Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Purple Paw, who will be exploring how animals play different roles in Poptropica. Enjoy!
Hi there! Purple Paw here with another guest post, this time highlighting (you guessed it) Poptropican wildlife.
Planet Poptropica is best-known for its wonderful Poptropican people, but we often disregard the many other species inhabiting its diverse environments. Almost every single island (even Home Island) is home to an animal of some sort, whether itโs a rendition of something existing in real life, or a fantasy creature never seen before.
Perhaps the island we most associate with animals is Twisted Thicket (and it sure has a lot!). But the truth is, theyโre everywhere โ not only in the wild, but living right alongside Poptropicans, too. Just like in real life.
There are different ways for animals to show themselves in the islands, whether theyโre only making a short appearance, or the whole story revolves around them. Let’s take a tour of how wildlife plays a part in Poptropica!
Animals can affect the gameplay
Affecting the gameplay means that an animal makes a small (perhaps repeated) appearance in an island, while not being a prominent character or affecting the deeper plot. The Werewolf in Vampireโs Curse is one that comes to mind here. The story would still be pretty much the same without it: but if the werewolf werenโt there, the climb to Bramโs castle would have been a whole lot easier.
Animals can influence the plot
A bigger role for animals to play is actively affecting the story, meaning the story perhaps wouldnโt be the same if they didnโt show up. An example is Mission Atlantisโs hydromedusa. The hydromedusa are mostly regarded as enemies, due to the fact that they attack your ship, sending you sinking to the bottom of the ocean…
But without them, would the rest of the island ever have happened? If they hadnโt stung you, the ship wouldnโt have sunk; and the lost city of Atlantis would never have been exposed.
Animals can even create the entire island!
What this means is that the core of the story revolves entirely around animals; both gameplay and plot. Without them, the island simply wouldnโt be. As previously mentioned, perhaps the only island to fit in this category is Twisted Thicket, as it’s the only island to feature animals as (mostly) the only main characters.
We see a whole zoo of animals in this island, and for the most part, theyโre out to get you โ leafcutter elves, the Nokken, trolls, dryads, and more. Without them, Twisted Thicket simply wouldnโt exist; Burt Diamond would have gone ahead and bulldozed the entire forest without the animals protecting it, and your Poptropican would never have interfered.
Those are the main reasons that animals show up in Poptropica (that is, in the islandsโbut there are also our loving pets, of course!).
However, continuing from Twisted Thicket… what happens in that island brings up a new question. How do the Poptropican people treat the animals? It seems to vary depending on the island, and the Poptropican. In Twisted Thicket, though the battle is won in the end, animals are treated very poorly. The Lumberjerks are attempting to destroy the forest, without sympathy for the animals that inhabit it.
But I think itโs fair to say it was a mere misunderstanding that cause that. The animals never ventured out of the forest, perhaps fearing their safety being away from their natural habitat, so the townspeople never saw who they truly were. And the townspeople never ventured into the forest, perhaps for fear of being harmed by the animals. It was fear from both sides that caused this misunderstanding.
So, in some cases, itโs the situation (a misunderstanding) that causes Poptropicans to treat animals the way they do. But with different characters, itโs quite the opposite. Patches on Escape From Pelican Rock, for instance, is friendly with their pet bird. Patches treats birds very well; they feed them every day, and the birds obviously seem to like them.
Then, of course, thereโs Myron Van Buren, who goes ahead and hunts animals for his trophy room, seemingly without any reason to do so, except carrying on the family legacy and, of course, just from his pure evil.
As for our own Poptropicans, they seem to have a pretty good reputation with animals. Unless they have a reason not to, most animals donโt tend to mind when you walk straight up to them, which is also the case with most other NPCs.
So, coming to a conclusion, I think itโs safe to say that the world of Poptropica coexists relatively well with its wildlife, other than the occasional squabbles (watch out for those evil Poptropicans!). Weโve even seen human-animal hybrids, including customizable cat and dog parts, among other animals! So maybe Poptropican people and animals arenโt as different as we think? But thatโs a whole other rabbit hole to go down…
Anyway! Thanks for sticking with me through this rather lengthy post. There are many more animals Iโve left unmentioned… swooping robins on Counterfeit, faithful horses and key-stealing canaries on Wild West, basking lizards and stubborn camels on Arabian Nights… and many more.
These animals all share something in common: they all go unnoticed to a certain extent. The eye is usually on the Poptropican people. But letโs not forget the fascinating wildlife that makes Poptropica such a beautiful and diverse world.
Hope you enjoyed thisย guest postย by Purple Paw. If you did, be sure to check out some of her other writings we’ve shared on the PHB, including this Ramble Review of Red Dragon Island and Pop 5 of Best Dressed Characters inย Poptropica!
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