Howdy Poptropicans, it’s LJ here! After the fun I witnessed through my Pop The Difference game in February, I thought it’d be fun to have another little contest of sorts. Thus, it’s time to play Guess That Poptropican! Can you guess a random Poptropican character based off a small number of clues? There are three levels — easy, medium, and hard — on the basis of the specific character and the amount of clues provided. Test your skill!
Easy
Poptropican 1
I am involved in a love triangle
I have a violin song dedicated to me
I wear a necklace
I am a ghost
I’m the only character in the game with an audible voice
Poptropican 2
I come from an episodic island
I have a scar on my cheek
I am a lot like General Zaroff from the short story “The Most Dangerous Game”
I am a hunter
My catchphrase is “Tally ho!”
Medium
Poptropican 3
I am an accidental time traveler
I appear in three different works in the Poptropica franchise
I am clumsy
I like chocolate
Poptropican 4
I have an interest in advanced technology
I was a member of a secret organization
I am royalty
I wear a tall hat
Hard
Poptropican 5
I wear glasses
I know all about the celebrity gossip
My first and last names rhyme
Poptropican 6
I am an explorer extraordinaire
I discovered an island
I have my own commemorative plaque
In order for your answers to be considered correct you’ll need to list the exact name of the character in its entirety. The first person to get all 6 correct will win a drawing of their Poptropican by me. (You can check out my gallery on DeviantArt for a reference of my art.)
So send in your guesses to [email protected] for your chance to win. The results shall be posted as soon as I get them. 😉 Good luck and I’ll talk to you all in the next one. Pop on!
Howdy Poptropicans! A couple of weeks ago I posted 5 pairs of Poptropica images to see who could find all of the differences within them — where the quickest two would receive a drawing of their Poptropican by me. Let’s pop right into all of the answer reveals!
1) Inspection of the Imperial Garden
Green trees/red trees
No bush/bush
Flower on bush/missing flower
Clear sky/cloud in the sky
Yellow flowers/blue flowers
2) Casting about the Carnival
Blue pennant/purple pennant
Sock & Buskin/lack there of
Missing fried dough/fried dough present
Green balloon/yellow balloon
Blank area in the sky/star in the sky
3) Nanoscopic Pantoscopic
Conveyor/missing conveyor
Blue speaker dust cap/green speaker dust cap
“CLAP” on screen/blank screen
Bolt/absent bolt
Plain background/silhouette of crab
4) Eatery Exploration
Green soda/blue soda
Fish burritos on the menu/just burritos
Small pendant light/large pendant light
Note hanging on the bulletin board/missing note
Buttons/missing buttons
5) Scanning the Swarm
Skull on Sickly’s top/no skull
Poptropica blimp in background/blank space
Dr. Harold Langely/Octavian
Black dog/brown dog
Green balloon/purple ballooon
There were several people who participated in the game, but there were only a couple of participants who managed to catch all of the dissimilarities. Now it’s time to see who won!
The two speedy seekers who took the prize this time were none other than PHC regular, HfEvra, and frequent PHB commenter, Dangerous Dragon! Here are your Poptropican portraits as promised. I hope you like them! 😉
HfEvra
Dangerous Dragon
P.S. I’m sorry for the delay in the publishing of this post. There were some technical difficulties, but that’s life I guess. Anyway, thank you for reading and a special shoutout to all of you who tried. There’s always next time. Pop on!
Howdy, Poptropicans! It’s LJ here with another Pop The Difference special. It’s been nearly 3 years since the last one, so to say this is overdue is putting it mildly. Let’s not waste anymore time and pop right into it!
So here’s how the game works: Down below are five pairs of Poptropica images, each containing five differences. Some differences are easy to spot while others may be tougher. Are you up for the challenge?
The first two people to correctly spot all 25 differences (5 in each) will receive a drawing of their Poptropican by me. (Check out my DeviantArt page to get a glimpse of what you’re in for. :P)
Answers and winners will be revealed at some point in the next coming weeks. That’s it for now and I’ll talk to you all in the next one. Pop on!
Howdy, Poptropicans! It’s LJ and today I’d like to talk about the 12 astrology zodiac signs and the characters that I believe embody them. Let’s pop right into it! (disclaimer: dates may vary depending on the source)
♈ If you were born anywhere between March 20 and April 19, you are an Aries. Aries are said to be direct and confident leaders — and because he operates the infamous Sea Chicken ship and commands his very own pirate crew, I think Captain Crawfish best fits this description.
♉ Next are Taurus, which are those born from April 20 to May 20. Just like Aphrodite, Taurus are known for their relaxed and loving nature, and are extremely loyal as well.
♊ For the people born somewhere between May 21 and June 21, you may share a lot of similar traits to the intelligent CJ from Shrink Ray Island. Geminis are usually very intellectually curious and immersed in many hobbies. It takes a really smart cookie to invent a shrink ray!
♋ Elf Queen represents the Cancer sign. Cancers, born between June 22 and July 21, tend to be compassionate and caring individuals who carry a gentle demeanor. You may seem distant at times, but that’s just because you sometimes need your own space.
♌ Next are the Leos. Like Flashy Florian Fosbury, you’re most likely vivacious and proud. You might even come off as a diva every now and then. Leo birthdays range from July 22 to August 22.
♍ Virgos are born anywhere between August 23 and September 22, and are often logical, systematic, and diligent just like the supercomputer Holmes. He may be the villain of Game Show Island, but really he was just misguided. No one can deny his superb coordination skills.
♎ If you were born somewhere between September 23 and October 22, you belong to the Libra sign. I reckon you’re a charming, intuitive, and luxurious chum just like Mr. Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory island! I mean, who else can dazzle a group of kids in their very own whimsical chocolate factory?
♏ All hail the mighty and powerful Zeus — the representative for Scorpio! Born from October 23 to November 21, Scorpios are absolutely fearless and passionate in everything they do. Just look at how Zeus attempted to take over all of Poptropica not once, but twice! I suggest using your strengths for good instead of evil though.
♐ For those born between November 22 and December 21, you are a Sagittarius and are most like Harold Mews. Similar to the businessman, it’s likely that you’re a wild and adventurous explorer type who loves to tell stories about your discoveries.
♑ Next up is Capricorn as best portrayed by Oliver. Capricorn birthdays range from December 22 to January 20. Capricorns are known for their youthful and playful nature and are always ready to take on whatever steps in their way. They have a can-do attitude, optimistic outlook, and can sometimes be a little mischievous.
♒ All Aquarius, rise, for you share characteristics with possibly Poptropica’s most iconic character, himself — Dr. Hare! People born from January 21 to February 19 are rebellious, eccentric, and unusual (in the best possible way of course) in the way they carry themselves. Keep doing you!
♓ And finally, Pisces! Pisces, born between February 20 and March 19, are recognized for being visionaries. They are greatly imaginative and even a little mysterious on occasion. You’re just like the brilliant engineer Nikola Tesla from Mystery Train island.
And there you have it folks — the 12 zodiac signs as represented by your favorite Poptropica characters! I hope you got a kick out of this post. It was a pleasure writing it for you guys. Thank you for reading and I’ll talk to you in the next one. Pop on!
We may have tweaked a few of the fan questions for clarity, but Mr. Arya’s words below are verbatim. For a few of the answers, the PHB asked for clarification, and Ms. Natalie Shahmiri, the general manager of Poptropica, stepped in to answer on his behalf, so you’ll see her responses too. Without further ado, let’s pop all of the questions!
Introduction
Emma I: How does it feel to head up such a great game that has made so many childhoods?
Abhi: It feels great. Whenever I am in a room with Poptropica fans, I hear great kudos. Having association with a recognised game that continues to excite the gaming generation is a proud feeling. But I am not alone – I have a great team supporting me in this journey – in fact our game designers, developers and product team are much more passionate about Poptropica and they push me to do better for our players.
Theo (of Dimension Bros): How are Poptropicans so strong?
Abhi: Rumor has it that they descended from dinosaurs. Some people have said birds, which kind of are dinosaurs? Or maybe it’s just sheer willpower and determination. That’s probably it.
Dino DNA: Won’t find any cloning materials here.
The Future of the Game
Magniventris: What does 2021 hold for Poptropica? Will there be brand new islands, or will the focus be entirely on porting old islands to Haxe? If it’s on porting, how many islands do you project will be converted by the end of next year?
Abhi: We’re working on a mix of both, plus some remasters of the old islands. We’re also looking at ways to allow players to access the old islands once Flash isn’t widely supported anymore.
Natalie: Our current audience plays a big part in how we approach converting islands too. For example, the remastered Mythology island is a departure from the island you grew up with. It’s linear and definitely simpler (but still not too easy for a younger kid!). We have a lot to weigh when creating new content, from special events to remastered islands, so we don’t really know yet how many islands will be converted by next year. That’s also why we’re looking at options to ensure our older fans can still play the original Poptropica islands. We know how much the Poptropica you grew up with means to you and want to make sure you can always play that version.
Emma I: Will non-members be able to access old islands anytime soon, and when can we expect that to happen?
Abhi: The original islands use some old technologies that make it harder for us to support in a live environment. Limiting it to members-only keeps our systems from being overwhelmed and allows us to focus on the long-term decisions of how to keep them available. We’ll share more by the start of 2021.
Abhi: It’s something we’ve definitely been considering. We’re working on optimizing a lot of the player features right now, like the ability to add friends by username. We’re also working on some new ideas for player dashboards, which may incorporate customizable names or use usernames instead.
Small Beginnings: This was our very first attempt at designing your friends profile page.
Bee: Will there ever be a multiplayer option for playing through Poptropica islands with friends?
Abhi: Adding multiplayer to the older islands would be a little tricky since they were designed for a single-player experience, but we’re actively testing how to do this in new ways.
Purple Paw: Will the Photo Booth, Costumizer, and old Friends profiles be brought back? Why were these features taken out in the first place?
Abhi: The photo booth and old friends’ profiles weren’t very popular and were pretty dated. That’s the tough thing when you have a popular game for over 10 years, some things just start to feel out of place, especially for a new generation of players. Whenever we make these decisions we look at the data: what are users engaging with? If something no longer resonates with players we look at how we can update it or sometimes make the tough decision to remove it from the game.
Natalie: Engagement with things like the photo booth and old friend profile was less than 10% of the players. They were definitely fun features but as gaming has evolved, we need to evolve with it. We want to reintegrate features like that, but in a way that makes sense for today’s players.
The Photo Booth allowed you to create your own pictures from Poptropica art assets.
The old friends profile prior to the 2019 update had features like island albums, battle ranking, and more.
Invisible Ring: What’s the plan for Poptropica Worlds? Will there be more islands there, or will it eventually fuse with Poptropica Original?
Abhi: We had to pause development on Poptropica Worlds so we could focus on the conversion of Poptropica from Flash to Haxe. We’re still working on a plan for Poptropica Worlds, but for now, our focus is still on Poptropica.
The Pop Creators are focusing on Poptropica Original, not Poptropica Worlds.
Maxx: Will the old islands be adapted for the Poptropica app (iOS and Google Play)? (I really enjoyed playing Cryptids and Big Nate for the nostalgia factor, and would really like to replay them on the iPad.)
Abhi: Some of the older islands won’t be available on mobile in their original form. They were built using a version of ActionScript from prior to mobile games even existing! Since they can’t be converted there aren’t a lot of options outside of working on a way for players to still access and play them after Flash is no longer actively supported.
Mess of a Being: When recreating old Flash islands for Haxe, will you consider making changes to the stories, like with the new-ish 24 Carrot Island on Poptropica Worlds?
Abhi: Yes, this is definitely in the plans. We’re also tweaking some of the islands since we know there are spots that were too hard or confusing for players. Mythology Island that comes out in November will be the first island we’ve converted that will have changes to it.
Aphrodite now gives up her precious vanity mirror without a challenge.
Fandom Fun
wow: What do you think about the Poptropica fandom community?
Abhi: We wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for our fans. We’re actually bringing back our VIP program to help elevate our super fans. Stay tuned to the Poptropica Blog for more details coming out soon.
Theo (of Dimension Bros): Do you keep up with certain Poptropica fans’ postings (blogs, Instagram artists, YouTube channels, etc)? If so, which ones?
Abhi: We definitely do and Dimension Bros is one of them! We see almost everything tagged with Poptropica and regularly share our favorites among the Pop Creators. We’re also working to share them more on our blog and social media.
by @dimension_bros (drawn by @hfevra)
by @happyclonetrooper
Incredible Fire: Can we have another Create Your Dream Island contest? This monumental contest that gave us Arabian Nights Island happened 7 years ago, and many fans today would love the chance to participate.
Abhi: Definitely! How about after this interview gets posted we start the contest?
IsaacEntertains (of Dimension Bros): Since a few fans have sharedtheirlists, we’d like to know: who does the Poptropica team declare are the top 10 hottest Poptropica characters?
Abhi: That’s like asking a parent which kid is their favorite.
Creative Process
Emma I: What does the process of making an island look like?
Abhi: We actually just did a blog post about this for the Zomberry Special Event. To start off we talk about different story ideas and iterate on that until we have a story the whole team likes. From there we start storyboards so everyone knows the sequence of events and has an idea of what each scene will look like. The developers use the storyboards to start their initial coding while the artists start to make all the art and animations. There are a lot of meetings during those steps with feedback, changes, more feedback, and even more changes. It takes months for an island to be built because of how many scenes, mini-games, NPCs, and prizes need to be made. There’s also music that needs to be composed and of course, a lot of testing.
Artists use software to create in-game animations for Poptropica.
GEAR: How long does it take to make one character, from their initial design to putting them in the game?
Abhi: Anywhere from 1-2 weeks. Characters with a lot of animations take the longest.
GEAR: Are you hiring? How do people get involved in working with Poptropica, and what kind of skills/talents do you look for?
Abhi: If someone is new to game design and development it’s best if they keep a lookout for when we post internship opportunities. We look for all types of skillsets, from artists to animators to developers. Outside of game development, we have marketing, which includes making videos and social media posts, and analysts who help go through game data to see how things in the game are performing. There are a lot of ways to get involved with Poptropica, it just depends on what part of the game industry you want to get involved with.
The Poptropica team in 2016 celebrating the game’s 9th birthday with cake at the office.
PHB: What does the Poptropica team currently look like now? How many people are on the team and doing what kinds of work?
Abhi: The Poptropica team is made up of team members all around the world. We have artists, game developers, web developers, graphic designers, testers, and more. Maintaining and growing a game like Poptropica requires a lot of people!
PHB:Fans have noticed that Poptropica’s newer (and fewer) islands lack the depth of storytelling found in many of its older islands. Why has Poptropica strayed from this original vision, and will you return to this key element which made the game unique?
Abhi: Storytelling is still core to what Poptropica is and always will be. Creating a full island story and experience can take anywhere from 3-6 months and requires the full team. Since we’re still working on converting the old islands we’ve been creating some smaller and shorter experiences so you have something to do in-between the islands being converted.
The Zomberry Hero special event was a smaller and shorter experience released in October 2020 while island conversion was in progress.
Dangerous Icicle: Why are there so many ads in the Poptropica browser? (The whole screen is littered with ads, even ads for Poptropica, and the new video ads in between scenes were not well received.)
Abhi: We added more ad units to the game browser and in-between scenes due to demand. A lot of the new units, like in-between scenes, are being tested and may not stay permanently.
Natalie: The demand for more ads came from advertisers. COVID-19 has made most businesses change how they approach advertising and that impacted how our partners work with us. While we know players aren’t crazy about the ads, advertising is part of what funds the development of Poptropica. We’re always working to find the right balance.
With the recent inclusion of video ads, it is possible to encounter a full screen of ads while playing Poptropica. Sometimes the ads are for Poptropica itself!
Tyler N: What is Jeff Kinney’s involvement with Poptropica these days?
Abhi: He isn’t actively involved at the current moment since most of our efforts have been focused on converting the game from Flash to Haxe instead of new islands. Plus, he’s pretty busy with his book series!
Tyler N: What, if any, do plans for a Poptropica movie, TV show, or animated series look like right now? (It was hinted at in the Q&A with the previous Poptropica CEO.)
Abhi: This is something that we’re always considering. It takes time to make partnerships like this happen and isn’t something we’ve ruled out.
MaryannTheConqueror: Are there any plans for more Poptropica merch, and is there a way fans (especially the nostalgic ones) could be involved in creating/suggesting ideas for that? Many have some very cool ideas!
Abhi: We have a new shop launching in November and yes, we definitely want suggestions! We’ll let you all know more on the Poptropica Blog.
MaryannTheConqueror: Are the Poptropica Creators OK with small-scale sales of fan-made merch (such as through Etsy or at conventions, or print-on-demand sites like RedBubble)?
Abhi: I love fan art and creations that are inspired by Poptropica. Using our art and logo files for merch isn’t okay though.
Abhi: It’s an interesting idea and we often talk about how we can extend the stories outside of the main game. The core of our audience is still on the younger side, similar to when you probably started playing. It’s who the game is made for, so we have to stay true to that as our core focus.
Natalie: The majority of the Poptropica players are still under 13. We have over a million kids playing every month and while the PHB fandom is big, it doesn’t encompass all of our players. Similar to when a lot of you started playing, a lot of our players today are introduced to and play Poptropica in school. They also discover us through advertisements on kid-specific websites.
Oh Baby: Young at heart is usually good enough.
Mess of a Being and Tiny Bean: What do you have to say to criticism about the ending of Monster Carnival Island, which some fans have found problematic? (This fan video highlights the issues, explaining that Ringmaster Raven’s portrayal plays into ugly stereotypes and that he is given disproportionately unfair treatment by the townsfolk.)
Abhi: I totally get it. This is definitely one of those instances where you know the intent doesn’t align with the issue and you have to ask, “How was this affected by implicit bias?” We’re actually auditing all the islands for this reason and have already revised Monster Carnival for its conversion to Haxe. I appreciate that players bring this to our attention. It’s the only way we can all collectively move forward in the right direction.
Ringmaster Raven deserved better.
PHB: What is the current vision of Poptropica in terms of how it hopes to impact the next generation?
Abhi: I want Poptropica to continue to inspire young fans around the world. Gaming has changed a lot since Poptropica was first introduced and I’m proud of the fact that kids still love our characters and stories. Seeing videos of people coming to play Poptropica after 10 years and their enthusiasm for the game is amazing. All of the fan art (and fanfiction) is inspiring and shows that Poptropica holds a place in players’ hearts.
Abhi: Poptropica always has been and always will be inclusive. It’s part of why we want players to be able to customize their characters however they want and why we removed the gender selector when setting up an account. I don’t think we have any characters where their gender identity or sexual orientation plays a role in the story, but it’s something I think we should consider for future islands. Representation matters and we’ll always work to create a place where everyone feels like they belong.
Abhi: Dr. Beev is an enigma. He does periodically show up for parties though.
Nice gnawing you too, Dr. Beev.
You made it to the end! Thanks so much to Abhi and Natalie for joining us on this Q&A and taking the time to address some fan questions and concerns. It’s assuring to hear there are big plans for Poptropica even beyond the end of Flash gaming!
What did you all think of their responses? What further questions do you have for the Poptropica team? Share your thoughts in the comments below and on the PHC Discord!
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