Mocktropica Island, Monster Carnival Island

It’s time to ride the monstrous roller coaster rid- Okay, so I’m not good at song parodies. Why are you reading this anyway? ON WITH THE POST!

Um, “what’s popping, Poptropicans…?” Blake’s out running errands, so he asked me, Timmy, to cover 2 new pieces of Poptropica news. So let’s move on with the post!

So anyway, first off, the Mocktropica guide is now up for the Poptropica walkthrough iOS app thing (I don’t know what it’s called, Blake never lets me use his iPhone… Hmm, he left it behind. Let me try something I’ve been wondering about..)

*TWO HOURS LATER*

Timmy: *playing Flappy Bird* this is so fascinating and addictive I don’t think I’ll eat or sleep in a week. Oh, right. So yeah, according to this app, the Mocktropica walkthrough is now up! Let’s hope there aren’t any bugs in the walkthrough… but if you can’t be bothered to open the app, just use the PHB’s Mocktropica Island Guide!

And in other news, if you check out Jeff Heim’s Poptropica Soundcloud, you may have heard… *puts on reading glasses* …what sounds like it’ll be a track for Monster Carnival. Thanks for that, Jeff Heim. Your tracks are always wonderful. *gives thumbs-up, tries to gain publicity like HP did because I’m a fame-hungry type of guy* You can listen to this wonderful track at his Soundcloud.

So it seems like that’s it for now in Poptropica. As always, stay popping, Poptropicans.

“TIMMY, I’M BACK! Wait, why are you doing the post for this week? I specifically told you NOT TO!”

SORRY!

Mythology Island

Why Mythology Island was a Big Hit (WBH ep. 1) and more

(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> Hi Gs, <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)

I’ve decided to start a new series to post on every once in a while; I’m calling it “Why it was a Big Hit”, or WBH for short. 😛 And yeah, I know, two posts in one day, I over drafted. 😛

WAH logo

For the first episode, I’m going to be reviewing Mythology Island, and (obviously) find out why it is one of the most popular islands to this day. It will be updated into SUI soon, and that’s part of the reason why I’m doing this — BTW my prediction about Mythology Island SUI coming out February 7th was totally wrong. 😛

To start out with — this island covers a lot. It roughly covers most of the mythology kids read in concise editions of a compilation of the Greek tales. That in and of itself is impressive. I personally love the way Poptropica illustrates all of the classic scenes, and there’s one thing that draws kids to this island other than the cartoony style of drawing — in this island, you get to interact with the gods, and the legendary characters you read about in Greek mythology! These characters are even more far fetched than most fairy tale characters, and that makes them all the more memorable. So to be a part of the legend? Something incredible.

The story is a fresh new spin on classic mythology — Zeus will give you immortality, but for the price of the 5 sacred items. When you finally obtain all the these items and give them to Zeus, he takes them and uses them to take over Poptropica; or at least try. There are many memorable sub characters, and a couple funny moments.

While being one of the most popular islands, I feel like it may also be an island that gives Poptropica an unworthy and bad name. Some parents tear down the game for being too hard, and making their (obviously too young) children mad that they can’t get past the challenges — such as the red eyed snake, the labyrinth, the final battle, and so on. It certainly is a hard island, but still reigns supreme. That’s because the kids with the real adventurous personality will persevere through the challenges, and this makes the island all the more real — mythology characters face deadly and horribly hard challenges in the stories.

To a degree, this tale is gruesome. Hercules gets turned into stone, and you kill a six headed Hydra. You meet the ruler of the Underworld, get attacked by crocodiles — but that’s what makes it all the more fun.

In conclusion, let’s review the points that make Mythology Island a success: In this island, you get to be a part of the legend. You get to meet an expanse of amazing characters. The story is a fresh spin on the classics, and the challenges pull you into the tough and challenging environment of ancient Greece. To top it all off, the island is gruesome as the original tales; which may seem like a bad thing, but kids love gruesome stuff. That is a fact! 😛 So all these factors make the island an all time favorite.

Tell me in the comments what I should analyze next! 😀 What do you like about Mythology Island the most? Vote in the poll below!

In other news, you may have noticed that I changed my Gravatar to a more… fitting attire in these monstrous times 😉  — take a look:

gravatar

Jeff Heim Music mentioned me on his Facebook page as well! This is the first time an affiliated Creator has mentioned me! 😀

Jeff Heim Music - Facebook

Jeff Heim does not know how much this made my day! 😛

-HP

Counterfeit Island, PHB Specials

Ancient Artworks of the Counterfeit Island Museum

If you’ve been on Counterfeit Island, you’ve probably noticed the Museum Fantastique — the huge, beige-colored building on Main Street with the statues and angel gargoyles. And you would probably recognize The Scream, seeing as it’s the star of the show. But there’s more to this museum than the painting you’re framed for stealing!

In this guided tour, we’ll delve into a bit of art history as we uncover the names of all those unlabeled paintings within those whitish walls…

the scream banner

Inside the main hall of the museum, once you step left past the uniformed guard, you’ll find a lovely garden scene by impressionist Claude Monet, called Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies. To your right, not far from the first painting, is Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (expressionism).

If you climb up the stairs with me and walk just a little, you’ll find Edvard Munch’s The Scream (also expressionism) right up top in the center. And stop trying to climb the hanging lamp, that’s dangerous!

Now let’s head back downstairs to the bottom left wing, which houses the museum’s realism paintings. As the name of the style suggests, realism tries to depict scenes accurately. Here the walls are blue and the paintings are (from left to right) Artists Sketching in the White Mountains by Winslow Homer, Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet by Gustave Courbet & The Salmon Fisher by Eilif Peterssen.

Alright, follow me upstairs now, we’re going to see the cubism paintings in the top left wing! Okay, I know these look a little funny, but that’s the point – cubism tries to show a subject from multiple viewpoints, so it looks broken up into geometric shapes and abstracted. Check it out (left to right): Portrait of Picasso by Juan Gris, Cassie Thinking About Cubism by Philip Absolon, & Still Life with Fruit Dish and Mandolin by Juan Gris.

Now run all the way across the hall with me – we’re going to see the impressionism wing in the top right next! With impressionism, it’s all about color and capturing the exact moment through light and atmosphere. From left to right we’ve got Girl with a Hoop by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Cliffs at Etretat by Claude Monet, & Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet – impressive, aren’t they?

Ok, we’re heading down to the bottom right wing now. Don’t forget to say hello to the museum curators along the way! This section is where they display the expressionism paintings, which seek to express emotional intensity. Take a look at Sokea soittoniekka (Blind Musician) by Alvar Cawen, Fighting Forms by Franz Marc, & The Fiddler by Marc Chagall – what do you think they’re trying to express?

Oh, you thought we were done, did you? Well, for those who’ve finished Counterfeit Island, there’s a red button surreptitiously hidden behind the far wall of the expressionism wing (bottom right). If you click on that, the walls will turn a fancy red and the displays in the museum’s wings will change! Unlike with the regular exhibit, clicking on these paintings will actually give you the name, artist, and year, which is great. But… they don’t change the era (style) labels, so that becomes misleading. 😛

red button

Still, let’s take a look! Right here in the bottom right wing we’ve got The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503), Landscape with an Obelisk by Rembrandt (1650) & A Lady and Gentleman in Black by Rembrandt (1633). Unlike the version in Leo’s workshop on Time Tangled Island, this Mona Lisa isn’t covered by a Poptropican head.

Over in the bottom left wing are three more fancy framed artworks on crimson walls: The Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough, Chez Tortoni by Edouard Manet (1878-1880), & The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt van Rijn (1633).

Jump up to the top left wing and you’ll see two more paintings: Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1812) & The Concert by Johannes Vermeer (1664). If you run along to the right you’ll see The Scream again in the top center spot.

Finally, in the top right wing, there’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci (1501) & T Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale (1791). (and I included The Scream again just to keep up the pattern of 3 circles, heheh…)

Well, that about concludes our tour of Counterfeit Island’s Museum Fantastique! Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even learned a thing or two.

Side note: you can go back and click on the images above to enlarge them for a better view. Which painting do you like best?

Labs (Land), Membership, Monster Carnival Island, Store

Ringmaster Costume & Poptropica Labs fan video!

ringmasterHey everyone! I went on Poptropica and I saw, in the Store, that the Ringmaster Costume for Monster Carnival Island is already out! It hasn’t even been posted on the Creators’ Blog yet! The costume has three colors: Red, White, and Purple. (I like the red one the most. xD)

This costume is for members only and it is one of three items coming out for Monster Carnival Island. Also, it’s for a limited time only; it’s available until the end of early access for the island and then it’ll be gone! So go get it today!

The Creators recently posted about a fan called Perfect Sky making a video about Poptropica Labs, and whoever she is, she’s very lucky, seeing as it’s the first time the Creators have posted a fan video on their blog! I like some of her builds, they are really detailed! Check it out:

That’s it everyone, I just wanted to inform you about these two things, and look forward to a special post tomorrow from me!

~SW5~

Daily Pop, Monster Carnival Island

Carnival Crazy and more Daily Poppin’

With Monster Carnival Island set to be released sometime this month (can you believe it?!), the Creators wanted to remind us that the MCI wallpaper & poster are available on the Tour page – but of course you already knew that, right? What we really want are more sneak peeks

These are from the Daily Pop, and they look like they might belong in the carnival. But there are also some sneak peeks with not-so-certain origins… such as this snowy landscape* that looks like it’s part of the winter wonderland mentioned in Fuzzy-B’s post. One of the winter pics in his post contains a bird – perhaps related to these bird character sketches (pictured below)? And what of this wilderness survival book* – will we be going on another forest adventure anytime soon?

*a couple of these Daily Pops haven’t been released yet, but they will be – if you’re interested in how to discover Daily Pops a day or so early, check out our Behind the Scenes page! 🙂

Finally, here’s another reminder that we are looking to publish your Poptropica stories, island ideas, fan art, and more for the next issue of The Poptropican’s 911, coming out in March! Please email your entries to poptropican911(at)gmail.com (replace at with @), and refer to our Magazines page for more details. For inspiration, check out our most recent Pop magazine issue!