Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, Slanted Fish here with a few updates: an intriguing tweet, a membership giveaway, and a video highlight. Let’s pop right in!

Ever imagined a concert might be possible on Poptropica? Lil Nas X (perhaps best known for his country rap single “Old Town Road”) allegedly tweeted earlier, “I wanna do a Poptropica concert.”

The news was shared on our Discord server, the PHC, by Red Sun, though the tweet from @LilNasX became unavailable soon after, with no explanation. Maybe because of Poptropica’s platform limitations?

The idea isn’t totally random coming from Lil Nas X, though — only a few months ago, he held an elaborate virtual concert on Roblox, another virtual world game for kids. Who’s to say whether he can pull it off on Poptropica, too? We’d certainly be down for it! 🎤

We’re approaching the end of the month, which means it’s time to announce another lucky Poptropican to win our membership giveaway! Congrats, Emu — after 10 years of playing Pop, you can finally cross getting a membership off your bucket list.

In case you missed it, the PHB is hosting a giveaway every month, and it’s easy to enter! Just comment on the Free Poptropica Membership page and leave at least two other comments around the PHB within the month to be entered into that month’s giveaway.

We’ll announce a winner sometime in the final week of each month. If you don’t win, you can always try again for the next month! Full details »

Members can get some nifty exclusive items for their clubhouse, like this “Keepeth Out” sign. Speaking of which, check out my Clubhouse Tour!

In other news, the Pop Creators’ Blog posted a real throwback in their latest Video of the Week! This one’s a playthrough of the Haunted House mini-quest shared by Ramsha T:

This classic adventure used to be available from a card in the store back in 2009, then was later released as a special event in 2018. You can read more about it in our Haunted House Guide. If you want more special events like these, let Poptropica know in the comments of their post!

That’s it for this post. Stay tuned for a special one coming up here on the PHB — it contains some pretty great secrets brought to us by one dreamy guest. 😉

Pop on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Contests, Jade Scarab Island

Secret’s out: Jade Scarab is the final Dream Island contest winner! 🐞

February 20, 2021February 21, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, more news on the Design Your Dream Island Contest is finally here — two months after the contest ended.

The third and final winning idea, which will be made into the game at some point, is Secret of the Jade Scarab Island created by Girl Power!

Not much has been revealed about this upcoming island, but the name suggests a storyworld similar to Nabooti Island, where we go around Africa to find missing jewels.

If you were starting to feel jaded (heh) about when Poptropica would get around to this long-awaited announcement, well, we don’t blame you! It turns out that the Creators reviewed all the submissions 12 times to determine the final winner, and that really took a hot minute.

So what’s this adventure about? We don’t know much yet beyond the name, as this is all the Creators have said about it so far:

We were looking for a great story, for intrigue, and for a great mystery to solve. We wanted something challenging, exhilarating, and that had a touch of real-world history to it.
Poptropica Creators’ Blog

And it’s certainly got one of the longest island names in Poptropica history, second only to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Island.”

UPDATE: Girl Power has commented on this PHB post to share a little more about her island idea! Here’s what she wrote:

The concept work I did for Secret of the Jade Scarab included lots of archeological references, curses, and Egyptian culture. The main plot featured the player investigating a string of accidents to determine whether or not a pharaoh’s curse was threatening an archeological dig site and visiting a nearby market to learn about hieroglyphics.
Girl Power, island designer (see her PHB comment below!)

While we wait for more details to be revealed, we can draw some speculations from the name. Secret suggests a mystery to be solved, centered on this jade scarab: jade being an ornamental mineral and scarabs being a kind of popular artifact in ancient Egypt, often used in amulets or impression seals. There’s that touch of “real-world history”!

Two sides of a scarab inscribed with the name of Senwosret II (source: Wikipedia)

Scarabs were “typically carved or moulded in the form of a scarab beetle” and were often green or blue, though jade stone would not have been commonly used in ancient Egypt—instead, jade has roots in East, South, and Southeast Asian art. So the Jade Scarab may be a unique Poptropica invention, perhaps one that takes us across cultures.

Meanwhile, the Creators’ Blog goes on to share that the first Dream Island winner, which would be Fairy Tale Island, is already in the works, and it’s going to be different from the traditional island experience:

We have so many great things in the works for you this year and can’t wait to share them all! The first dream island is already in development and it looks SO GOOD! It’s a whole new take on an island experience and we think you’re going to love it!
Poptropica Creators’ Blog

Now that all the winners of the Dream Island contest have been announced — Fairy Tale Island, Goofball Island, and Secret of the Jade Scarab Island — we can look forward to these upcoming, promising adventures. 🧚‍♂️😜🐞 Fairy Tale is promised to release this year in 2021, but then again, if choosing the contest winners took two months, who’s to say when an entire new island will be ready?

Anyway, what are your theories on Secret of the Jade Scarab Island? Which of the winning islands are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and on our Discord server, the PHC. 😄

Keep on popping on, Poptropicans!

~🐠

Guest Posts, Popspiracy Theories

Popspiracy: Theories on how Poptropica villains turned evil 🦹‍♂️

February 19, 2021February 19, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Dangerous Dragon. Enjoy!

Hey Poptropicans, hello from DD! As we know, a good Poptropica story often contains a villain. Take Goofball Island, which is coming out later. Though we haven’t really met him yet, Dr. Blandston sounds like quite the epic villain. From there to Hare… you name it. Poptropica is full of villains, and today, I’m going to make some theories on how they got to be that way! So what are these villains’ backstories? Keep reading!

Dr. Hare (24 Carrot Island): A bad day for the carrots

What’s with this bad bunny? Dr. Hare was a good scientist! But what happened? Let’s say he used to work in the carrot factory making new flavours and facts. One day as he was working on an invention, that’s when things turned really bad… a routine radiation test took a turn when a rabbit hopped into the machine. Something happened… the man, the rabbit, and the radiator merged, and the radiation also made his mind… well, pea-brained!

Myron Van Buren (Survival Island): The scariest hunt

Oh well look who we have here: Myron Van Buren! Remember when your Poptropican was being hunted by this mean, scary old man?

Perhaps old MVB was tortured his whole life. So when he grew up, he decided he’d train harder than ever, so that no one could pick on him anymore. But his determination got the best of him. He started out hunting animals, but when that wasn’t enough, he turned to hunting people. He wanted to lash out at innocent Poptropicans too, and that’s how we find ourselves as his quarry!

Black Widow (Counterfeit Island): The power of art

Oh no! It’s Black Widow! For her I am thinking “Jealous.”

I think that when she was little she was teased because she couldn’t create art. From the classroom to the playground, she was laughed at. This made her hate the beauty of art. Later, she would dress up to blend in with the posh art folks, and of course, that was all part of her plan to backstab the art community with her high profile thefts. Her disguise certainly worked on us at the Counterfeit museum! Oh how she used us.

Next up… Ringmaster Raven? Oh come on, we know his story, don’t we?

Onto the next one…

Director D (Spy Island): Bad hair day

Beware for your hair, here comes Director D! Like him, D’s parents were bald. On the island where he lived, bald people were looked down on. D and his family all had to wear toupees just to get their due respect! So when he was older, D joined the spy agency in hopes of training his skills so he could one day get his revenge. Too bad for him, his plans to turn the world bald were foiled by us!

That is it for this post, but before I go, I also want to give a thank you to Maggie — if you are reading this, thank you for mentioning me in your podcast, the Poptropicast! 😄

Let me know in the comments: who’s your favorite Poptropica villain and what’s their backstory? Step in their shoes for a second and imagine how they became the person they are!

Thank you and this is DD popping out! Keep popping, Poptropicans!

~DD

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Dangerous Dragon. If you did, you might also enjoy their guest post on “Why Ringmaster Raven is a real hero.”

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! 📰✨

Creators' Blog Guest Posts, Paradise Island, Pets, Store, Video of the Week

What Airways is really, and Billie ✈👩‍🎤

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! In this post: the secrets of Poptropica Airways (aka Paradise Island), Billie Eilish, and a store update. Let’s pop right in.

Fans have been wondering about a sneak peek of Poptropica Airways posted by the Creators back in August. Although we’ve covered what became of it here on the PHB, the Creators themselves never mentioned it again — until now. In an interview with Poptropica guest blogger Invisible Ring, they finally put some questions to rest!

The main question, of course, is “What is Poptropica Airways?” To that, they answered that it was basically an experiment to help decide what features to develop on Poptropica.

Poptropica Airways, also known as Paradise Island, was a beta experience we created to understand what features players today would like to see in Poptropica. It allowed us to test a new experience for entering the game, news messages, plus daily tasks and rewards. These tests allow us to quickly see what new players are interested in so we know if new features would be a good fit in Poptropica. The news system from Poptropica Airways has already made it into the main game and more features are on their way!
Poptropica Creators’ Blog

Hmm, wonder what other features from Airways/Paradise Island they’ll try to implement into the game? Early perceptions of Paradise were not too favorable, with some players considering it to be an inferior copy of Animal Crossing. Paradise doesn’t seem to be available anymore, but you can read all about it on the PHB!

They go on to say that it’s separate from Poptropica Worlds, is not a new story-focused island, but rather “a new type of Home Island,” is not a station for accessing special islands, and will definitely not be replacing the iconic yellow blimp. You can read the full interview on the Creators’ Blog, and catch up with Invisible Ring on our Discord server, the PHC!

Also on the Creators’ Blog is a fresh Video of the Week! This time, it’s a quick clip from TikTok user @tony_torres38 drawing singer Billie Eilish as a Poptropica character. Looks just like her with the iconic neon green, doesn’t it? View the vid on the official blog!

Last but not least, the store’s been rearranged! Not much is new from before, but the Swan Ballerina and Little Demon costumes were added to the mix. Plus, check out all the fun items in the pet store as well. 🐶

That’s it for this post! Thanks for popping by, and see you in the next one. Stay awesome, Poptropicans. ✌️

~🐠

The Poptropicast

Tune in to the Poptropicast, a fan-made Poptropica podcast 🎙

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, listen up — there’s a new podcast on the air, released just this month, and it’s all about Poptropica!

The Poptropicast is created by a fan named Maggie, and each episode so far is about a half hour long. You can listen to it on Spotify or on various other podcasting platforms. Check out the latest episode:

Fun fact: Here on the PHB, we’ve floated around the idea of creating a Poptropicast, but it’s cool to see someone finally do it!

The Poptropicast speaks on both the history of Poptropica releases as well as the host’s personal experiences with the game. In the first episode, Maggie gives “A Short History of Poptropica,” and in the second, it’s all about “Reality TV Island” and its sequel, RTV: Wild Safari. Whether she’s describing lore like the celebrity parodies in Wild Safari, or sharing anecdotes like mispronouncing Poptropica’s name as a young child, you’ll enjoy hearing her perspectives on Poptropica!

And the PHB is happy to be part of the Poptropicast’s journey — just two episodes in and we’ve gotten shout-outs! Thanks, Maggie, for highlighting the PHB/Creators’ Blog post on “Which Poptropica character are you based on your zodiac sign?” by Lucky Joker, as well as this guest post on Ringmaster Raven by Dangerous Dragon.

The Poptropicast promises to go through and talk about each of the islands, so stay tuned! We’re definitely looking forward to where the blimp goes next on this podcast. Catch the Poptropicast on Anchor.fm!

Pod on and pop on, Poptropicans! 🎧✌️