A shadow is creeping across the frontier, and its name is El Mustachio Grande. He’s the meanest, nastiest, outlaw in the land, and he’s terrorizing the good folks of Wild West Island. With your trusty horse by your side, only you stand between the Mustachio gang and total anarchy. Can you bring Mustachio to justice, once and for all?
The months seem to be going by faster and faster for me, and we’re already at the next island! Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone who participated in last month’s Monster Carnival Island Flash-back—we had guest posts analyzing characters and presenting hopes and ideas for the island that had been years in the making.
And now for March’s Island…
Wild West!
While not as popular as others like Super Villain or Mythology, Wild West Island is still beloved and remembered by many. It is another great example of Poptropica’s ability to simplify backgrounds based off real-life locations while still keeping a certain charm. And I won’t deny that one of the most memorable parts for me was our Poptropican being able to ride the horse, Elmer.
Concepts for the horse’s design and animation
Wild West also incorporated a similar map style as Skullduggery (later used in Ghost Story), where you could travel between ports or locations from a bird’s-eye view, while sailing your ship or in this case, riding your horse. It also incorporated 3D elements!
Part of the map used to travel between different towns in the island!
I also cannot legally finish one of these posts without mentioning any villains. El Mustachio Grande is well-recognized for his flashy design, and while lacking in backstory, he manages to make up for it in personality!
Now here comes your part, Poptropicans! Wild West and other classic islands were rendered unplayable for most people in the Flash-Haxe transition, but the months of work that Poptropica’s artists and writers put into it should not go to waste! Make fanart, fanfiction, videos, and guest posts. Let the Creators know what you appreciate about their past work to encourage them to preserve it!
Welcome back to “Pop Places IRL,” Poptropicans! We’re gonna be moseying back in time today to visit Wild West Island! And if you like this series, sure to check out other Pop Places IRL posts.
Wild West Island quite obviously takes place in the western US during the American frontier period of the 19th century. The time period has been highly romanticized, especially in film, so there’s no wonder we have a Poptropica island themed around it!
photo: Dodge City (smithsonianmagazine)
Pretty much every building, character, and background matches this old western aesthetic. Details range from apparel, architecture, fonts, dialogue, and beyond! Sometimes the smallest changes can have a big impact on an island’s theme. The setting has this wide open feeling, and I think Poptropica was able to successfully portray that in their own style. Do you agree?
Rawhide: It’s a little wild, and a little strange, when you make your home out on the range.
Double Dos: This cactus looks lonely. Maybe it should stop being so prickly.
photo: The Wild West Era (vintagenews)
photo: Wild West (BBC)
One of the most iconic places in any old western town is, of course, the Saloon (in this case, found in Diamond Plains). And Poptropica did manage to make such a location kid-friendly enough to be included! Anyone care for a round of root beer? It’s on me!
Saloonatics: This Poptropican is a stand-in that you’ll never see on any Island.
photo: Old Saloons (vinepair)
photo: Saloon (wallpaperup)
Another noteworthy building would definitely be the Marshal’s Office or Jail (also in Diamond Plains). Whatever the law enforcement may be (sheriff, marshal, constable, you name it), even deputies seemed to be quite prevalent in a time rampant with outlaws, bounty hunters, and gangs. It was cowboys galore!
Marshal Law: Justice is black and white.
photo: Old West Jail Interior (Jeffery L. Cohen’s flickr)
Since we mentioned the jail, we of course have to bring up the Bank, because the whole “outlaws robbing banks” trope just cannot be ignored. The bank we see in Poptropica is located in Rock Ridge. Stick ’em up!
photo: Pioneertown California (onlyinyourstate)
photo: 19th Century Bank Teller (petticoats&pistols)
We could very well look at the Train Station as well, considering it does tie into the bank robbery within the story. Quite different than the train station we see in our Mystery Train comparison, huh?
Train in Vain: It doesn’t look like much is happening at this station.
photo: Lochee West Railway Station (David Mason’s flickr)
After all that, I think we simply must talk about the Casino in Dos Cactos next. During such wild times, gambling tended to be a common occurrence. But yet again, Poptropica was able to fit it into its kid-friendly world! Looks like everything’s coming up aces for them!
Everbody Wins: Everything is coming up aces in this Wild West town.
Games of Chance: Everything’s coming up aces!
photo: Old West Cowboy Gamblers (ebay)
photo: Frontier Gambler (wikipedia)
If we stay in Dos Cactos, we can head on over to a sort of carnival, but more specifically a shooting gallery. Yes, traveling shows did date back to the wild west era—you simply had to travel between the far away towns for profit! And every good cowboy knew how to shoot a pistol.
photo: Early 1800s Midway (doc’smidwaycookhouse)
photo: Easton (delawareandlehigh)
Curious about other displays of showmanship? Why, just take a look at the local Snake Oil Salesman in Rock Ridge of course! Traveling carts were quite the norm in the wild west, with salesmen often promising miracle cures and obscure tonics of all sorts. Maybe be careful about spending your money around here…
photo: Traveling Medicine Shows of the Old West (curioushistorian)
Another cart we get to see in Wild West is owned by a photographer (this one in Dusty Gulch), which could perhaps be considered more of a miracle than the tonics! The world’s first photograph was taken in 1826, perfectly fitting into the frontier era. That makes us pretty lucky to even have photos from around that time to compare with the island!
Pilot Error: Different parts of scenes are made at different times, so we use stand-in characters when necessary.
photo: Remarkable Old Photographs from the Wild West (historycollection)
Dusty Gulch is also home to Rusty’s Ranch, as you may know (though this can also be compared to the ranch in Rock Ridge). Raising cattle and horses and such was so common in fact that it was actually one of the factors leading to the Dust Bowl. So maybe it was only a stable job in one sense of the word?
Cool Ranch: Giving you a new perspective on the next Poptropica Island.
photo: Dude Ranches of the Wild West (st.louispost-dispatch)
Something else we can’t forget: the gold mines! The California Gold Rush of the 1800s was a huge population push to the west. Time and time again it seems like people yearned to move west! Though it didn’t guarantee fortune to all, that’s for sure.
Mind the Gap: Be careful not to get off-track here.
photo: Montana Mine Old West (mcmahanphoto)
Bringing our adventure to an end, the Canyon Hideout feels like an appropriate grande finale. One of the most famous IRL hidey-holes for gangs and outlaws was the “Hole-In-The-Wall,” an isolated area in Wyoming.
Desert Inn Nothing: like a secluded hideaway for the discerning bandit.
photo: The Hole-In-The-Wall (historydaily)
Boy howdy, that was a lot of places, wasn’t it? And we didn’t even go into detail about the hotel, clock tower, or trading post! Just goes to show you how much detail goes into one setting/game design.
Do you think Poptropica successfully replicated the alluring aesthetic of the IRL wild west? Yay or neigh? What island would you like to see us compare next in this series? Be sure to leave your thoughts in a comment below!
As you can probably guess, this is a post about some more of the creators’ favourite island. And as you can tell I desperately wanted someone to say Mystery Train. It is WAY my favourite island. Alas, it has not happened. Let’s just show you.
Well, it’s definitely a more creative title than “Hands up!” because YOU could be the next marshal with the new Wild West-themed costumes in the Poptropica Store!
Or if you’re a rebel, there are costumes for those against the law too. Mind you, they’re all a tad bit more expensive than the rest: the new getups are 100 credits each.
Girls: Peacemaker (top left) and Outlaw (top right)
Boys: Lawman (bottom left) and Outlaw (bottom right)
So, get in on the gun-shooting action and get yourself one of these spiffy new suits!
TL;DR:
Wild West Island is now open to all, and
Wimpy Wonderland is available to members starting Monday, March 14!
Captain Crawfish 29-W’s will find me? That’s worrying.
EL5-Well, they did steal your china.
CC29-It’s another nomming trick, isn’t it?
Grammar Police-HEY, GRAMMAR POLICE HERE!
CC29-Oh, what the-
EL5-Well then, ANOTHER disappointment comes for members as a new island has been released for all yesterday.
Saddle up, pardners! Wild West Island is now available for everyone to play. Head on over to Poptropica and visit the travel map to start playing Wild West Island right now!
SHARK BOY 20 SHARK BOY 21
EL5-NOMONOMONMONMONMNOM. But there’s good news for members, too! In exactly 48 hours and 10 minutes from now, Wimpy Wonderland will be released for all!
Poptropica Members have something else to look forward to on Monday, March 14, when they’ll have Early Access to the newest Poptropica Island, Wimpy Wonderland!
That’s a lot of Ws. Wild West, Wimpy Wonderland — I’ll take the letter W for the win!
CAPTAIN CRAWFISH 29 FROM GRAMMAR PRISON 😦
EL5-Some people will never learn their grammar. Such a shame. Oh, and did I mention that there’s a new ad on main street! Hop! There are two places too win four awesome prizes!
CANDY FACTORY
Collect all the right candy, balance the egg, and get past the dogs for a coloring page and a jelly bean.
TALENT SHOW
Press a,s,d, and f to stay on beat and win a follower and a trophy!
EL5-I’ll see you next time! And now for my favorite song…HIT IT GRAMMAR POLICE!
Grammar Police-♪A predicate is one the two main parts of a sentence….♪
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