Author: Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! My name is Gentle Dolphin, and I have been a long-time fan of Poptropica. I like drawing, baking, and being an overall dork. In real life, I'm pretty much the same except for the fact that my hair is brown instead of pink. You can befriend me on Poptropica if you'd like. My username is "magicalyre".
Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

Zomberries to return in upcoming event! 🧟‍♂️🫐🔦

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, ghouls and ghosts! Halloween is fast approaching, and everyone is gearing up for some spoopy fun. The hype is so infectious that the Poptropica Creators couldn’t avoid it. Yesterday, they announced a new limited time event coming to Poptropica maps near you.

Everyone, brace yourselves because the zomberries will be returning for an upcoming Zomberry Special Event!!!

The original Creators’ Blog post also featured two Zomberry-themed sketches— possibly concept art for the event’s map icon— to go along with the announcement. You can see them below.

If you go to Instagram, you can see what’s presumably the final icon design, which borrows elements from both sketches. The caption on the Instagram teaser simply reads, “Something is happening VERY SOON. And then more is happening after that.”

Man, there’s a lot to look forward to! Judging from the announcement, it’s likely not the Zomberry Island remaster that was teased last year. Since it will a limited time event, it may be a special minigame similar to D.C. Diner or a quest like the Haunted House.

This event could be borrowing elements from previously scrapped Zomberry minigames, which we covered in our “PHB Sneak Peeks” series. Maybe it has something to do with that 8-bit minigame that was teased for the Zomberry Island remaster? Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see.

Players participating in this limited time event will be awarded special perks, so who knows what new prizes could be in store. Keep an eye out for upcoming sneak peeks, and be prepared for the return of the fruity undead.

While we’re waiting for this event, why not buy some costumes to dress up your Poptropican? The Poptropica store added some new items for players to buy, so it’s a great chance to get in the Halloween spirit. Plus, it gives you more to work with for the PHB’s Halloween costume contest. 😉

Thank you for reading, and have a good day! 

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Ghost Story Island, Lunar Colony Island, Store

Creepy costumes and chords from out of this world 🎻

Gentle Dolphin

Greetings, Poptropicans! Today, we’ll be looking at the latest store update and listening to some new island soundtracks. Let’s get started!

Another store rotation brings a unique gallery of items, including six new Halloween-themed outfits: Chillin’ Chills, Bit Dark, October Shade, Lemon Shark, Bubblegum Unicorn, and Fuzzy Monster. The store currently boasts 47 items, 21 of which are members-only.

Update: this store lineup received seven more items after the writing of this post, bringing the total to from 40 items to 47 items. They are the Dance-a-corn Costume, Fairytale Costume, Headless Costume, Inflatable Rex Costume, Cozy Cocoa, Witch’s Brew, and Autumn Scarves.

The items available for purchase are the following:

  • Costumes: Stylin’ Outfit*, Cool Outfit*, Chillin’ Chills, Bit Dark, October Shade, Lemon Shark, Bubblegum Unicorn*, Fuzzy Monster, Dance-a-corn Costume, Fairytale Costume, Headless Costume, Inflatable Rex Costume, Cozy Cocoa, Bride of Frankenstein*, and Frankenstein*
  • Followers: Elephant, Noodle Guy*, Dolphin*, Deer, Charlie the Chocomonkey*, and Atlantis Drone
  • Powers: Binary Rain*, Fireworks*, Cinnamon Fire Flavor Pop Gum, Meteor Shower*, Bobblehead*, Torch, and Electrify
  • Pranks: Sticky Notes, Witch’s Brew, Sneezing Powder, 8-Bit Birthday Pixel Pig Power, Inside Out Power*, and Love Potion* (this item is absent in the Flash version)
  • Miscellaneous: Party Popper*, Flamingo Floatie*, Watermelon Purse*, Drone Flying Follower*, Popsicles*, Hover Scooter*, School Backpack, Notebooks, Marshmallow Roaster, Hiking Boots, Silly Streams, Balloons*, and Autumn Scarves

Items marked with a * are members only.

In other news, Poptropica composer Jeff Heim uploaded three new Pop soundtracks to Soundcloud! (Thanks to MaryannTheConqueror for the news) The titles of these songs hint at two classic island remasters in the works: Lunar Colony Island and Ghost Story Island.

Our first song is “Lunar Colony”, an obvious nod to Lunar Colony Island. The wondrous orchestra fits the theme of exploring an unknown territory, such as the moon.

Next, we have two songs for Ghost Story Island. The first of these two is “Ghost Story Main Theme”. This eerie tune is the perfect piece for walking down the foggy streets of Hemlock Harbor and learning about the town’s tragic past.

The second Ghost Story Island song— and the final of the three new songs—is called “Fiona’s Theme”. The first half sets up a spooky atmosphere, and the second half plays the melody of Fiona’s Song (the song you play on the violin in Ghost Story Island). A wonderful track full of ambience and nostalgia!

It’s a pleasant surprise that these songs were released so suddenly. Perhaps work on remastering the classic islands began earlier than we expected. It gives us some assurance that these fan-favorite islands are not forgotten and will stick around after the end of Adobe Flash.

We at the PHB hope that you join us for more spooky fun this month. We have artistic events like Poptober and Community Creations, as well as our annual PHB Halloween costume contest!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Contests, Fan Art Features, Social Media, YouTubers

Sweet creations from all dimensions 🎨🎥🎂

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! It’s been an eventful birthday month for Poptropica, and the festivities are still going strong. Now, the Pop Creators have introduced a mini contest on Instagram with a prize of 10,000 credits!

And it gets better: the subject is none other than the iconic Dr. Beev, the Mocktropica pseudo-character turned celebrity who even made a brief appearance in the game earlier this week. The challenge for the contest is to draw Dr. Beev in your style (be sure to post with the tag #drbeev).

Check out that high-res pic of the Beev straight out of the bin! You know what they say, one Creator’s trash is an entire community’s treasure.

The trash bin on Mocktropica Island, featuring “discarded” character parodies like the great Dr. Beev (who’s arguably cooler than Dr. Hare).

Share your Beev tributes from now until September 30 (next next Wednesday) for a chance at those sweet credits!

September has seen a plethora of Poptropica content, from surprise fan art features to the ongoing Poptropica Month video event. Let’s take some time to highlight some of the wonderful stuff that we (and the Creators) are loving.

The Creators shared two more pieces of fan art on their Instagram story. This time, we have an Poptropican persona drawing (a.k.a. a Popsona) by @petalshere and a 24 Carrot illustration by @ihatefridaysihf.

The fan features don’t stop on Instagram! The Creators’ Blog also shared a YouTube video by happyclonetrooper, who created a 3D model of her Popsona, Maroon Ring. Cool to see Poptropicans in the third dimension!

On the topic of YouTube, let’s take a moment to appreciate a few of the many Poptropica Month videos made so far!

Our first feature is from Theo of Dimension Bros, who posted a video on his personal channel in which he bakes a Poptropica birthday cake. Delicious, and reminiscent of Poptropica’s own 9th birthday cake! 😋

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOFtQVMByA

Next, here’s one from TheOrangeHe answering questions from MaryannTheConqueror‘s Poptropica Month tag. Several other creators have joined in on the tag as well, so that could be a good place to start if you’re interested in participating as a creator in Pop Month!

Finally, here’s a short and sweet animated meme by Kid Whom Has A Hat, featuring the song “Weak” by AJR amid a slight spoiler for Octavian in the Poptropica graphic novels (read the first one on our Comics page!).

We’ll leave you with one more thing to contemplate, a question that was also the subject of a recent Instagram story from the Pop Creators: How would you explain Poptropica in a single sentence to a friend?

As always, share your thoughts in the comments and on our PHC Discord server! After all, the Dr. Beev shenanigans certainly showed us the Creators are lurking…

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Fan Art Features, Paradise Island, Social Media

PoptropiCon comes to Paradise, and social media shout-outs

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! This is Gentle Dolphin with the latest Pop news! Today, we’ll be continuing our Paradise Island escapades and checking out some cool fan content.

Previously on Paradise Island, we rocked out during a talent show, got some free tacos, and saw a teaser for an upcoming PoptropiCon festival. A PoptropiCon-themed event sounds interesting, so what’s it like? Well…

To visit the “festival,” you can either click the “Go there now!” button on your phone or talk to the Cheetah Bandit on Paradise Island. No matter your method, you will be taken directly to PoptropiCon Island. From there, it’s an island quest we’ve seen before.

Among all the beach parties and island decorating, it’s definitely interesting to see a task which involves completing an island. Maybe we’ll see more tasks like this as more islands get ported from Flash to Haxe? Anyway, if you need help figuring out this “festival,” check out our PoptropiCon Island Guide!

In the past couple of days, Poptropica has been putting the spotlight on several fan creators, showcasing some of the awesome stuff made by the Poptropica fandom. Let’s take a look!

On Instagram, the Pop Creators added two new stories. The first story featured a relatable tweet from @snarkeigh, and the second story featured a drawing of rapper Cardi B as a Poptropican by @artesian.amee.

The Creators’ Blog featured a video by YouTuber itslucindasworld. Lucinda, who was once a big fan of Poptropica, revisits the game 10 years later (!!) to play some islands and see what has changed. Watch her joy as she explores 24 Carrot Island, as well as her confusion as she encounters membership paywalls.

Speaking of YouTube, Poptropica Month is still going strong, with fans creating videos to celebrate Poptropica’s 13th birthday. Poptropica put a spotlight on the event last week, and now they’re commenting on many of the videos! (Thanks to JamelleisNinja, TheOrangeHe, GEAR, and MaryannTheConqueror for screenshots.)

A lot of these comments are really nice and supportive of the fans and their work. One comment even mentions that the Creators will make sure the old islands can still be played after Flash’s discontinuation, so there’s that to look forward to! It’s great seeing Poptropica interacting with fans again, whether by commenting or sharing their stuff. Let’s hope they keep sharing more!

That’s all for now. If you make Poptropica content, make sure to tag Poptropica so they can see your work — you might possibly be featured next! 😉 Also, check out the Poptropica Month playlist to keep up with all the pop-tastic videos in this September event, and read more about joining Pop Month in this PHB post.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Member Gifts, Membership, Paradise Island, Sneak Peeks, Store

Let’s taco ’bout some new store items 🌮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! This update comes in two parts: one new sneak peek, and hundreds of new items. Let’s pop right in.

Last week, Poptropica gave us a sneak peek of an upcoming feature called Poptropica Airways. Needless to say, it left many fans curious. And this past week, the Creators shared a new teaser image on Instagram, of two characters in front of a taco truck (“Taco Loco”) manned by the same girl who also mans whatever the latest food stand is on Home Island (currently, ice cream). Is this related?

  • “Another sneak peek of some new things in the works,” from @PoptropicaCreators on Instagram.

Whether or not this is another remodel for Home Island with tropical trees, we’re also wondering, could this be related to whatever Poptropica Airways is?

And who are the other characters? They seem like player characters—the girl wears the Sweet Strawberry summer dress from the store, and the boy has the exact look of “Got Game,” one of the default Haxe characters. And there’s a pet puppy. Could this be a new multiplayer space? What’s your theory?

In other news—and this is a big one—the three main stores on Home Island have all received massive shipments of new items. We’re talking hundreds of items across the shops, the most we’ve ever seen!

The Poptropica store currently has 44 costumes (practically double the usual), 4 followers, 4 powers, 4 pranks, and 15 miscellaneous items. That’s 71 items in total!

A few new items can be found within this large gallery of goods. We have 6 trendy outfits: Summer Cool*, Sunny Sport*, Natural Breeze*, Gossip Girl, and Coolin. While 9 new items have graced the miscellaneous section, 3 of them are actually new: Slime*, Rainbow Balloon*, and Instant Camera*. (* = for members)

Speaking of members, a few formerly-exclusive member gifts are up for purchase in the store (for members only, of course). These include: Stylin’ Outfit*, Cool Outfit*, Party Popper* (one of this month’s member gifts), Flamingo Floatie*, Watermelon Purse*, Drone Flying Follower*, Popsicles*, and Hover Scooter*.

Why give these exclusive items for a limited time if they’re going to be available in the store down the line? Sure, they’re still “exclusive” to members, but they’re no longer limited edition. And buying a member gift at a later date does mean they aren’t free like before. This might be a good thing, as it makes the items more easily available, while monthly subscribers can still be the first to have the shiny new thing, though others may later catch up to their collections. Thoughts?

Member Gifts are touted as “exclusive.”

The pet store lineup has kept the same items, but there are three new accessories: a Unicorn Horn (slightly different from the Rainbow Horn), a Pink Tiara, and a purple Beanie. In Haxe, the visual quality of these items has become noticeably pixelated. Looks like this part still needs a bit of work.

  • Pet store in Flash.
  • Pet store in Haxe, where items appear pixelated.

The clubhouse store probably received the largest update up to this point. Across its five sections, the clubhouse store has 197 items, most of which are brand new! There were so many, I had to group each category. Behold!

There’s plenty of cool stuff to decorate your clubhouse with, so make sure to save some extra coin! Prices range from 25 credits (for simpler items like balloons) to 2000 (!!) credits (for big motor ships). Slanted Fish and I took some pics with some of these new furnishings to show you what they look like in-game:

So it looks like the Creators are well on their way in creating options for customization for Poptropica’s future in Haxe. Let’s hope the island migration from Flash to Haxe sees similar progress! What other items and features do you want to see in the game? Share your ideas in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬