Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post from Outbound Train. Enjoy!
This is my very first guest post… woo hooo! Hello everyone, I am Outbound Train. I am a master’s student in game studies focusing on Poptropica, or as I like to refer to myself, a Poptropica scholar!
Poptropica has a long and interesting history both technically and culturally with its numerous changes, spinoffs like Poptropica Worlds (remember that reboot attempt?), and communities like the PHB.
Today, almost 20 years since Poptropica came out, the game can still be played on various formats because of how much we love Poptropica. Some express that love with fan art, some with community preservation projects, and as for me… well, I am writing my master’s research paper on Poptropica’s history and how I grew up with the game in parallel.
Several months ago, I presented my research at an academic symposium. There I talked about my history with Poptropica, my sibling rivalry with my sister on who could complete the most islands, the engine changes, the preservation projects, and finally, where Poptropica is today. It was a blast talking about Poptropica in front of a room of academics and definitely a terrifying yet rewarding experience.
Here are some pictures from the event:
Leave a comment if you want to learn more about game studies or my research. I plan on writing more guest posts in the future about Poptropica academia (Poptrodemia?).
Until next time, my fellow Poptropicans!
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Outbound Train. If you did, you might also enjoy this look at Poptropica themselves presenting at the Game Developers’ Conference, this compilation of college students reflecting on their Poptropica childhoods, and this Pop-based university student club.
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!
