Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Dangerous Dragon. Enjoy!
Hello Poptropicans, I was just heading to my house, which is fully constructed! I’m going to the opening ceremony, so I’ll talk to you later…
Phew! So much work! I met my friends there and I cut the ribbon now I’m inside. Anyway, it’s your turn to see…
When you enter, on the ground floor to the right there is a gaming room for playing Poptropica! It comes with two chairs so that anyone who visits can also sit with me. My Alexa smart speaker makes it easy for me to control my equipment. There are two speakers for high audio, and you might see some customization on the fridge. I put a gaming poster on it. It looks pretty cool! What other customization do you think I should add?
To the left is a peaceful place to relax and watch TV. I’m putting on my favourite movie: “Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph breaks the internet.”
Let’s go up… Above my TV room is a reading room. Just enjoy reading and increase your knowledge!
And over to the right side you have my bedroom! A simple bed and my place to keep my laptop and write for Poptropica. It is lit with candles.
Over to the next floor we have my pet girl Joy’s home! There is the kennel which has her bone. I have a game for her and a ball of yarn to chew on with the bone!
Let’s exercise! In the final room, we have a trampoline, a motivating poster, a hoop, a drink machine for energy, and a water cooler too.
Before I go, did anyone notice my new look? What do you think?
And finally, I have posted a mini writing competition in the comments of the PHB’s Community page! The challenge is to write your own Poptropica side quest. I’m pushing the deadline to April 15, so read the challenge guidelines and keep the entries coming!
That wraps up my house tour. Do visit; my username is AxrnavKrumar on Poptropica! This is DD popping out. Keep popping, Poptropicans!
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish here with a behind-the-scenes look at the Poptropica Creators’ creative process! 👀✏️
Operating System: When technology meets talent, anything is possible.
About a month ago, I sent the Pop Creators several interview questions, and this week, the questions were answered! You can catch the full interview on the Creators’ Blog as well as below, along with some additional notes (in italics) here in the PHB edition:
Where do you get your ideas from?
We get a lot of ideas when we’re together talking about our favorite things. That inspires a lot of creative fun ideas. Pets came from the idea that almost everyone on the Poptropica Creators team [h]as pets and the types of pets varies from dogs to cats to rabbits and more.
We also get a lot of ideas from players. Poptropica players are always sharing super cool stuff that they want to see in the game. We get awesome fan mail and see people’s ideas on social media too.
(PHB’s note: We share ideas from the community here on the PHB as well — check out our Pop Petitions for things we want to see in the game!)
What does the process of making something on Poptropica look like from start to finish, whether it’s an item, island, or character?
We’ll use the new store we’re working on as an example! First, everyone on the team does research. We go through player feedback on what people have and haven’t liked about the Poptropica store over the years. We also look at other stores, including stores IRL. Then we start to concept what we want the store to be like. We have to come up with designs that will be easy to use both on your computer and on mobile.
After the sketches are done, some of the artists will start to design the actual scene with color and place items, so we get an idea of how big it needs to be. Once everyone feels like it has what it needs, it goes to the developers.
The developers are the ones who bring the whole thing to life. They code the entire experience and that’s the first time any of the Poptropica Creators can actually play what they’ve designed! We just did our first play-through of the new store and were psyched with how it’s come along.
Everything we make requires the whole team and takes a lot of time. It’s totally worth it though!
(PHB’s note: Check out these sneak peeks for the upcoming interior of the store! Also, it’s cool to hear about how different parts of the team work together to create the game’s designs.)
Can you share some snapshots of what you’re working on?
Here [are] some more sneak peeks [for] the new Fairy Tale Island!
“Forest detail”
“Huntsman”
(PHB’s note: Nice pics! We’ve also shared more sneak peeks of Fairy Tale Island on this blog. Stay tuned to the PHB for the latest news on this upcoming adventure! Also, thoughts on this new hands-on-hips pose?)
What kind of stories do you hope to tell?
We love unique stories with a fun twist. Elements of surprise are always super fun too. When we’re brainstorming new ideas or choosing winners for the Dream Island Contest, we’re looking for things that we think we would love to read as a book. If it would make a good book, then it would make a great island!
(PHB’s note: Interesting. We love a good book too, but a Poptropica island is not a book — wouldn’t it be cool to explore more on the affordances of Poptropica’s platform? Interactivity, non-linear storytelling, social interaction, and more are all possibilities with digital storytelling that you would not find with a book. Still, there are certain elements that make up a good story no matter the medium, and we always look forward to what stories will be told through Poptropica!)
How do you gather player feedback and how does it influence the game?
Players share their feedback in a lot of different places, from actual mail to videos online. There is always a lot of feedback and it ranges from super fun ideas to questions about why we’ve made changes to Poptropica. When we get a lot of the same feedback from different players it can definitely influence what we do. For example, there have been a lot of requests for more ways to customize your character now that New You is gone. We’re already incorporating that into the new features we’re working on.
(PHB’s note: Why is New You gone, anyway? BTW, if you have feedback for the Creators, you can send them through their submission form!)
What advice do you have for young creatives who want to work on a game like Poptropica one day?
If you’re passionate about making games, start learning no matter what age you are. One of the newest developers on the Poptropica Creators team started learning how to code when they were 12, and that was before there were so many amazing online courses! Always be open to learning new things and be willing to put in the hard work and dedication to become really good at it. Sometimes starting something new can feel hard, but with practice, anyone can become great!
That’s the end of the interview! Thank you, Poptropica Creators, for taking the time to answer these questions and give Poptropicans everywhere some insight into the game’s inner (and outer) workings. It’s hard work building this space to be quality fun, but well worth it! 💙
What are your thoughts on the Q&A? What questions do you have for the Pop Creators? Share them in the comments here, and/or on the original guest post on their blog, and they may be addressed in the future!
This is a guest post from Cheerful Comet sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey.Enjoy!
Hey Poptropicans! My name is Cheerful Comet and I am here to share with you how I got into Poptropica. I started playing Poptropica in 2012 when I was 8 years old, and now I am 16.
2012–2014 | My neighbor’s introduction
My neighbor was the one who introduced me to Poptropica. His Poptropican’s name was Thirsty Cactus and he had 5 medallions. When I first saw the game, I watched him log in and start playing SOS Island, which was new at that time. He recommended that I play this game.
But to be honest, I did not really like it. I would just go island to island, exploring the place and changing my outfits. This went on for a long time. I made a million Poptropica accounts which I never touched again.
Things changed when I moved out from my apartment, and my neighbor gave me his account username and password. I logged into his account and found myself on the cliff of Super Villain Island (Home Island did not exist back then). It was super hard for me to climb those cliffs, but I enjoyed it once I entered Dr Hare’s dream.
Dr. Hare’s dream in Super Villain Island.
I don’t remember much, but I remember that after a while, I couldn’t get into the Thirsty Cactus account. I figured maybe I forgot the password or he changed the password.
2013–2014 | Beating the Islands
I started beating the islands one by one every day. Just one problem: I had yet to create my own account, and still didn’t do it until 2015. I know, I could have just stuck to one account. Or I guess I didn’t know… I was an idiot, still am.
So basically, each day I would start playing on a new character and win two or three island medallions. I usually beat the easy classics, like Early Poptropica and Shark Tooth Island. This went on for a while.
Shark Tooth Island
2015–2016 | Creating an account
One day, I finally created an account named Yellow Lobster. I did not care about the name for a while, but it did start bothering me later.
I started beating the islands again, but this time without losing progress. I earned at least 33 medallions during this time (with the help of Thinknoodles walkthroughs). Then in 2016, something happened. No, I did not ‘forget’ about Poptropica. I was moving to my family’s country. But it only lasted 7 months. During these months, I had no WiFi on my PC, which meant no Poptropica.
2017 | Discovering the PHB and learning more about Pop
2017 was the best year for me in terms of Poptropica. I am pretty sure that I had come across the PHB a couple of times before then, but I consider my official “discovery” of the PHB to be in 2017, through a YouTube video about the Avatar Studio Glitch. Since then, I became a daily reader of the blog. I was hooked.
I participated in the PHB’s annual Halloween costume contest and won a membership that year, which was sponsored by the Poptropica Creators. But that’s not all. My membership should have only lasted for 1 month, right? It lasted for more than 11 months starting from November 2017. Below is my proof of how long it lasted, along with my winning costume. I don’t know why it lasted that long, but I am grateful it did.
I also learned that Jeff Kinney, the author of my favorite book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was the creator of Poptropica. But that explains the two Wimpy Kid Islands, doesn’t it?
2018–2020 | Costumes and a plan that backfired
In 2018, I also participated in the PHB’s annual survey and the Halloween contest. I won yet again—call it luck maybe. This time I did not win membership, but my membership from the last contest did not expire until 20 days later.
Like my old neighbor Thirsty Cactus, I wanted to give my username and password to someone and inspire them to play Poptropica. I chose someone who I knew more than Thirsty Cactus, but let’s just say it backfired TERRIBLY. I almost lost my account, which had membership, all the medallions, and lots more — and of course, a place in my heart. Yeah I know, it’s cheesy. So I made the sensible decision to talk to her parents. And I literally told her why the account is worth a lot to me. I got my password back after all that embarrassment and begging. If only I knew to contact Poptropica support back then.
2018 Halloween: Top 5 in “Casual” by FA3145
Cheerful Comet
In 2019 and 2020, I did not play much Poptropica. I did not forget about it, but I did not have as much time on my hands to play. Still, I did all my annual traditions on the PHB: the annual survey, voting in the Poppies, and the Halloween costume contest. But I made a mistake in the 2019 costume contest: instead of sending my costume link via the Avatar Studio, I sent a link to the Avatar Studio. So they never saw my costume. But let’s not dwell on the past, shall we?
Anyway, because of a new feature in Haxe, I changed my name from Yellow Lobster to Cheerful Comet.
2021–beyond | The future
I don’t know whether I will continue to play Poptropica in the long run, but it makes me happy, so why should I quit for no reason? I am playing Poptropica more than ever right now, although I miss the classics.
Before ending this post, let me take a moment to say that common rooms aren’t really interactive at all anymore. I miss the prank cans and fortune cookie cards. I hope I will continue to play Poptopica.
Bye Poptropicans! Stay poppin’!
Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.
If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by White Fox. Enjoy!
Hi, Poptropicans! It’s White Fox again, here with a Ramble Review on the one and only Vampire’s Curse Island. First things first, I have to mention Christopher. The brave, loyal boyfriend.
Yeah, right. Moving on.
One of the reasons I liked this island because of all the references to Bram Stoker’s vampire story Dracula. For example, the villain’s name is Count Bram. Seriously, it is right there.
Also, one of the graves is dedicated to one of the Count’s victims, who was drained of her blood in the novel Dracula. There’s more trivia like this in the PHB’s Vampire’s Curse Island Guide!
Let’s be honest, this island was definitely creepy. I mean, graves. Old statues. Vampires. Spiders. Eek! At first, this island did not seem like something I would be interested in playing. Mythology? Sure! Spies? Fine! But I didn’t feel like I wanted to play an island based on vampires.
Personally, seeing blood makes me freak out, so there’s a problem. The dark sky, the small city, everything at the beginning of the island was not what I would call welcoming. In the end, however, it was one of my favorite islands!
If I could change one thing about this island, though, it has to be the part when you make the anti-vampire serum. Just the fact that it’s so random. I wish it had more reason to it, like you find something that gives you a clue to it. More of an explanation to why it is like that. Or maybe there was, and I didn’t see it.
Even if this island doesn’t get brought back, I hope that the dumbwaiter and the crossbow gets brought back. I loved that. I especially liked the part where you shot arrows at the side of the castle to get the mandrake root. That was hard, but fun and memorable.
I always wondered why tomatoes were in his lab. I mean, next to blood, I suppose tomatoes are a vampire’s favorite food? Or maybe he just had them for research?
I loved this island because of all the adventure. From using the crossbow, to firing the cannon, to growing a tomato head, to helping Katya escape Count Bram, the island is purely full of wonder and mystery.
I think that just about wraps up this post! Put your favorite part of the island in the comments below. 👇Thanks for reading!
Peace, White Fox
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by White Fox. If you did, you might also enjoy the PHB’s other Ramble Reviews of various islands, like this one about Lunar Colony by Purple Paw.
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨
This is a guest post from Sleepy Starfish sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey.Enjoy!
Hi! I am Sleepy Starfish. I am going to tell you how I found out about Poptropica and the Poptropica Help Blog. If you want to friend me, my username is 100349.
Forgetting my Poptropica account twice
It all started when my sister was playing Poptropica and she would let me play. I remember watching my brother playing Survival Island: Ep. 1 on Poptropica.
Later, I stopped playing Poptropica. But in 2019, I started playing Poptropica again. I created an account but then I forgot my account. So I made a new account, and this time I wrote it down. However, when I tried to log into Poptropica, my password was incorrect. I think when I wrote my account details down, I wrote it wrong. So I created another account. This time I remembered it. My name was Cool Rider.
Finding out about the Poptropica Help Blog
I used to never decorate my clubhouse because I was too lazy. I would also never check the Creators’ Blog because I thought it contained long, boring articles. One day in December 2020, I decided to check the blog, and that’s when I saw it wasn’t as boring as I thought. Now I check the Creators’ Blog every day!
In February 2021, there were a few guestposts on the Creators’ Blog that mentioned the Poptropica Help Blog. So I searched it up and clicked the first link that popped up. The first PHB post that I saw was the Pop the Difference challenge. From then on, I’d check the PHB every day.
Recently, I even shared my clubhouse tour here on the PHB! Through the friends menu, I also changed my character’s name to Sleepy Starfish.
That’s My Place in Poptropica. Bye!
—Sleepy Starfish
Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.
If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more! 📰✨
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 