Guest posts are blog posts that are written by Poptropicans who are not staff writers on the PHB team at the time of writing. Interested in contributing? Check out our “Write for the PHB” guide under the Contact tab up top.
The island of many names is about to get another mouthful: Home Island, also known by its alternate names Hub Island or Tutorial Island, could soon become Skydock Island.
We’ve mentioned before of the Daily Pop hinting at upgrades to Home Island, including a ship-shaped renovation and the possibility of a personal home to display your medallions…
The rest of this post is written by Nice Hawk. He first made these findings on his site, Poptrickia, and allowed them to be shared here on the PHB. Enjoy!
…But it gets even better. Poking around in the unreleased files of Home Island, I found these highly interesting scenes and schematics which (partially) confirm my theories:
This first image is a preliminary look at what the Main Street of the new Home Island will look like; apparently it’ll be called “Skydock.” The buildings in this image will lead to the rooms below, the Town Hall and Saloon (click to view full size):
Town Hall
Saloon
These are actually scenes by the Creators that are in the earliest stages. Even though they’re mainly just line drawings and text on a black background, the descriptions are already getting me excited for the update. 🙂 It looks like the Creators are planning a lot of creative additions to Home Island this year.
Another thing that I found while looking at the code for Home Island, is that these rooms (Skydock, Town Hall, and Saloon) might even be common rooms! That’s right, you might be able to chat, friend, and battle with other players while also enjoying Home Island. Now I’m not 100% sure if that’s true based on the code, but it would be a reasonable enough assumption. 😉
It looks like the Creators themselves are still working out the details though, like for instance how the rooms will look like and how they’ll be connected, so the final product may be different from what I’ve outlined here. But so far this looks like the gist of it. And I’m definitely looking forward to this huge update!
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Ever wondered why exactly the medallion shards are scattered all over the place when you play the Tutorial, and why there’s a pilot there talking to you? Well, another update to Home Island (that might be coming sooner than the ship-related one) gives the backstory to that. This dialog file shows what seems to be you talking with the pilot while you’re both up in the blimp:
You: The view is great from up here! Pilot: Ahoy fellow traveler! You: Ahoy! You: Are you on your way to Poptropica too? Pilot: I sure am! But first, a minor course correction. Pilot: Woah! Pilot: Oh no! The medallion! You: Oh dear! Pilot: I see where it landed, I am going after it! Pilot: Want to join me in an adventure?
Then the pilot offers you a choice to either do the medallion-shard-finding tutorial or to go to Home. So basically, the medallion is in pieces down there because the Pilot dropped it from his own balloon. Interesting backstory.
Anyway, those are all the exclusive Home Island sneak peeks that I’ve got so far! Looks like the upcoming update is full of fun new things to do or to just enjoy looking at. The Creators haven’t officially announced it yet (though they did give hints of it in their New Year’s post), so we don’t know when it’s coming. But it sure is something grand to look forward to. 🙂
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Again, thanks to Nice Hawk for this guest post on the PHB! Be sure to check out his site, Poptrickia, which is full of tips, tricks, and Poptropica goodness. Stay popping, Poptropicans!
(Continuing our Popspiracy series, PHB reader Tall Cactus speculates about the direction of Poptropica’s future in this guest post. Keep in mind that Popspiracy posts are not to be taken as fact. If you have a Popspiracy, let us know – more details are below! Enjoy! –SlantedFish 🐠 )
Hello Fellow Poptropicans!
My name is Tall Cactus! You might know me as a commenter on the PHB.
Not too long ago, we all said goodbye to 2015 and welcomed a new year. But what will 2016 bring to Poptropica? What will the future bring to Poptropica? That is what I will be discussing in this Popspiracy. But before we begin, I just want to note that I’m not trying to criticize the game in anyway, and that everything said in this post might not even happen. Now that that’s over with, let’s begin
In 2016, I’m guessing that Home Island will get a huge update, more new islands will be released, and volume 2 of the graphic novel series will make its debut. But Poptropica may also be doing even more work to fully convert Poptropica to SUI. While it’s great to have bigger screens and music, there will just be even more glitches. See, Poptropica needs to realize that if they want to expand to things like the mobile app and TV, they need to fix the glitches in the original game first. I actually think that’s the problem- Poptropica’s so busy with other things that the quality of newer islands is just getting worse and worse. Hopefully one of their New Years Resolutions was to fix this.
But things may get interesting farther in the future. I think one of three possibilities will happen, ultimately changing how successful and how long Poptropica lasts.
Scenario 1: Slightly more or less popular
The first possibility is that Poptropica will stay more or less the same as it is now. New islands would be released every few months, along with giveaways and other fun things. The new islands will hopefully start to get better like Pelican Rock. However, the creators might still be converting to SUI, which means that some glitches and bugs might never get fixed. Poptropica might become more successful, but maybe only a little bit more or less popular. That all depends on the quality of the islands and the game itself.
How long will Poptropica last? – 5 to 10 more years, maybe a little more or less.
Scenario 2: Failing
But what if the islands DON’T get better? Would Poptropica slowly end in a few years? With glitchy SUIs, more sponsored and members only islands, and a focus on expanding, the game could suffer, with less and less kids playing the game each year, until Poptropica doesn’t make enough money and shuts down. If it did, would the website be deleted, or would it still exist, just never updated? Never mind. Let’s not think about Poptropica ending, but we need to know that it might still happen. However, with support with fans like all of you, this future might not happen.
How long will Poptropica last? – 2 to 5 more years.
Scenario 3: Most popular it’s ever been!
And lastly there’s that last possibility, which is more likely than the terrible second one, but wouldn’t happen for a while. It would happen if Poptropica’s dream of having a TV show and stuff like that DID happen one day. The good news? Poptropica would be the most popular it’s ever been! The bad news? The game itself would suffer. Less and less islands would be released each year, and even if kids did find out about the game that inspired their favorite TV show they might not want to play it. But you never know how successful this “TV show” could be.
How long will Poptropica last? – Who knows?
Well, we don’t know what the future will bring, but no matter what ends up happening, I’m sure 2016 will be the best year yet. What do you think will happen? Sound off in the comments below!
–Tall Cactus
Share your Poptropica conspiracy theories in the comments – we’d love to hear them. If you’d like to develop your thoughts into a full guest post like this one, contact the PHB (minimum 500 words) at [email protected]. Stay popping!
(Heyo! This guest post is written by a friend of the PHB, Spencer, with app pictures by Slippery Raptor. Thanks for the tip-off goes to Maroon Cheetah. Enjoy the post and the ad prizes! –SlantedFish 🐠)
Hey Poptropicanos, it’s Spencer! Alas, I have returned! Get your beautiful Poptropican self some candy, some popcorn, an extremely overpriced soda (or pop, shall I dare make a pun?), and let’s get ready to watch Norm of the North.Well, it’s not exactly the movie we get to watch. But, it is yet another Poptropica advertisement!
This ad is sponsoring the upcoming Dreamworks movie Norm of the North, in cinemas January 15th, 2016! From what I read, Norm and his friends wind up in New York City! Hey, that’s where I live! 😉
Anyway, you’re confronted by Norm the Polar bear to come into this peculiar looking building. (Remember kids, you shouldn’t always listen to strangers telling you to follow them if your parents aren’t around! 😉 ) There are two different versions of this ad: one for the mobile app and one for the web. Let’s start with the app.
Once you enter the building, you get to play a mini-game! Lucky you! (I admit, it’s a lot better than usual Poptropica watch-the-trailer ads.) Glad Poptropica stepped up its game this time around!
You’re presented with the quest of catching a bunch of anthropomorphic rodents in a condensed amount of time to win clothes. I can’t make this stuff up. Basically, you have to run around New York City collecting the three lemmies! They look just like they do in the picture, can’t miss ’em. 😀 (I noticed that this was incredibly similar to the mini-quest Don’t Be an Energy Hog, available in the Poptropica Store!)
Anyway, once you win, you get to have these fabulous prizes!
Oooh, incredibly fashionable Lemming Rider! Wearing this rat on your head is definitely socially acceptable behavior, in my book! This stylish cap is not the only thing your Poptropican gets to obtain: now, you get to impress all the hunnies with these designer sun Glasses. I love all the NYC references, by the way! 😛
If you’re playing on the web, it’s also the norm! (Do I seriously make a pun every paragraph?) Hop onto any SUI, and the building looks about the same. Except, it’s a common room! Hop directly up, and you can snatch this rad Norm the Polar bear costume.
Hop up again, or click anywhere it asks you to, and you can play Lemmy Launcher, which is different from the game on the app. Hit 8 tourists with your awesome lemmy aim and win! No prize, though.
High up in the left corner, you can grab a Tumbling Lemmies power. When used, a bunch of lemmies will roll on your screen.
Well, I guess my time is up yet again! Take it easy Poptropicans!
(This is a guest post by Spencer, an avid Poptropican in the community here to share some Poptropica thoughts. Keep in mind that the theory he presents is only a theory, not to be taken as fact. If you have a Popspiracy, let us know (details below)! Enjoy! –SlantedFish)
Hey Poptropicanos!
You’re probably wondering who this intriguing, yet handsome guest-poster is. Well, I’m Spencer! If that sounds familiar, I did a few guest-posts way back in 2013-14, did some island walkthroughs for the PHV, was the co-creator of Blake Pops a Theory (which is being replaced by what I’m about to announce) and I tend to chill on the PHC and EpicSerenity (two major Poptropica chats) a lot, too. Anyway, Slanted Fish and I are happy to announce our new series, Popspiracy: Poptropica Conspiracies!
Guess what? You get to be involved too! Leave your own fan theories in the comments down below or email [email protected] and you may get a chance to get your conspiracy featured on the PHB.
My conspiracy theory today is why Legendary Swords: Battle Arena was never released. I personally think it is because of the little but major similarities to Astro-Knights Island. Why continue a story that’s already too similar? More in depth, the villains themselves.
E.Vile is way too similar to the infamous Binary Bard. Why? First, let’s check out the character design.
Man, I sure do love that evil grin of his, the grey and red robotic headgear, his skin-tone, and his plans to take over Poptropica and the rest of the universe. Sounds like some evil, robotic, mentally-ill jester I know… Binary Bard!
Now, let’s look at the actual storyline and plot of Legendary Swords and Astro Knights Island. So, let me get this straight. Our Poptropican is traveling in space, goes on a planet that needs help for some reason, and along the way is bombarded by robots our villain created? (Legendary Swords: BattleBots and bosses, Astro Knights: The Robotic rat, Bards robot armor, possibly the Tigercopter on the ice planet, Robotic Dragon on the fire planet, and the mother phoenix on the jungle planet.)
Also, PoptropiCon is full of call backs and similarities to other things in Poptropica. A lot of parodies, might I add. Why would E.Vile be there if he is canon? The creators dun’ goofed! They realized their mistake. The mistake being the storyline, plot, and main villain are way too similar to those after Astro-Knights. That’s why they never added more parts to the series. More importantly, Battle Arena. Spencer, why didn’t they delete the first Legendary Swords, in that case? If you spent months developing something, would you just delete it like that? Well, this conspiracy has been popped! 😉
Hope you all enjoyed the read and will submit some Poptropica conspiracies of your own. Take it easy Poptropicans!
-Spencer
P.S. If you’d like to add me on Poptropica, my username is CaptainSpencer. If you’d like to see more of my blog-work, check out Spencerama.
Share your Pop conspiracies in the comments – we’d love to hear them. If you’d like to develop it into a full guest post like this one, contact the PHB (minimum 500 words). Stay popping!
Over the past few weeks, other Poptropicans on this blog have shared their stories. While theirs mostly led up to how they ended up on the PHB, that would only be the beginning of my story. The story of the PHB can also be found on our History page, but this MPIP focuses a bit more on the founder herself (yours truly). Here we go: Slanted Fish’s “My Place in Poptropica”!
2008 | the PHB’s foundation
My Poptropica story began a long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Well, sort of. It did begin early on, in the summer of 2008, when Poptropica itself was only a year old and islands fit on a single map page. I was eleven, and I had just been introduced to the game by my brother, who was only slightly younger than me. He’d discovered it via Funbrain, a site where we used to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid before it had even been in print (let alone been a bestseller – such hipsters we were!).
Anyway, the name I ended up going with was “Scary Tomato” – what a fine name it sounded like at the time – and my username was tentacle, just evidence of how young the game was that I could create an account with a common word. Scary Tomato was a boy with tan skin and spiky blond hair, while I was a girl from Hong Kong, which meant I looked nothing like ST. But whoever said we had to look like our Poptropicans? At the time, I just felt that boys had better customizing options, so that’s what I went with.
At around this time, I tried making a WordPress blog, and it was going to be about Club Penguin, another game I was an avid player of at the time. But I changed my mind when I started testing URL options and realized that poptropica.wordpress.com wasn’t taken – it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, and so, instead of joining the hundreds of amateur Club Penguin blogs that already existed, I made “Scary Tomato’s Weblog” – the first ever active Poptropica fansite. With a very amateur Microsoft Paint job for a header.
Remember the good old days of Scary Tomato’s Weblog?
Super Power Island (the 5th island) had just been released a few days before the blog began, so to get the ball rolling, I wrote my first guide on it. The blog soon took off in popularity, further than I had ever imagined, especially with the hype surrounding the release of the next island – Spy Island. Countless comments came in asking when it would be released, and it took a fair bit of time every day for me to stay on top of everything that was happening and post sneak peeks from the Poptropica Creators’ Blog.
About three months in, I hired my first couple of staff members: Smockers, a frequent commenter, and Codien, who was interested in helping with graphics and even came up with a new name for the site: the Poptropica Help Blog, or PHB. The header images improved quite a bit after that.
We even reached 100,000 site hits in November, just four months in, which was pretty impressive for a site run casually by just a few kids.
2009 | unimagined growth
At the start of the new year, the PHB had already reached 300,000 hits. With regular posts about sneak peeks posted on the Creators’ Blog, advertisement games, and even Codien’s PHB Sneak Peeks series, the site continued to grow in content as well as its fanbase.
One of the highlights of that year was our ingenious April Fool’s prank – we turned the whole site into a “Club Penguin Help Blog”, and what’s more, we seem to have fooled even the Poptropica Creators. Or maybe they were playing along? Sadly, they’ve since removed this little acknowledgement from the official blog, but the evidence remains in our hearts – and on the internet’s Wayback Machine.
Before the end of May, we reached one million site hits, and the blog wasn’t even a year old yet! 😀 To celebrate, we gave away rare costumes that were leaked from the then-mysterious Monster Carnival Island. (If you don’t know that story, click here.) We also expanded our community to the now-defunct PHF (Poptropica Help Forum), a site run by Coderkid, as well as the PHC (Poptropica Help Chat), which continues to exist today. (However, do check out our PoptropicaHelp subreddit – our relatively new Poptropica mini-forum! And check out our Hub for all the Poptropica Help Network sites!)
I also changed my screen name to Hijuyo, to reflect the names of me and my brother, since I was no longer the only ST around and didn’t really like the name ‘Scary Tomato’ anymore. For a while, I let people think that Hijuyo (or Juyo) was the two of us, as it felt too weird to say that it was just me all along – but, it really was just me all along for the most part.
2010 – 2012 | changes & fishes
A lot of eventful things continued to happen in the Poptropica community, with me heading up the blog, which you can read about on the PHB’s History page. Among them: we nommed Captain Crawfish, got our own website domain to reflect the growing Poptropica Help Network, and changed our website theme a couple of times.
The PHB began as Scary Tomato’s Weblog in 2008 with the “Connections” theme.In 2012, the site had another makeover, using the “Lifestyle” theme.
In 2012, I changed my name again – goodbye Hijuyo, hello Slanted Fish. “Slanted Fish” has more of a personal meaning to me: it’s a pun on my Chinese name that someone made up for me. While playing with same-sounding words with different meanings, one such version of my name led to “Slanted Fish”. The name stuck, so I went with it – and perhaps as a plus, it sounds a bit like a Poptropican name, even though it isn’t one.
2013 – beyond | cultivating a community
While I won’t get into every little occurrence, as that would go on forever, I can say that the little blog I started in the summer of 2008 continued to grow and fulfill its purpose of helping fellow Poptropicans with the game I knew and loved. When I started in 2008, it was simple: there were about five islands, and no Store, membership, and most other extra features to speak of. The game has grown so much since then – and that’s a beautiful thing.
The community has grown, too. As of this post, we have 21 million hits on the PHB and counting. Behind every author who has come and gone on this blog is where I stand, the person inviting them on board, managing this whole site little by little by finding authors to contribute, making edits here and there, and more. It’s an interesting job I’ve somehow created for myself, but it’s something that I love doing, and it amazes me to see this site become what it has and will continue to be.
Also, I’m happy to say my skills with graphics have grown a lot since those dark days of Scary Tomato’s Weblog. That’s what happens when you hang around your high school’s art room for way too long…
For those of you calculating my age from this post, yes, I am among one of the oldest in the Poptropica community – for a little bit of perspective, when this blog started in 2008, the PHB’s current youngest author was in kindergarten!
Countless Poptropicans have contributed to the Poptropica Help Network in various capacities. Whether it was simply replying to a comment asking for help somewhere on the blog, or bringing a little flair whenever they hung out on the PHC, or writing a guide for the PHB, or even just being a faithful reader of the blog, and so on – this area of the internet known as Poptropica Help could not have flourished without its community. So thank you, dear reader, for the part you play.
Thanks for reading ‘My Place in Poptropica’. I hope you find yours, too.
🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️ 