Social Media – Page 33 – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

Today we’ve got Poptropica Worlds, but Poptropica Original is the game where it all began over ten years ago. However, the OG Pop is on its way out.

Though we’ve made mention of the situation a few times here on the PHB, we haven’t yet discussed it on the blog in great depth. The bottom line, however, is simple: Poptropica Original was built on Flash, a technology that will no longer be supported by 2020. That’s why Worlds was created to continue the legacy on a newer technology, Unity.

The question of what will happen to Poptropica Original is best explained in this Facebook post from the Poptropica Creators, written December 2017:

Here are the main takeaways of that post:

With the departure of Flash by the end of the year 2020, Poptropica Original as we know it is likely to be inaccessible by the arrival of 2021.
Poptropica continues to own the intellectual property that makes up Pop Original—all the art, characters, stories, etc. They’ll be using that, along with new ideas, in their future creations, as we’ve seen from Worlds so far with islands like the remade 24 Carrot or Mythology-inspired, yet original Greek Sea Odyssey.
It’s not just limited to islands on the web or mobile—Poptropica hopes to go where kids go, which could mean more books, comics, or something new.

So that’s that. As it’s 2018, we still have about two years to enjoy Poptropica Original: all its nearly 50 islands, tons of customization options (especially with glitching!), multiplayer functions, and more. Make the most of it and go explore, collect, and compete your heart out on this digital playground while you still can!

And where can we expect the new Poptropica Worlds to lead?

While Pop Original will still be around for as long as it’s able to stick around, expect most updates to come through on Worlds (though, oddly enough, we’re also getting March Prizes on Pop Original?). We’ll continue to keep you all posted with the latest news, both Original and Worlds, but the Creators haven’t been offering much on social media lately (and their blog hasn’t seen a new post since December).

With the recent layoffs of several high-up Poptropica Creators, a mass unfollowing of fans on Twitter, and now, this tweet from former Pop social media manager Jessica Devine (Skinny Moon), it seems things aren’t looking so good with the current management at Poptropica HQ.

In Jessica’s tweet, she links to a Verge article (link warning: some strong language used) about the “toxic culture” at another game studio that started out small, then grew so fast that it often pushed employees too hard in the race to put out new content. According to Jessica, “not all of it, but a good amount” resonates with her (and former coworker Mitch Krpata’s) experience working at Poptropica.

That sounds a little familiar @mkrpata. Not all of it – but a good amount. Sigh.

— Jessica (@JDevineCreative) March 21, 2018

Whatever’s going on at Poptropica HQ right now, it’s leaving a lot of Poptropicans confused and apprehensive. Current Creators, if you are reading this, please step up your game (literally). Don’t burn yourselves out, but do give us an update here and there!

In the next two years, let’s hope that Poptropica Worlds can catch up some more with the original game, and bring us more of that Poptropica magic we’ve been in love with for so long. But we could use some more assurance from Pop HQ.

As much as we loved the original, we know it’s not going to last. But let’s build a brighter future on Worlds (and beyond, if Poptropica lives up to its statement of being a whole ecosystem). We’ve got lots of ideas. It’s not over yet.

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Creators, Social Media

Old sketches, Original updates, and a mass unfollowing

March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 Silver Wolf

Hiya, Silver Wolf here with some social media news and special art!

To start with, Nate Greenwall, the inventor of Dr. Hare who was recently let go from Poptropica, tweeted some really cool sneak peeks of old sketches! These drawings include costumes, buildings, and diagrams of islands.

The first photo contains many of the costumes we know and love today (including Captain Crawfish’s costume itself), but the second photo is where it gets more interesting. Most of the drawings are of scenes we have already seen from Shark Tooth, but there is one piece of paper that is cut off, describing an unknown island. It appears to end with an R, and there is a sketch labeled “GHOST SHIP” that has jellyfish obstacles, requiring you to talk to ghosts to get a combination for a chest. It looks less fleshed out than the other sketches, so it’s likely that it was never planned to be released.

The items in the third photo are also interesting, especially since you can see a small portion of what looks like an early version of the Flying Squid tribe room. There are also some sketches of the cheese curd factory on Mocktropica, including an odd drawing of a machine twisting a cow to get milk.

In other news, recently on Instagram, user karin2_arts asked under one of Poptropica’s photographs (@poptropicacreators) whether there will be any more updates coming to Poptropica Original. And somewhat surprisingly, they said yes!

So what could these updates include? Well, I have a feeling there won’t be a new island; after all, Poptropica Worlds will likely have all of the Original’s islands eventually, so there wouldn’t really be a point. Some more plausible updates could be new costumes, updates to Home Island, or possibly even a new mini-quest if we’re being ambitious. But who knows? Maybe the Creators will surprise us again!

Speaking of Creators, the official Poptropica Twitter (@Poptropica) has unfollowed hundreds of people, narrowing it down to just 19 accounts (the PHB’s Twitter is one of the few not unfollowed). One of the people unfollowed includes Jessica, also known as Skinny Moon, the previous social media manager. She tweeted:

And they pretty much unfollowed everyone. Part of being on social media is being SOCIAL and not elitist. Follow your fans back @Poptropica. #notcool

— Jessica (@PopGirlJess) March 7, 2018

She’s not wrong. After all, she brought the community together and made people excited for updates; Poptropica should value her opinion. Elitism creates isolation, and isolation creates unhappiness. Jessica also mentioned that this new social media direction could be because of employee changes:

I don’t know who’s running the social media, now that most of the company is gone. But it stinks seeing everything get dismantled. 😞

— Jessica (@PopGirlJess) March 7, 2018

We’ve known that some senior Poptropica employees have recently been let go, but she says “most of the company is gone.” What does this mean for Poptropica’s future? How will updates be done in a timely manner with few employees? Right now, the future of Poptropica is looking pretty grim…

What do you think of the sketches? Or the promise of updates coming to Poptropica Original worked on by unfamiliar employees? Leave your thoughts below!

–SW 🐺

Mythology Island, Social Media

What’s the Next Poptropica Worlds Island?

February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 Fierce Flyer

Hello there fellow readers, Fierce Flyer here, or shall I say, Detective Fierce!

So, as you’ve probably noticed, Poptropica Worlds has been rather inactive lately—the last update was two months ago! However, we do know the Creators have been working on a new Island…

We're working hard on a new island. We may actually have something to announce on that soon!

— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) January 24, 2018

Just one thing: exactly what Island is coming out? Join me on this investigation, and let’s predict the next Island to be released on Poptropica Worlds!

Twitter Tip-offs

Back in October 2017, the Poptropica Creators’ Twitter gave us this sneak peek on a new Island that will serve as our first lead in this investigation:

This can be a number of things right off the bat, though my immediate instinct is Mythology Island. Other possibilities could be: Time Tangled Island (could be back in time), an awesomely renovated Realms (though unlikely) or maybe even an entirely different Island.

But maybe they’ve canceled it or been working on something else since then? We haven’t heard much else. Though this recent tweet, and the one above, might offer hope:

Happy February! We plan to make it a big one on Poptropica Worlds.

— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) February 1, 2018

Let’s try to figure out what big things are happening…

Facebook Failures

Nothing of interest here—they haven’t posted on Facebook since Dec. 18, 2017.

Creators’ Blog Case

Surprisingly enough, looking over at the Poptropica Creators’ Blog, I discovered some pretty interesting stuff that might give me the clues for cracking this mystery. As I was scrolling through past posts, I stumbled upon a post about Cryptids Island from August. The post itself was quite random, having no updates and serving as more of a filler.

Recalling a memory in the back of my mind about when the post was made, I checked Twitter again. There, I found a string of tweets from the Creators promoting other Islands from Original Poptropica. These were, in order: Nabooti, Mythology, Arabian Nights, Cryptids, and Time Tangled Island.

However, these tweets (all tagged with #FridayFacts) were just for fun and didn’t offer any insights on new updates.

Did you know that Chupacabra, an urban legend, was first seen in Puerto Rico? That's one monster I wouldn't want to run in to! #FridayFacts pic.twitter.com/shJssrk3iX

— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) August 11, 2017

Moving on…

Instagram Investigation

Eureka! Earlier today, the Creators posted a brand new sneak peek on their Instagram. Along with the Twitter image above, and the evidence gathered, I believe we can make a pretty good guess as to what the next Island will be…

Posted with the caption “Ascend to the throne!”, this may be the last true piece of evidence for making a prediction. Time Tangled Island? I think not. If you take a closer look at the the chair, you can see the framing made of glowing lightning bolts. The scenery colors also look very familiar to a boss battle scene from the Original Pop. I think I just might know what Island this could be…

What Island: Mythology Island!
When: Sometime in February or March!

From the clues, it’s clear as day that Mythology is the next and newest Island to be released on Poptropica Worlds, and it’ll be here soon! And, like the new 24 Carrot Island released several months ago, it’ll likely be a remastered version coming to Worlds.

Judging from those recent tweets and how awesome it looks, I’d say it appears to be near finished. Big news was on its way this month according to Twitter, so if all goes according to plan, it should be here sometime February, or at least by March!

For all you Poptropicans eagerly waiting to complete another Island, the skies are looking bright, or shall I say… stormy! You know, because of Zeus’s lightning bolts… stormy skies… okay, I’ll stop. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Follow Poptropica on social media:
Facebook | Creators’ Blog | Twitter | Instagram

~Detective Flyer 🔍✈

Advertisements, Legendary Swords, Social Media

Legendary, All-Bright Sabers

December 9, 2017December 11, 2017 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! It’s Slanted Fish, popping in with the latest.

To start with, Legendary Swords is back on Poptropica Original—it’s a mini-quest where you hack and slash your way past evil robots on a distant planet. Check out our Legendary Swords Guide here if you need some pointers!

While Legendary Swords used to be a store item, it was removed some time ago (for reasons unknown). Now you can find it on the Map as an island, and it comes with a sweet medallion when you complete it.

The sad news for some of us is this: it’s for members only.

If you know your Legendary Swords history, you may recall that it originally came out in 2011 as Free+, which meant the game was free for everyone, but members could have special benefits (in this case, more swords). In 2013, it was labeled as Free, period.

Sometime in the past couple years or so, LS and some other items have mysteriously been pulled from the store. While it’s great to see this adventure return, seeing it come back as members only seems likely to exacerbate concerns about the conflict of Creators’ commitment to both players and revenue streams. What do you think?

Speaking of swords, you can snag yourself a brand new glowing one over on Poptropica Worlds! If you go into your house and watch the short video clip on your TV for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, you’ll be awarded with this cyan blue lightsaber:

UPDATE (Dec 11): The reward is now a red lightsaber, with red light coming out of the sides as well!

Thanks to Young Hippo (Jersey Devil) for the lightsaber images.

You can also get in on some Star Wars action on Poptropica Original—by watching the same clip on Home Island, you can win (not for the first time) a BB-8 Follower!

One last cool thing for this post: check out this snapshot from Poptropica HQ! It’s got a giant poster of a stylized Spencer Albright, from the Poptropica graphic novels, with the caption “The Curator.” Pretty neat!

Hard at work in our new office, under the watchful eyes of Spencer Albright! pic.twitter.com/WVHjFB3ptk

— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) December 5, 2017

Also: “new office”? Presumably still in Boston, but I wonder why they moved!

Anyway, that’s all for now. Let us know what you think of the Legendary Swords return, Star Wars items, and Spencer Albright poster in the comments below! Stay popping, Poptropping trotters. 🐫

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