Author: Slanted Fish

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!
Comics, Galactic Hot Dogs Island, Shrink Ray Island, Social Media

Free Shrink Ray gun, comics app, & a happy Thanksgiving!

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! The Creators haven’t yet mentioned this on any of their usual news outlets, but if you head on over to the Store, you can now pick up the Shrink Ray gun for free (a gold card item previously worth 250 credits)! If you press space bar, the gun will shrink any character you point it at. Hehe. >:D (Thanks to kurtbushg for the update!)

Shrink Ray Island was recently re-released as a fully sound-updated island (SUI), and you can read a little more about the update here. Right now, it’s in early access for members, and non-members can play a demo. Check out our Shrink Ray Island Guide for a walkthrough!

Over on Twitter, Poptropica has just hit 1000 followers – congrats! The PHB’s Twitter is getting pretty close too, with about 800+ followers at this time. If you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow us (@Poptropica_Help) or check out the Twitter feed in the PHB sidebar for the latest news, which is usually retweeted there first before it gets blogged about here! 😉

The Creators have also tweeted that they’re trying to decide whether they should go with Poptropica or GHD-style eyes for the upcoming Galactic Hot Dogs Island. Hopefully the replies advocating the signature Poptropica look will sway them in the right direction – I know some ‘franchise’ islands (e.g. Wimpy Kid, Big Nate) take on their respective art styles, but personally I would rather see them adapted with the distinctly unique Poptropica look – so my vote is for Pop eyes. 🙂

pop or ghd eyes

Also, Poptropica has come out with a surprise launch of a new iOS app for Poptropica Comics! It’s free to download on the App Store for those of you with Apple devices. The misadventures of Jorge & Oliver are currently on a little hiatus, but they’ll be back in 2015.

comic app

Lastly, just before heading off for the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Creators posted a little thank-you on their blog for “the Poptropicans who play the game, who write fan blogs, who share their feedback with us, and who spread the word among their friends.” (Read the post here.)

Aww, we love you too, Captain Crawfish (and all the other wonderful Creators, of course!). ❤ Here, have some turkey… it doesn’t have crawfish stuffed in it… I think. No guarantees. 😛

poptropica thanksgivingHere at the PHB, we’re thankful for all you readers who visit our blog and give us an audience to write for! Have a great Thanksgiving, and even if you don’t celebrate it – do take the time to be grateful for the good things you have while they’re here. 🙂 Stay popping, Poptropicans!

Arabian Nights Island, Comics, Merchandise, Popstorms

Holiday wish list 2014, fat cats, & more!

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! First of all, there’s been a change of plans regarding the release of Arabian Nights, Episode 2 (Lair of Thieves) – although it was previously reported that it would come out Nov 25 (Tuesday) for members and Dec 11 for all, a more recent tweet is now saying that early access for members will start Dec 11, and everyone else must wait until Dec 30 to play. 😦

(Deception, Creators! Dream-crushing, hope-dashing deception!!)

In the meantime, check out our Behind the Scenes: Overview & Theory post to find out more about Arabian Nights: Ep. 2, with scene backgrounds, plot ideas, and more!

As the most wonderful time of the year approaches (with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you ‘be of good cheer’), it’s time for Poptropica’s annual holiday wish list! Click here to print out your very own 2014 copy, and be sure to check out the PHB’s Merchandise: A Guide to Poptropica Shopping page for info on the plethora of Poptropica goods available! :mrgreen:

(UPDATE: As Brave Tomato and Limelight have pointed out, if you look closely at the personalized T-shirts and hoodies, you’ll see a few former PHB authors’ Poptropicans on them: Shaggy Tornado on the pale blue shirt, Icy Comet on the pink hoodie, Green Boa’s name on the gray hoodie, and Super Thunder on the hot pink shirt. Subtle shoutout – thanks Pop Creators! 😀 )

phb authors shirts

PopStorm #7 recently popped up on Twitter – this one’s an a-meow-zing collection of fat cats. Aren’t they just purr-fect? 😉 Fur real though.

fat cats

Last last week saw Poptropica comics return after a little hiatus, but it looks like we only got two more strips since then before the Creators declared another break. However, our young Frankenstein monster-creating heroes will be returning in 2015!

Did you know that Poptropica Creators sit at home wearing big orange beaks on their faces while conferencing about common rooms for the app over Google Hangout? Well, that’s what this tweet and picture tells us. Not exactly sure who’s who, but from the list we do see a “Chris” (update: it’s Chris Messner) and “Jeff” (Kinney? Heim?). Thoughts? 😛

creators google hangout

Anyway, that’s all for now! This post’s bad pun is: what’s popping, Poptropicans? Oh wait – that’s the catchphrase we use for comments around here… well, how about an answer to the question? Popcorn’s popping, Poptropicans. 😉

Advertisements, Labs (Land)

Ads: Bonita Femur costume (girls), Street Hawk remote (boys), & more Land WOWs

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! There are a couple of new ads on Main Streets: one for boys, and one for girls. To get to either ad, just click on its respective banner in the home page carousel when you first log in, or the button on the ad card you may automatically receive upon logging in.

For the girls-only Monster High: Freaky Fusion ad, all you need to do is click on the billboard to receive two prizes: the monstrously fashionable Bonita Femur costume, and a printable Wish List.

(Thanks to Magic Fire of The Poptropica Package for the pics & insight. By the way, if you’re brought to an ad-less Main Street – like I was – try visiting a SUI. If you still can’t see it, it may be because you don’t meet whatever mysterious criteria have been set for the target audience, be it age, gender, or location.)

For the boys-only Hot Wheels: Street Hawk ad, just watch the video for your prize: a Hot Wheels: Street Hawk Remote Control! Press spacebar and the car will turn into a plane that will fly around your screen and exit upwards. Your character will be left in awe, saying, “Wow, it went 200 feet!”

(Thanks to Slippery Raptor the pics & insight! He recently joined the PHB team, but you can also check out his Poptropica blog here.)

Also, the Creators recently recognized a few more Land creations that have impressed them, which you can view on the official blog or below (click for full size):

Creepy Singer made a spectacular brick abode.
Golden Leaf gave us this floating domicile.
Prickly Monster made, well, a prickly monster!
Quick Tomato is the lord of this manor.

The good news is, everyone (not just members, as is currently the case) will get to play a bigger, better version of Land in early 2015! 😀

Anyway, that’s all for this post – be sure to catch up with everything else in the posts below! This post’s bad Pop-pun is: stay popping, not flopping. :mrgreen:

Advertisements, Nabooti Island, PoptropiCon Island

PoptropiCon, Ep. 2: now out for everyone!

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Apologies for the delay in this announcement, but anyway – PoptropiCon, Episode 2: Spoiler Alert is now available for all to play! If you get stuck on how to proceed, check out our PoptropiCon Island Guide, our walkthrough complete with pictures. 🙂

pcon ep2 allThere isn’t much else that’s new at the moment, but be sure to catch up on all the posts below, where we uncovered sneak peeks ranging from the resurfacing of the underground island idea to making our own worlds in the Land feature and more. There’s some pretty cool stuff!

Meanwhile, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid ad for book 9, The Long Haul, is still around. For more details on the pig-pushing game and the prizes it gives out, check out Slippery Raptor’s post about it here.

pigpush

Finally, the Creators have mentioned that R.A. Montgomery, who authored the Choose Your Own Adventure book series which included a book that inspired Nabooti Island (The Lost Jewels of Nabooti), has passed away at the age of 78. RIP, Raymond Almiran Montgomery!

That’s all for now – and this post’s bad pun is: pop over later, Poptropicans. :mrgreen:

Labs (Land), Popstorms, Shrink Ray Island, Sneak Peeks, Store

Best of Land: Haunted, Shrink Ray re-release, & hair PopStorms

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Now that the final “Best of Land” challenge has ended, the Land public preview is now over (alpha version 2 is back to being members only). On Halloween, while we here at the PHB announced the winners of our 6th Annual Costume Competition, the Creators featured the best “Haunted” Land entries they received – and here they are (click to enlarge):

From Brave Owl, this is one forest we wouldn’t want to walk through at night.
From Cuddly Ring, a house of horrors with three levels of thrills.
From Dangerous Tooth, a classic haunted mansion.
From Fast Lizard, an amazing paranormal panorama.
From Fearless Lizard, a floating fear factory.
From Friendly Raptor, these are two great tastes that taste terrifying together.
From Invisible Octopus, this is one great pumpkin.
From Popular Fish, it’s a ghost ship adrift on a sickly sea.
From Prickly Fish, we’re just going to assume this gargantuan skeleton creature is reaching out for a big hug.
From Red Singer, there’s a surprise around every turn in this haunted house.

Captain Crawfish sure enjoys incorporating alliteration in his captions. 😉 You can vote for your favorite over on the poll in the sidebar of the Creators’ Blog. Right now, Brave Owl’s intricate tree and Fast Lizard’s grass monster are in the lead. Here are the results thus far:

  • Brave Owl (24%)
  • Cuddly Ring (4%)
  • Dangerous Tooth (5%)
  • Fast Lizard (24%)
  • Fearless Lizard (10%)
  • Friendly Raptor (3%)
  • Invisible Octopus (3%)
  • Popular Fish (3%)
  • Prickly Fish (10%)
  • Red Singer (11%)

Also, congratulations to Silver Lightning for being the readers’ choice for best “Obstacle Course” Land!

From Silver Lightning (another repeat Land challenge champ), this multi-screen course is truly a-maze-ing!
From Silver Lightning (another repeat Land challenge champ), this multi-screen course is truly a-maze-ing!

Poptropica Land is currently no longer available to non-members, but the Creators have stated that, with the help of our feedback and Land creations, they’re preparing for an official launch early next year – which may even be available to everyone (we’ll have to see)! 😀

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As mentioned earlier, Shrink Ray Island will soon be re-released as a SUI (sound-updated island), with bigger screen, sounds, and all the gimmicks of the newer islands! According to an official tweet, this update is coming in November – sometime this month! The official Tour page has even been given a makeover, now with a desktop wallpaper and printable poster (see below):

Oh look, it’s the protagonist CJ, from whom my Poptropican got that awesome striped hoodie! :mrgreen: And… I know we’re miniature, but that’s a creepily big cat. 😮

Also, Members can now claim two new free Store costumes: the Milk Box and Bottle Cap!

(Maybe you recognize them from a sneak peek related to one of the “Inside Poptropica” videos. Speaking of videos, they’ve also re-uploaded the Shrink Ray Island trailer, but it is basically the same as the previous except for the “now with sound” emphasis and new soundtrack composed by Jeff Heim.)

As a classic island, Shrink Ray will come as a one-part story, rather than episodic (multi-part) – and according to Poptropica, more one-part islands will be released for both online & mobile starting January 2015. However, whether this means new one-part islands or just old ones re-hashed into SUIs remains to be seen. Hopefully it’s the former. 😛

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Over on Poptropica’s Twitter, two new sneak peeks called PopStorm (Poptropica brainstorm) have surfaced – perhaps a continuation of the Hair Potion idea? I still think it’d make a cool gold card item or something, and these sketches look goofily grand. 😀

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Last but not least, plans for an Android app are looking steadier! According to this tweet, it will be ready in just 5 more weeks, which at this point means it’ll be available in the first week or so of December.

That’s all for now – be sure to catch up on the posts below for all the latest Poptropica news and more! And here’s the popping bad pun for this post: Pop on like popcorn, Poptropicans. 😀