Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by White Fox. Enjoy!
Hi, guys! Today I want to talk about the ads in Poptropica.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that Poptropica isn’t making as much money as it used to, and advertisements bring in tons of cash, but things have been getting out of hand.
Remember Survival Island? The creators didn’t put a lot of ads there, because they wanted you to feel like you are stranded, and you don’t usually find advertisements for Rolex watches in the middle of the woods. Not having ads helped set the mood of the place.
Now, I find ads everywhere, and I don’t feel that stranded-in-the-forest vibe at all. Then there’s the matter of all the ads in your inventory.
I didn’t even watch the ad videos for these items! I just logged on one day, and I got a ton of stuff that I didn’t want. And it really fills up your inventory space! I wish Poptropica didn’t give you ad items without a choice, because it makes you scroll through a bunch of stuff just to get something you need for an island, and sometimes, you might not even like the stuff you get.
Even for people who do like the advertisement prizes, not keeping it separate from the items you need on an island is maddening. I can’t speak for everyone, but I really wish the creators would give you a choice, instead of stuffing random ad prizes into your inventory, where it takes up space and pushes your important items to the back.
As Slanted Fish noted in the 2019 PHB post “Is Poptropica turning into Mocktropica Island?,” the game has been falling into the traps of user-unfriendliness the island warned about in its cautionary tale. In Mocktropica, ads for Mega Fighting Bots popped up everywhere, and recently, when I was playing through 24 Carrot Island, Dr. Hare’s face was covered by an ad.
It’s upsetting that such an important part of the story — one of the most famous villains in Poptropica — was hidden because an advertisement for clothing had popped up. This could really make it hard to win islands, because I couldn’t see what he was saying. Even though I’d played the island before and knew what to do, it was still annoying.
Anyway, that just about wraps up this post! I hope the creators were reading this, because all this advertising stuff is really getting overwhelming. Thanks for reading!
Peace,
White Fox
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by White Fox. If you did, you might also enjoy another guest post of hers: Popspiracy: What happens to Poptropica villains after “the end”?
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! 
