🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Mad Apper, an avid player of the Poptropica mobile app. See the bottom of this post for details on sending in your own MPIP!

MPIP-MadApper

Skip the intro. Let’s do this.

Are you surprised to see me? Or perhaps you don’t know who I am? Well, that’s what this post is for. Today, I’ve been given the great opportunity to tell you a bit about my past, present, and future in Poptropica history. The dates aren’t precise, but somewhat accurate. I’m Mad Apper, and this is my place in Poptropica.

The Summer of 2014 | The Discovery

I think it was June or July. I was bored, and didn’t have a lot to do. I was 14, at the time, and my older brother told me about Funbrain. I checked it out and played a game. It seemed, well, boring. I think I clicked an ad, category, or something, and BOOM- Poptropica.

Late 2014 to Early 2015 | Community & More Discovery

For the rest of that time, I got a bit into Poptropica. Multiple accounts, even! My current (rarely active) Poptropica account is madapper500, just putting that out there. I read the Poptropica Help Blog, Slippery Raptor’s Blog, and that was it. It was Early 2015 that I downloaded the Poptropica App. I hardly used my online Pop account since then. My computer’s really glitchy. 😛

Mid 2015 | PHB Reader Anonymous

First, I was a PHB stalker. Then, eventually a commenter. I gave the PHB one or two tips. Just about ads. On the Poptropica app. That’s it. I eventually began to comment more. At the time, I actually began to comment about random Poptropica thoughts. I’m pretty sure some of you viewers of the PHB do that too. 😀

September 2015 | The Pop App Blog & My Pen Name

One day, I was scrolling through Poptropica blogs (PHB, Slippery’s, etc.) and wondered what it would be like to have one of my own. I settled on WordPress and became The Mad Apper. Well, to be honest my real name is Ian. Ian’s Poptropica Blog? No. Since I played the Pop app more than the web version, I settled on the name The Poptropica App Blog [poptropicaapp.wordpress.com] since it seemed unique. Plus, everybody has a different definition of ‘apper’, I dubbed myself The Mad APPer.* No need to hurt your fingers using caps lock.

Around this time, I was fame hungry. A bit of me still is. Fine, I still am. I went around knocking on doors asking for stuff. Could you do my banner? Can I be interviewed? Is Poptropica awesome? Believe it or not, they said yes.

Present & Future | Basically Everything

I was working, and still am working, with several Poptropica blog authors. Everything’s happening. I’m also now the administrator of The MEGA Poptropica Blog [megapoptropicablog.wordpress.com]! I’m with the two talented authors of Mighty Gamer and Popular Wolf. I’m also a somewhat minor part of Mighty Gamer’s Poptropica Blog, known as Explore Collect Compete, which you can find at explorecollectcompete.wordpress.com.

As for the future, I plan to make a Poptropica Blogs app, I have some collaborations planned, some pretty big stuff planned for 2016. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. That’s basically all up to this point. Reality is an illusion! The universe is a hologram! Buy gold! Bye!

Oh yeah, I’d also want to thank the entire PHB staff, Mighty Gamer, Popular Wolf, and many more Poptropicans. I’m a nerdy dude that loves to work with people, is part of three Poptropica blogs, is impressed by the Pop community, and is glad to be part of it.

And that’s my place in Poptropica.

*The Mad Apper is not to be confused with App Girl, The Mad Hatter, or the Apper WordPress theme.

–

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! Feel free to send in your own (please include a minimum of 550 words, type with good spelling and grammar, divide it into labeled sections, and include your username). Look out for more community MPIPs in the future!

~the PHB.

New Island for the New Player (Soon)

January 22, 2016January 30, 2016 gianthawkpoptropica

Greetings Hawk-tropicans! This is Giant Hawk speaking, and today, the Creators have decided to reveal Poptropica’s next island! Well, at least some info about it… check out this pic:

This is very cool looking! The sign tells us this is “Crusoes Castaway Retreat”, and based on the environment shown, this could be related to the jungle/aviation sneak peeks we’ve been seeing on the Daily Pop. The jungle-esque background is very nice, and is that a giant stone monkey head I see back there? The only problem is that the fruit on this large contraption/fruit stand structure is starting to make me hungry…

So, here’s what the Creators mentioned in their latest post (we’ve taken the liberty to emphasize the important parts in bold):

Well, we’re trying something a little bit different this time. We’ve got over 40 full Islands on the site already. That’s great for most players, but some of those Islands — okay, most of them — are very complex and challenging!

That’s why we’re putting our efforts toward a new Island especially for first-time players. It’s shorter than most, with simpler objectives. The idea is to let new players understand how to approach the challenges of Poptropica and give them the tools they need to crack some of the tougher Islands, like Escape From Pelican Rock.

If you’re already a Poptropica expert, fear not! We think you’ll like this Island too. It’s got some fantastic art, great gameplay, and hilarious characters. In other words, everything you love about Poptropica!

This sounds great – and as you may already know, sounds similar to a request Slanted Fish made in her open letter to Poptropica. (Plus, have you read the response?)

—

In other news, the Poptropica Creators’ Twitter (and other social media accounts) have recently been updated in a much more personal way with a new identity. The Twitter bio now reads:

The one and only official Poptropica Twitter account, moderated by Poptropica’s community liaison, Jessica (also known as Skinny Moon!)

The account’s avatar has changed as well. Gone is Zeus’ evil mugshot, and in its place is a shot of Skinny Moon, aka Jessica, the Creator who’s been running the Poptropica social media accounts lately. (Remember when we joined her Multiverse party?)

So are you all excited about the new island? Do you like the changes made to the Creators’ Twitter?

Until next time…

— Giant Hawk

Kung Fu Panda 3 ad!

January 21, 2016January 21, 2016 Blake

What’s popping, Poptropicans? Blake here, with another piece of Poptropica news! This time, it’s for the new ad on Main Streets everywhere for Dreamworks’ new movie, Kung Fu Panda 3!

…Okay, Poptropicans, can we talk for a second? Who exactly ASKED for this movie? I mean, I thought 2 were enough, but.. I guess we need another..? Anyway, once you log in, you will immediately be given the Baby Pandas Hat and Smash Attack Power!

But wait, there’s more! If you watch the video for the ad, you will receive a Po Costume (boys) or Tigress Costume (girls)! I guess you could say that makes us… Po-ptropicans.

Anyway, that’s all for now, Poptropicans! Stay tuned for more, and I’ll see you soon! Stay popping, Poptropicans.

PHB Specials, Web Development

Greetings from the Poptropica Creators!

January 21, 2016January 23, 2016 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Just last week, I posted an open letter to Poptropica here on the PHB, addressing some improvements Poptropica should make to the game. To the PHB’s surprise, a Poptropica Creator has responded! With her permission, the response has been posted below. Enjoy! 😀

Dear Slanted Fish and Poptropicans everywhere,

On behalf of the Poptropica Creators, greetings! I love your blog, and I read every post. After your recent Open Letter, I wanted to personally respond and, hopefully, start a better dialogue with you.

First, an introduction….. I’m Jen MacLean, and I joined the Family Education Network as the President of the Kids and Games division in November. More importantly, I’m a lifelong gamer, a Poptropican, and the mom of a Poptropican. It’s been a whirlwind few months as a new member of the Poptropica team, and one of my biggest priorities has been understanding where Poptropica needs to improve and helping the team build a roadmap to get us there.

So, ‘fess up….. Have you been hiding in our offices? Bugging our conference rooms? You’ve made some great points about how we need to make Poptropica better, and I’m excited to share that many of the ideas you proposed are already in development.

I’m happy to give you a sneak peek at some changes that are coming soon. In the next few weeks, expect a new and improved experience for first-time players, including a brand new island specifically designed for new players. It’s a short island, but we’re hoping it will really help new players better understand how to play and what Poptropica is all about. Though it’s design for new players, I’m sure veterans will get a kick out of it too, so not to worry!

We also understand and agree that we need to improve the Island experience for all Poptropicans! We want to make it easier to teleport, find help, understand the quest, and identify the next steps in a quest. We’re not ready to share specific times and releases yet, but we will keep you posted as we roll out improvements. We are also looking at ways we can make a Poptropica membership even more valuable; we’ll be updating our membership this Spring.

I’m so glad you brought up the “I’m trapped in a classic island and can’t get out” issue. We’re working on a fix for that too, so very soon you should be able to leave classic islands from any scene. Teleporting between scenes is a great idea, but it could end up breaking a lot of the islands; however, it’s something we’ll keep in mind though as we keep finding ways to make the player experience better.

An important part of any game development project is squashing bugs. We need to get better at fixing the bad bugs and incorporating “good glitches” into the design of the game. As part of that focus, we’ll be starting a Friends and Family Beta Program this year, and we will be reaching out to you with more details when we’re ready to launch!

Speaking of reaching out, I know it’s been hard to contact us. I’m excited to introduce Jessica, our Official Poptropica Community Liaison. Jessica will share information with you on all things Poptropica, including product updates and improvements, and will make sure your comments, questions, and feedback are shared throughout the Poptropica Creators team. She’ll also help us understand and address some of your ideas and requests, including officializing a Poptropica wiki.

Last, but most importantly, THANK YOU! Thank you for your wonderful support of Poptropica, for being a great resource for Poptropicans everywhere, and for being such a strong community. I’m excited to get to know you better and to make Poptropica an even more amazing experience for you.

–

Wow! It’s the first time a Poptropica Creator has contacted the PHB directly (with the exception of Jeff Heim during the Poppies) – and this response certainly gives us a lot of hope about what’s to come out of Poptropica HQ in the future. A better tutorial, some form of teleportation, doing something about glitches both good and bad, and even the possibility of officializing the Poptropica Wiki are some things Poptropica’s currently working on, and that’s really awesome to hear. 😀

A huge shout-out and thanks to Jen MacLean for taking the time to write to us and allowing her letter to be published here! On behalf of the PHB and Poptropica community, we look forward to more interactions with the powers-that-be at Poptropica HQ to make the game and community all the more awesome. We’re honored to have the Creators read the PHB, and we’re excited for what happens next.

What would you like to say to the Creators? Share in the comments below – if this exchange has been any indication, they may well take you up on your suggestions (within reason, of course)!

Stay popping, everyone. 😉

–Slanted Fish 🐠🐠

Surveys, Web Development

We Need You…

January 19, 2016January 30, 2016 Ultimate iPad Expert

UPDATE: For everyone who is wondering where the survey results are, they are coming. I know I said they’d be released Jan 26, but there was so much to go through. I’m working on the post right now, and I’m hoping to get it out tomorrow.

Heyyo Poptropicans, it’s Ultimate iPad Expert here! The title of this post may intrigue you. You may ask, “Why you need me, brah?”

It’s simple, brah. If you’ve read the PHB for a while, you may recall that we held a survey back in 2014. We asked 10 questions (relating to our readers’ experiences in the Poptropica community) and got some really interesting data back. We found it so intriguing that we’ve decided to do another survey!

And so, here is the…

This survey contains 17 questions to answer, relating to you and your experience in the Poptropica community. If you’d rather not answer a question, feel free to just skip it. Your survey answers will be kept anonymous, unless you choose to reveal your identity.

The survey is available for you to fill out right now! So don’t wait! Click the button below to fill out the survey (and then finish reading this post):

You have from now until January 25 to complete the survey. On that day, the results will be fully calculated and a post will release the following day (January 26, aka the PHB’s half-birthday) discussing the results of the survey!

So, what do you think about this survey? Did you take it? Comment below.

• Ultimate iPad Expert •