Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

Hey everybody! Surprised to see me? After my complete collection of Poptropica clubhouse tours, I wasn’t sure I was going to post anything else here. But when I looked at the comments section of my last tour, I was suggested to try Poptropica Worlds next, so here I am!

Like with Poptropica Original, I gave my Worlds clubhouse a recent makeover. I made a video of what my Worlds house looked like before I changed it, so it can be compared with my tours. What do you think?

It’s time for me to get down from this swingset and get into my clubhouse!

So this is what my clubhouse on Poptropica Worlds looks like, huh? Hmmm… I like the lighthouse painting and aquarium, but I wonder about that map. I can’t quite put my finger on it…but I think it looks just like the map of Skullduggery Island!

Speaking of skullduggery, I think I want to watch a pirate movie!

…oh no, not again! Do I not have a remote for this TV either?? I have a bone to pick with whoever is in charge of all the clubhouse TVs. If we don’t get remotes, there should at least be an on/off button on our TVs. Otherwise, how the heck are we supposed to watch ‘em?!

Oh, well. Moving up to the second floor… hey, it’s dark up here! …wait a minute, it’s dark out there, too! This place is REALLY giving me the creeps…

Oh, look, a door. Normally, I wouldn’t think twice about going in that door and seeing what’s inside, but not this time! I’m NOT looking for trouble around here. I’ll use the rope over there and move up to the third floor instead.

Holy smokes! Is this the top floor of my clubhouse? It’s incredible! It looks just like an ancient fortress or the inside of a warship or… something that’s mysterious and awesome. It feels like I just traveled back in time!

I like how that Athena statue is pointing right at that map! I can almost hear her tell me, “Go forth, young warrior!”

Ok, I’m ready to go forth and open this door — Aw, snap, it’s locked! Open Sesame! …Doggone it, it won’t open! Maybe these musical instruments will help… no? Too bad I don’t have my reed pipe with me, I bet that would’ve opened the door!

And on this side of the museum… it doesn’t feel like that adventure hallway over there.

I think this feels more like a warrior hallway. There sure is a lot of Viking stuff on the walls, and it looks like this knight won’t let me through that door. Not that it matters, though, it’s locked anyway. Perhaps I’ll just sit here for a minute and finish sightseeing. Then I’ll keep exploring!

I’ll just drop down like a ninja and… GERONIMO! Woohoo! Perfect landing right on the bouncy chair! WHEEEE!

That was fun. Hey, wow! Look at that! This is COMPLETELY different than that dark hallway over there. I bet whatever is behind that door is gonna be just as great as what’s out here! But I’ll have to come back to it later. I’m not quite done with my tour yet.

Another garden? Cool! If I buy more plants and trees, I can make another indoor jungle to explore! It seems sort of controversial to pair it with the skyline painting and rocket lantern up there, but then again, I can pretend I’m on a cross-country adventure! Yeah!

…This could make a great movie. I should’ve taken the movie director from my first clubhouse tour with me.

I’m back where I started already? Wow. That was quick. But why am I surprised? I know for a fact that Poptropica Worlds’ clubhouses are years older than the Poptropica Original clubhouses. I bet that’s why these Worlds clubhouses are that much smaller.

What am I going to do with my two bonus rooms on the second floor? I’d better root through my closet and think of something quick! …um…

Thanks for joining me, hope you enjoyed my tour, and I’ll be back soon to share the other two parts of my Worlds clubhouse tour! See ya!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy her many other Poptropica clubhouse tours, such as this dreamy one!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨

Portraits from a Candy Crazed palace 🍭🎩

June 12, 2021 Slanted Fish

Happy weekend, Poptropicans! We’ve got a few fun updates in this post: a video and more behind-the-scenes from the Candy Crazed Mini Quest as well as some fan art features. Let’s pop into it!

First, a small nod to the LGBTQ+ came through in the latest Creators’ Blog post, which begins, “HELLOOOOO all you guys, gals, and non-binary pals!” 🏳️‍🌈 The post includes a playthrough video of the Candy Crazed Mini Quest from Silent Frog, Poptropica’s social media voice:

“Do you think Hansel and Gretel are the villains of the story?” Silent Frog asks. As the video is part of YouTube Kids, comments are turned off there, but you can share your take in the Creators’ Blog comments!

The blog also shared some BTS (not a K-Poptropican group, but behind-the-scenes) of the making of the mini quest’s decadent designs. 🍫 Take a look at the candy palace pics below and read more about this tasty treat tower with juicy puns and alliterations on the official blog:

In other news, earlier this week, the Pop Creators shared some fan art features on their Instagram stories! Check out these peachy portraits:

Ludwig van Beethoven as a Poptropican by @_smart_spinner_

That’s all for this update! Be sure to catch up below on more news, including the brand new character screen and insight into Poptropica’s origins. Keep on popping on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Creators, Social Media

Pop Creator Jess Brallier spills on “storytelling, games, and Poptropica”

June 9, 2021June 8, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we’re getting right to the heart of Poptropica with OG Poptropica CEO/publisher Jess Brallier! We’ve shared his vision for Pop and even interviewed him here on the PHB before, but there’s more…

Jess recently shared a personal blog post titled “Storytelling, games, and Poptropica,” discussing how it all began with our favorite virtual world—and it’s well worth the read. (Thanks to Brave Tomato, former PHB staffer, for bringing it to our attention!)

The post starts off affirming the success of Poptropica co-creator Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Jess ponders further potential…

What I really wanted (as I always did) was to publish stories for kids. What was different this time, was that those kids were now intensely engaged in games.
Hmm. There’s gotta be a gaming literacy with which to tell stories.

…considering that print, film, and theater all have their ways to tell stories. Jess goes on to share how, throughout his career, people didn’t take seriously his ideas for using gaming to tell stories to kids. That is, until he began collaborating with Jeff Kinney to create Poptropica.

Jess captions this photo: “Top row, second one in, is actually me. Makes sense, the old guy, with a worried look on his face, “How am I going to sell this up to ownership?””

The characters in the stories would be avatars. The user would be the story’s protagonist. So this avatar had to be human-like. Able to fashionably dress in any historical or imagined time or place (just like stories!). They would move—jump, slide, flip. And express—facial emotions. Just like humans. This would not be a virtual world of cute little animals moving stiffly around getting rewards of bananas and apples. The art and design would be second to none.
Jess Brallier

Jess even quotes from an old PHB post, though without naming us. The commentary from “one critic,” about the scene of bubbles in Realms, comes from our post Pop 5: Most Beautiful Scenes in Poptropica, by Happy Lobster. Jess writes, “Good stuff! Our fans “got it.””

The PHB described this scene: “Based on Yggdrasil from Norse mythology, the tree containing all worlds, this scene may seem simple, but really, it is **quite captivating**. The minimal sky background, the way the colossal tree’s branches twist, and the shining bubbles containing enigmatic pinpricks of light all add up to its **enthralling aesthetic**.”

Jess continues his story of how Poptropica got started by describing the scramble to find room in the budget for two positions, a front-end and a back-end developer. They eventually track down Pearson’s CEO, Marjorie Scardino, who gives them ten minutes of her valuable time—and the green light to hire the people they need.

That wraps up Jess’s post, which you can read in full on his blog! The PHB reached out on Twitter to ask if he’d be sharing his thoughts on where Poptropica is at today, and he wrote back that he would. Considering how much the game has changed since his days as CEO, we’re definitely keen to hear what he has to say. Stay tuned with us!

Thanks for kind words. I will continue to speak of Poptropica (among other things) in my blog, and that will include my current thoughts. Stay tuned over next two weeks. https://t.co/tCchDRmH2k
— Jess M. Brallier (@Jess_M_Brallier) June 8, 2021

The cool thing about all of this, which we thought about from day one, is if we did it right, we’d also be developing a next generation of storytellers, artists, and designers. Cool!
Jess Brallier

~🐠

Web Development

Introducing: PHB Series Guide and Art 🖥🖼

June 6, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, it’s Slanted Fish here with a few updates around the PHB! To keep things organized and easy to find, we’ve added:

🖥 The PHB Series Guide, where you can browse through the many posts we’ve shared on the Poptropica Help Blog, sorted by series. Find links to blog posts like My Place in Poptropica, Pop 5s, Pop Places IRL, and more on this handy page, listed under the Pop Plus tab on the menu!

🖼 Also on the menu is a new Art tab, with convenient links to our many collections of amazing artistry from both Poptropica fans and Creators alike. Be inspired by Community Creations and Poptropica Portfolios, plus find old favorites like Comics and Digital Wallpapers that were formerly under the Pop Plus tab. There’s so much to see!

🐈 Last but not least, there are some changes to the Categories of our blog posts, which you can browse from the sidebar. We’ve added parent categories for Islands, PHB Series, and Poptropica Official Series to help you sort through the many, many pieces of news and other kinds of content we’ve been publishing over the years.

We hope all these updates are helpful for finding things around the blog, and can maybe even lead you to discover new things in the Poptropica community! With so much content created over the years, there’s plenty to explore. Enjoy the new Art and PHB Series Guide pages! 💙

Keep on poppin’ on,

~🐠

Candy Crazed, Member Gifts, Store

Ballin’ with sweet treats and styles 🏏🍭

June 4, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got a few updates for you in this post: member gifts, a store rotation treating us to new items, and more behind the sweets of the Candy Crazed Mini Quest. Let’s go!

First, it’s a new month, which means a fresh batch of member gifts! June’s prezzies are all about balls: we’ve got a Trac Ball (press space bar to toss!), Bouncy Beach Ball, and Giant Squish Ball.

If you’re not a member, you can enter the PHB’s Free Membership Giveaway for a chance to win one! All you have to do is comment on the giveaway page and leave two other comments around the PHB within the month to join the lucky draw. You can try every month!

This week we’ve also got new items in Adventure Outfitters!

Fresh costumes include the Barbarian Warrior* (350 credits), Cat Hoodie (300 credits), Garden Glamour dress* (250 credits), and Summer Breeze* (250 credits). On the floor, we’ve got a Gummy Rider* (450 credits), Gumdrop Pup Follower (350 credits), and Master Huggins Piggyback* (150 credits). (* = members only)

You may recognize a few of these sweet treats from the Candy Crazed Mini Quest! It’s too bad most of the new things are for members only, but maybe they’ll return for all in a future rotation?

For the rest of the store rotation this week, check out this gallery courtesy of the Creators’ Blog update:

The Pop Creators also shared more behind-the-scenes deets and drawings on the making of the Candy Crazed Mini Quest. Here’s the roll call for the whole cast of hungry or confectionary characters, which you can read more about, puns and all, on the Creators’ Blog!

Hansel and Gretel, from the traditional fairytale

Get well soon, Master Huggles; get your name cleared, Little Witchy; and get to safety, Nanny! Guess it’s a hard life for the tasty-looking.

That wraps up this post! What do you think of the new items and the stories behind the crew of Candy Crazed? 🍭 Share with us in the comments, and keep on popping on, Poptropicans!

~🐠