Category: Islands

Galactic Hot Dogs Island, Steam Bundle

Wiener Hints at Leaner Steam Islands 🐕💨

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, steamy sounds of more clues incoming!

Since the announcement of some old islands to return on Steam, Poptropica’s been sharing daily clues as to what those islands may be. The third hint is but a lone image: a pink wiener dog. 🌸🐕

While a few islands of the past had their share of dogs, the specificity of the clue being a wiener dog seems to point strongly to one in particular: Galactic Hot Dogs. In this island based on the eponymous graphic novel series by Max Brallier (son of former Pop publisher Jess Brallier), we hop aboard a spaceship called the Neon Wiener, which has a hot dog inside.

If we want to look to other possibilities for the clue, we might also consider the B.A.D. guard dogs you have to dodge in Spy Island, or Spitsy, a slender dog who helps you dig up the time capsule in Big Nate Island.

Spy Island dogs
Snacktime for Spitsy.

With the three hints we’ve seen so far, rumors have been circulating about the choice of the 13 islands to return on Steam: they may all be newer old islands, as opposed to super longtime classics. These newer old islands are sometimes known in the fandom as SUI (Sound-Updated Islands) or AS3 (ActionScript 3, the Flash-based programming language) and include islands released from around 2013 to 2015, which had bigger screens and sound, and may be easier to port as the technology isn’t as old as AS2 (encompassing all pre-2013 islands).

As Tough Spinner points out, these AS3 islands had been playable on the Poptropica app before they were removed in early 2022 to match with the desktop experience. Those now-missing islands are the complete sets of episodes for Survival, Mission Atlantis, PoptropiCon, and Arabian Nights, as well as standalone islands Reality TV: Wild Safari, Mystery of the Map, Shrink Ray, Galactic Hot Dogs, and the original Mythology Island. Maybe these are the islands returning via Steam…

Some of the islands from the Poptropica app before they disappeared in early 2022.

…but that’s nine islands (counting episodes as part of a full island), leaving four more, since we were promised 13 islands on Steam. It just so happens that there are at least four more AS3 islands that were never ported to the mobile app: Virus Hunter, Monster Carnival, Mocktropica, and Monkey Wrench (whose return was promised last year). Poptropolis Games was also re-released as an SUI/AS3, though it was originally an AS2 island.

Yet another possibility for some of the Steam islands could be those AS3-turned-Haxe islands that already exist on desktop: 24 Carrot, Time Tangled, Timmy Failure, and Escape From Pelican Rock — a perfect four. (The former two are OGs from 2008, but later remade into SUI/AS3 format.) Hopefully not, since we can already access them, and it wouldn’t really be in the spirit of “old islands” as promised…

Branching Out: Time for us to make like a tree, and leave.

The fact that Galactic Hot Dogs was never really a popular island among the fandom also makes it an odd choice, but it lines up with the AS3 islands theory, as do the rest of our best guesses for the other hints so far (Shrink Ray and Mythology). But who knows? Maybe we can still have hope for a few truly older AS2 islands… time will tell.

For a bit of nostalgia about islands old and new, check out our updated Poptropica Music collection under the Pop Plus tab here on the PHB! 🎵

Formerly known as “Behind the Scenes,” we’ve recently updated this page to remove outdated links as well as share previously uncovered Poptropica music files as embedded audio so you can listen directly on the page. For a taste, enjoy this track from Monster Carnival at daytime:

There’s more! Pop into the PHB’s Poptropica Music page to hear tunes from Mocktropica, Time Tangled, and many more. Enjoy!

~🐠

Jade Scarab Island, Social Media, Steam Bundle

Ghostly Rap and Jade Scarab on Map 👻🐈

Agent Bubbles

Hello Poptropicans! Two important posts from the Creators today, both pertaining to islands. Let’s pop in for a look!

As promised, here’s another hint for the upcoming 13 island releases on Steam: “I’m a sailor that’s neither living nor dead. I’ll transport you to the danger ahead. My role is restored; climb into my boat to collect your reward. Who am I?” (In case you missed it, check out yesterday’s hint here!)

This one can apply to multiple islands, considering the many sailor characters present among all the, well, islands. We’ve seen guesses ranging from Ghost Story Island (Valiant Lovejoy) to Skullduggery Island (sailing galore!).

But as Gentle Dolphin speculates, the one that seems fit most may be Mythology Island, with the hint possibly referring to Charon, the ferryman of the underworld (“neither living nor dead”) who takes you to Cerberus (“the danger ahead”).

While a remastered version of Mythology currently exists in the game, Charon’s River Styx minigame was one of the parts cut out from the controversial Haxe version. “My role is restored,” then, may be a hint for a return of the classic and popular Mythology Island.

Do you have any guesses as to which it could be? Fortunately, many future hints are promised, so we can continue guessing! We’ve seen Poptropicans on the lookout for space, carnivals, superheroes (and supervillains!), and many more. Stay tuned!

The other announcement is that Secret of the Jade Scarab Island is now on the map and will be available to all players “before you know it!” No current date is set, but it’s nice to see the long-awaited Dream Island winner at last, with our little kitty friend making another appearance! 😊

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Roblox, Zomberry Island

Zomberry on Roblox: Humans vs Zombies Survival Guide 🧟🫐

Slanted Fish

Look out: the Zomberry outbreak is back, but not on Pop! Poptropica’s second Roblox game is out and this time, it’s hide-and-seek.

To play Zomberry: Humans vs Zombies, you’ll need a free Roblox account. Once you enter the game, you’ll find yourself in the parking lot of Joe’s Donut Drive-in, which is the lobby waiting area. We’ll delve more into fun finds from this area below, but for now, click “ready to play”!

Two or more players can start a game, which already makes it more accessible than Pop’s first Roblox try, Unicorn Frenzy. Each player is randomly assigned to one of two teams: humans or zombies.

  • 🧟 Team Zombie: You’ll start off in a shed and will need to bust open the door by rapidly clicking on it till it opens. Once you’re free, start looking for humans so you can infect them with your spit! If all humans are infected and become zombies, zombies win.
  • 👷🏾 Team Human: Your role is to run and hide from the zombies. If you’re infected, you’ll join the zombies team to try to infect others! But if you can stay hidden until the 3 minutes are up, humans win.

You’ll also play as a random 3D Poptropican avatar, which could be any random civilian or, if you’re lucky, an iconic character such as Dr. Hare from 24 Carrot Island, Xavier Pendragon from Home Island, or even Joe Puddy himself from the OG Zomberry Island.

But that’s not all of the familiar faces: in the arena, you can find a fountain with the missing statue of Xavier from the Home Island quest. And in the lobby, inside Joe’s Donut Drive-in, the storekeeper is none other than Amelia… with a zombie caged above her: the Baron. Eerie…

By the way, you can talk to Amelia by clicking on the cup of caffeine (one of her beloved teas?) in front of her. She’ll explain that zombies have taken over the city, and now the donut shop is a safe house.

Behind the counter, you can also find secret rooms inside the donut shop. The one on the left is a storage room with another bizarre sight: a Frozen Zombie. The one on the right is a cozier room with film gear, a unicorn plushie you can ride, and framed photos previously seen in Amelia’s home (thanks for the tip, Tough Spinner!).

Back out in the lobby, you can find the leaderboard as well as a few more Easter eggs. On the outside walls of the donut shop are movie posters previously seen in Poptropica: Pony Bros (PoptropiCon), Night of the Living Carrots (24 Carrot), and Zombie in Paradise (Zomberry).

Poke around and you’ll find a mini one-seater car which you can ride around the lot at varying speeds. The car even has “RED” as its license plate — could be the Red Baron’s? She’s quarantined now, so enjoy!

If you played this Zomberry game on its release day, April 1, you might’ve met the Pop Creators, who held a launch party at 3 p.m. PST/6 p.m. EST, but were also online for a while before that. 🎉

Plus, the friends of @Pop_Creators account that hosts Pop’s Roblox games might reveal individual team members’ Roblox handles. 👀 We don’t recognize most of the 12 names, but there are a few familiar ones, like Pop artists @jonpitcher (Jon Pitcher aka Master Mime) and @lionhearted_gale (Abigail Grigg, who also has a webcomic called “King and Lionheart”). And @bloctorhare: “block” and “Dr. Hare”?

Another point worth mentioning: Poptropica’s Roblox games mark the first time officially having free chat in a Poptropica medium, something they’ve previously shied away from due to safety concerns. It might be a welcome change for players, but also indicates a shift in values.

Overall, this Zomberry romp is a decent minigame with some nice references to tie it into the Poptropica universe we know and love, which gives it more substance than Unicorn Frenzy. But as with that other Roblox release, and with our half-joking rant on release day, we’re still left wondering why develop on Roblox in the first place. It’s more Poptropica this time, sure — just not the Poptropica we’re looking for.

🏝 Looking for more walkthroughs? Check out our Island Help page! 🏝

Baron's Airship, Monthly Costume Contests, Roblox, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Zomberries are coming to Roblox! 🧟‍♀️🎈🎮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! We just received more details about Pop’s upcoming Roblox game. If you have questions about island inspiration, gameplay, or other miscellaneous details, then you’ve come to the right place.

Many fans speculated which classic island inspired this little collab, with the most frequent guess being Monster Carnival. While our guesses were close, Pop’s debut Roblox game is actually based on the similarly spooky Zomberry Island! 🧟‍♀️🫐 I guess the swan threw us for a loop. 🦢

Sneak peek from Poptropica of their upcoming Roblox game

This crossover event will pit humans and zomberries against each other in an all-new multiplayer experience. Considering the fact that zombie games have a great presence on Roblox, it’s easy to see why Zomberry Island was a prime candidate for a Roblox spinoff. However, it would have been nice to see another island get the spotlight since we got the Zomberry Hero event less than two years ago.

Some fans might also be disappointed that this game won’t prominently display Pop’s storytelling capabilities. While I don’t play or watch anything relating to Roblox, it seems storytelling is not Roblox’s main priority. Plus, we hope the best stories are being saved for Poptropica’s main projects.

Update: Turns out the following featured image is just fan art. Still cool nonetheless!

We also got an inside scoop outside of the Creators’ Blog. DataSigh, a 3D modeler for Roblox, revealed a 3D recreation of Poptropica’s iconic yellow blimp on Twitter. The model looks great, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the game!

DataSigh’s tweet also included one of my own Poptropica illustrations. The original tweet did not credit any artist for the illustration, but proper credit was added after I asked for it. I’m honored that my art was featured by a game developer even if I would have appreciated credit from the beginning. That begs the question: why was fan art included and not any official Poptropica images? 🤔

According to their Twitter bio, DataSigh works for Dubit, a games studio with a slight connection to Pop: a former Pop Creator published an article about the game on Dubit’s website back in 2013. It’s possible that Poptropica hired Dubit to create the new Zomberry-inspired Roblox game, or DataSigh might just be a Pop fan — another Roblox project they shared was a boat combat system inspired by Skullduggery Island.

Before I sign off, here’s a reminder that today (March 11) is the last day you can visit the Baron’s airship and purchase the latest collection of curiosities. Grab every item to your liking before the Baron sets off on her next adventure!

If you want your costume design brought to life in Poptropica, why not submit it to March’s costume contest? You can enter via social media or Poptropica’s submissions page until March 21 at 8pm PST/11pm EST.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Jade Scarab Island, Monthly Costume Contests

Cat’s in the Costume Cradle 🐱

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, pop in for a sneak peek and costume collection!

Secret of the Jade Scarab, the final Dream Island winner, is still in development, and the Pop Creators are treating us to another sneak peek. Earlier, we got two glimpses of a cat, and now, there’s a third:

We still don’t know much about this green-eyed kitty, but from the various sketched movements in the new pic, it seems like it might play an active role in the upcoming quest! The Creators also promised this island is “coming soon” and will be available “to all players.” Sweet!

Curious about what secrets lie within the Jade Scarab? Check out this PHB post for an inside look with the Dream Island creator!

In other news, the fan submission reel for February’s costume contest is now up on Pop’s YouTube channel! A winner has not been announced yet, but you can enjoy the collection of entries below:

Exciting stuff, right? We’re still looking forward to new islands and costumes in 2022, but we Pop players haven’t forgotten the old ones. Poptropica blue, and islands that got pruned, when you comin’ home?

~🐠