Home Island, Web Development

Map Mishaps, Becoming Official, and More!

Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish splashing on!

Everyone’s excited about last week’s release of Poptropica Worlds, and if you haven’t already completed Crisis Caverns Island, fear not – we’ve got a written walkthrough right here, under our Island Help tab. It even comes with pictures and gifs!

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Despite all this buzz over Worlds, it looks like the Original Poptropica (which you can access from the top-right button on the Poptropica homepage) hasn’t been completely forgotten about just yet.

If you hop on your blimp, you may notice that the map has been updated to categorize islands by pages! The categories are: Starter, Easy, Adventure (a page each) and Challenging (which takes up six pages). Check it out:

Notice anything funny? The PHB team has a few questions about this new arrangement:

  • Why isn’t Early Poptropica Island in the “Easy” category? (It’s on the fourth “Challenging” page; page 7 overall.) As the first ever Poptropica island, it’s also notoriously and unequivocally one of the easiest to complete, so this placement just seems odd.
  • Why do Timmy Failure, Escape From Pelican Rock, and Shrink Ray show up twice on the map in the same “Challenging” category?
  • Where is Wimpy Wonderland Island?
  • Why is Realms considered a Challenging Island? Shouldn’t it be its own category, much like the “Watch cool videos here!” button on page 1 of the map that brings you to the Home Island theater?
  • Why not some more categories, instead of six pages of Challenging Islands? How about a list for Sponsored Islands (such as the Wimpy Kid islands)? Members-only Islands (although that is most of the sponsored ones…)? Spooky Islands (like Vampire’s Curse, Ghost Story, etc)? What about organizing islands by geographic world locations? So many possibilities!

The last time the map was given a major update was a little over a year ago, when the Poptropica menus were becoming more button-based. Now, this new categorization system was a cool idea, but some things sure seem a little out of place…

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Speaking of strange, the Wheel of Loot on the Original Poptropica’s Home Island has now been moved inside to the theater!

There doesn’t seem to be a clear reason for this, but my own guess is that, since there’s already a Wheel of Loot on Poptropica Worlds, they’re making it a step harder here so you’ll spin it there instead. Or maybe they want us to watch more videos. Who knows.


Onto some brighter news! Last week, the PHB (along with several other prolific Poptropica community content creators) were made official VIPs by Poptropica, which stands for Very Important Poptropican.

We’re honored to receive this official recognition after all these years of blogging! Thank you, Poptropica Creators, and all you lovely readers for supporting the blog! ❤️

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As VIPs, we were awarded some spiffy graphics to display, which includes the sweet new VIP badge you’ll find on our blog header and sidebar. That’s pretty cool and all, but if we can dream even more, then we hope that perhaps Poptropica can one day officially link to all the VIP/official fansites on the Poptropica site itself (or at least the Creators’ Blog)!

Anyway, that’s all for this post! Let us know what you think in the comments below about the new map, moving the Wheel of Loot, and VIP officialization!

Stay popping, Poptropicans!

~🐠

Nabooti Island

Behind-the-Scenes Booty from Nabooti Island

Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish here with some (lawfully obtained) booty!

As you may know, one of the Islands of the Month for May is Nabooti Island (the other is Mystery of the Map Island). While it’s normally open only for members, for this month only, everyone can play – so be sure to seize the opportunity!

In keeping with the IOTM tradition, Skinny Moon dug up some cool behind-the-scenes (na)booti-ful art from the development of the island, courtesy of Creator Lance.

First, check out all the characters the Creators made, from African tribespeople to treasure hunters! Not all of them made it to the island, but they look pretty cool regardless. I quite like the watercolor textures and loose outlines. Who’s your favorite?

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In addition to this colorful cast, we also have these interesting sketched maps of the interior of the Great Pyramid at Giza and all its puzzles! Here is a more preliminary design, which isn’t quite what the final version looks like in-game:

(Click to view the images in closer detail!)

And here’s a look at a design guide for the pyramid that’s closer to the final version:

Trap doors and dead bodies and scorpions, yikes! (Oh, and a mention to Creator Jordan and “Indian” Jones is in there as well.) If you haven’t yet completed this epic adventure, be sure to check out the PHB’s Nabooti Island Guide, which comes with pictures!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this glimpse of artistic beauty (or should I say, booty) from the Creators’ files! Nabooti Island is one of my personal favorites and a longtime classic, so play it while you can this month – it will go back to being members-only after May!

💎 Stay popping, Poptropicans! 💎

~🐠

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Young Spinner

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Young Spinner, a longtime on-and-off player whose favorite costume is the Lumberjerk. See below for how to send in your own MPIP!

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Hi, guys! My name is Young Spinner, and this is My Place in Poptropica; the full story of my Poptropican life. Enjoy!

2007-2010 | The Beginning

I remember pretty clearly the day I first discovered Poptropica. It was just before the Christmas holidays when I was in second grade. During a technology class, our teacher wrote up some games on a whiteboard that he thought were appropriate for our age, and as you might have guessed, Poptropica was among the list (even though I now know better – Pop is for all ages!). I can’t remember any of the other games from that little list now, but in any case, I was intrigued when I saw the name ‘Poptropica’ – it sounded quite interesting to my seven-year-old self.

So, I visited it, created my first-ever Pop account (whose name was Shaggy Goose) and played Early Poptropica. Upon completing my first island, I fell in love with Poptropica. And that was back when there was only one island and almost none of the features Poptropica has today – so imagine how much more I love the game now!

I continued playing Poptropica up till sometime in 2010, and then I stopped. How and why, I cannot remember, but I definitely have zero memories of playing Pop in 2011.

2012 | The Lumberjerk

When I was over at a friend’s house for the first time with her, I re-discovered the joy of Poptropica! This was on the very day that Twisted Thicket was released to members, and my friend told me about Poptropica, not knowing that I had played it for four years straight previously! I had forgotten about the game, and so I watched my friend play Twisted Thicket on her computer using her Poptropican, who was named White Bee. As a member, she was probably one of the first people to play Twisted Thicket (though evidently not in the top 10).

This was also when I realised Poptropica had memberships that would enable you to get a great deal of cool paraphernalia within the game. I don’t know how I didn’t know about it before, since memberships began when I was still playing Pop in 2009, but I digress. I saw the limited edition Lumberjerk costume in the Store, and with one look at it, I decided I wanted it so much, with that rumbling chainsaw and helmet with a changing light – but it was only for members! It was so close, and yet so far.

Naturally, I begged my parents for a membership, but they refused. After that disappointing incident, I returned to checking into Pop everyday – not just to play islands that I had missed out on during my hiatus from the game, but to gaze longingly at the Lumberjerk card in the store (which probably didn’t help my despondency) until it simply disappeared from the Store as soon as I (and other non-members) could play Twisted Thicket.

Poptropolis Games arrived a little while after, and I knew this was certainly not a normal island as soon as I had to select my Poptropican’s tribe (forever Nanobots!) at the start. The events in the island weren’t too hard for me, except for Triple Jump. My friend White Bee suggested Poptropica Secrets’ Poptropolis walkthrough, created by a Poptropican called Fierce Moon, which did indeed help me complete the island. Even though I was just about on the brink of discovering the rest of the Pop community then, I did not go any further than going to Poptropica Secrets that day.

The other thing that resulted from Poptropolis Games was that my mum watched me play part of the island and evidently thought that Poptropica was a good game, because she bought me a six-month membership! Although it, of course, never got me the Lumberjerk costume I’d always dreamed about having, it did get me a limited edition, members-only Zaggy Moondust costume from Lunar Colony, whose hair I absolutely loved, and I still wear it to this day on my Poptropican.

2013 | The Blogs

One day when I was pretty bored in the summer of 2013, I started searching up more Poptropica blogs. I ran across about ten different Poptropica fan blogs, but finally landed upon the PHB, since most of the other blogs I had gone through had mentioned it several times as a sort of superior site when it came to Poptropica blogs.

From what I gathered from the other blogs, only the best Poptropica bloggers made it onto the PHB team. But even with that knowledge, weirdly enough, I didn’t even look through the PHB’s posts – all I did was somehow find the Xat PHC, and afterwards I forgot about checking out the PHB again. I went on the Xat chat a few times weekly, under the name BunkerPums (or something like that), although I didn’t chat a lot on there. But still, it was a relief for me to know that I wasn’t the only 13-year-old out there to play and love Poptropica!

However, I only lasted for a month or so on the PHC and with playing Poptropica because of the new and ever-infuriating sound-updated islands (SUIs). Most of the time I couldn’t even visit those islands because of the never-ending lag. All in all, they pushed me away from playing Poptropica for a good while.

2017 | The Fashionable Return

On a chilly February day this year, I decided to go back to Poptropica after a four-year hiatus from the game. But when I tried to log into Shaggy Goose again, I realized that I had forgot her username, and therefore could not log in. I was quite anguished for two minutes, until I decided to make a brand-new account: Young Spinner!

Between my long hiatus, there were so many islands I had missed out on (20+ new medallions to get!), and there was something new I had just missed seeing in 2013: episodic islands! At once I began the steady process of playing all of these new quests.

Then I remembered the Lumberjerk card, and along with that the ‘glitchers’ I had encountered back on the Xat PHC, who knew about how to perform glitches in order to obtain ‘rare’ costume parts. I surfed the internet again until I found the PHB’s Avatar Studio Gift, which had the very ASG with the costume I’d dreamed of having for five years straight: ASGbyEvra#2!

After about a week enjoying my fabulous new Lumberjerk dress-up, I took notice of the costumes of Slanted Fish and Happy Lobster, who both had amazing, signature, original looks, not just an outfit that was mostly from one common costume (sorry, Lucky Joker 😛). So, I returned to the PHB’s ASG page and rifled through the multitudes of ASGs until I assembled an original costume that I really liked. You can find the costume of yours truly on this post’s main graphic!

Moving away from my fashion dilemmas, I decided to check out what else was on the PHB beyond their ASG page, and came upon the homepage with all their blog posts! As soon as I read a few of them, I realized why it was that only the best Poptropica bloggers got to work there. The PHB was one of the most superb sites I’d laid my eyes on – and this was made by people who were, on average, quite close to my age!

On that note, I plan to open my own Poptropica blog in the very near future for all to enjoy – so keep your eyes peeled!

See you around!

~👶🌪

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

If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own (please include a minimum of 550 words, type with good spelling and grammar, divide it into labeled sections, and include your username). If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Guest Posts, Pop 5

Pop 5: Villains of Poptropica #2

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by TechWizard, and it’s a sequel to his previous Pop 5 post about the greatest Poptropica villains. Keep in mind that this list is purely his opinion and also contains spoilers. With that said, enjoy! –🐠)

Greetings, people of the PHB! It is I, TechWizard, everyone’s favorite guest poster, glitcher, and all-around complainer. Looking back on my previous Pop 5: Villains of Poptropica list, I honestly felt like I left out many deserving villains. So I’ve decided to do a round 2!

Also by the by: there be spoilers on the horizon! So turn back now if you haven’t completed these islands. (IT’S 2017, YOU SHOULD HAVE FINISHED THEM THOUGH!) Anyway, let’s get right into the list!

#5: Ringmaster Raven

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He’ll have time to reflect on his life of crime.

He’s the rather spooky baddie of Monster Carnival. His crime? Running a monster circus. Pretty awesome! Especially when he puts on that fancy cloak. Truly an amazing villain.

#4: Scheherazade

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Ah, Arabian Nights, the Create Your Own Island contest winner. The first part isn’t too exciting, but then you get entangled in a fetch quest for one magic lamp. Some thieves cause some trouble for you in Episode 2.

Then, in Episode 3, the leader – who becomes a genie – is revealed to be the princess, who has a bad case of father issues. Everything works out in the end, as the princess and sultan return to their old lives as street merchants. Good for them… I would’ve wanted the money, to be honest.

#3: Binary Bard

Binary Bard is king! Er, jester.

One of the original villains of Poptropica, Binary Bard is an all-time classic. He brought technology to a medieval village! And then he went crazy and made a space fortress. And he stole the village’s power orb. And the princess. So you fly into space in an attempt to rescue her.

That’s not all… when he returns in another island, you have to go enter his dreams and make him good. And that’s the last we see of him… for now.

#2: Myron Van Buren

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A psychopathic hunter straight out of a Jumanji ripoff, MVB rescues you and offers you food and shelter. Seems kind, right? WRONG. He wants to mount you over his fireplace. So you make a break for it. A big manhunt ensues, and you and another escapee work together to stop MVB! And then to add insult to injury, you steal his helicopter. All in all, a pretty intense piece of work!

Before we get to #1, let’s have some honorable mentions…

HM #1: El Mustachio

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Keeping the streets safe for decent people.

Your stereotypical Wild West villain. Like Scheherazade, he too has a gang. Only they’re not Arabian thieves, they’re cowboys with guns. Yeah… I hope you brought a bulletproof vest!

HM #2: Omegon

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Robots! Portals! Giant cat robot! It’s everything a guy can ask for. Omegon, mistaking cosplayers and actors for actual heroes, hijacks a convention and makes it his super cool fortress. And you, as always, have to pull the plug on his operation. An epic fight ensues and you win the day!

HM #3: Booted Bandit

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A classic case of identity swap! BB sends your player to the slammer while he/she roams free. Thanks to the Booted Bandit, you now have to break out of prison with the help of your new friends and clear your name!

And now for the number one villain…

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YOU, the player! Don’t think I didn’t see you littering!

I kid again! Now for the TRUE number one villain…

#1: Black Widow

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Black Widow! This lady is another classic villain. At first, she plays the role of an innocent detective. You and some creepy guy (who probably owns a white van and lurks outside schools) work together to stop the Black Widow before she can snatch The Scream. But surprise surprise, you and Creepo are captured by her. So you two make an escape and capture her. The end!

But then she gets put to sleep as well. And in another island, you gotta enter her dreams and make her good. THE END…

Well, that was a lot to type. I must depart now. I have places to go, exploits to find, people to bug.

Ad astra per aspera!

–TechWizard

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by TechWizard!

The PHB welcomes guest posting from anyone in our community if you have something to share, whether it be sneak peeks, My Place in Poptropica stories, or any other ideas you might have. We also encourage sharing on our subreddit and the PHC.

If you have an idea for a guest post, send it in to [email protected]:)

My Place in Poptropica

My Place in Poptropica: Kassi (Purple Tiger)

This is the My Place in Poptropica story of Kassi, or Purple Tiger, whose Poptropica mission is to complete every island (she did it once!). See below for how to send in your own MPIP!

2011 | My 12-Year-Old Self’s Dream

As a kid – before I became a teenager – I played a lot of games online: Club Penguin, the Pixie Hollow multiplayer game, and various mini games on the Nickelodeon website. I was around 12 when Poptropica was introduced to me.

I was at my aunt’s house, just doing my own thing, when I noticed her son playing a really cool-looking game on the computer. This was about the time when Red Dragon Island came out, and he was playing it. I asked him what it was, and he immediately lit up and began telling me about the awesome game that would later take up a lot of my time. He helped me set up an account and taught me how to play.

The first island I played and completed was Red Dragon Island. I thought it was so cool that I could play a game based off of one of my favorite book series! Soon after that, I was hooked. I don’t quite remember my player name or really anything about that account, but I do remember using all of my free time to play it.

Some time later, I had completed all of the islands they had available at the time. It was a bittersweet moment; I had achieved my 12-year-old self’s dream, but in doing so, I had nothing left to do on Poptropica – so I stopped playing.

2013–2016 | The Awakening

Later, when I was 14 years old and thinking I was queen of the world as I reveled in my new “teenagership,” I started reminiscing my old life as a little kid (which was literally two years prior :D). I was thinking of all of the things that I used to do – and that’s when I remembered Poptropica.

I quickly took to my laptop and started up the old game. I was a little discouraged when I realized I had forgotten my old username and password. I tried every single combination I thought 12-year-old me would use but came up with nothing. So, I made a new account with the name Purple Tiger and the username Kassi_Loves15 (which I still roll my eyes at… seriously, I really wish 14-year-old me came up with something better).

Once I was back in the game, I was greeted with some new islands, and from then on I was hooked again. I spent the entire summer of 2013, and the years to follow, trying to complete every island there was, trying so hard to accomplish what I had two years before. And I did it – well, sort of. Poptropica later made some islands for members only, and it was just my luck that I hadn’t completed some of them and couldn’t get a membership. 😦

2017 | Waiting on Worlds

Now, I am eagerly awaiting Poptropica Worlds, playing the members only islands whenever they are featured during the Islands of the Month, and occasionally replaying some of my old favorites. I check the Creators’ Blog and some others every other day, or at least once a week, to keep up with all of the big news. I’m still loving Poptropica as much as the day I first played, and I’m so happy that my cousin introduced it to me.

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

If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own (please include a minimum of 550 words, type with good spelling and grammar, divide it into labeled sections, and include your username). If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!

~the Poptropica Help Blog