Guest Posts, PHB Specials

PHB Sunday Special: Tribute to Biome Hats

Hey Poptropicans! This Sunday, we have a special guest post from Beastking77 giving tribute to the Realms-inspired Biome Hats that recently hit the Store. First published on Super Thunder’s Blog, he has given us permission to re-post his review here on the PHB. Enjoy! 🙂

Ice Biome Hat

snowhatThe Ice Biome Hat is not only perfect for keeping you warm on those cold nights, it’s also a remarkable fashion statement. I love the way the hat attempts to capture the likeness of a wild Arctic beast, with the whisker furnishing, the white fur and the magnificent pointed ears. I especially love the fang-like protrusions on either side of the hat: they just really capitalize on the wild, untamed look this hat has. It’s that kind of attention to detail we just don’t get in hatters these days. Finally, the stitches on the side give it an appearance of barely being held together, as if it were hand-made by an Arctic explorer from the fur of an Arctic beast. A brilliant work.

Forest Biome Hat

foresthatWe often get so caught up in modern society and its beauties that we often forget about beauty’s roots. The Forest Biome Hat reminds us of the kind of beauty that can only be found in nature. The hatter responsible for this work of art has taken inspiration from a bird’s nest. The crisp green leaves complement the nice shade of purple in the sticks, which are both emphasized by the pale white eggs that sit atop this hat. But all appearances aside, I like to see this hat as a commentary on nature. The eggs in the hat seem to be a metaphor for the fragility and beauty of nature. The wearer of the hat is therefore the protector of nature, emphasizing that we must play a part in protecting and preserving the beauty that is nature. A beautiful hat with a beautiful meaning.

Desert Biome Hat

deserthatThe Desert Biome Hat is admittedly not one of my favourites. First of all it’s not a very attractive hat to look at. I mean, it’s pretty ugly and awkward looking. While the jagged edge is certainly a nice touch, the overall design is pretty underwhelming. Secondly, it has a rather boring colour scheme. Blue and grey aren’t exactly the most eye-catching of colours. But it is functional. In the hot dry heat of the unforgiving Desert Biome, you’re gonna need to keep cool. The Desert Biome hat is perfectly suited for that exact purpose! And the hinge lets you adjust the umbrella to shield you from the harsh sun. So while it’s not fashionable, it is functional.

Swamp Biome Hat

swamphatThe Swamp Biome Hat is a sight to behold. It’s basically a baby crocodile that lives on your head. Not only is it an interesting pet, it’s an attention-grabbing piece of headwear that never fails to impress. Observe the sly look in the crocodile’s eye, complemented by the faint, crafty, toothy smile. It just seems to give off a sort of charm you can’t find anywhere else. The crocodile is an animal renowned for lying in wait and springing to action when it needs to. This hat brings out the scheming, crafty demeanour often associated with crocodiles and adds on a bit of charm. This pays off greatly as the end result is a magnificent hat with the sort of charm that comes with any manipulative creature.

Lunar Biome Hat

lunarhatLooking for a futuristic headwear? Well, with the Lunar Biome Hat, you will never have to look ever again! Wait… no… whatever. This hat is certainly innovative. A clean wraparound blue hat topped off with a futuristic laser antenna. I have to say this has a rather simple design when compared to the others, but that’s really the point I suppose. This hat is meant to appear post-Earth, a time and place more advanced than what we have now, and it does its job well. I really appreciate the decor on this one. The single antenna with the glowy laser-ring things really capitalize on the whole future theme. In short: it’s simple, but effective.

Fire Biome Hat

firehatThe Fire Biome Hat is a tasteful piece of headwear. The geometry (and geography) of the entire thing is just stunning. I love the crater-like design and the pool of magma, but I especially love the winding streams of lava running down the sides. I also love the stark contrast between the dark earthy texture of the hat and the exquisite orange-red glow of the lava. But what I love most about this hat is how it captures the volatile, fiery nature of volcanoes. Volcanoes are essentially nature’s time bombs, they seem calm and then all of a sudden BOOM! You’re neck deep in molten lava. When you look at this hat, it seems serene and calm, but there’s a certain element of suspense in there as well. As if the hat could burst into flames at any moment. THAT is what volcanoes are all about, and this hat does a brilliant job at capturing it.

Crystal Biome Hat

crystalhatFirstly, I have to say the Crystal Biome Hat is beautiful. There’s something about it that just seems to radiate feminine grace. It almost seems like a crown for a royal princess. The slight glow from the crystal even gives it a magic-ish type feel. But unfortunately, while it is beautiful, it seems to lack originality. The other biome hats are all unique, and extremely original. It may be because the other hats set the bar too high, but in comparison, the Crystal Biome Hat seems rather bland and boring. Nonetheless, it does have its merits. The aforementioned feminine aura gives it a somewhat magical element, and the shades of pink and purple complement each other nicely. So all in all, the hat is beautiful, but it fails to measure up to the other hats in terms of originality.

So there you have it: all seven Realms-inspired biome hats reviewed and recognized for the fashion statements they are. Which one’s your favorite? 😀

Comics, Popstorms, Realms, Viewer's Showcase

Spreading the Poptropica love with Realms & fan creations

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Poptropica Help Blog! ❤ We didn’t have a party, but we hope you’re enjoying the sweetened color scheme and header – don’t worry, it’s just for today. 😉

Anyway, over on Twitter, Poptropica’s been sharing the love with another batch of remarkable Realms creations – check them out below! (click to enlarge pictures)

Some of these kind of resemble Angry Birds levels, somehow. 😛 For more info on this feature, check out the PHB’s Poptropica Realms Guide!

There’s not much else going on at the moment, but here are some recent fan creations from the Poptropica community on social media! From left to right: PHB author Brave Tomato’s drawing of characters from the Poptropica comics, a villain Valentine from technobunny16, and DJ_kitty_girl’s custom Dr. Hare doll. (For a villain, Dr. Hare sure is lovable…)

Also, apparently, the Popstorm series is drawn by Poptropica artist Jon Pitcher, who has the entire collection thus far on a Pinterest board. Here’s what he has to say about it:

As a Poptropica Creator I created this Popstorm series to inspire kids to use their imagination to be as silly and creatively as possible as they develop their own stories and cast of characters. There are some animation tricks quietly sketched into some of these pages. See if you can find them.

And lastly, here’s an unreleased Poptropica comic strip to wrap up this post (nice touch adding in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, by the way).

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That’s all for now, but be sure to catch up on all the latest happenings (and even wild theories) in the posts below. Stay popping, Poptropicans. 🙂

Back Lot Island, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Island, Game Show Island, Ghost Story Island, Legendary Swords, Mocktropica Island, Monster Carnival Island, PHB Sneak Peeks, PHB Specials, Poptropica Portfolio, PoptropiCon Island, Survival Island, Twisted Thicket Island, Virus Hunter Island

Poptropica Portfolio: Chris Goodwin

Nate Greenwall isn’t the only one posting his Poptropica illustrations – I recently stumbled upon the site of Chris Goodwin, an illustrator/designer working for Poptropica, whose online portfolio can be found here. This post comes in three parts. As always, click to enlarge the pics!

Perhaps the most interesting section is character design: designs for E. Vile’s robots from Legendary Swords (as well as some props seen in P-Con: Ep. 2), a huge collection of characters (including several unreleased ones – some possibly for Ep. 3 of PoptropiCon!), unused flying ace designs (the corner suggests they were for the Virus Hunter minigame, Nano-Combat Training), ideas for Max McGullicutty’s look in Survival: Ep. 5, and finally, rough drafts of robots for Game Show Island.

The next section is concept art – ideas for various parts of the game. Here we see color plans for areas inside Joe’s body on Virus Hunter Island, shape ideas for “air creatures” in his lungs, a look at an extravagant (though unused) virus bug, several sketches of dark scenes, racer cars we’ve seen before as a scrapped idea, a Legendary Swords doodle, the Monster Carnival common room, and a sketch from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Island.

Lastly, there’s a section devoted to scene illustrations – most of these are already in the game, though the one of the cabin is not (but it seems to belong to the unnamed geological park island).

The rest are: the tutorial island in the Poptropica app, Ephraim University (both exterior and interior) from Mocktropica, Soundstage #1 on Back Lot, the Hemlock Herald newspaper room on Ghost Story, a hallway door and post office common room on Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, and the bonus quest on Twisted Thicket. Seeing them each as one big scene makes it all the more awesome. ❤

Poptropica sure is beautiful, and Chris has made some really creative contributions to the game we know and love. Enjoy the Chris Goodwin collection, and stay popping, Poptropicans! 😀

PHB Specials

PHB Sunday Special: Poptropica vs. the Board of Education

Is your school one that doubts the educational merits of Poptropica? The Twitter-ers among us may have already seen this, but Poptropica recently tweeted a few infographics showing off the scholastic side of their game world in response to all the tweets about schools blocking the site.

If you want Poptropica un-blocked at your school, try showing these to someone in charge, and they might just change their mind. Poptropica may be game, but it’s also a world of learning opportunities! 😀

pop3

Some of Poptropica’s best stories involve historical figures, real life locations, art history, and more – all with that unique Poptropica twist that makes it engaging, clever, and still accurate.

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And with all the branded books and interactive dialogue waiting to be discovered, it’s clear Poptropica encourages reading as well. Still in doubt? Check out the PHB’s Poptropica Game Review!

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With all that being said, Poptropica should fit right into any school environment, especially for the target audience of 6- to 15-year-olds – and kids will pick up all sorts of culturally and academically relevant information while being immersed in top-notch storytelling. And that means…

Let kids play Poptropica. 😀

PHB Specials

PHB 15M Special: Poptropica Music Video for Soundless Islands!

Hey Poptropicans – as a special treat for visiting this blog and helping us reach the milestone of 15 million hits, I created a little something for everyone: a Poptropica non-SUI music video, matching songs from pop culture to islands in Poptropica that don’t have their own soundtracks (yet)! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. 😀

Each music segment lasts 15 seconds, for our 15M hits. Now, you might pair these islands with different songs (feel free to share in the comments!), but if you like these tunes or just want to know why I picked them, read on – you can also click on the song titles below to hear them on YouTube.

Early Poptropica Island: Lollipop by MIKA

Dark pits aside, Poptropica’s first island is a fun, bouncy adventure that gets the player a feel for the game – so why not a catchy tune? Plus, ‘lollipop’ has ‘pop’ in it, just like the island’s name.

Shark Tooth Island: Jaws Theme by John Williams

The great Booga shark is terrorizing the locals, and what better accompaniment than the soundtrack to a shark movie? It’s got suspense, but not without a little jaunty sub-tune thrown in.

Super Power Island: Discord by Eurobeat Brony

Despite being a fan-made My Little Pony mix, this is a fun song about villainy, which is rampant on Super Power – and it’s got deliciously evil laughter mixed in with cries of discord and anarchy.

Spy Island: Another One Bites the Dust by Queen

This classic gives the feel of the sly walk of a spy – perfect for the action and adventure of Spy Island, where you can feel like a boss for sneaking past guard dogs and avoiding lasers.

Nabooti Island: Circle of Life from The Lion King

Opening with cries in the Zulu language, this seems fitting for an island that takes place in Africa where we encounter jungles, animals, and other exciting life. (Even the Nabooti totem comes alive!)

Big Nate Island: Yakety Sax by Boots Randolph

In Big Nate’s world, we jump around in a cartoon realm chasing after comic strips, pulling pranks, and digging up a time capsule – and this goofy, recognizable melody embraces all sorts of shenanigans.

Astro-Knights Island: The Imperial March (Vader’s Theme) by John Williams

Ah, Star Wars. A galactic empire, a cyborg villain, a trapped princess – also elements of Astro-Knights! Darth Vader’s epic tune is a natural fit for our clashes with the robotic creatures of outer space.

Counterfeit Island: All the Rowboats by Regina Spektor

A beautiful ballad that sings of paintings forever trapped in their gold frames, this slightly-creepy sound clicks with the canvas caper. There’s even a verse about public mausoleums, like the tunnels we visit.

Reality TV Island: Best Day of My Life by American Authors

You’re competing in a reality TV show with a host of colorful characters – why wouldn’t this be the best day of your life? It’s all fun and games – until you get voted off, that is.

Skullduggery Island: The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything – cover by Relient K

Originally a silly song from VeggieTales, this pirate anthem might resonate with all the scallywags who feel like collecting enough doubloons for that Phoenix Warbird is just too much work. (It really is!)

Steamworks Island: Lone Star by Jim Guthrie

Traipsing through an abandoned steampunk world gets a little lonely, especially with only mechanical parts for company. This track from the indie game Sword & Sworcery kind of embodies that feeling.

Great Pumpkin Island: Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio

This upbeat piano composition made for Peanuts animated TV specials, including one that inspired this island, captures the childhood misadventures that follow Charlie Brown and his gang.

Cryptids Island: Scotland the Brave – cover by the Pipes & Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment

Bold and patriotic, this unofficial Scot anthem inspires brave souls to take on the world – in this case, the hunt for legendary beasts, including the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.

Wild West Island: Wild and Free by Rednex

Yeehaw! An adventure with bucking broncos and moustachioed men awaits on the desert plains of Wild West Island, and it wouldn’t be complete without cowboys whistling in the name of freedom.

Wimpy Wonderland Island: Winter Wonderland – cover by August Burns Red

It’s a winter wonderland in the black-and-white world of Wimpy Wonderland, but with all the teen troubles hounding Greg Heffley, this calls for a rockier version of the classic Christmas carol.

Red Dragon Island: Tokyo by Owl City

This Magic Tree House tale takes place in Edo of ancient Japan, which in our modern day is Tokyo – and all the synthpop sounds seem to bring home the fact that we’re far from home.

Mystery Train Island: In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg

This recognizable tune that starts out slow, then quickens its pace is perhaps the perfect accompaniment for a mystery case – or for pressuring people to work faster. Either way, it works.

Game Show Island: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) – cover by They Might Be Giants

It’s a swinging song about a changing world, a little like the robot revolution that has taken over this island – plus, we even visit Istanbul (not Constantinople) for one of the game shows!

Ghost Story Island: Always With Me (Itsumo Nando Demo) from Spirited Away

Bittersweet but comforting, this melody from the Japanese animated film Spirited Away could represent the complicated union between Fiona and Valiant, even in life after death.

S.O.S Island: Let It Go (from Frozen) – cover by Pentatonix

Surely everyone has tired of hearing the original by now, so we’ll go Pentatonix’s impeccable cover. On S.O.S., we dive into frigid waters in a ship, so it’s safe to say “the cold never bothered me anyway”.

Vampire’s Curse Island: Finger Back by Vampire Weekend

Come on, the band has ‘vampire’ in its name. In any case, this fast-paced number intones tribulations that could be compared to roughing it up in the spooky spaces of Bram’s castle.

Twisted Thicket Island: The Fox by Ylvis

What does the fox say? This twisted thicket is just teeming with mystical wildlife, so it seems the strange proposed animal sounds in this viral song would not be amiss here.

Wimpy Boardwalk Island: A Little Vacation by Tiny Little Planets (from Dog Days)

From the soundtrack of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie Dog Days, which inspired this island, A Little Vacation brings us to the summer boardwalk with games, beaches, and of course, Greg’s problems.

Lunar Colony Island: The Adventure by Angels & Airwaves

Life’s waiting to begin in an alien realm, and tracking that down was an astronomical adventure in itself. Space-rock sounds and out-of-this-world lyrics suit this cosmic experience well.

Super Villain Island: Monster by Skillet

Here we infiltrate the dreams of four of Poptropica’s worst villains to see what evil powers make them tick – the monsters inside that have ruled their ugly rage.

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Island: Oompa Loompa – cover by Primus & the Fungi Ensemble

Oompa Loompas always have a wise word to put in, don’t they? Listen to them and you may just avoid the pitfalls of all that could possibly go wrong when you’re in a room made of candy.

Zomberry Island: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

This is it, the zombie apocalypse is upon us – and as always, it’s up to us to save the day (well, night). Going through dark tunnels and seeing the city in ruins may leave our systems feeling ready to blow.

Night Watch Island: Let’s Go to the Mall by Robin Sparkles (from How I Met Your Mother)

Let’s go to the mall… today! Working the night shift comes with its own benefits: we get to play around in the mall when no one else is looking, and best of all, we get our own Segway. Time to jam.

Back Lot Island: Larger Than Life by Backstreet Boys

Lights, camera, action! Movie characters are always larger than life because they’re fixed up for the big silver screen – but the truth is, there’s a lot more that goes into production than meets the eye.

Anyway, that is all 29 classic islands without their own soundtrack, that now have music from pop(tropica) culture to back them up! What song choices would you give these islands? What about the SUIs (sound-updated islands)? Leave a comment and let us know!

Thank you for 15 million hits on the Poptropica Help Blog! ❤