Hello! I'm Slanted Fish, the editor-in-chief and creator of the Poptropica Help Blog (PHB). I'm a writer, Hong Kong native, and Christ follower. My Poptropica username is slantedfish 🐠 Don't forget to be awesome!
Based on sneak peeks we’ve seen, this next island will be an adventure filled with safari animals and a film crew — and what’s more, according to a little intel from Poptropica glitcher idk, it’ll be a sequel to Reality TV Island, first launched nearly ten years ago!
Poptropica has already confirmed that the island will be on Poptropica Original. And, if the past is any indicator, it is likely that members will get early access to this island, while non-members may have to wait for a period of time before the island is released to all. Consider treating yourself to a membership to get first dibs on Poptropica’s first island in about 17 months!
July’s a big month here on the PHB as well, with our annual Poppies event. Have you made your award nominations yet? Deadline is Friday! 🏆
Hey Poptropicans! Have you ever wondered what Poptropica was like in its earliest stages? You’re about to find out.
Over the next few weeks, here on the Poptropica Help Blog, we’ll be bringing you our Rewind series for years past, culminating into a full Poptropica Yearbook. We thought it would be fun to take a nostalgic look at where we’ve come from, and where Poptropica has taken us, so get ready for a blast into the past! Our first stop: the year 2007.
Poptropica was officially launched to the public in September 2007, although the exact date has been forgotten in the sands of time. From what we’ve heard, even the yellow blimp hadn’t arrived yet — with Early Poptropica being the only island around, you simply fell into a hole to begin your adventures.
While no Poptropica blogs had yet sprung up to document these beginnings, an old YouTube video uploaded by Codien, an old friend/former staffer on the PHB, gives us a glimpse into what Poptropica was like back in the day.
Notice the ‘BETA’ beside the Poptropica logo at the top (and ignore the recording software watermark). Apparently, the game was still considered to be in a beta testing stage back then — look at those primitive icons for the Items and Map!
Here’s some more fun stuff. The Poptropica Creators shared these images of some prototype designs of what Poptropican characters might’ve looked like, as well as concepts for how Poptropica gameplay might’ve turned out.
And one final tidbit: did you know that Poptropica was almost named Poptropolis? In that same post about concepts, the Creators shared, “If a competitor didn’t come up with a similar-sounding name, we never would’ve had the islands of Poptropica.”
That competitor, by the way, was Nicktropolis, a virtual world by Nickelodeon that, unlike Pop, didn’t last. As former Creator Mitch Krpata confirms in an interview years later, it’s because of the “tropic” part of the name that they came up with the idea of separate island adventures.
Anyway, that concludes the 2007 page of the Poptropica Yearbook! Stay tuned for the next pages… we’ll be traveling from 2008 to 2013. (From 2014 onwards, we started our end-of-year Rewind series, which pretty much covers the same thing!) In fact, you’ll be able to view the complete series on a new page in our Pop Plus collection, titled The Poptropica Yearbook.
While you’re here, sign the yearbook by commenting? ✏️
Looks like Dr. Hare has had a rough night, as he was seen earlier today on the Poptropica Creators’ Instagram story keeled over, while fellow Poptropica elites Shark Boy and Sir Cador stared straight on with indifference. Nearby blimps surrounded them, ready to give a lift to the hospital.
What’s the problem, doc? Couldn’t get enough carrots to supply your next evil plot? Lost the ability to toy with victims? The Creator who snapped this story certainly doesn’t think he’s up for whatever he’s up to.
Y’know, we’re not entirely sure why we’re still gossiping about this has-been villain who is fast falling into irrelevance considering his last stunt happened more than a year ago, but here we are.
Speaking of relevance, did you hear that Poptropica’s getting a new island? Looks like cheetahs are in, and hares have been beaten out of the race!
Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these, but the PHB is back with another Poptropica Portfolio post!
Who’s the smirking dude? Don’t know, but he’s on the cover of this Creator’s portfolio.
We’re spotlighting Abigail Grigg, also known online as Zukitz. She’s been working with StoryArc Media, Poptropica’s company, since October 2018. On her portfolio website, she features characters, props, and environments you might recognize — and a few you might not. Click to enlarge images:
You may recognize many of these characters as recent additions to the store costumes, many of the props from monthly members’ gifts and clubhouse decor, and scenes from the Milk It! ad campaign. What we haven’t seen before are the two pink, romantic scenes — perhaps never-released Valentines-themed background art for the Photo Booth?
Abigail’s portfolio also features sketches and concepts for some of the above creations and other similar items. (Some of the Valentine sketches did make it into the Poptropica Stickers app earlier this year.) Again, click to enlarge pics:
On her website, Abigail had this to say about working with Poptropica:
I’ve been lucky to create artwork for the famous online game, Poptropica! I’ve had the pleasure to create characters, environments, concepts, and graphic design work for this longtime cherished game.
Abigail Grigg
If you liked this, check out more of Abigail’s artwork on her website! In addition to her own projects, she’s worked with clients like the Pokemon Company, Disney, and more, so there’s plenty to see.
Hope you enjoyed the work of Abigail Grigg! For more from Poptropica Creator artists, check out other Pop Portfolios we’ve featured here on the PHB. Stay awesome, Poptropicans.
Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish. In this update, we’ve got redesigned pages and two new ads. Let’s pop right into it!
As you can see for yourself, the Poptropica Creators’ Blog has finally received its design update, so we can now catch up on the latest buzz on a page that matches the modern look of the rest of the Poptropica website which had a makeover two months ago. (Curiously, the icons on the sides don’t currently hyperlink to anything…)
Included in that makeover was a matching design for the other pages linked at the top of the Poptropica website, including the FAQs, which have been updated to reflect some recent changes regarding features like friends. (RIP to the good-old, gone-but-not-forgotten “add friends by username” feature!)
And, just days ago, the Poptropica homepage changed visuals to display the promo image for 2017’s release of Crisis Caverns Island, which is only on Poptropica Worlds. Could this mean a revival for Pop Worlds?
Still no link to Worlds on the Pop website yet, but will that change? That remains to be seen.
In other news, Poptropica’s got a couple of ads going! These may look familiar, but they’re slightly different from past iterations. On this ad for the upcoming Toy Story 4, watch the quick trailer video to get Buzz Wings Power! Tapping the space bar while wearing this will make you fly up for a moment before coming back down to touch the ground.
There’s also an ad game for Big City Greens, the Disney Channel show. Like last year’s version of the ad, the prize is a Cricket Follower (if you already got it last year, you may not get it again) (thanks for the tip, Mighty Pear!).
Anyway, it’s a fun little find-the-items game that’s more of a challenge than usual. See pics below for answers:
And that wraps up this post. Share your thoughts on what’s buzzing in the comments, and as always, stay popping, Poptropicans!
~/🐠
P.S. Want a place to hang out with other Poptropicans online? Check out our Discord server, the PHC (Poptropica Help Chat). 🎉
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