Daily Pop Sneak Peeks, Labs (Land), PoptropiCon Island, Shark Boy Mystery, Social Media, Super Villain Island

More Land creations & PoptropiCon peeks

Hey Poptropicans — friendly reminder that the PHB’s Land Construction Contest ends this Friday, Sept 5th, so if you haven’t sent in your greatest Land creation to us yet, get building and click here for the post with instructions on how to enter! Or, if you’ve made something that caught the Creators’ eyes like Magic Fire‘s self sculpture (she’s a PHB reader too – hi MF!)ย andย Young Fish‘s panoramic port city have, you might even be featured on the Creators’ Blog! (click to view full images)

Have you ever wondered why Poptropica tends to release islands on Thursdays? While this doesn’t explain why Thursday exactly (Friday in some time zones), they did recently address the question (brought up by Poptrickia) via their official Twitter:

weekends off

PoptropiConย (guide here) had itsย first episode debut just last week for members, but if you’re wondering what’s up next, a good place to look are the Daily Pop sneak peeks. Let’s take a look at what we’ll be seeing inside the convention centerย (click to enlarge images):

Among all the random tidbits, it looks like there’ll be a booth for a comic hero called Elf Archerย — created by some guy called “Stan Ditko”: a reference to Marvel Comics co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Plus, there’s even a Balloon Boy collectible that can be seen on a table!

And not far from the My Little Pony mimicry (“Pony Bros”… even the Daily Pop’s caption is “Brony”), there’s a poster for “Lava Twins” — it may be a long shot, but could this be a reference to a film called The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl? Yes, you read that right, “Shark Boy”: like the beloved Poptropica character who no longer is. (You can read all about the Shark Boy Mystery here!)

sharkmuseum

Although it’s beenย about two years and ten islands since Super Villain Island, Brave Tomato recently uncovered this little snippet of Poptropica Creator Jeff Kinney working on it on a computer. It may not look like much, but it’s a pretty neat find nonetheless:

jeff working on svi

This came from a “making of” bonus feature on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days DVD, where they talked briefly about Jeff and Poptropica. (Jeff is also the author of the Wimpy Kid series.) Speaking of Jeff Kinney, I wonder if/when we’ll get to see his ice bucket challenge? ๐Ÿ˜‰

In other news, issue 19 of the PHB magazine, The POPCORN, releases this Sunday, Sept 7th, so be sure to have your creative entries sent in to phbpopcorn(at)gmail(dot)com before then! That’s all for now (or TAFN, as HP the hip one likes to say)! Keep on poppin’ on, Poptropicans. ๐Ÿ™‚

Advertisements, Uncategorized

PHB Ice Bucket Challenge & High Kicker power

Theย PHB team has been challenged by Fierce Moon of Poptropica Secrets to take on the #IceBucketChallenge, and…ย challenge accepted!ย The cold doesn’t bother us anyway. ๐Ÿ˜‰

ice bucket challenge

If you haven’t already seen, a few of Poptropica’s most iconic characters have taken on this challenge as well, which aims to raise awareness and donations for the ALS Association, whose goal is to fight a disease known asย amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which deteriorates muscle control. I made a little donation in the PHB’s name, and if you can, I encourage you to help a good cause as well. ๐Ÿ™‚

As for nominees: we invite any Poptropican who wants to embrace the ice, to do so — whether in real life or with a Poptropica picture! When you do, feel free to post it on your blog or just upload it somewhere, then share it with us in the comments!

EDIT: Checkย it outย — Spotted Dragon & Silver Wolf both completed the challenge and posted pics on their blogs!ย Also included in the imagesย below is our challenger’s cool Early Pop pixel bucket:

On behalf of Spotted Dragon & her blog (ATP), Poptropica Tipsย dared toย challengeย Jeff Kinney himself to the #IceBucketChallenge… and Poptropica has replied on Twitter saying that we can “expect something at some point”! Looks like things may get more interesting! ๐Ÿ˜›

jeff challenge

There’s a new ad on SUIs (sound-updated islands) such as Mythology, and it’s a street stand that will lead you to a CapriSun Roarin’ Waters website where you can enter daily for a chance to take on the pros from Major League Soccer. More importantly, though, itย gives you the new High Kicker power, which is activated when you click “use” and press space bar.

caprisun enter daily

Strangely, thisย doesn’t work on non-SUIs, and it also may remove your handheld item if you’re holding one. Anyway, enjoy the special move! Keep on poppin’ on, Poptropicans. ๐Ÿ˜€

Social Media

More Land creations & Poptropica tweets

Hey Poptropicans! Have you checked out the PHB’s Poptropica Land contest yet? Blake will be accepting entries until September 5th, but if you have yet to pull together something awesome, check out this new set of Land creations posted on Poptropica’s Twitterย – which this time credited its makers:ย Mad Tiger, Hyper Drummer, and Striped Fox! (Click to enlarge pics.)

Speaking of Poptropica’s Twitter… they finally followed us back! ๐Ÿ˜€ย (The PHB isย @Poptropica_Help on Twitter, and we tweet links to the Creators’ as well asย our own latest blog posts!)

twitter follow

pop retweet

Poptropica likes to tweet out various Poptropica fansites/creations, reply to questions, among other things, like the #IceBucketChallengeย with villains mentioned inย BT’s post earlier.

Here’s another tidbit: PHB reader Namelessย UnDEFiNed recently asked about the top 10 island finishers that used to get shoutouts on the Creators’ Blog, and Poptropica has responded saying that it stopped with the launch of the World Champions maps, but that they’ll discuss it againย — maybe something will come of it? ๐Ÿ˜›

top10

In other news, two of our PHB authorsย – Angry Wing, who joined last year,ย and Shaggy Tornado, who’s been posting here since 2010ย – will no longer be blogging here, due to inactivity, loss of interest, and the inevitable busy-ness of school life. They will be missed! ๐Ÿ˜ฆ

PHB Series, Surveys, Web Development

PHB survey analysis: what do you readers say?

PHB survey results

Hello PHB! Remember the readers’ survey I posted about a week ago as part of the PHB’s 13 million hits festivities? Well, in this post,ย I’ll be unveiling the resultsย – although I should mention that the survey service used only showed the first 100 responses (for free),ย so accuracy only goes so far. Also, the “Poptropica population” represented are allย PHB readers. Still, let’s take a look. ๐Ÿ˜€

1) What is your gender?

A pretty straightforward questionย – and results reveal that it’s pretty even, with slightly more Poptropica-playing (or at least PHB-reading)ย girls at 59%, and boys at 41%.

survey1

2) What is your age?

This one may be more surprisingย – while Poptropica’s target audience is ages 6 to 15, it seems the PHB’s audience comprises of the olderย half of that and even beyond.ย The most popular age group was 12 to 14 at 46% (almost half), followed by 9 to 11 at 35%, and then 15 to 17 at 15%.ย 4% claimed to be 18 or older, while on the other end of the spectrum,ย none who wereย 8 or younger responded.

survey2

3) Are you a member on Poptropica?

According to survey results, 50% (half) of you guys are paying members on Poptropicaย – and a further 14% say you used to be or will be. In contrast, just 36% have never been members and have no intention to be. Good thing the PHB covers member releases in a timely manner! ๐Ÿ˜›

survey3

4)ย When did you first start following (viewing) the PHB?

There’s a little bit of each in this oneย –ย with more recent years getting more votes, the most beingย 2013ย (the year Poptropica got sound) at 25.51%, and 2014 (this year) at 20.41%. Then 2012ย (when theย Friends feature came along) follows with 19.39%, then 2011ย (whenย Poptropica released theirย guide book) with 15.31%.

After that, 11.22% say they’ve been following since 2008 (the beginning)! Lastly, 2009ย (the year of the PHF & PHC’s beginnings) and 2010ย (when membership was introduced) are both tied at 4.08%.

survey4

5)ย What PHB features do you regularly use or browse? (Check all that apply.)

On this question, those who answered could check as many options as they deemed appropriateย – and here we see that the news & sneak peeks we show here on the blog are the most popular, at 79%! Island walkthroughs and Cool Stuff pagesย (cheats, costumes, & more) are tied at 73%.

50% (half) of those polled say they read the PHB magazines (The POPCORN, formerly known as The Poptropican’s 911). Lastly, just 30% regularly use the PHCย – ourย hangout spot for Poptropicans to chatย (about anything!),ย party in Multiverse rooms, and have fun.

survey5

6)ย How often do you play Poptropica?

About once or twice a day and a few times in a week have tied here at 27.55%, while several times a day takes up 20.41% of votes. That’s about 75% (a vast majority) who do log in often; a good sign for Poptropica of course. ๐Ÿ˜€ In the minority,ย once every couple of weeks received 10.20% of votes, followed by once a week at 7.4%, then once a month at 3.06%. Finally, once every couple of months and even less than the options listed tied at 2.04%. Not bad!

survey6

7)ย How often do you visit the PHB?

Now for the PHB itselfย – most (42%) say they visit about once or twice a day, while several times a day and a few times in a week are both tied at 20.41%. Once a week took up only 9.18% of votes, once every couple of weeks even less at 4.08%, andย no one votedย once a month.

Also on the low side were once every couple ofย months at 2.04% and even less than the options listed at just 1.02%. Allย that being said, the PHB is grateful to have so many avid readers! ๐Ÿ™‚

survey7

8)ย How likely is it that you would recommend the PHB to a friend or colleague?

This question was apparently “standardized” by the survey service, but colleagues aside, it allowed voters to rate us between 1 (lowest) and 10 (highest). 52% rated us either 9 or 10, 25% picked between 7 or 8, leaving just 23% choosing a 6 or lower. I’m not quite sure what the “net promoter score” means, but it’s 29. All in all, pretty good. ๐Ÿ™‚

survey8

9)ย How did you find the PHB?

Not surprisingly, most people (83.84%) found us by searching the web for some form of Poptropica help. 14.14% say they found the PHB through another website, while the remaining 6.06% came here at someone’s recommendation.ย Well, that’s the breakdown.

survey9

10) Leave us any other feedback โ€“ complaints, praise, criticisms, thanks, etc.

This was a comment box where people could say whatever they wanted. Lots of responses came through, some anonymous and others signed, but here’s a sample of them:

So basically this is how I learned about the PHB. I was known as the Poptropica Master of my class. Everybody would ask me how I defeated the islands, and I actually had no idea. My cousins were actually the ones who taught me about the game, and beat all the islands for me. I was embarrassed at how I didn’t know what to do, even though I did very much enjoy the popularity, I kinda hated how whenever somebody asked me something about Poptropica, I would just say, “I don’t remember.” So, one day I asked my cousins how they found out about Poptropica. They mostly shrugged, and explained how one of my cousins was struggling in school, and often used the Funbrain website. Then eventually discovered Poptropica, and, well, fell in love. I also asked them, “Well, how did you become so good at it?” Then my oldest cousin smiled, and said, “The Poptropica Help Blog of course.” And when I got home, I decided to check the website out, and discovered how to actually learn to become the Poptropica Master all of my friends thought I was. And now, I’ve beaten almost all of the islands with only The PHB’s help. So you guys are doing a great job! Thanks for helping me out! -Random PHB reader

Many of you talked about how the PHB has helped you with Poptropica, blogging, and even making you the “Poptropica master” among your friends and classmates, which is pretty awesome! ๐Ÿ˜€

I love the PHB. I recently started following it, but I have been viewing it for much, much longer. I think you have gotten much better over the years and I am going to keep viewing your blog for years to come. Keep up the awesome job! I think you should add more things to the POPcorn magazine and that’s all.

Some things people have asked for include: more costumes, more costume contests, more things added to our fan magazine The POPCORN,ย a featureย for introducing our unique Poptropican characters and writing their backstories, and more. We appreciate the feedback, and we’ll see what we can do! ๐Ÿ™‚

If you ask me, this is the best fansite poptropica can have. I love your costume page, but it would be nice if you could update it more often. I found the PHB when I was looking for help on Vampire’s Curse, and have been there ever since. I love the POPCORN, it just blows my mind, every issue is different. In conclusion, this is the best fansite around, and i hope to continue reading it!!! Signed, Quick Fang

Also, someone asked about how the PHB background was madeย – so here’s the secret. Some time ago, before one of YouTube’s many layout changes, the Poptropica Creators had this image (I call it the “Poptropica bits and pieces”) tiled as the background ofย their channel.

However, it was pretty darkย – so after saving it, I went through theย hue changer and adjusted brightness/contrast on an image editor (I usedย Pixlr, but there are plenty of options out there, such as Photoshop). After several adjustments, I decided a lighter shade worked best with the PHB’s layout. (By the way, if you’d like to use any of these, please credit the PHB!)

This image works because it can be tiled, as in repeated next to each other continuously with no break in the pattern. You can also see it used in the Poptropica Crowd wallpaper and also this older wallpaper, but it’s harder to extract it to have it be able to tile just right.

Anyway, hope you enjoyedย this insight into your fellow PHB readers/fansย – about 100 of them, anyway. Despite that limitation, at least the survey results came with some cool bar graphs with a nice color scheme! ๐Ÿ˜› Result-gathering is now over, so thanks to all of you whoย took the time to answer! ๐Ÿ™‚

Labs (Land), Shark Boy Mystery

Shark shoutout & a closer look at Land

Hey Poptropicans! So apparently it’s “Shark Week” on Discovery Channel, but of course when the Creators bring that upย on their blog, what they’re really trying to do is shamelessly promote one of their islands. ๐Ÿ˜‰ However,ย this note may be of interest for those who remember the Shark Boy scandal:

The second Island we ever released, way back in 2007, was Shark Tooth Island, which featured the massive Booga Shark, a helpful medicine man, and one very special boy whose name we no longer recall.

At least good old Captain Crawfish, Shark Boy’s successor, afforded him one last shoutout… ๐Ÿ˜ฆ #momentofsilence (and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, these posts should catch you up)ย Shark Boy was truly an icon of Poptropica’s earlier days, a name we won’t so easily forget!

sharkWithShark

(this and more awesome art can be found in the PHB magazine, POPCORN.)

Moving on to newer things, the second evolution of Poptropica Land was recently released to members, and as promised, the PHB’s Poptropica Labsย page has been updated to give you guys a more in-depth look at this cool new feature. Click here to view our Land walkthrough, which speaks ofย how to get the Svadilfari, materials you can unlock, and more! Here’s the Land trailer:

Poptropica’s official Twitter has already gottenย right into it by showcasing some of their favorite creations so far! Here’s a look at a treehouse (made by Spotted Dragon of the ATP), submarine, and garden. Pretty creative stuff! ๐Ÿ˜€

If that’s not enough of a look at Land alpha version 2, check out this review by Spotted Dragon on her blog, or thisย video tour from Captain Spencer (below) — plus, stay tuned for HP’s video walkthrough!

Lastly, some Poptropicans have noticed that the World Cup costumes are no longer to be found in the inventory. Brave Dolphin recently investigated this and got the following reply from Poptropica:

These are limited time expired items which are no longer available in the storeย or in the player inventory.

While the Creators did say the costumes wouldn’t be around forever, what’s weird is that they usually never take away Store-obtained item cards from players’ inventories (they only do it for ads, which this wasn’t). Strange, isn’t it? Share your thoughts in the comments! ๐Ÿ˜›