Guest Posts, PHB Sneak Peeks

Behind the Scenes: Development Testing Rooms

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post by PHC glitcher TechWizard, here to share with us some pictures he grabbed behind-the-scenes, with commentary from Brave Tomato. Enjoy!)

What’s up Poptropicans? TechWizard here and.. wait, who is this clown?! Don’t worry, I’m just guest posting. Don’t get used to me and my charms. I’m here to discuss some inside info on Poptropica that will leave you saying “woah.” The method used here is a secret, so don’t ask Uncle Tech here to leak it.

Our first image is of a SUI (sound-updated island) Back Lot! The way you can tell is that not only does the screen appear to be bigger, but also, the menu icon is on the top right instead of the top left (as the classic islands have it formatted). We’ve also had hints way back when that other islands were about to get the same treatment, yet we haven’t heard anything since. Whether this island is being re-released sooner or later, it’s interesting to say the least.

suibacklot

Our next room is a multiplayer room with emote mechanics like the ones used in the mobile Poptropica app! In common rooms online, you’ve normally got 8 emotions (with four categories that picks one out of two emotions at random): proud, small cheer, cry, shock, frustrated, head-popping mad, laugh, and jump for joy).  The mobile version has only 6, however: three old (cry, head-popping mad, and laugh), and three new (faint, dance, and greet). How this would affect the future of emoting is up in the air, but only time can tell.

multiplayer room

This next room has some interesting dialogue referring to bugs. It seems like the room itself is a debug room, and one of the buttons leads to a halting crash. This might be one of the line of defenses for glitches, and the crash feature could very well be used in case of emergency. Who knows?

debug room

This next one has multiple NPCs, one capable of changing size. This was most likely for creating larger Poptropican models, like the gods, and a few brute characters such as the large Viking in Mystery of the Map, as well as the tinier ones like Mr. Silva and what the Minimizer store card does. Strangely enough, to do this, you’d have to click on the mohawked Poptropican. That’s… interesting.  This one can also test multiple dialogue options.

change size

This one I like to call “Tetris Land”. Not a lot is in here, besides the odd floor, space background, and three handsome Poptropicans. If you try to speak to the first of the three, he’ll say a line of dialogue, and the other two next to him say, “What he said.” The main purpose of the room, however, is to explore certain special abilities in the game.

special abilities

This one here is a sound testing room, and even the Afro Guy here serves as a test! There can be a lot of different types of grounds a Poptropican can walk and jump on, as well as object sounds, music, and even the rarer voice acting snippet. Seeing that this is a sound-testing area, this probably ensures that there isn’t glitchiness, sound skipping, or other issues. These kinds of rooms, therefore, would be perfect for this kind of quality testing.

sound testing room

Lastly, check out this cool item card I found! Psychedelic flavor PopGum – if only they had released this. Looks like it might bring more happiness to the world.

psychodelicgum

Well, I hope you enjoyed this peek behind closed doors. Now I’m off to stalk what you guys will say in the comments section!

TechWizard

33 thoughts on “Behind the Scenes: Development Testing Rooms”

  1. *chokes on OJ* That is a TON of stuff!! Holy cow… someone get me to the sound thing! i love sounds!! And more Animations!! Wowza. Ooh! First comment 2!

    1. the gum is indeed functional. shame it was never released, or maybe it’s really rare, who knows?

  2. I hope the creators NOT scrap any of these ideas, the seem pretty good to me 😉

  3. Wow, this is really cool. Tbh I don’t want Back Lot to be an SUI :/ but do you know how to get into that common room?

      1. Well, the rooms are Poptropica’s testing/creating rooms, and I found out how to get into them, and in one of them you can temporarily get thousands of cards 😀

  4. OMG I loved Back Lot island!!! And that gum looks fantastimazing. 😀 😀 😀 #FlowersButterfliesAndSmileyFacesForTheWin

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