For years, Shark Boy has been a prominent icon in Poptropica, but now heās being alienated from the game. Find out who he is, where heās gone, and why!
Hey guys, BT here to share with you something interesting the CreatorsĀ have been working on. Based on their blog post, it’s going to be a featureĀ for the app with original videos,Ā called Poptropica TV! According to a tweet by Poptropica, it’s coming out next week to the app.
Earlier today on their YouTube channel, the Creators released two new videos! One isĀ a cartoon animation narrated by Shark Guy (glad to see ya back, buddy!) about what sharks are actually like:
At the end of the shark video, the seal man at the end says “Tuna in next week!” There’s no official word yet, but it soundsĀ like these short silly cartoons mayĀ be a weekly thing!
The second video isĀ aĀ Draw My Life of everyone’s favorite Mega Fighting Bots geek and Poptropica intern, Gamer Guy! Check it out:
PoptropicaĀ has been dropping hintsĀ about cartoonĀ animationsĀ for a while now via Twitter, and it looks like they were aboutĀ webtoons with voice acting such as these. What do you think of this first dose? I’m looking forward to what else this’ll bring!
Some Poptropicans have noticed that, in their medallion collections, a new blank medallion has been inserted between those of Survival: Episode 1 and Mythology. If you hover over it, it says “Home not yet completed.” But what exactly is ‘Home‘?
Well, a few recent Daily Pop sneak peeks might give us a hint — and from the looks of it, it’s a “hub” area that involves character customization!
Iconic: Whatever you want, with the press of a button.
One Stop Shop: Say hello to our bundle of joy.
Just a Trim: Or an entire makeover, if you’d like.
Over on Poptrickia, Nice Hawk has uncovered that this “Home” world will be for Poptropica’s mobile app (currently available on iOS), and you can see the design still follows the “sky island” theme of the app’s “tutorial” island. Here are some sneak peeks, courtesy of Poptrickia:
In the first scene with the blimp, the blue box is for the logo of the island you last traveled to, and from here, you can enter the two customization buildings: the Bundles Shop and New You.
The Bundles Shop sells gold card costumes and items from the Store, but whether this will cost real money on the app remains to be seen. New You contains a barbershop with a Colorizer, where presumably you can change your hairstyle and colors. There are also three pedestals — perhaps a costume closet of sorts? We’ll have to wait and see!
Cosmoe on Main Street
Remember Cosmoe from the Funbrain graphic novel Galactic Hot Dogs? (By the way, GHD is publishing its first book in May 2015!) Anyway, Cosmoe hasĀ appeared a few times on Poptropica before, but now he’s here on Main Streets of islands like Mythology! If you click on him, you can chat with, Costumize (works for boys only), or friend him. (The Princess Dagger prize pack has also returnedĀ in places like 24 Carrot!)
If you chat, you can ask him a few pre-scripted questions: who are you? (Cosmoe) what’s in your hand? (my Goober Sword) and whyĀ are you standingĀ here? (I’m waiting for Princess Dagger)
Earlier, we found that Cosmoe’s username was npc:cosmoe, but this doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. If you add npc:cosmoe now, you’ll find a random character wearing a birthday cakeĀ (was the account hijacked? however, it still shows as Cosmoe on the Avatar Studio).
New PHB page: Mystery of Shark Boy
Remember the PHB posts about the disappearance of Shark Boy? Well, now all the data we’ve collected regarding this strange case has been compiled into a new page, so you can get the whole story all in one place! Click here to check out our newĀ article, also found under the “Cool Stuff” tab!
Poptropica vs. Thinknoodles
Recently,Ā Poptropica has decided toĀ create their own video walkthroughs narrated by Captain Crawfish — but what’s interesting is that, despite advertising on the Creators’ Blog and even the Poptropica homepage itself, the “official” walkthroughs are still not as popular as those of Poptropica player Thinknoodles, who also narrates his guides, but hasĀ videos for every island on his YouTube channel. Check out the view counts of both their PoptropiCon Ep. 1 walkthroughs — the numbers don’t lie!
The Creators only have video guides for PoptropiCon Ep. 1 and Survival Ep. 5 so far, and for both, it looks like Think is still in the lead, despite both being released on the same day! Noodle on, I say! š (Also, doesn’t anyone else wonder why Crawfishy doesn’t use his own peg-legged avatar in his videos?)
You may remember when the PHBĀ posted some highlights from Nate Greenwall’s Poptropica portfolioĀ earlier, butĀ over onĀ his Facebook profileĀ (that is his personal account, so be respectful if you choose to contact him!) are a few interesting glimpses into life at Poptropica HQ!Ā (Click to enlarge pics.)
The white board we have at work hasn’t been erased for about 7 years.
Practicing my Hadoken skills.
Lunch with some of my fellow Poptropica co-workers.
Some of our Poptropica merchandise hanging around our office. Now we just need to build a ball pit and fill it with plush toys.
Isn’t that little doodle of Binary Bard cute? And that’s a lot of Poptropica toys – I don’t think some of it has even been releasedĀ before, like those badges in the corner or the big print of the pink rocker girl! š®
Hey Poptropicans — friendly reminder that the PHB’s Land Construction Contestends this Friday, Sept 5th, so if you haven’t sent in your greatest Land creation to us yet, get building and click here for the post with instructions on how to enter! Or, if you’ve made something that caught the Creators’ eyes like Magic Fire‘s self sculpture (she’s a PHB reader too – hi MF!)Ā andĀ Young Fish‘s panoramic port city have, you might even be featured on the Creators’ Blog! (click to view full images)
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Have you ever wondered why Poptropica tends to release islands on Thursdays? While this doesn’t explain why Thursday exactly (Friday in some time zones), they did recently address the question (brought up by Poptrickia) via their official Twitter:
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PoptropiConĀ (guide here) had itsĀ first episode debut just last week for members, but if you’re wondering what’s up next, a good place to look are the Daily Pop sneak peeks. Let’s take a look at what we’ll be seeing inside the convention centerĀ (click to enlarge images):
Collect Em All: Keep them in the original packaging and they may be worth dozens someday.
Victory: It’s in the cards.
Hall Pass: Low-pill carpet for a high-traffic area.
The Help: With an attitude like that, you’ll go far.
Look Closer: It’s what’s under the cap that matters.
Silver Age: This archer gets right to the point.
Marvelous: A real stand-up comic booth.
History Lesson: Golden age, silver age, outrage… we’ve got it all.
Brony: Don’t say no, here we go, off across the plain.
You Hall: The swag bag is loaded, but where’s the exit?
Off-Screen: But we’re monitoring the situation.
Among all the random tidbits, it looks like there’ll be a booth for a comic hero called Elf ArcherĀ — created by some guy called “Stan Ditko”: a reference to Marvel Comics co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Plus, there’s even a Balloon Boy collectible that can be seen on a table!
And not far from the My Little Pony mimicry (“Pony Bros”… even the Daily Pop’s caption is “Brony”), there’s a poster for “Lava Twins” — it may be a long shot, but could this be a reference to a film called The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl? Yes, you read that right, “Shark Boy”: like the beloved Poptropica character who no longer is. (You can read all about the Shark Boy Mystery here!)
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Although it’s beenĀ about two years and ten islands since Super Villain Island, Brave Tomato recently uncovered this little snippet of Poptropica Creator Jeff Kinney working on it on a computer. It may not look like much, but it’s a pretty neat find nonetheless:
This came from a “making of” bonus feature on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days DVD, where they talked briefly about Jeff and Poptropica. (Jeff is also the author of the Wimpy Kid series.) Speaking of Jeff Kinney, I wonder if/when we’ll get to see his ice bucket challenge? š
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In other news, issue 19 of the PHB magazine, The POPCORN, releases this Sunday, Sept 7th, so be sure to have your creative entries sent in to phbpopcorn(at)gmail(dot)com before then! That’s all for now (or TAFN, as HP the hip one likes to say)! Keep on poppin’ on, Poptropicans. š
Hey Poptropicans! So apparently it’s “Shark Week” on Discovery Channel, but of course when the Creators bring that upĀ on their blog, what they’re really trying to do is shamelessly promote one of their islands. š However,Ā this note may be of interest for those who remember the Shark Boy scandal:
The second Island we ever released, way back in 2007, was Shark Tooth Island, which featured the massive Booga Shark, a helpful medicine man, and one very special boy whose name we no longer recall.
At least good old Captain Crawfish, Shark Boy’s successor, afforded him one last shoutout… š¦ #momentofsilence (and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, these posts should catch you up)Ā Shark Boy was truly an icon of Poptropica’s earlier days, a name we won’t so easily forget!
(this and more awesome art can be found in the PHB magazine, POPCORN.)
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Moving on to newer things, the second evolution of Poptropica Land was recently released to members, and as promised, the PHB’s Poptropica LabsĀ page has been updated to give you guys a more in-depth look at this cool new feature. Click here to view our Land walkthrough, which speaks ofĀ how to get the Svadilfari, materials you can unlock, and more! Here’s the Land trailer:
Poptropica’s official Twitter has already gottenĀ right into it by showcasing some of their favorite creations so far! Here’s a look at a treehouse (made by Spotted Dragon of the ATP), submarine, and garden. Pretty creative stuff! š
If that’s not enough of a look at Land alpha version 2, check out this review by Spotted Dragon on her blog, or thisĀ video tour from Captain Spencer (below) — plus, stay tuned for HP’s video walkthrough!
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Lastly, some Poptropicans have noticed that the World Cup costumes are no longer to be found in the inventory. Brave Dolphin recently investigated this and got the following reply from Poptropica:
These are limited time expired items which are no longer available in the storeĀ or in the player inventory.
While the Creators did say the costumes wouldn’t be around forever, what’s weird is that they usually never take away Store-obtained item cards from players’ inventories (they only do it for ads, which this wasn’t). Strange, isn’t it? Share your thoughts in the comments! š
WhatĀ isnātĀ happening in the world of Poptropica? Prepare to have your mind blown with all the new things happening in the Poptropica universe!Ā š
Poptropicon Member Items
Soon after I posted about the upcoming Poptropicon Island, I found a new item in the files titled “Poptropicon Poster”. The button, instead of “use” or “costumize”, is print. Also, this isĀ a Members Only poster/desktop background! (Don’t worry, non-members, we’ll post the background for everyone to download when it comes out.Ā š )
In addition, there will also be a pizza puff costume, as mentioned in my last Pop-Con post. :p
Comic Boy
Found by PHB reader Big Kid, this typo on the Creators’ Blog may reveal something about the Shark Boy mystery. As you can see in the picture below, the character we know as Comic Kid on the official blog is labelledĀ as “Comic Boy”:
While this may just be a typo, the use of boy in the name suggests that at one time Comic Kid was supposed to be Comic Boy. That said, could Shark Boy’s sudden name change have something to do with original names? Also, could Comic Boy be the answer to the never found username of Comic Kid’s account? If you find anything, be sure to tell us in the comments. š
The Return of Poptropica Labs: Lands
Something familiar has popped up on the game list lately: lands. This project has been stirring, and the fact that it’s on the game list means that it will be converted to an SUI version.
When I looked into it a little more, I found a strange “hammer” item listed along with everything else. A hammer wasn’t included in the original lands, so what could it’s purpose be here? Perhaps to help build things? :p
This update might mean that lands will be available to all soon. You can get ready by reading my review of the feature here. š
Survival 4 Video Walkthrough
I recently finished my Survival 4 video walkthrough! š We used a different one on the PHB this time around because I had mine out a little late, so I figured I should tell everyone who does use them. š You can always subscribe to my YouTube channel to get updates whenever I make new video walkthroughs and more fun things. š
š Poptropica Help Blog šŗ 