A berry cool sneak peek!

2 Comments

Hello, everyone!

It’s Lucky Joker here sharing with you an update, and in the first time in forever, a sneak peek from the Poptropica Creators’ Blog! Let’s pop into it!

First off with the more exciting news, Poptropica posted this GIF Image on Instagram and on the Creators’ Blog yesterday.

zomberry

At first glance, it seems obvious—Zomberry Island is coming to Poptropica Worlds. If you take a second look, however, you can see a zombie machine in one of the clips. In the already existing Zomberry Island on Poptropica Original, there is no zombie machine of any sort.

On the other hand though, this could be a new addition to the potential remake. As we know, 24 Carrot had some new characters and added plot points that differentiated it from the original.

Regardless of what exactly this is—at this point—almost any update on Poptropica Worlds is something to look forward to.

Moving on to something else worth noting from the Creators’ Blog, the comments under all of the latest posts have been approved for visibility!

Creators' Blog comments.png

Not as rousing as the sneak peek, but a good update nonetheless. Perhaps the creators have seen our recent post regarding this subject. 🙂

Well, that’s it for now! What do you think of the possibility of Zomberry Island coming to Poptropica Worlds? Personally, it’s not one of my favorites, but I am still excited to see something new. Share your opinions in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, as always! Talk to you in the next one.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Advertisements

Outfit snatching and a Skinny note

16 Comments

Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish popping in to show you what’s popping.

The Creators have posted another “Outfit of the Week,” and this time it’s Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. Check it out:

ootw hermione

That’s creative, it seems, except it wasn’t their creation to begin with—and while they say in the post “we spotted this,” they fail to give credit to the source. Locating the source should only take a simple internet search, and I was able to find this attributed to Rachellyy, a.k.a. Short Eagle, over on the Poptropica Fashion Wiki. And, again, descriptions for how to get the costume were absent altogether.

Want instructions on how to get a cool Hermione costume, plus how to dress up as other characters from Harry Potter? Check out our PHB Pop-over Special: Yer a Poptropican, Harry!

Considering that the Creators also say they’ll be featuring outfits from members of the community, proper attribution is not something that should be overlooked. You can do better, unnamed blogger.

As we said in our previous update about the Creators’ Blog, what we want to see is more creative content from the Creators—sneak peeks for upcoming adventures are ideal, but even just more effort into posts like Outfit of the Week would be something. What we’re getting, and don’t need, are all the Island Highlights—old news for most of us.

Notice, too, how although the Creators’ Blog supposedly takes comments, there are still 0 comments on every post lately. Several of our PHB commenters have mentioned how they’ve tried to comment, but their comments have yet to be approved to be seen on the blog. Creators, if you’re going to be asking us to “comment below,” why aren’t you showing and interacting with these comments? Fans want to know they’re heard!

Oh, and despite multiple attempts to reach out to the Creators on Twitter—no word from them on our many ideas for the game and community that they claimed to be so interested in. Hmm.

In the meantime, we also got this brief note from former social media manager, Jessica a.k.a. Skinny Moon:

Although we only know of a few of the Creators who were asked to leave a couple months ago, the tweet seems to suggest that more have left, to the point where “almost everyone” who was there before, when was working Skinny Moon with the Poptropica team a year ago, “is gone now.” Sad. 😦

On a brighter note, the community of Poptropicans here at the PHB is still kicking! In addition to our own posts, we regularly welcome guest posts from readers. You can check them out just by scrolling down our front page, and we invite you to write for the PHB anytime you’ve got an idea worth sharing!

That’s all for now. Keep on popping on, Poptropicans.

<・)))><<

Popspiracy: The Map of Mayhem

15 Comments

Hey Poptropicans—this is a guest post by Moody Tuna, who’s offering his take on the origins of Poptropica, inspired by lore of the Pop universe such as the Forgotten Islands game, the Creators, and more. This work is purely fictional. Enjoy!

popspiracy map

There was once a group of psychics and magicians who got together to create Poptropica—everything on its map. They were called the Trinity Syndicate, nowadays referred to as “the Creators.”

Poptropica was created underneath Yggdrasil, more commonly known as the Realms Tree or Great Tree. A magical pink flower was cut up and added to water to cut a magical map out of paper made from the tree.

The Creators granted public access to the map for all Poptropicans to see and travel to their futures, but soon, people had made use of the map to all sorts of disaster within the timeline of history. There was a problem on every island, and the Poptropicans were miserable.

So, the Trinity Syndicate went into hiding to fix the problems of the map—to fix the timeline and save the world. The public’s access to the map became much more limited, no longer with powers into the future, but still with the ability to travel from island to island. Islands like Time Tangled were made to try to solve the issues, yet it wasn’t enough.

The Creators called upon The Great Om, who was the first Poptropican, to embark on a quest to fix the future. He was bestowed with gifts, each of great importance: the bottomless bag, the camouflage shirt, and so on, all to aid Om in his quest.

A medallion was set on every island to reward Om along his travels. As Om continued to rack up medallions, he believed himself to be the greatest man in history.

great om

Om believed it was all a game, and when all the islands were “completed,” he demanded of the Creators to make more. In response, the Creators made Super Villain Island to capture all the villains, yet they still escaped—you can read more on that here. The mysterious place they escaped to has been called many names, such as Island “?” or Island X, as it is referred to in the Ongoing Story Creation. But the Creators believed the villains had been released into the future, and they were displeased with Om for not putting a stop to it.

Without much hope left to reverse the ill effects on Poptropica caused by its people and ultimately they themselves, the Creators decided to entrust the full powers of the map to Thorir Ásvaldsson, the great-great-grandfather of Erik the Red. The map was passed down through the generations, but during Erik’s reign, it was stolen by Octavian.

motm 13

With the Creators alerted of the robbery, they assembled a search party for it and discovered that Octavian had given it to the Valentines, who made it their duty to protect the full-powered map at all costs. The Valentines were ordinary people with the goddess Artemis on their side, granting them power and protection. The strongest one of them was Cathorin, the youngest Valentine.

The search party of eight, fondly known as “The Authors,” continued searching for many years. They split up, eventually starting the eight Tribes of Poptropica. 

One day, the leader of the Black Flags, Brave Tomato, came across the magic garden where Cathorin guarded the map. As she approached, Cathorin took out his katana, and the two fought. Some say they fought for days and days, perhaps even weeks. As they battled, they talked, got to know each other, and fell in love in the process.

With her loyalty turned to the map’s guardian, Brave Tomato kept the garden a secret from the rest of the Authors, never speaking of her affair. Meanwhile, the Authors collectively built the Poptropica Help Building, to provide assistant to all Poptropicans, with the secret underlying mission of continuing to search for the important map.

To this day, the map remains in the hands of a few elite, and that’s all I will say…

~MT

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Moody Tuna! If you did, be sure to check out another guest post of his: Pop Petition: Bring Tribes to Worlds.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our Write for the PHB page. We also encourage sharing blog posts on the PHC.

If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! 🙂

Calling all Creators to listen to their fans!

30 Comments

Hello, everyone!

It’s Lucky Joker here today with news from the Creators’ Blog, and, to be quite honest, it’s more of the same from last week’s disappointments.

About the most interesting thing to occur is the new header at the top, but the design itself isn’t new—it’s a crop of the main screen from Poptropica Worlds.

pcb worlds header

As far as post content, in the past week, there have been two Island Highlights (for GHD Island & Timmy Failure Island, both of which are old news) and another Outfit of the Week post.

The Island Highlights are about as bland as before, and as for the Outfit of the Week, this time the writer didn’t even bother to list the steps of how to put the costume together. Well, at least it’s not littered with inaccuracies this time.

Outfit of the Weak Grim Reaper

As far as this Grim Reaper outfit goes, it’s not very original. You can literally get the costume in its entirety from the Haunted House mini-quest. At least mentioning some sort of description would’ve made the post just that much better in terms of quality.

Not only does this “Outfit of the Weak” (as we’ve dubbed it) not include a description, there’s also no signature, so we’re left to wonder who even wrote this post—and the several bad ones before it.

However, there’s a glimmer of hope: the unnamed Creators have also this week issued a post titled “We Want to Hear From You!”, where they ask what we would like to see on the blog and in the game itself. Granted, they asked this already about a month ago on social media, to little effect on their part, but we’ll see where this goes.

Calling all Poptropicans!

Our answers to this question should be pretty clear if the Creators have been at all paying attention to their fans, including here on the PHB.

To start with what we’d like to see in the game, we’ve listed many ideas in our Pop Petition series, plus Poptropicans in the comments of these posts have agreed and added their own ideas as well. Take a cue, Creators.

As for the Creators’ Blog, it’s not rocket science: we want to see more relevant, quality posts and communication with fans. Right now, it’s a far cry from what it used to be with former Creators like Skinny Moon (social media manager) and Captain Crawfish (writer). With months of waiting between island releases, we as fans want to see something that will keep us interested—simply throwing out old news isn’t going to do the trick. Accurate descriptions for each Outfit of the Week would be a good start, but sneak peeks every once in a while wouldn’t hurt either. 😉

What would you like to see in Poptropica and on the Creators’ Blog? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, as always! Talk to you in the next one.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Pop Petition: What We Want From Islands

16 Comments

Pop Petition Header

Yep, Pop Petitions is making its rounds again because lately, fans have faced some disappointment. We’ve had multiple posts voicing concerns about Pop Worlds, but right now we are going to focus on the main feature Poptropica has to offer: islands.

Islands and their adventures are what Poptropica is all about, so that’s what the Creators should really be putting effort into, right? Poptropica is a game, so game play really counts. However, some of the game play in Poptropica Worlds has been lacking, as we’ve talked about in previous island reviews.

#1: In-Depth Storylines

Shouldn’t this request speak for itself? The storyline of an island is arguably its most important aspect. We’ve seen some captivating tales in the past, from Ghost Story to Arabian Nights and other fan favorites, but recent islands have been less than enthralling.

siep3poster2

Though this is a kids game, it is still important to keep the players attention. With a story that leaves you on the edge of your seat, a player is dying to solve the puzzle and keep the adventure going. Without this, an island can seem like a chore. Things can’t be too rushed, nor can they be too drawn out.

An example that most can agree on that is lacking in storyline would probably be Crisis Caverns. While it contains an interesting idea and some cool scenes, there is no development or intriguing plot twists. The whole story seems a bit flat, which is especially disappointing when looking back at some of Poptropica Original’s in depth adventures. Further thoughts on this are expressed in our Crisis Caverns Review.

#2: Gameplay Itself

With Poptropica’s click-based controls, advanced motion is certainly limited. As previously said, the storyline is what makes most islands interesting. Still, the gameplay is a big part of a game, and it seems a bit lacking in some islands.

zeusboss

Some elements are definitely not bad, but also overused (chase scenes being the most notable). Minigames like these can be irritating on a slow computer, for sure, but also don’t present a huge challenge. In fact, many people report glitches in their playthroughs, resulting in having to play minigames all over again. But what else is new?

Though cut scenes and minigames are fine, I do think Poptropica should focus on one thing in particular: puzzles. Being a kids game (that is supposed to be educational), I believe puzzles would be a lot more beneficial as gameplay elements. We’ve certainly seen these before, in islands like Nabooti and Spy Island, but they don’t always get the credit they deserve, nor are they utilized to the best of their ability.

#3: Character Development

Characters are also a big part of the Poptropica world, resulting in countless pieces of fan art and fan fiction. We all have our favorite villains and side characters, but some aren’t built upon too much. There are our main four villains, along with some other diamonds in the rough, but other than that many characters are fairly 2D.

characters

We do see development in some classic Poptropica Original adventures, but it has really gone down hill in recent islands. While this does allow fans to build up backstories and orientations with their own headcanons, we don’t get confirmation about theories or personality traits.

Character development is a big part of getting a player to actually care about the people and plot. Adding depth to even a minor Poptropican through their dialogue, significance, appearance, etc. can add layers of interest and detail. We’d love to see more of that so our fan fiction can be accurate and consistent!

#4: Easter Eggs & Interaction

Though not necessary, easter eggs and little interactive features can spark a lot of interest. We actually got to see a lot of this in Greek Sea Odyssey, from Wonder Woman’s appearance to funny treasure chests and quotes. And that’s what I like to see, no matter how small!

minotaurdisco

It may not add to storyline or character development that much, but it still enhances the entire environment. Since exploring every clickable object isn’t necessary to complete an island, it can make a dedicated player feel rewarded when a secret is found. These features can be hilarious and references to other fandoms can make fans feel great.

It was amazing to see these features in such a recent island, especially since they’ve been a bit rare in the past. However, it is important that they do not detract from the storyline! Way more effort needs to be put into the main adventure before extra elements are added.

#5: Visuals, Audio, & Dialogue

Thankfully, Poptropica’s visuals and audio have been stunning for a long time. Though some dialogue can be lacking, even it can be quite funny. Still, recent departures of well known Creators can be worrying when it comes to the preservation of these elements.

nightcrawlers

Visuals, audio, and dialogue are key in making a player really feel a part of a game. Though no more important than the storyline, they can make or break the mood of an environment. Wouldn’t it be weird if music from Monster Carnival was playing on Galactic Hot Dogs Island? *shivers*

There isn’t much to complain about here, because Poptropica is often breathtaking in this category. But let’s keep it that way! With the decline of other gaming elements, it is vital that these don’t go downhill too.

Remember that this post isn’t meant to bash the Creators, but instead voice the opinions and suggestions of fans. We all want Poptropica to be as awesome as possible!

So, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with our list? What do you want to see in future Poptropica Worlds Islands? Be sure to let us know what other Pop Petitions we should make as well!

~SD

Pop Fan Artist Spotlight: BlazingAngel123

16 Comments

Hello, Poptropicans!

It’s Lucky Joker here starting up a new PHB series called Pop Fan Artist Spotlights!

🖌 What are Pop Fan Artist Spotlights? 🎨

These posts showcase artwork from an individual Poptropica fan artist and invite you to check out their links, where you can view more of their art. It’s essentially a combination of our Poptropica Portfolio and Community Creations series. Let’s get into it!

To kick off the series, I’d like to feature the work of one of my personal favorite artists, BlazingAngel123, also known as Blaze.

Blaze is all about creating stunning Poptropica fan art in a signature cartoonish style, and also contributed to the ever so popular “Danganronpa the Island“ fan fiction by MissEligon (which won the Best Fan Fiction award in last year’s Poppies!).

Check out this collection of some of her work below:

“A Knight’s Wrath”
“Binary Bard the Record Player”
“Popswap”
“The Boss(es)”
“The True Mastermind” (Redraw)
“Radiation”
“Experiment”
“Fite Me!”
“Happy Halloween From the Circus”
“The Ex-Super Villains” (Redraw)

Awesome, right? 😀

Blaze says her proudest piece to date is “The True Mastermind,” because it shows how much she’s improved over the years.

Believe it or not, Blaze says she started drawing since she was only eight years old using just crayons and papers, then drawing with MS Paint, to now creating her stunning visuals using her trusty tablet and other computer programs. She also says that she started drawing after being inspired off of cartoons and anime she used to watch. Neato!

Blaze isn’t taking requests or doing art trades at the moment. However, you can still browse her gallery of works on her DeviantArt page if you’re wanting to see more awesome art. Trust me, there’s lots of great stuff there!

To finish off this artist spotlight, here’s a word of advice from the artist to other aspiring artists out there:

My advice to any artist is that keep your chin up and keep going at it! If you feel unhappy with your art, try something new! Don’t be afraid to experiment, and check out references for poses, clothing and other things believe me it helps a lot!

I hope you enjoyed this look into a Poptropica fan’s artwork. Perhaps you’re even encouraged to make Poptropica fan art yourself. If you’ve created some of your own, we’d love for you to share it on our DeviantArt group gallery at We-Love-Poptropica.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

 

Poptropica House Tour: Spotted Dragon

24 Comments

house tour sd

Remember Slanted Fish’s House Tour? Well, I’m here to continue the series and give you guys a look into my Poptropica Worlds house! While the other PHB authors frantically do some spring cleaning to make their rooms presentable, we encourage all readers to join in as well. Send in a guest post to feature your house on the PHB!

Anyway, make yourself feel at home! I don’t have membership to make the place real fancy, but I do have some pretty cool decor if I do say so myself.

The first thing you’ll see when walking in is certainly the chandelier over the front door. Gotta have something a bit fancy, right? Anyway, keep walking and you’ll find the main living area, where my friends and I most commonly hang out. This is where I keep my drum kit and arcade machine (complete with a stool for spending hours on a high score), despite my lack of skill in both areas. There’s also some wall art (to make the place more spiffy), my closet (near the front door since I’m lazy when it comes to quick outfit changes), and a soccer ball (for any quick games).

house tour 1

On the other end of the first floor, we have the kitchen for all my snacking needs. You got a fridge, table, trashcan, mounted microwave, basically everything you’d need. And with this place all to myself, I can’t eat a meal without watching some TV on the big screen.

house tour 2

Going up either set of stairs, you’ll pass some of my favorite photographs, both taken on some wild adventures across Poptropica! It’s not Spotted Dragon’s house without some photography.

On the second floor is where the magic happens. It’s a creation station! An easel for painting and a piano for playing. Complete with windows for some natural lighting, and a fan because I need a number one fan to boost my self esteem for when it gets hot. And who doesn’t love house plants? Let’s just hope I remembered to feed the one on the far right…

house tour 3

Going to the third floor, to the left is my trophy room! You may call it self centered, but I call it self love. Awards from every island are kept here (which continues to grow), along with some cool statues I’ve collected. Of course, I have another photo hung up, but I also have a tapestry I bought from another island.

house tour 6

Lastly, we have my bedroom! It’s got everything I need on a late Saturday morning. My cozy bed of course, my dresser, but let’s not forget about my books and computer! The latter I do need for work, though I admit I get distracted with video games all the time.

house tour 7

My bathroom is behind the door in my bedroom, but there’s no need to go in there on a tour… TMI. The rest of the doors in my house are mainly for storage and clutter.

Welp, that wraps things up! Good thing I showed you everything when I did, because a glitch keeps moving my stuff around and sometimes even removing it from my inventory. Ah well.

I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes glance into my life! Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to interact even more with some of our furniture in the future?

Remember to read about Slanted Fish’s aquarium house if you haven’t already, and be sure to check out how to submit a post of your own! Until next time!

~SD