Web Development – Page 5 – 🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got a couple of Mocktropica-adjacent updates to share this weekend. Let’s start with the fun one…

With the end of September comes the conclusion of Poptropica’s #DrBeev mini art contest to draw the beloved furry doctor of Mocktropica Island in one’s own style. Check out the beev-tiful creations they featured on their Instagram story on Thursday:

Although they mentioned a prize of 10,000 credits in their original post about the drawing challenge, we haven’t heard any word yet about anyone receiving the prize. We’ll let you know if we get an update!

Dr. Beev isn’t the only thing Poptropicans are drawing! Have you seen the Poptober drawing challenge yet? It’ll give you plenty of ideas for Poptropica inspired creations throughout the month of October!

Check out this artwork from the PHB’s own Lucky Joker for the first Poptober prompt, “Island.” In this case, he went with Ghost Story Island and the love triangle of the tale. Learn more about Poptober here!

“Triade D’amour (Poptober Day 1: Island)” by Lucky Joker

And for more Poptropica fan art, check out Community Creations! This month’s theme is “Monsters.” 🐲

In other not-so-fun news, an unwelcome surprise may now greet you as you travel from scene to scene in Poptropica: full game screen video ads.

With sidebar ads, footer ads including a video ad already, and now the full game screen video ad, the Poptropica browser is literally all ads.

The ads so far have been for kids’ products like Nerf guns, Minecraft Dungeons, and LEGO Mario. (Thanks to Dangerous Icicle and Gentle Dolphin for their reporting.)

The ads are about 15 seconds long and are not skippable. So far, these ads only appear in the Haxe version of the game. They don’t show up every time, but they do appear every now and then, and a regular loading screen will come up after the ad itself ends.

And yes, they’re rather annoying.

This isn’t the first time Poptropica has tried to do this, either. Back in 2014, video ads also appeared in between scenes to advertise for Galactic Hot Dogs, a book series owned by Poptropica’s parent company StoryArc Media which also has its own Poptropica island. After receiving much backlash from players, the video ads disappeared within a month.

Plus, doesn’t this bear some resemblance to yet another aspect of Mocktropica Island? Mocktropica has turned out to be something of a prophecy for Poptropica’s current state for quite some time now…

A scene from Mocktropica Island where the player is charged for simply trying to leave a scene in the game.

With this stunt, Poptropica seems more desperate than ever to make money from and for the game. We don’t know what their financial situation looks like, but can only make guesses from moves like this one that it seems, more than ever, that things aren’t going well.

Video ads you’re forced to view are an easy way for Poptropica to make a buck, and definitely much quicker than creating a whole island for advertising, but it comes at a great cost in a different way: the players’ user experience. Who wants to play a game where the screen is all ads? And ultimately, there is no Poptropica without the players.

So for Poptropica to be willing to sacrifice that, despite their long track record of creating actual non-intrusive engaging ads in the past, is a big sign that either they care more about lining their pockets than their players’ experiences, or they’ve hit a low enough point they’ll do whatever it takes to make enough to keep Poptropica afloat.

We may love Dr. Beev but we certainly don’t love the other elements Poptropica is borrowing from Mocktropica Island! Do you agree? What do you think? Share with us in the comments and on the PHC!

“Poptober Day 2: Carnival” by Magniventris

On a lighter note, we hope you’ll join us for Poptober and Community Creations this month! And there’s at least one more big event to look out for this spooky season: the PHB’s Halloween costume contest! Details dropping very soon, so stay tuned… 🎃

~🐠

Creators, Fan Art Features, Social Media, Web Development

#ThanksKinney, for the Poptropica memories

September 12, 2020June 6, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! The Poptropica Creators have been on a roll lately with their social media, bringing us throwbacks, fun facts, and even a splash of magnanimity! Let’s pop in and take a look.

The Poptropica Creators’ Blog and Instagram spotlighted Jeff Kinney — the man who started Poptropica, yet is better known as the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series — and invited fans to “let Mr. Kinney know how much Poptropica means to everyone” by sharing Poptropica memories that they promise they’ll share on social media and even with Mr. Kinney himself! You can create fan art, write letters, make videos, and more with the hashtag #ThanksKinney so the Creators can see.

Jeff Kinney with the proposed Dr. Hare’s Lair LEGO set which ran an unsuccessful but fun campaign in 2013.

On Instagram, the PHB (we’re @poptropicahare) asked if Jeff Kinney still gets involved with Poptropica’s development. The Creators liked the comment, but didn’t answer. Guess we’ll take that as a no…?

Other fans have been wondering about the founder’s silence about the game he created as well. In 2018, the PHB published a guest post that touches on Mr. Kinney’s deep investment into Wimpy Kid at the expense of leaving Poptropica behind. Even if he doesn’t come back to Poptropica, we hope his vision for the game can remain.

Still, #ThanksKinney for starting it all! And if you have Poptropica memories or creations to share, the deadline is September 20 (Sunday).

The Creators have been active on Instagram with two new stories featuring fan posts: one an animation of a dancing Binary Bard from @neon.bug, the other a fun fact about Monster Carnival characters from @happyclonetrooper. By the way, for more Poptropica fun facts, check out the trivia section at the end of all our PHB island guides!

Oh, and there’s more from Instagram: in an unusual act of spontaneous generosity, the Creators also reached out to Dimension Bros, the YouTuber duo behind Poptropica Month, to offer them free memberships! Here’s Theo’s first reaction of experiencing the Poptropica heavens open with access to newly unlocked features, including thousands of bonus credits to spend in the stores:

Theo also shared with the PHB that the gifted membership doesn’t expire until December 31, 2022 according to his account settings—which adds up to about 2 years and 4 months! That’s literally impossible for us regular plebs to attain, not counting auto-renewals, since you can only buy up to a year of membership at once.

The screenshot of the holy grail of Poptropica status.

This also seems to be the first time the Creators have ever given out free memberships outside of people winning their (and occasionally the PHB’s) contests. Pretty cool—hey Creators, want to hook us up too? 😉

In other news, as you may have noticed, the PHB website has a new look! Our previous theme from WordPress (which is the blogging platform we use) has been retired, so to keep things running for future updates, we’ve switched over to a new theme called Dara.

It may take a little getting used to, but we’ve tried to find one with similar elements to the previous. This new theme comes with bigger fonts and easy access to the PHB’s socials via the buttons on top, so we hope you’ll come to love it like we do!

And finally, after 8 days of tasks, achievements, and recycled gameplay, the activities on Paradise Island have come to a stop—at least for now. If you’ve made it past the day with the PoptropiCon “festival,” future days simply consist of logging in for daily credit rewards, which you can use to decorate your island, home, pets, or character.

At last, kick back and enjoy the waterfront… and the calming tropical music.

With Poptropica’s birthday month in full swing, there’s plenty going on in the fandom these days! Join in on creating and/or watching Poptropica Month videos, party with Dr. Beev stans next week, make something mask-related for Community Creations, and of course, give a #ThanksKinney for making this all possible. Pop on, Poptropicans. 🎉

~Slanted Fish 🐠

Escape from Pelican Rock Island, Haxe Javascript, Member Gifts, Membership, Social Media, Time Tangled Island

Tea time tangled with video unveiled

September 2, 2020January 9, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, here’s the latest tea… *slow sip* ☕️ Here we go!

It’s a new month—hello September!—which means new member gifts! Members who log in this month will receive Earbuds (basically AirPods), Roller Skates, and three shades of Boba Tea. No special actions this time—not even on the skates.

This stuff’s pretty cool, but the name “boba tea” doesn’t hit quite right: it’s usually either “boba” or “bubble tea.” Bubble tea (or boba), in case you haven’t had the pleasure yet, is a tea-based drink invented in Taiwan with chewy tapioca “bubbles” and comes in many delicious flavors. Try it sometime!

Another win for the future of Poptropica: Time Tangled Island has been ported over to Haxe! It’s currently members only, but presumably it will be released for everyone at some point, since Escape From Pelican Rock Island was also just released for all after first showing up on Haxe for members only back in July.

Update: Unlike other Haxe islands, there’s no Quippy in the common room on the Haxe version of Time Tangled, which means no store of exclusive items. 😟 Will the Creators add it in the future? We’ll have to see…

September is a special month on Poptropica because it’s the game’s birthday month! You may recall a guest post on the PHB about a “Poptropica Month” of videos hosted by Dimension Bros on YouTube. The Poptropica Creators’ Blog has joined in the fun by spotlighting the event’s kickoff video! Watch it here:

It’s not often the Poptropica Creators give a shout-out to fan creators on the official blog, but it’s always a nice surprise when they do! They’ve shared some fan art from the community (some for their official contests, and others just for fun), but the last time a fan video was highlighted might’ve been back in 2017 with Thinknoodles’ Poptropica Worlds videos.

Anyway, the Creators’ Blog post promises more festivities to come, saying, “Check back here for more from the Poptropica Creators to celebrate our birthday month!” There’s something to look forward to! 🎉

Whether or not you’ve ever made a Poptropica video before, you’re super welcome to join in on Poptropica Month. And stay tuned for more birthday celebrations!

Last but not least, the Pop Creators put out a question on their Instagram story this week, asking, “Do you play more games on your phone or on your computer?” If you’re on Instagram, you can let them know before the story disappears!

That’s all the tea we’ve got for you! Will you join us for Poptropica Month? Or Community Creations? (Our latest theme is “Masks”! 😷) What island do you want to see ported over to Haxe next? And have you tried bubble tea? Share your thoughts with us on the PHC Discord or in the comments below!

~Slanted Fish 🐠

Haxe Javascript, Home Island, Store

Customization in the age of Haxe (or lack thereof)

July 22, 2020July 21, 2020 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, you need look no further for the news—and this time, it’s all about the looks. Let’s pop in.

First, new store items are here! Poptropica actually missed last week, which is the first time that’s happened since they made the store rotations weekly.

The non-costume categories haven’t changed since the last rotation, so only the store’s costumes are pictured above. This week’s items are:

Costumes: Lumberjerk (male and female), Boho Chic*, Furry Monster 4 (two different versions)*, Magician (male and female)*, Friendly Face Masks, Mud Pie, Rockstar, Mech Pilot*, Clown, Pig#, Bottle Cap#, Ringmaster*, Cool Boy Plush#, Shark Plush*, Milk Box#
Followers: Deer, Dryad, Dolphin*, Mini Astroknight*
Powers: Hypno-Powder, (Cinnamon Fire) PopGum, Raven Swarm*, Fireworks*
Pranks: Hypno-Powder, Octo Prank, Silly Streams
Misc: (Cinnamon Fire) PopGum, Coconut Drink#, Cool Boy Plush#, Shark Plush*, Colorizer*

As is the norm these days, about half of the store stock is for members only. Still, both non-members and members have the chance to snag some great deals with several items at 75 credits (marked with #): the Pig, Bottle Cap, and Milk Box costumes, plus the Cool Boy Plush and Coconut Drink.

Interesting detail: the handheld plushie of the Shark Tooth Island character previously known as Shark Boy before his erasure is not called “Shark Guy” as he later came to be known, but now, the item is simply “Shark Plush” despite not being a shark but rather a dude in a shark suit. 🦈

If you’re playing in Haxe, you may also notice that a couple of NPCs have gotten makeovers! The person in front of the store is now a golden-haired girl, and the lady by the New You building has gotten a glow-up.

(You can see what they used to look like in our post about summer coming to Home Island on Haxe.)

That’s not all that’s new in looks. If you head over to the home page to create a new character with one of the default picks, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can further customize your character before diving into the game.

We’ve seen this orange customization screen before, back before “pick a character” became a thing. And new players can still access it by speaking to Amelia, the girl on the Home Island bridge. But it’s interesting to now have it show up right after picking a default character design, when it seemed the whole point of that was to skip the step of customization from the beginning.

However, when the “pick a character” update first rolled out, players had commented on how it took away from the fun of carefully crafting one’s character right from the get-go. For them, this reversion may be a welcome update. But having both a simplified selection screen and a customization screen seems odd—what about the new player who carefully selects a default character only to realize it could’ve been altered all along? Will this inclusion of both features be temporary?

Speaking of customization, there’s been a startling development: the beloved Costumizer tool—the green shirt button which allows you to “steal” clothing parts from other characters—has disappeared from most areas in Haxe. Will it return, or are the Creators sabotaging the fun in yet another way? We can only hope this is temporary, but it’s hard to tell…

That’s all for this post. Be sure to check out our previous posts to catch up on other Poptropica news, and see you at the Poppies this weekend! 🏆

~slantedfish 🐠

24 Carrot Island, Advertisements, Membership, Web Development

Road to Poptropica’s membership-laden future

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 Gentle Dolphin

Hi, everyone! Gentle Dolphin here bringing the latest news. Let’s take a look at some of the latest updates over on Poptropica’s Haxe build…

This feature is similar to the quest log from Poptropica Worlds. The main difference is that the Worlds quest log has a more detailed list of objectives, while Haxe’s quest roadmap only highlights the main story points. So far, the roadmap feature is only available on 24 Carrot Island, but it’s likely to make its way to other islands in the near future. For more in-depth guides, though, check out our written walkthroughs!

quests

Remember the three loading screens that were added to the Haxe build last month? Well, they have been replaced with six brand new loading screens, full of Poptropicans flexing their fanciest selves:

These new screens look cool and give a sneak peek at some future items (bubble tea? AirPods??), but they highlight a key element that has been plaguing players for a long time: membership.

All but one of the new screens mention the incredible perks of having a membership (exclusive items, access to all islands, and so on). It’s no secret that these constant reminders leave many of us unamused and annoyed, especially since not many people are able (or willing) to shell out ~US$3.50 a month for extra items. Is Poptropica prioritizing membership over the general player experience? That’s an entire debate that’s been going on for years, and not dying down anytime soon, it seems.

On a lighter note, saving a new account now rewards you with 350 credits instead of 75 credits. This is a nice start for new players, so they can go ahead and buy more items like a new outfit or a few pet accessories.

Our final Haxe update is a rather odd one. When you walk around Home Island, you may notice that the area appears to have been cropped so you can’t see the outer edges of the island. This is most noticeable when you walk to the left and discover that you can not access the movie theater. I know the theater wasn’t too popular, but why would they basically crop it out of Home Island? Do you guys have any ideas?

Ever since the massive advertisement that was American Girl: Joss’s Island ran its course, some of us have been wondering when a smaller ad on would appear on Poptropica. Suddenly, a new advertisement magically appeared to charm players across both Haxe and Flash platforms.

Our new ad is for the upcoming Disney Channel movie Upside-Down Magic, based on the titular book by Sarah Mlynowski. Watch a short trailer to receive the adorable Dritten Follower.

That’s all for now. What do you think of these little changes? By the way, don’t forget to cast your votes for this year’s Poppies before Wednesday, July 22! Stay tuned for the big celebration on Saturday, July 25, where we will announce the winners and hang out in the PHC Discord server.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬