved on to other things—after all, there’s not much a new player can do on Poptropica these days as they’re locked into a Haxe account with few islands—and perhaps, with careful consideration for the older demographic (and particularly our desire for islands with deep storytelling), Poptropica’s demand may rise again.
Hope you enjoyed this Pop Petition guest post by Tiff! If you did, be sure to check out our other Pop Petition posts on the PHB, as well as our series on the topic of Poptropica and Age.
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our page on how to Write for the PHB, and share blog posts on the PHC.
📰 If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! ✨
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the July recap for Community Creations! July’s theme was Classic Islands (and the featured work is not in any particular order). Be sure to check out all the featured artists!
Though this piece was not made in time for our Wild West theme, it certainly still fits among the classic islands! The blurry effect adds a lot of hilarious motion to the scene, perfectly capturing a great photo from the island. It has a lovely composition and demonstrates wonderful craftsmanship! Very well made! Find her DeviantArt here.
The 4 Knights by BlazingAngel123
Wowza, what a heroic looking scene! Astro-Knights won “OG Island We’ll Miss the Most” in the Poppies this year, so it is obviously a fan favorite adventure. The symmetrical composition is excellent and I love the strong contrast between colors. Each knight is showing off their unique set of powers, but certainly remaining strong and unified. It really captures the atmosphere of the island! Find her DeviantArt here.
Here Comes a Giant Fist by WitchyArtistGal
Although Shrink Ray eventually got its own sound update, I think it’s fair to say that it’s still a classic considering its initial release. So this submission deserves a spotlight all the same! Comics are always a refreshing format, and a challenging one at that. Luckily, the framing and humor in this one turned out excellent! The dialogue and build up are great, bringing together the perfect little story. Keep up the great work! Find her DeviantArt here.
Spy Island by MissEligon
Oooh, another very interesting composition! Though busy, all the figures are portrayed in such a way that they are not lost within the frame. I love the subtle effect of Director D.’s hair, the incorporation of background scenery, and even the inclusion of the spy in the trashcan! This piece really acts as a summary of the whole island without giving too much away. There’s a great variety of emotion, poses, shades within a unified color scheme, and a wonderful sense of mystery! Find her Twitter here (where she has also recently posted art of some other classics).
Game Show Island by AdventurersNHunters
Hmmm, intriguing! As I previously mentioned, the format of a comic is always refreshing! And the added challenge of having no dialogue is very interesting. This long visual story really builds a world, and draws the viewer’s eye all down the page. The detail is fantastic, the shading is quite dramatic, and the diagonal lines of the frames create a great sense of action! You can really see the effort poured into the work. Find her DeviantArt here.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Traitorous Spy by Midnightoilstudios
If Joe Puddy was in Twisted Thicket by thehypercutter
Gosh guys, all this amazing work is really making miss the classics! These adventures have really been immortalized by your submissions this month.
AUGUST: 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 August’s theme? August’s theme is…
Poptropolis GamesTribes!
Although the summer Olympics have been postponed until next year, why can’t we still celebrate with some fun “athletic” competition, right? That’s why we have the internet in times like these! We all have witnessed the sinking of Poptropolis and the mystery that surrounds it, but we have also gotten to experience the excitement of the games! Let’s revisit those games in this month’s theme, shall we?
No matter what tribe you’re a part of, we want to see your artwork! We want to see your stories! Your costumes! And all the crafts in between! So show us your tribal pride this month, and I promise that I won’t be biased in favor of the Nanobots (or at least I’ll try).
Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
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!
Lights? Check. Internet connection? Check. Dr. Beev—wait, come again?
This weekend, we hosted the Poppies, our annual fan-directed Poptropica awards event, in celebration with the PHB’s 12th birthday. And what an event!
Despite the lack of Multiverse rooms (that feature disappeared a while back), just a few classic head-to-head mini-games to play (only Balloons, Sky Dive, and Star Link remain), and our decision to forego the traditional livestream in favor of concentrating our energy on announcing Poppies winners via our PHC Discord chat server, we had fun in the presence of emojis of all kinds (including the beloved Dr. Beev, the Dr. Hare/beaver parody from Mocktropica Island) and hit up the Party Time Tower on Time Tangled and Midas Gym on Mythology to shake the floors with our stellar outfits and groovy dance moves.
But enough about that, right? You want to know who won, and we’re here to bring you the highlights. Our winners for the 2020 Poppies are…
🏆 Gameplay Awards
OG Island We’ll Miss Most: Astro-Knights Island (runner-up: Mystery Train)
Best Pet Accessory: Buccaneer Hat (runner-up: Flower Headband)
Best Clubhouse Decor: Poptropica blimp (runner-up: Fox)
Best Home Island Makeover: Halloween (runner-up: Wizardry)
Best Quippy: 24 Carrot (runner-up: Escape From Pelican Rock)
Best Default Character: Old School (runners-up: Love Star and Girl Power)
Worst Paywall Offender of the Year: Classic islands return for members only (runner-up: Store items that used to be for all return as members only)
🏆 Community Awards
Popular Poptropican: idk*, creator of the Old Island Directory and admin on the Poptropica Club Discord server (*in acknowledgement of winning the award two years in a row, idk handed the title to noveen, one of this year’s nominees and fellow admin on the Poptropica Club) (runner-up: Thinknoodles, YouTuber known for Poptropica walkthroughs)
Best Fan Art of the Year: “Endgame” by Magniventris (runner-up: “Untitled” by anne14tco)
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 Poppies!! 🏆 And if you’re interested in knowing the rankings of each nominee, head on over to the PHC and check out the pinned messages to scroll up in the chat. We’ll leave the pins for some time, but not forever, so check them out while you can.
As an added bonus, here’s a quick thank-you video from Theo of Dimension Bros, whose channel won Best Fan Video (you may recall the PHB’s spotlight post for them last month). Thanks for celebrating with us! 🥳
🎨 “Best Fan Art of the Year” Nominee Gallery
We’re always impressed by what this fandom produces. To celebrate that, we’re showcasing our top nominees for this year’s “Best Fan Art” award:
Thanks to all of you who nominated, voted, came out for the Poppies awards show—and most of all, for being part of the Poptropica community in ways big and small. 💙 Also, happy birthday to the PHB! 🥳 We’re grateful to you, dear reader, for your part in making these 12 years so special.
A minute of beauty onstage is years of work offstage. Now let’s pick up those Dr. Beev emojis littered all over the blue carpet and get it rolled back up!
Hey Poptropicans—we’re taking another look into Poptropica’s post-Flash future. In case you missed it, we took a deep dive on the subject back in January, and again in February when Poptropica put out their own State of the Game address. And, of course, we’ve been following along with the latest developments in Poptropica’s Haxe Javascript build.
The Haxe engine is the future of Poptropica. It looks a lot like the old Flash engine, but it’s kind of starting over from scratch.
Ever since the Haxe build launched earlier this year, there’s been at least one glaring issue: Poptropica accounts on Haxe are separate from the accounts used in the Flash version. So in this post, we’re asking the big question: What will happen to our Poptropica accounts post-Flash? Here’s what we know so far.
Why are Flash and Haxe accounts separate?
Adobe Flash and Haxe Javascript are separate technologies. Flash is the older engine that’s about to have its plug pulled, while Haxe is the newer platform where Poptropica is working on moving the game. So far, Poptropica hasn’t made a way to connect accounts from Haxe and Flash together, perhaps due to tech limitations. So each account can only play in either Flash or Haxe.
However, there does seem to be some continuity available between the two. When Poptropica made the classic islands available to members in June*, players logging in from their accounts in Haxe could (and still can) head over to Early Poptropica to play the old islands in Flash. (*Non-members: check out the Old Island Directory to play the classics.)
Players have to log in again through the old Flash login screen, but once they do, they may notice that their Haxe character’s outfit will transfer over (for the most part). So perhaps a connection is possible… at least for one’s #OOTD.
My character in Haxe. The hummingbird’s wings don’t flap like they used to in Flash.
My character on an old island in Flash, after hopping on the blimp in Haxe!
How do I know if I’m in Flash or Haxe?
If your account was made before early 2020 when Haxe launched, it would be a Flash account, meaning that when you log in, your account would be in the Flash version of Poptropica.
You can tell based on a couple things: (1) there are more islands on the map (stretching back to islands released in 2013, when they were first made with sound and a newer version of Flash), and (2) there’s a daily spin wheel for credits on Home Island. As a bonus, you may also have some items or (especially rare) clothing parts that haven’t appeared in Haxe yet (though many store items have been converted to Haxe by now).
Daily spin wheel in Flash
Daily login rewards in Haxe
If your account was made after Haxe launched in early 2020, chances are, you’re on a Haxe account. As with Flash, you can tell by (1) seeing how few islands there are on the map (as of this writing, Mythology Island is coming soon), and (2) instead of the daily spin wheel, you’ll see a pop-up for daily login rewards of incremental credits. But there is a possibility for a Haxe-made account to enter the Flash dimension…
Can you switch from a Flash account to Haxe, and vice versa?
You can turn a Haxe account into a Flash account by logging in to the Poptropica mobile app. However, you can’t reverse this, and so, on the flip side: if yours is a Flash account, it can’t switch over to Haxe. Unless…
There is a way around this, but the method isn’t from Poptropica: you can idk’s unofficial Old Island Directory’s Format Loader to switch between the two.
How do you create a Flash account? And a Haxe account?
As mentioned above, you can convert an account to Flash just by logging into the Poptropica app. After that, Flash accounts will stay in Flash no matter what platform you use to log in.
When you create a new account via desktop computer on Poptropica.com, it will be in Haxe. Right now, Haxe accounts can only be made on a computer.
Will I keep my username and player name from Flash?
There’s no guarantee we’ll get to keep our usernames or player names from Flash after it’s gone. However, if you try to create an account on Haxe with a username that’s already taken by a Flash account, you won’t be able to. So it seems the collection of unique usernames between both platforms is shared. This could mean that as Flash nears its end, Poptropica may automatically switch all accounts to Haxe, or they may simply purge all Flash accounts (and usernames). Just speculating, though.
As for player names, we’ve previously noted how, with Haxe, player names don’t seem to be an important feature. Unlike the many combinational name possibilities we had on Flash, with Haxe there is only the small selection from the default characters on the home page—at least for now. But right now, there’s no indication Flash player names will transfer.
Picking one’s player name was a standard feature in Flash.
Another detail worth noting is that with Haxe, you can’t save usernames with punctuation marks. It might not feel like a big deal, but some Flash players may recall this as a method to claim an account with an otherwise common name without having to resort to adding a string of numbers.
So, what will happen to our Poptropica accounts after Flash is gone?
The short answer is: we don’t know for sure yet. Maybe we’ll get to keep our usernames, and as mentioned, there is some indication that at least our current outfits can be connected from Flash to Haxe.
As for the other stuff from our Flash days—like lists of friends, island medallions, costume closets—there’s no guarantee they’ll carry over.
The old friends page in Flash, showing off player medallions, costume closets, album photos, other friends’ pages, and more.Its redesign isn’t quite the same.
Poptropica hasn’t commented about this issue yet. But they’re working hard to bring a lot of the items we know and love from Flash to Haxe. Even if they’re not able to get everything (there have been a TON of items and customization options in the past decade, spanning many islands and characters), there’ll be plenty to play with. And they own all their artwork, so with more time, even after Flash, they may keep bringing things back.
Classic store items from the Flash era, like the Hot Dog costume, have recently resurfaced in Haxe.
So if you have a Flash account with years of energy put into it, enjoy what you’ve built while it lasts, and maybe save some pictures for the memories.
And if you’re planning to keep playing after 2020, consider starting a Haxe account now to build up your collection of items, credits, and more — just be careful to avoid the app, which would switch it to a Flash account.
What comes next? Stay tuned and join us for the ride. May the Poptropica spirit stay alive in the years to come. ✨
Hey everybody, it’s almost that special time of year when we all come together to celebrate the PHB’s birthday!
Of course, all are invited to share this momentous occasion with the PHB staff, where we’ll be announcing the winners of the 2020 Poppies. The big day is Saturday, July 25, so don your finest attire and prepare for a night of fanfare and fun! (The PHB’s birthday is technically the 26th, but we figure Saturdays are more festive.) I’ll drop the deets below:
🥳 WHO: All Poptropicans are invited! PHB staff will be there too!
🏆 WHAT: Hanging out in Poptropica’s common rooms in both Flash and Haxe (since people have accounts in both versions, and they’re not so easily interchangeable). Cheer on your picks for the awards and chat with Poptropicans on the PHC, where we’ll be revealing the Poppies winners!
🕖 WHEN: July 25, 2020 (Saturday) @ 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central / 7 p.m. Mountain / 6 p.m. Pacific. If you live in a different timezone, you can use a time zone converter to see what the time will be where you live.
🎉 WHY: To have fun while we announce the winners of the 2020 Poppies and commemorate 12 years of the PHB with the amazing Poptropica community!
Friendly reminder to go VOTE for the nominees you find most deserving of the Poppies awards if you haven’t already! Every vote matters, and the ones with the highest tally of votes will win. Time is of the essence: the voting round closes Wednesday, July 22! Again, here’s the link to the voting survey.
We can’t wait for the festivities to begin! Mark your calendars, spread the word, and prepare for a night to remember. A recap of the event will be posted here on the blog afterward. Stay tuned, stay safe, and…
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 