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!
In the first three episodes of Poptropica’s Survival Island, you’re trapped in the woods and are trying to survive: first you build a fire, then you catch a fish, then you send a distress signal. The story could have stopped right there, with you being rescued – but instead, it was just the beginning of something a little more sinister… and our quest for survival became a much more dangerous game.
The Most Dangerous Game (TMDG) is a short story published in 1924 by Richard Connell. Since Daily Pops of Survival’s fourth episode and beyond have surfaced, we’ve speculated that the island could take a twisted turn in the direction of this classic literary work — and now that the Survival series has come to a close, let’s take a look at some of the similarities and differences between the two tales.
Hey Poptropicans! This is going to be another mega-post on the many Poptropica-related things happening recently – but while you’re reading the PHB, don’t miss out on the new BoxTrolls ad, Survival Ep. 5 for members, the upcoming “Home” feature, and more news from the posts below! 😀
—
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Poptropica: A Story You Can Play
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a beloved story. No wonder it’s been made into two movies and a stage musical (and even other video games). Because we consider story to be the most important part of a Poptropica Island, this, too, was both a challenge and an opportunity when bringing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Poptropica.
How do we re-tell a familiar tale, full of beloved characters and situations, while adding an unpredictable new character: the player? How do we make the player a part of the story without changing the story, but allowing the player the sense of freedom and control that a video game requires?
[To read the rest of Poptropica’s entry, click here!]
Since its third year, every year, Poptropica has celebrated its birthday in the month of September – but never with an exact birthday date mentioned. This year will be Poptropica’s 7th year, and in response to a question from Slippery Raptor, Poptropica revealed over Twitter that Poptropica’s birth took the entire month of September (2007) — hence the celebrations being not on any one single day.
This year, however, they’re planning to have their festivities on the 18th – which is this Thursday! We can probably expect a birthday costume with a “7” b’day balloon, and maybe some balloons in the common rooms. In the past, they’ve also re-released retired items — we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in store for this year’s party!
—
More featured Land creations
Poptropica Land: alpha version 2 may have been around for a while now, but the Creators are constantly being impressed by all the elaborate creations Poptropica members are making. Here are the latest to be featured on their official Twitter(click to enlarge images):
Cool Speck: crystal home
Golden Leaf: ship
Messy Lion: not quite sure what this is, but it’s cool!
The PHB has previously mentioned Jeff Heim, Poptropica’s resident (and very talented) music composer — and while the recent release of Poptropica’s first ever music album may be unavailable to some due to cost, listening to Jeff’s Soundcloud tracks is totally free!
If you haven’t checked out his Poptropica collection in a while, you may now notice that he’s added several new tracks, mostly owing to the recent Survival and Mission Atlantis episodes.
In the comments of the “Science Fair” track, you may even notice Jeff’s response to HPuterpop saying that he “uploaded this track in part because I noticed you used it at the end of your Survival 3 Walk-through video”! Awesome.
One of my personal favorites, though, is the jaunty little tune that is PoptropiCon’s main theme. It just builds up to sound really epic as you get into it, plus it can get pretty catchy. 😀
—
Don’t miss out on all the other cool things happening in Poptropica lately — you can catch up with all the PHB posts below! Keep on popping on, Poptropicans.
Some Poptropicans have noticed that, in their medallion collections, a new blank medallion has been inserted between those of Survival: Episode 1 and Mythology. If you hover over it, it says “Home not yet completed.” But what exactly is ‘Home‘?
Well, a few recent Daily Pop sneak peeks might give us a hint — and from the looks of it, it’s a “hub” area that involves character customization!
Iconic: Whatever you want, with the press of a button.
One Stop Shop: Say hello to our bundle of joy.
Just a Trim: Or an entire makeover, if you’d like.
Over on Poptrickia, Nice Hawk has uncovered that this “Home” world will be for Poptropica’s mobile app (currently available on iOS), and you can see the design still follows the “sky island” theme of the app’s “tutorial” island. Here are some sneak peeks, courtesy of Poptrickia:
In the first scene with the blimp, the blue box is for the logo of the island you last traveled to, and from here, you can enter the two customization buildings: the Bundles Shop and New You.
The Bundles Shop sells gold card costumes and items from the Store, but whether this will cost real money on the app remains to be seen. New You contains a barbershop with a Colorizer, where presumably you can change your hairstyle and colors. There are also three pedestals — perhaps a costume closet of sorts? We’ll have to wait and see!
Cosmoe on Main Street
Remember Cosmoe from the Funbrain graphic novel Galactic Hot Dogs? (By the way, GHD is publishing its first book in May 2015!) Anyway, Cosmoe has appeared a few times on Poptropica before, but now he’s here on Main Streets of islands like Mythology! If you click on him, you can chat with, Costumize (works for boys only), or friend him. (The Princess Dagger prize pack has also returned in places like 24 Carrot!)
If you chat, you can ask him a few pre-scripted questions: who are you? (Cosmoe) what’s in your hand? (my Goober Sword) and why are you standing here? (I’m waiting for Princess Dagger)
Earlier, we found that Cosmoe’s username was npc:cosmoe, but this doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. If you add npc:cosmoe now, you’ll find a random character wearing a birthday cake (was the account hijacked? however, it still shows as Cosmoe on the Avatar Studio).
New PHB page: Mystery of Shark Boy
Remember the PHB posts about the disappearance of Shark Boy? Well, now all the data we’ve collected regarding this strange case has been compiled into a new page, so you can get the whole story all in one place! Click here to check out our new article, also found under the “Cool Stuff” tab!
Poptropica vs. Thinknoodles
Recently, Poptropica has decided to create their own video walkthroughs narrated by Captain Crawfish — but what’s interesting is that, despite advertising on the Creators’ Blog and even the Poptropica homepage itself, the “official” walkthroughs are still not as popular as those of Poptropica player Thinknoodles, who also narrates his guides, but has videos for every island on his YouTube channel. Check out the view counts of both their PoptropiCon Ep. 1 walkthroughs — the numbers don’t lie!
The Creators only have video guides for PoptropiCon Ep. 1 and Survival Ep. 5 so far, and for both, it looks like Think is still in the lead, despite both being released on the same day! Noodle on, I say! 😛 (Also, doesn’t anyone else wonder why Crawfishy doesn’t use his own peg-legged avatar in his videos?)
You may remember when the PHB posted some highlights from Nate Greenwall’s Poptropica portfolio earlier, but over on his Facebook profile(that is his personal account, so be respectful if you choose to contact him!) are a few interesting glimpses into life at Poptropica HQ! (Click to enlarge pics.)
The white board we have at work hasn’t been erased for about 7 years.
Practicing my Hadoken skills.
Lunch with some of my fellow Poptropica co-workers.
Some of our Poptropica merchandise hanging around our office. Now we just need to build a ball pit and fill it with plush toys.
Isn’t that little doodle of Binary Bard cute? And that’s a lot of Poptropica toys – I don’t think some of it has even been released before, like those badges in the corner or the big print of the pink rocker girl! 😮
I can show you the world… — “I DON’T WANT TO SEE IT!” Oh, but you’ll want to see this!
Hey Poptropicans! So last week’s buzz was about the release of PoptropiCon Ep. 1 for members, and Mission Atlantis Ep. 3 for everyone — but looking ahead, let’s see what we can find out about the upcoming Arabian Nights Island — in particular, the first episode: “How Bazaar”!
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW (but that’s what you want, isn’t it?)
:: overview ::
About a month ago, the PHB posted sneak peeks of some backgrounds of places we’d be visiting on the island, which had some rough notes on them. These have since been updated with backdrops, foregrounds, and the like. (Special thanks to Poptrickia for putting these together into corresponding images and allowing them to be used in this post!) First, here’s a look at the Cliff area (click to enlarge):
To the right of the cliff image with the notes, it says “to cave” — that’s because we’ll be venturing into one! Here you can see the updated Cave scene (where the bag of salt lies in a lower corner):
Anyway, at some point (perhaps the beginning), you’ll speak to the Sultan, who resides in a beautiful palace (with its lovely exterior illustrated by Nate Greenwall):
It’s not so pretty on the inside though — that’s because, as per the episode’s plot, it’s been ransacked by the Forty Thieves! The palace is in disarray, but more importantly, the sultan’s precious lamp has gone missing… and as those who are familiar with Arabian legend know, that lamp is supposed to contain a genie that has now disappeared!
image of the Sultan from Nate Greenwall’s portfolio site
You: What happened here? Sultan: The forty thieves happened! They ransacked my palace and left me with nothing.
You: You mean, you’re broke? Sultan: Money can be replaced, but the thieves took one precious thing from me: a lamp that is like no other. Find it, and I will grant you a fabulous reward.
You: How can I find the lamp? Sultan: I don’t know. But perhaps you can start your quest with this. It is my last jewel. Trade it wisely.
So, remember Blake’s post showing the items you’d obtain in Arabian Nights? You’ll be trading some of these in the Bazaar (a Middle Eastern market), and based on the above, it looks like you’ll be starting off with the Sultan’s crown jewel.
Inside these pretty patterned stalls, you’ll get to trade/barter with the store owners, which may or may not involve the items pictured below, placed in the various stall scenes:
And we can’t forget the Daily Pop sneak peeks! These can give some insights to the island as well, like the fact that the oasis may just be a mirage, that the palace is heavily guarded, and that the telescope item can be found atop a palace minaret. The Creators even referenced CliffsNotes! Oh my.
Open Sesame: Into the jaws of defeat.
Cliffs Notes: There are no shortcuts to knowledge.
Spelunky: At the end of our rope.
The Saddest Snowman: Think chilly thoughts, think chilly thoughts…
Camp Value: The pup tent sleeps one.
Missing: This place is a shadow of its former self.
Sleep Tight: Don’t let the desert locusts bite.
In Spired: I can see my house from here.
Whattya Buyin: Got some good things on sale, stranger.
The Sting: Watch your step.
Hump Day: Dromedarius to the maximus.
Shuttered: This place looks deserted.
Crystallized: The caves have come around again.
Palace Intrigue: Don’t let your guard down — or, better yet, do.
Mirage: Don’t trust what you see in the desert.
How Bazaar: Every time I look around.
By the way, for more Poptropica behind-the-scenes, particularly files and music, check out the PHB’s Behind the Scenes page, which includes part of the soundtrack for Arabian Nights Island and more!
On Arabian Nights Island, Poptropicans go on a quest across the desert to rescue a sultan’s genie from the Forty Thieves.
Now, onto the theories! From what’s been gathered here, it looks like the Sultan’s palace has been ransacked by the infamous Forty Thieves, and his most precious belonging — a lamp containing a (wish-granting?) genie — is now missing. Once you get past all the palace guards and manage to talk to the Sultan, he asks you to help him retrieve it. He gives you his last jewel to trade in the bazaar, in the hopes that you’ll eventually win his lamp back. Along the adventure, you’ll venture into a cliff, cave, and desert to look for various items requested by the barterers at the bazaar.
Hey Poptropicans! Issue #19 of the PHB magazine, known as The POPCORN, has just been released, with all sorts of Poptropica fan creations, including a gripping tale about baker Jane from Ghost Story Island, a collection of Dr. Who costumes designed by Cool Smarticle, several Poptropicans doing the ice bucket challenge, and more!
…clicked it yet? If not, you’re missing out on a piece of the PHB legend. 😀
For more information about The POPCORN, check out our Magazines page to find out what kind of entries we’re looking for and how you can submit something in for publication!
The deadline for emailing entries to phbpopcorn(at)gmail(dot)com is October 5th if you’d like to be a part of our next (and potentially last) magazine!
Hope you enjoy our pop-pop-Poptropica Help Blog fan magazine!
🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️ 