Month: November 2017

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Tough Sky

Slanted Fish

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Tough Sky, who got his first exposure to people from all over the world from new friends on Poptropica. See below for how to send in your MPIP!

mpip toughsky

2009–2010 | Getting Into It

I started playing Poptropica when I was at my grandparent’s house one day, where a friend of mine showed me a website called Funbrain. It was really interesting at first, since it had really simple games, but then I found Poptropica.

Poptropica was, at the time, one of the best games that I could ever play. I created some avatars, but I didn’t really know how to play the game, since I thought that the items present in an island were also used for other islands. However, when I started to do the rest of the islands, I began to get a clearer idea of how to play. The first island I ever completed was Reality TV Island.

2011–2014 | All Around the World

In the next few years, I did all the islands—and then I wasn’t sure what to do next. I waited a while, and in 2012, they added the friends feature, so then I was able to make friends in the common rooms. I was excited that I could finally meet people from all around the world and be open to the world.

I live in Europe, and up until then I didn’t have much exposure to the world outside of my country. But with this new possibility on Poptropica, I was able to challenge many people from the United States and Asia in head-to-head game battles. My battle rank got pretty high after a while.

I also discovered the Poptropica Help Blog through the internet. From this site I found some cheats for the game and read about the news and adventures on the blog. I also tried to do the islands with the World Champion rank maps when those came out, and it was really cool to see all the countries where Poptropica players come from.

2015–2017 | The Best I Can Be

Eventually, I created an avatar for main use instead of having a bunch, and it’s the one I still use today. My avatar is Tough Sky, and I’ve solved all the islands except for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which is currently membership-locked) and the old Hub (Home) Island quest (which no longer exists). I did all the latest islands like Mission Atlantis, Survival, and my favorite, PoptropiCon.

Every time a new island came out, I would try to rank first place in my home country on the World Champion player maps. I’d participate in everything that Poptropica released. I played all the mini games you could get in the store.

I’ve also been playing Poptropica Worlds. In Poptropica Worlds, I’ve done Crisis Caverns, 24 Carrot, and Dr. Hare’s Revenge. I had a lot of fun in the latter, completing the four zones and attaining high scores. I also bought new outfits in the store and decorations for my dream house.

I think Poptropica Worlds should add new islands for us to do, bring back the World Champion rank maps for each island, allow us to create a personal profile for each avatar, and put a common room on every island.

But the most important thing I wish they’d do is cancel the membership in Poptropica Original, since that game is over—well, no longer being updated—so they may as well let us have free reign. And on Worlds, they should be less limiting to players without membership: I have too many decorations for too little space in my dream house, and I wish I didn’t have to get membership just to have more space.

Anyway, I hope that there will be new features in Poptropica Worlds. As a final note, I want everybody to know that there are two islands on Poptropica Original with World Champion rank maps that aren’t listed under “New Features” on Poptropica’s site, and they are Reality TV and Early Poptropica. Well, thanks for reading my story!

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story!

If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own. Please include your username and a minimum of 500 words, typed with good spelling and grammar, and divided into labeled sections. If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more. We always welcome new guest posts!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Pop 5

Pop 5: Inspired Islands

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Poptropica community member Crazy Peppers, who’s here to share about Poptropica islands shaped by popular culture. Enjoy!

pop5 inspired

Hey! It’s Crazy Peppers here with a second guest post on the PHB (I also recently shared a My Place in Poptropica story here).

I’ve noticed some similarities between storylines from Poptropica islands and other stories in pop culture, and I wanted to do a post highlighting some of them. So, here’s my “Pop 5” list of islands inspired by outside influences!

#5: PoptropiCon Island

Poptropicon twitter 2

While the plot of this island is pretty original, the setting and characters feel heavily inspired. PoptropiCon isn’t just any old fan convention—its logo bears striking similarity to that of San Diego Comic Con!

As for the characters, the Mighty Action Force parodies many Marvel and DC heroes and villains we know: Elf Archer is Hawkeye, World Guy is Captain America, Gold Face is Iron Man, Teen Arachnid is Spider Man, Dirt Claude is Clayface, K-Man is Superman, and Omegon is Ultron. Also, Stan Ditko could be a cross between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Check out the PHB’s PoptropiCon Island Guide for more interesting trivia.

#4: Shark Tooth Island

shark-tooth-museum

This island is like the movie “Jaws”: there is a shark threatening a town, and it gets stopped with a special formula. But here there’s also a tropical island, a medicine man, and an ancient temple—none of these are in Jaws, so that’s pretty neat.

Shark Tooth Island also gives us a stranded boy, a professor, and a very special boy (RIP Shark Boy). Castaway Island, where the boy and prof are stranded, even has Wilson the volleyball from the movie “Cast Away.”

Check out the PHB’s Shark Tooth Island Guide for more interesting trivia.

#3: Crisis Caverns Island

crisiscaverns25

Crisis Caverns bears quite a bit of resemblance to “Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne. In both stories, you enter the earth’s crust through a cave, encounter strange creatures at the core, and have to get out before a volcano erupts. There are differences, of course—for one thing, in Crisis Caverns, you’re at a state park.

Check out the PHB’s Crisis Caverns Island Guide for more interesting trivia.

#2: SOS Island

sos7

This island has traces of both the book Moby Dick and the movie “Titanic.” First, the resemblances to Moby Dick: there’s a guy named Ishmael, a white whale and a captain who does not like the white whale. As for “Titanic”: there’s a big ship sinking from an iceberg crash, and people need to be rescued.

There is some originality, too: for example, a bonus quest where you need to clog the oil leaks from the ship. That is not in either Moby Dick or “Titanic.”

Check out the PHB’s SOS Island Guide for more interesting trivia.

#1: Escape From Pelican Rock Island

efpr35

Like SOS, Escape From Pelican Rock also appears to draw ideas from more than one source. This time, it’s a combination of the films “Escape From Alcatraz” (based on a true story) and “The Shawshank Redemption.”

For the former, we have Bay City/San Francisco as the setting, with a high security prison on an island, much like the former Alcatraz prison. You escape with rafts and twins in tow, with a dummy of your head resting on your prison bed. It’s also like “The Shawshank Redemption” because you were framed for a crime you didn’t commit and sent to prison for it.

Check out the PHB’s Escape From Pelican Rock Island Guide for more interesting trivia.

Well, there you have it, folks—a list of the top 5 most inspired islands (in my opinion). What do you think? What else would you add to this list?

And, cut!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Crazy Peppers!

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, write it up and send it in!

Community Creations

Community Creations: October 2017

Spotted Dragon

community-creations-logo

Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the October recap for Community Creations! This month’s theme was Halloween and the featured work is not in any particular order. Be sure to check out all the featured artists!

WARNING: Though none of the featured work has excess gore, some may be a little too creepy or intense for some viewers! It is Halloween, so read this post if you dare!

No clue what’s going on? Go see our intro post.

Top 5 Picks

Hocus Pocus AU by MissEligon

MissEligon - Hocus Pocus AU

Hocus Pocus anyone? If you don’t know, it’s a classic Disney Channel Halloween movie (that brings back lots of childhood memories for me) and in this piece, the Sanderson sisters are replaced with our favorite Poptropica brothers. Specifically, it’s a recreation of this scene. This drawing is totally hilarious and well executed! Every time I look at it again, I laugh at a different facial expression. Well done for making me want to go binge watch old, spooky Disney shows! Find her DeviantArt here.

Trick or Treat by Dreamer2127 AKA Cinnabunny

Dreamer2127 - Trick or Treat

A cute little drawing of some of our favorite villains as kids going trick-or-treating! Dr. Hare as a rabbit of course, Binary Bard in his usual jester outfit, and Ringmaster Raven obviously as a bird boy. They aren’t exactly in costumes, but they are adorable either way! I’m so proud of lil’ Raven. Anyway, super cute! Find her DeviantArt here.

The Monsters Within by ANNE14TCO

ANNE14TCO - The Monsters Within

Okay, this is super creepy but super cool. This piece, while not super gory or anything, gives me chills. Totally appropriate for Halloween, but totally dark. It clearly shows how our Poptropicans not only face real villains, but the villains inside themselves as well. The lighting is extremely eerie, setting a perfect mood. Plus, the animation makes this drawing completely unique when compared to other submissions! Very well made. Find her DeviantArt here.

Happy Halloween by IceSquared

IceSquared - Happy Halloween

Simple but cool! Everyone should love a good Count Bram drawing, right? Since he is a vampire, he is a perfect subject for this spooky season. The lines are smooth and the effects that were used are pretty neat! The addition of texture and lighting in the background really gave the drawing a cherry on top. Definitely a great Halloween card. Find his DeviantArt here.

Halloween Photo by Green Cheetah

Green Cheetah - Halloween Photo

I see this loophole to include your Poptropican’s costume! But all jokes aside, this is pretty cool and simple! The graveyard background makes for a spooky setting and Green Cheetah looks like she’s ready to go trick-or-treating! Love the color scheme of the costume and I love how that owl just doesn’t care that there’s a ghost right in front of it. Plus, it’s refreshing to have a photobooth submission instead of a drawing! Just goes to show you that you can submit almost anything. Green Cheetah is frequently on Discord, so go friend her!

Honorable Mentions

A Poptropican Halloween Special by ArtisticAsianBunny
Happy Halloween by Criaha
Halloween Costume 2017 by LilPoptrystaltemp

All of the submissions were super spooky and as someone who is obsessed with Halloween, I loved everything you guys made! From art that was so creepy I had to check under my bed one more time at 3 a.m., to ones that made me go “AWWWW” for a solid minute, you all really got into the spirit of the holiday! 😀

There was a bit of confusion though: We said no submitting costumes, since our annual costume contest accepts those, and CC didn’t want to steal the spotlight. However, drawings that happen to include your Poptropican all dressed up were fine! Sorry about that misunderstanding!

November: How do I participate?

Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fic, realms, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.

If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is November’s theme? November’s theme is…

Heartwarming!

For people in the US, November immediately means Thanksgiving. But that’s not the case worldwide! Still, there are other holidays that serve similar purposes and teach similar lessons. Thanksgiving is best known as a time to show what you’re thankful for, get together with family and/or friends, and basically eat yourself into a food coma. Contradicting Halloween, many holidays across the world this time of year focus on loved ones and positivity, so that’s what we’ll do this month too!

Whatever you make, just make it sweet and happy! Lots of things these days make people sad, so why not spread some cheer instead? Draw your Poptropican with all of your friends in the Pop community, make Poptropica outfits that match the people in your IRL family, write a story about a cool adventure with a happy ending… the list goes on! All you gotta do is make me smile. 😀

DrHareHoolaHooping

  • Submitting: Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
  • Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
  • Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
  • Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!

I will always be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. Bonus points if you make a compelling description for your piece! While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!

So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!

~SD