Slanted Fish

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

Welcome to Part 3 of Seven Systems! (Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.) Now that we have the basic background of the story explained, it’s time for the action.

As a bit of recap, the Red Queen has conquered the seven systems, captured the Astro Knights, and is searching for the fourth Astro Knight. Rumor has it the Baron has started a secret resistance, and Tempest forms an alliance she doesn’t want to make with Rumpel, of all people, to find the Baron and… hopefully save the seven systems.

THE SEVEN SYSTEMS
Part Three: The Eye of the Storm
(Continued from Part 2)

The Baron-less airship soars through the skies of Poptropica for days and weeks, passing through various islands that haven’t seen travelers and adventurers in years. There are islands of all kinds, from ones inhabited by 8-bit people, ones made out of cogs and copper, and ones covered in snow.

After weeks of traveling, the airship docks on Astro-Knights Island, where knights in black patrol the kingdom of Arturus.

RUMPEL, disguised as a normal Poptropican, looks outside.

RUMPEL:

Oooh, that queen must really want this fourth knight if she has so many of her knights stationed out here.

Continue reading →

My Place in Poptropica: Golden Feather

March 17, 2024 Slanted Fish

This is a guest post from Golden Feather sharing their My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey. Enjoy!

Hi, I’m Golden Feather, and this is My Place In Poptropica.

I first started playing Poptropica around 2017, when I was 6 or 7. I saw it in an ad, and so I decided to try it out. I figured out a lot of the islands, but I could never figure out Red Dragon Island (based on Magic Tree House). I really liked Spy Island, and this was back when you could customize off NPCs, so I had a lot of fun with that.

Fish Out of Water: The pond outside this hut isn’t finished yet.

I actually still have access to my first account, where my name was Icy Shell. (I was a sucker for mysterious names.)

Around 2020, my account stopped working, so I had to make my current one. So now I am Golden Feather.

Poptropica was a big part of my childhood, and I am so glad I decided to click on that Poptropica ad that fateful day in 2017 (or maybe it was 2016?). I even got my lil bro into Poptropica now!

I always dreamed of winning the costume contest, and being rich in credits. I have achieved the credit dream, but not the costume one… yet.

World Warriors: Welcome back to the stage of history.

Thank you for reading.

Your favorite neighborhood psycho,
-Golden Feather

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.

If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. 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!

Guest Posts, My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Fearless Goose

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024 Slanted Fish

This is a guest post from Fearless Goose sharing their My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey. Enjoy!

Hi guys, I’m Fearless Goose and this is my first ever blog post.

2019 | A blue book

It was a normal day in 2019 during school when I saw a blue book titled Poptropica: The Official Guide. When I got home, the first thing I did was check out Poptropica. I was 7 at the time, so I don’t remember the account name sadly.

I was so excited to play, and the first map I played was Mission Atlantis, Episode 1. But being so young, after facing the first challenge, I ragequit for a month.

Hot Seat: This outfit will go straight to the dome.

2020 | Take two

The second time I played Poptropica was around 2020, a few months before Flash was discontinued at the end of the year. I played a few maps, but I didn’t really like the game, because for my 7-year-old brain, it was very hard.

2024 | Resolution

This year, one of my resolutions is to play games from my childhood, one of them being Poptropica. I was heartbroken to find out about most of the islands being removed, but happy they were a part of my childhood. I went from ragequitting to easily beating all of the remaining islands. I also enjoyed playing with my interesting character.

Well that’s my story. And if you have free time, just write your story. To see how to send in your story, click here.

This is Fearless Goose, over and out.

Breakout: Some forces cannot be contained.

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.

Web Development

An Alternative, Chinese Poptropica: BoKe Travelog《卜克环游记》 🕹️🏝️

March 11, 2024March 27, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hold onto your blimps, Poptropicans—we’re about to take a deep dive into an alternative universe. You’re looking at a Chinese Poptropica!

Shout-out to Pink (popping-tropics on Tumblr) for the discovery.

《卜克环游记》— which translates to BoKe Travelog — was a PC browser game made by TaoMee Inc, a Chinese company creating children’s entertainment. The game ran from 2011–2013, though it was only recently discovered by Poptropica fans now, over a decade later!

Though this Poptropica-inspired game is no longer playable, it was once hosted online at boke.61.com. We used the Internet Archive to explore what the site used to look like and grabbed some screenshots:

Unlike Poptropica, BoKe Travelog came with a background story, as found in this Chinese wiki. The lore goes that due to climate change, human life gradually moved from land to sea. As water levels rose, cities were submerged, and mountains turned into islands.

People known as BoKe lived happily on the islands, each with their own unique styles. One day, a mysterious black fog appeared on the southeast side of the ocean. As it continued to thicken, the islands faced various troubles, with people disappearing and economies collapsing.

The attacks came from the evil and highly intelligent Dr. Hedra, whose face no one had ever seen, and who wanted to rule over the world. But the brave BoKe people chose to unite to solve the crises of each island.

Inside BoKe Travelog are many visual similarities to Poptropica, as documented by Simon Cai 蔡思敏, who played both games in 2011. While BoKe Travelog puts its own spin on designs, many of the mechanisms such as the map layout and island adventures are clearly inspired.

BoKe Travelog had eight islands that closely followed many of Poptropica’s classic adventures, as outlined and documented in videos which you can watch by clicking on the BoKe island names below.

🥔 土豆岛 Potato Island is like 24 Carrot Island
🐙 章鱼岛 Octopus Island is like Shark Tooth Island
👦🏻 卜克岛 BoKe Island is like Early Poptropica Island
🕰️ 时光倒流岛 translates to and is like Time Tangled Island
🏚️ 鬼堡岛 translates to and is like the Haunted House mini-quest
💎 钻石岛 Diamond Island is like Counterfeit Island
🦸 超人岛 Superman Island is like Super Power Island
🕹️ 对战岛 Battle Island had multiplayer interaction and mini-games like Poptropica’s Paint War, Hoops, and Pathwise

Confronting the villain on Potato Island, who resembles Dr. Eggman Robotnik from Sonic, as noted by Pop fan Sleepy Biker

Also like Poptropica, BoKe Travelog released a book series with more stories unrelated to the in-game islands. They were called Mystery Island Adventures (谜岛大冒险) and some details are on Amazon.

What an interesting glimpse into an alternative version of the game we know! Though this green Chinese Poptropica is now lost media, its existence is a testament to the inspiring power of Poptropica. 🌴

Did you know that there’s another alternative Poptropica? Check out our exploration of Our Discovery Island (Orange Poptropica)! 🥕

What do you think of BoKe Travelog 《卜克环游记》? Would you play it if you could? Share with us in the comments! 👀

~🐠

Fanfiction, Guest Posts

Fanfic: Zombies, Zombies, ALWAYS ZOMBIES! 🧟 Ep. 18: A Late Night Chat

February 15, 2024February 14, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Magic Kid. Enjoy!

Hiya there! As you have guessed, it’s Magic Kid, back with the next episode in my fanfiction: Zombies, Zombies, ALWAYS ZOMBIES! If you have no idea what’s going on and want to start from the beginning, read the first episode here. But if you only just missed the last episode, catch that real quick quick right here.

Have fun reading this! (Y’all I feel so evil right now… >:D)

ZOMBIES, ZOMBIES, ALWAYS ZOMBIES!

A Zomberry Series

Episode Eighteen: A Late Night Chat

It was midnight. The darkness swallowed the island, just as Joe Puddy once swallowed those blueberries. The black clouds that constantly hung over the island were invisible against the starless sky.

The main city of Zomberry Island was dark. The only thing you could see was the occasional yellow eye from a wandering zombie. Groans and moans echoed in the fallen city, like some sort of eerie, off-key song of sorrow.

That was what the main city looked like, but if you went over a huge wall near the edge, you would see something far more interesting than a city of zombies. It looked like the grounds of a sinister hospital, dark buildings with windows that glowed purple, and occasionally green. People in neat suits, lab coats, or modern-core armor walked briskly with purpose from location to location.

Below all this in a prison with concrete walls and floors, the three friends waited in their cell. Waiting, waiting, waiting. What they were waiting for, they were unsure about. The note was vague but promised answers. It was the only hope they had.

Hawk (whispering)

Why hasn’t someone come? I would’ve thought that someone would be here by now.

Stone (whispering too)

Yeah, they said “tonight”, they didn’t say what time. It’s not like we have a clock in here, anyway.

Birdy (also whispering)

They can’t be much longer.