Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans – did you know Poptropica has an official Facebook page? It seems to have been around for about for a month now, since their current cover photo was uploaded on April 24th of this year. You can find it at facebook.com/OfficialPoptropica, and as of now, this is what it looks like:

Seems like most people aren’t aware of this, as there were only about 70 likes when I checked, and it’s never been announced on Poptropica’s website! In fact, I’d only found out about it recently from Poptropica’s official Twitter (which also has never been announced officially either)–

According to the ‘about’ description, the page is only for the older audience—

Welcome! This official Poptropica® Facebook page is for fans ages 13 and up. Younger fans can find out what’s new at blog.poptropica.com.

The Poptropica Creators have also made use of Facebook’s ‘Timeline‘ feature to mark the launches of all their islands to date, each with its own graphic. They’ve also been linking to all Creators’ Blog posts starting from May 15, 2014.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Poptropica has tried to run its own page on Facebook. Back in 2010, they used to own facebook.com/Poptropica (now defunct), where they’d show unseen sneak peeks that even the Creators’ Blog didn’t post (this was before the Daily Pop) – including this cool sketch of a temple for Mythology Island:

KingPalace

They had some trouble regarding personal information, since fans wouldn’t change their profile icons to their Poptropicans when asked, and since people use their real names on Facebook. A few months later, they closed the page. I’m not sure if that’ll still be a problem with the new page they’re opening 4 years later, but then again, no one has commented on anything thus far, and the list of people who have liked the page is hidden, so no personal info there, at least.

Anyway, if you’re a Poptropican who’s 13 or older and has a Facebook account, be sure to give the Poptropica Creators a like so you can get updates on your news feed! 🙂

Magazines

POPCORN, the PHB magazine: issue #16 out now!

June 1, 2014July 5, 2014 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Issue #16 of the PHB magazine, now renamed The POPCORN, has just been released, with all sorts of Poptropica fan creations, including a story about some super-villains by Young Singer, an Anime Island idea by Bony Catfish, a plush doll by Unicorn Cat, and more, so…

check out issue #16 of our Poptropica magazine now!

…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!

They are now being published on the first Sunday of every month, just like the older series of 911s, so you’ve got until July 5th if you’d like to be a part of our next magazine!

Hope you enjoy our pop-pop-Poptropica Help Blog fan magazine! 🙂

How to Train Your Dragon 2: Poptropica ad

May 30, 2014June 1, 2014 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, there’s a new ad building around Poptropica for the upcoming Dreamworks animated movie How to Train Your Dragon 2, coming in 3D starting June 13! I found this on Main Street of Mythology, and it’s a common room too, so you can chat and battle with other players!

httyd2 poptropAd

As you can gather from the collage, there’s quite a bit to explore – on the left, you can watch a trailer, read the movie’s synopsis, customize from two dummies with cool berserker costumes, and claim two power cards: Dragon Ride (which places your Poptropican on Toothless the dragon) and Hiccup Flight (which shows Hiccup zooming around on a dragon).

On the right, you get to click on two different games to play, both of which will lead you to a new tab – How to Fly Your Dragon and The Dragon Trainer Matching Challenge. You can also click on a catapult with a sheep on it to fling it and conjure up some dragons.

(UPDATE!) There’s also a video ad in between places (such as underwater on Mission Atlantis) for Dragons: Defenders of Berk (Part 2), now on DVD. (This is a series related to the How to Train Your Dragon films.) Watch the video, and you’ll be awarded Hiccup’s Shield, which “protects you from fire” (see images below) when you press the spacebar. Basically, it summons some glowing blue light which swirls around your shield for a moment. /end update

Hiccup's Shield

On a different note, a Poptropican named Zippy Berry was featured today on the Creators’ Blog because she “made it through to tomorrow’s semifinals in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.” I don’t know who she is, but she must have some special connection to at least one of the Creators to get such a mention on the official blog! Well, whoever you are, Zippy Berry, congratulations. 🙂

Anyway, don’t forget that this Sunday we’ll be publishing the next issue of the PHB magazine, now known as POPCORN! We’re accepting entries at phbpopcorn(at)gmail.com (at = @).

Pop in later, Poptropicans! 😀

Glitches, Merchandise, Mythology Island

Spring sale, Mythology on app, & misplaced vent blueprint

May 24, 2014May 24, 2014 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! The Poptropica Shop is having a spring sale this weekend, and you can get 30% off any purchase of custom Poptropica t-shirts/sweatshirts by entering the code SPRING30 at checkout! (Note: these shirts currently only ship if you’re within the U.S.!)

And OMZ (which I imagine can only mean oh my Zeus), did you hear? Mythology Island has been added to the Poptropica mobile app, which is available on all iOS devices! It’s the same as the online version, so if you need a walkthrough, check out the PHB’s Mythology Island Guide!

Android users, there’s some good news – according to the official Poptropica Twitter, the Poptropica mobile app will be available on Google Play around July, which is only a couple months away!

googleplay julyish

Also, there’s been a strange glitch with the inventory (thanks to KeithSammut for pointing this out!) – the “Vent Blueprint”, which belongs in the 24 Carrot items, can be found among your Shark Tooth items! What’s up with that? 😛

ventblueprint

Anyway, don’t forget that the PHB magazine (now known as POPCORN) is looking for creative Poptropica fan stories, artwork, fashion, island ideas, and more for its next issue, which is coming June 1st! Check out the Magazines page for more details, and remember to email all entries to phbpopcorn(at)gmail.com! 🙂

Shark Boy Mystery

Shark Boy… is now Shark Guy?

April 19, 2014April 25, 2014 Slanted Fish

(recent PHB walkthroughs: Mission Atlantis & Survival)
or scroll down for updates to the Shark Guy mystery! the plot thickens…

Something fishy’s going on… it seems like beloved Poptropica Creator “Shark Boy” (also known as Nate Greenwall) has changed his name to Shark Guy! When did this happen? And why? That I don’t know, but if you look up SharkGuyCreator on the Avatar Studio, here’s what you’ll get:

Where’s the iconic dead blue fish he usually carries?! Now he’s inexplicably holding a video camera in his hand. (Here’s a far-fetched theory: what if this has to do with Mission Atlantis? A shark, a film device… it might make a little sense…)

Even stranger, if you look up Shark Boy’s old username, SharkBoyCreator, you’ll just get a random Poptropican named Young Catfish who’s wearing the Aztec warrior mask and Tiger Shark body – whereas before you’d get Shark Boy with his name and costume.

Besides, Shark Boy hasn’t posted on the Creators’ Blog in ages (the same goes for some other Creators…) – it’s almost always Captain Crawfish these days. (UPDATE:) In fact, Shark Boy’s previous posts on the Creators’ Blog have been replaced with Captain Crawfish listed as the author! Here’s an example from a cache from the Wayback Machine, and compare that to the current version on the Creators’ Blog. Other posts (like this one) have just outright been deleted.

HP’s theory on this (which you can read more about in the previous post) is that it might be a cover-up for some kid who got access to Shark Boy’s account, because those who had his old username friended but not his new one would see it replaced with Shark Guy (but with the name “Poptropican”).

sharkboyfacts

PHB readers Big Kid and Cuddly Lion confirm that Shark Guy has been holding the camera handheld ever since Back Lot Island came out (it’s the reward from the bonus quest).

Why are the Creators trying to erase all traces of Shark Boy, and what’s up with all this Shark Guy business? Share your theories in the comments section!

~thanks to Massive Raptor for the tip.