🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️

Hey Poptropicans, I’d like to introduce you to some new friends…

Previously, we reported on the “Pick a Character” feature in Poptropica’s HAXE Javascript build. But we hadn’t mentioned that each of these guys have their own names—and now, their own poses! Meet the gang:

“Wild Fire” on the new “Pick a Character” screen

(Thanks to PHB reader Perfect Fish for the tip.)

Wild Fire, who shares a name with a Poptropolis Games tribe, is rocking a big puff of orange hair. Beside him is Pink Crush, with the pink ponytail. Then there’s Got Game, who’s got a big afro and a big smile, and Old School, who’s dancing with a tuft of swishy purple hair over their eyes.

Cool Slice is out here flexing a snazzy plaid overshirt, and Girl Power is just staring defiantly, daring you to challenge her. Finally, there’s Fast Ride with the shades, and happy-go-lucky Love Star with the slight blush.

You can’t see these names from the character selection screen—which as we mentioned last time, no longer allows you to pick a name—but you can find them on the Avatar Studio (which may soon be obsolete, as it requires Flash) when you save a HAXE Javascript character and look up their username.

PHB reader Perfect Fish also reported seeing the URL change depending on the character picked, like so: poptropica.com/haxe/master-minified-200421-1657/?npc_name=FastRide (and “FastRide” is replaceable with any of the other aforementioned names, no spaces). You can also enter these URLs in your web browser to go directly to playing with certain characters.

And by the way, you might find that the “pick a character” screen now dominates the Poptropica.com homepage. (For me, it showed up on one web browser but not another.) Goodbye, “play for free” button!

All these bizarre yet seemingly permanent names, and now the added poses on these stock characters and URL integration, raises the question: are these pre-named, pre-designed characters here to stay?

On that idea, we’re ambivalent. Despite all the swagger these characters carry, this new feature takes away a key aspect of making a Poptropican one’s own: the naming. At the same time, though, it is convenient (especially for new players) to just be able to pick and play, and once you’re in the game, you’ll have options to customize your character the way you like it.

Since Poptropica on HAXE doesn’t have the friends feature yet, and Flash is making the Avatar Studio obsolete, we may be entering a time where Poptropicans’ names are inconsequential. But for us nostalgic older players, picking the perfect name for our Poptropicans among a list of strange but familiar nouns and adjectives was part of the fun. And if the names are going to show up anywhere (like the friends feature, if it comes to HAXE), having only a handful of possible names is going to be a little awkward.

Right now, if you want to create a character with more freedom in the naming process, there are a couple of options. You can try the Custom Name Genie from our Glitching page, which lets you make a character with just about any name you like. Or you can create one on Poptropica Worlds, which still lets you pick from a randomized list like old times. (Update: There’s a third option—you can still pick a name on the mobile app.)

That’s the latest in Poptropica’s post-Flash development. Share your thoughts in the comments—about your favorite HAXE character, the story behind your Poptropican’s name, or your conspiracy theory on why Poptropica seems to be foregoing player names. Or just petition to bring them back.

Till next time, keep on popping on, Poptropicans!

~/🐠

Uncategorized

Popping boredom busters: bird coloring, word searching

April 24, 2020April 25, 2020 LJ

Greetings, Poptropicans! It’s Lucky Joker here.

Have you found yourself overwhelmingly bored in quarantine just needing something to keep yourself occupied? Try these fun little activities — all thanks to the good folks from the Poptropica Creators’ Blog.

First, they’ve shared three downloadable/printable coloring sheets waiting to be brought to life of various scenes and characters:

There’s an ostrich-riding scene from Reality TV: Wild Safari, the infamous Dr. Hare from 24 Carrot, and an extended version of Poptropolis Games Island. I may do one of these myself and add it into this post later on. 😛

In addition to the coloring pages, we have a delightful word search game to complete, and it’s also downloadable for printing. Word searches are definitely one of my favorite pastimes. I’ve actually been doing a lot of them lately, so this’ll be great. Thanks Poptropica!

(Click here for the answers!)

It’s certainly nice of the Poptropica Creators to be doing what they can to cure (or at least lessen) the dullness of this time we’re in.

If you’re in search of any more Poptropica pursuits to engage in, feel free to reference our 101 boredom-busting list, participate in this month’s Community Creations, or consider writing up a guest post — we’d love to have you!

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Pets, Store

Look, Home Island is anew! Pets and costumes just for you!

April 21, 2020April 22, 2020 LJ

Howdy doodly, Poptropicanos! I’m Lucky Joker happily reporting the arrival of cool Husky pets — brand new in the Pet Barn today — as well as the third weekly Pop store update for April. Let’s pop in!

For the first time in 9 months, Poptropica has finally given us a new furry friend to adopt and call our very own! Well, some of us rather… unfortunately, like a majority of the cute critters in the barn, the Husky is members exclusive. That still leaves free players with just only two options: the (basic, not husky) dog and the kitten.

This new husky is a really cute pet, though. I like its large ears, fluffy cheeks, and itty bitty tail. What do you think?

*carries pet* Now strutting right into the popping shopping center, we have some “new” outfits to choose from this week. Although it’s an updated selection, nothing of the current inventory is actually fresh.

Of course, we all recognize the classic Pop Star and Rock Star looks. Along with them, however, we have a bunch of casual getups we’ve seen available over the past year: Cool for School, Shady Pockets, Spring Fling, Cool Green, and last week’s Good Bunny. So yeah, nothing technically new. Here they are anyway:

It’s good to see familiar looks pop up in the store from time to time (and to have most options available to everyone for a change), but I hope to see original ideas coming in soon too. Hmm, why not hold a third costume contest? It’s never too soon. 😜

That’s it for today folks! Be sure to keep an eye out for the analysis of the recent survey we held in the coming weeks.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Social Media, Store

Weekly Wardrobe and Perplexing Politics

April 17, 2020April 18, 2020 Gentle Dolphin

Hey, everyone! Today, we have two bits of Poptropica news: something fun and something strange. Let’s get started with the first.

Last week, we reported that the Poptropica store would be getting weekly updates throughout the month of April. So far, this promise seems to be holding up well, as the second batch has hit the store.

This week marks the return of nine familiar outfits: Mythology Surfer (boy and girl), Swan Ballerina, Good Bunny, Unicorn Girl*, Cheesy Slice*, Fairy Queen*, the Navy Raglan Outfit, and the Rib Wrap Outfit. (* = members-only)

Aside from the new selection of outfits, the rest of the store is largely the same. Many of last weeks’s pranks, followers, and powers remain. You can read more about them in last week’s store update post.

And now for something strange. So, Poptropica likes to keep fans updated through social media with platforms like the Creators’ Blog and Instagram. But there’s one platform they’ve neglected for some time: Twitter. I mean, their last post was almost a year ago, in July 2019!

Out of nowhere, this past week Poptropica finally put out a new tweet. Now what could it be about? The April store updates, or maybe even a new island sneak peek? Well, um…

…what we got was an endorsement for Joe Biden for President of the United States, retweeted from Barack Obama with Poptropica adding, “More of this, please!” The inadvertent tweet received about 30 likes, 7 retweets, and 20 replies of amusement before it was unceremoniously deleted two days after it first surfaced on April 14.

Naturally, this left many fans scratching their heads and wondering why Poptropica briefly became political. Did someone on the social media team accidentally retweet the video to the wrong account? (Probably.) Did a hacker want to stir up trouble, or is this some big publicity stunt to bring fans back to Twitter? (Less likely, but who knows? 😛 )

As always, we’d love to hear what you think. And if you haven’t done it already, today’s your last chance to fill out this year’s PHB Reader’s Survey!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

PHB Quickie, Reviews, Twisted Thicket Island

PHB Quickie: Twisted Thicket Island

April 16, 2020April 17, 2020 LJ

Velkomin, Poptropican folk! (That’s Old Norse for ‘welcome’ 🤓)

It’s Lucky Joker popping in today with a truncated review of one of Poptropica’s recently withdrawn classic capers, Twisted Thicket Island — an early favorite of mine from 2012. Let’s flutter into it, shall we? (note: spoilers ahead)

Your initial task arriving on the island is to aide the construction crew in clearing the forest by ridding the “hindering creatures” occupying it in order to make room for their new developments.

In the end of it all though, it’s revealed that the developer, Burt Diamond, and the rest of the lumberjerks are in fact the villainous ones — not the inhabiting forest creatures. You realize the action of forcefully ejecting innocent beings from their sacred home is reprehensible, and that the critters were only acting hostile in self-defense. (What a concept, right?) And so of course, like the heroic Samaritan we are, we eventually save the day and the forest’s magic is restored in all its glory.

As an environmentalist and someone who deeply cares about animal welfare, I really like that Poptropica shed some light on this important real-life issue (even more so with the surprising plot twist).

And including Scandinavian folklore along with the bewitching landscape makes the whole adventure more enticing while still fostering the same core idea. The game-like stages are diverting and the final intervention sure is climactic. I find it satisfying when we end up utilizing the very powers of the creatures in peril to drive the pesky bullies away. Oh sweet poetic justice!

So with all that said, I give Twisted Thicket Island a rating of 4/5 rune stones! It’s the decent storytelling, fun and challenging obstacles, and stunning scenery that grant the island perfect score potential. However, I do feel that the gameplay was just a tad rushed and blandly straightforward compared to other islands. I would’ve appreciated a bit more depth and length, so to me a B grade seems reasonable. 🙂

And that concludes my analysis of Twisted Thicket Island! It’s fairy unfortunate it’s no longer playable on the official game, but thankfully we can still access the island here (courtesy of our resident glitcher, idk). I’m not trolling!

What are your opinions on this mystical quest? Share below in the comments!

Also, don’t forget to participate in our readers’ survey if you haven’t already. (It closes on the 18th.) Thank you for reading, and I’ll talk to you all soon.

– Lucky Joker 🍀