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Poptropica

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Poptropica is a massively multiplayer online game and virtual world in which children ages 6 to 15 can travel, play games, compete in head-to-head competition, communicate safely with each other, and complete "island missions" and get medallions after completing them. Poptropica was developed by the Family Education Network [1], a division of Pearson, which also owns kids’ site funbrain.com. Poptropica.com has a traffic rank of 8,038 by Alexa Internet. [2] Its official launch date was in September 2007. [3]

Characters / Citizens / Poptropicans

When players first arrive at Poptropica, they are given a character avatar they can either customize immediately, or modify while playing.[4]. Such modifications include changing hair colour, clothes, hair style, and skin colour. [5]

Names for the characters are preconstructed to prevent any profanity or personal information from leaking into the virtual world. See User Safety for more information.

Items

In Poptropica, the player starts off with clothes he/she chooses in the beginning. The player can then get various items and outfits from quests on different islands. Players will get a special medal each time they solve an island's problem. [5]

Players can switch their clothes around with the Costumizer tool which allows the player to copy clothes and various accessories clothes from other citizens of Poptropica, the non-playing characters on the island and other players. A backpack icon serves as an inventory. The player uses the Costumizer tool on his/her character by finding a character who has clothes he/she desires, clicking on the Costumizer icon, then clicking on that character. Once the player is in the Costumizer tool, he/she simply clicks on the clothes he/she wants to put on their character to replace what they already have. [3] Clothes are not usually part of the inventory. [5]

User Safety

Poptropica uses safe, kid-friendly, pre-scripted chat, which allows players to communicate without sharing personal information [6]. Therefore, it also keeps the communication free from profanity.

Character names are also pre-constructed [7] to prevent any profanity or personal information from entering the virtual world. An example of one of these names is "Fierce Hippo". [5]

Island Synopsis

Currently, there are five virtual islands in Poptropica: Early Poptropica, Shark Tooth, Time Tangled, 24 Carrot, and Super Power which have been released. The existence of Spy and Choose Your Own Adventure Island is known through the official blog for Poptropica.

Once a player enters Poptropica, they choose an island to explore. Each island needs help. On every island players can visit multiplayer buildings to chat or play games with other human players. Players win a medallion each time after solving the problem on an island. [5]

To travel between islands, the user boards a blimp with the Poptropica logo found in all the main streets of the various islands. [3]

Early Poptropica

Early Poptropica was the first island created for Poptropica. Players encounter the original settlers of Early Poptropica who are in distress. They are 80’s style characters [8] who are missing items from their village. While finding the various objects, the player encounters, among other characters, a giant and a very large spider. On Main Street, there is an art museum with works by artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Vincent Van Gogh, and Georges-Pierre Seurat. [5]

Shark Tooth Island

Shark Tooth Island was the second island released in Poptropica. The scenario revolves around the inhabitants of the island that are being troubled by a fierce shark. The player must help the citizens by exploring within the island's ancient temple ruins and subduing the giant shark, called Booga, with a special concoction. [9] The player then has to rescue a boy and a professor from an island formerly separated from the mainland by Booga. [5]

Time Tangled Island

Time Tangled Island is the third island released for Poptropica. The scenario revolves around a malfunctioning time machine made by Professor Pendulum that has distorted history. It is the player’s job to go back in time and set things right. [10] During the quest, users encounter major historical figures such as Thomas Edison, Lewis and Clark, Leonardo Da Vinci, etc. Once the player has restored the future, they can go forward in time to see what the future holds as well as a version of themselves 50 years older. This island was created in conjunction with the editors of Fact Monster to maintain historical accuracy [11] Professor Pendulum can be found on Shark Tooth Island in the Tourist Center. [5]

24 Carrot Island

24 Carrot Island is the fourth island released on Poptropica. The Poptropicans on 24 Carrot Island are in trouble. Someone has stolen all their carrots, citizens are disappearing, and the economy, which appears to be based on carrots, is in ruins. [12] The player has to face an antagonist named Dr Hare and his giant robot bunny inside what was formerly a carrot cake factory. Dr Hare is apparently using the carrots as fuel for a rocket that he will send into space and then use to control everyone's mind. The user then solves the mystery of the missing carrots and citizens in order to restore the island to its former greatness. [5]

Super Power Island

Super Power Island is the fifth Island released for Poptropica. A giant meteor has crashed into Super Power Island's county prison freeing six hardened criminals from the prison and giving them super powers. Now they are wreaking havoc on the island. Only a true superhero can save the day. [13] The player then gets the power to fly on Super Power Island after defeating every villain except for Betty Jetty. [5]

Spy Island

Spy Island will be the sixth island released for Poptropica. A new sinister menace has been discovered by Poptropica's top three spies, but now the spies have vanished. The player will need skills of a cunning spy to save the day. It's up to the player to save the day and be a new spy. This island is now online. [14]

Nabooti Island

Nabooti Island (a.k.a. Choose Your Own Adventure Island) will be the seventh island released on Poptropica. The player will have to travel in a trek through Africa to find the lost jewels of Nabooti tribe. The release date of this island is unknown.

Comic Island

Comic Island (a.k.a. Big Nate Island and Comic Strip Island) will be the eighth island released on Poptropica. It was announced on the Poptropica blog on September 12th, and will be based on the famous comic strip "Big Nate". According to the blog, "You'll be able to jump into Big Nate's world and interact with the characters that make up the Big Nate universe." The release date of this island is unknown. [15]

Islands That Are Awaiting Release

  • Nabooti Island (Choose Your Own Adventure Island)
  • Comic Island (Big Nate Island)

Games

  • Switch: A 60-second game where you group three or more fruit in a row to earn points.
  • Hoops: Basically a game of basketball; you shoot basketballs in a goal. The first player to get 5 points wins.
  • Sky-Dive: When the signal is given, your character has to land on the ground safely, by clicking on their parachute, which is on their backpack. There is no time limit.
  • Sudoku: The player can play this game by themselves or with other players.
  • Star Link: Link stars together via using a line to form a square. A player earns a point by filling a box with four lines.
  • Balloons: This game is similar to Connect 4, except balloons are used and it is more of an upside down version of it. The first player who does this wins the game.

Glitches

  • Sometimes, in Switch, the player does not get a match but it gives him/her points. This happens if there is an empty row. Then the player ends up getting a very high score.
  • Before the player presses "play" in Switch, he/she can move fruit a round by clicking on the words and picture, through he/she cannot see it. However, the player can get points, and the time will not start moving; it will stay at 60 seconds.
  • Sometimes the player can get items he/she doesn't see anywhere else from people via using the Costumizer. (i.e. fairy wings, cat whiskers).

Multi-player buildings

  • Early Poptropica Island- Soda Pop Shop/Arcade (The arcade is replaced with ad buildings when they are on Poptropica.)
  • Shark Tooth Island - Coconut Café
  • Time Tangled Island - Party Time Tower
  • 24 Carrot Island - Cinema
  • Super Power Island - The Daily Paper
  • Spy Island - The Hair Club
  • Choose your own Adventure Island

References

  1. ^ Pearson Education description. [1]
  2. ^ Alexa ranking. [2]
  3. ^ a b c Poptropica Frequently Asked Questions. [3]
  4. ^ CNW news report. [4]
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Poptropica website. When describing islands, please go to the respective island/place for information on this link. [5]
  6. ^ Review at Parenting iVillage. [6]
  7. ^ Hub Canada review and news article. [7]
  8. ^ Review on Parenting iVillage. [8]
  9. ^ Description of Shark Tooth Island on Poptropica. [9]
  10. ^ Description of Time Tangled Island on Poptropica. [10]
  11. ^ Review and article on Gainesville Sun. [11]
  12. ^ Description of Time Tangled Island on Poptropica. [12]
  13. ^ Description of Super Power Island on Poptropica. [13]
  14. ^ Announcement on official producers' blog. [14]
  15. ^ Announcement on the official Poptropica creators blog. [15]
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