Category: PHB Series

Guest Posts, Jade Scarab Island, My Dream Island

Inside look at Dream Island winner: Secret of the Jade Scarab 🏝🐞

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we have a very special guest with us! Girl Power (aka Lyndsey, or GwenBrightly on Poptropica) is one of the winners of Poptropica’s Design Your Dream Island Contest. In this post, she’ll be sharing about her winning idea, Secret of the Jade Scarab Island. Let’s get digging!

Hello, Poptropica Help Blog readers! I’d love to share more details about Secret of the Jade Scarab Island. I kept the descriptions spoiler free, so that certain plot points remain a surprise. 🙂

I had a ton of fun brainstorming for Secret of the Jade Scarab in between grading homework and writing lesson plans (I was in the middle of student teaching). I grew up playing games like Cluefinders and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego, which gave me a love of games that teach about history. Ancient Egyptian lore and culture has always fascinated me, so it was awesome to have an excuse to use all that knowledge.

Sphinx from Nabooti Island

First look

Our story begins when the player arrives outside the Ancient Antiquities Museum in a bustling Egyptian city and follows signs inside to find that Claira the Curator is in a panic because the newest exhibit isn’t going to open on time. She’s lost contact with the team of archeologists who were supposed to be excavating King Khnurn’s tomb (his name means “reborn sun” in Egyptian). Being the kind, friendly, and helpful Poptropican that you are, you volunteer to go investigate.

Spelunky: At the end of our rope.

When you arrive in the village of Iteru (which means “river” in Egyptian), a local merchant points you in the direction of the archeological dig, where you meet Howard Diggory, head egyptologist. He explains that bizarre things have been happening at the dig and that there are rumors of a mummy’s curse, which has stalled progress in excavating and cataloging the tomb. It’s up to you to find the root of the problem and discover whether or not the tomb really is cursed.

Egyptian tomb from Nabooti Island

You’ll explore the tomb and village, speaking to the locals and gaining their trust through various tasks. Befriending the merchant is a good place to start. She’ll tell you all about the legend of the Jade Scarab, said to give its owner untold power, but only if you help her translate some old scrolls and track down her great nephew for her. Could someone be after the scarab?

Featured locations include:

  • The Ancient Antiquities Museum in Cairo – a place filled with displays of famous ancient Egyptian artifacts. Players can learn about life in ancient Egypt and maybe find some easter eggs from other islands. I like to imagine that it’s owned by the Poptropica equivalent of Zahi Hawass – a very famous Egyptologist who has probably appeared in pretty much any documentary you may have watched on Egypt.
Zahi Hawass, Egyptologist (photo: Smithsonian Magazine)
  • The village of Iteru – Close to the dig site. I envision something multi-levelled and filled with bright colors against the sandy/tan-ish color of the brick buildings. There are houses on the higher level and a market on the lower one. You can visit lots of townspeople to learn about the origins of the mummy’s curse, tomb robbers, the importance of the Nile, etc. In order to get them to answer your questions, you have to run errands for them such as potentially fishing, sailing, gathering papyrus, etc. The merchant’s shop is a highlight, as she gives the player a lot of the background on the Jade Scarab after you find her grandson (who is in an alleyway playing with a cat).
How Bazaar: Every time I look around.
  • The dig site – in the Valley of the Kings – lots of weird stuff is happening there, which has caused the locals to theorize that the team of archeologists have unleashed a curse. You can find typical archeologist tools, crates, tents, various artifacts that are being catalogued, and maybe a jeep. There are a few site members to interview, but several have fled, and one is in the hospital.
Camp Value: The Pup Tent sleep one
  • King Knurn’s Tomb – Either underground or inside a cliff. The Jade Scarab is supposedly hidden somewhere deep inside. The player can explore different parts of the tomb throughout the story, with some getting unlocked as they progress. Skills learned from the villagers (like reading hieroglyphics) can be used here to solve puzzles and gather more information about the legends surrounding the Jade Scarab.
Hieroglyphs on Nabooti Island

Important characters

  • Claira the Curator – Runs the Ancient Antiquities Museum and is worried about the museum’s latest exhibit not arriving on time. I chose her name because I wanted something with alliteration and a tie to Egypt, so I took the a-i-r from Cairo and inserted it into a name that went well with Curator.
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt (photo: MoMAA.org)
  • Howard Diggory – Head egyptologist of the archeological dig, worried about the recent mishaps and potential curse. Very passionate about Egyptology and uncovering lost history. He was named Howard after Howard Carter, who discovered King Tut’s tomb, and Diggory because he’s an archeologist and spends a lot of time digging.
Striking a blow for workers’ rights.
  • Awantagi – the foreman of the dig. He’s the prickly type and doesn’t particularly like you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. 
  • The Merchant – a mysterious old lady who sells a variety of objects (both ancient and modern). She tells the player the legend of the Jade Scarab after they have helped her translate some old scrolls (learn about Egyptian culture and book of the dead) and located her great nephew (who is chasing after a cat).
  • Bast – the Egyptian cat who likes to pop up and do cat stuff, like expect you to cater to her every whim.

Visuals

I am not the best of artists, but I do have some pictures from an old project I did for school that I used for inspiration.

I didn’t necessarily plan for a pyramid to appear in Secret of the Jade Scarab, but I do really like the concept of having a scene that shows the Nile and some Egyptian boats.

This is sort of what I’d like the market to look like. Bright colors, hieroglyphics, and an abundance of different objects for players to interact with.

Anyway, thank you SO much to the PHB for reaching out, and to all of you for your interest! It’s such an honor to be able to share some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head for the past three months. I honestly can’t wait to see where Poptropica goes with this!

—Girl Power/Lyndsey

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Girl Power/Lyndsey. If you did, you might also enjoy other posts in our My Dream Island series, such as Prehistoric Peril Island by Sporty Boa. And consider sharing yours!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨

Free Membership Giveaways, Social Media, Video of the Week

A haunting chance for a lil Poptropica concert? 🎤

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, Slanted Fish here with a few updates: an intriguing tweet, a membership giveaway, and a video highlight. Let’s pop right in!

Ever imagined a concert might be possible on Poptropica? Lil Nas X (perhaps best known for his country rap single “Old Town Road”) allegedly tweeted earlier, “I wanna do a Poptropica concert.”

The news was shared on our Discord server, the PHC, by Red Sun, though the tweet from @LilNasX became unavailable soon after, with no explanation. Maybe because of Poptropica’s platform limitations?

The idea isn’t totally random coming from Lil Nas X, though — only a few months ago, he held an elaborate virtual concert on Roblox, another virtual world game for kids. Who’s to say whether he can pull it off on Poptropica, too? We’d certainly be down for it! 🎤

We’re approaching the end of the month, which means it’s time to announce another lucky Poptropican to win our membership giveaway! Congrats, Emu — after 10 years of playing Pop, you can finally cross getting a membership off your bucket list.

In case you missed it, the PHB is hosting a giveaway every month, and it’s easy to enter! Just comment on the Free Poptropica Membership page and leave at least two other comments around the PHB within the month to be entered into that month’s giveaway.

We’ll announce a winner sometime in the final week of each month. If you don’t win, you can always try again for the next month! Full details »

Members can get some nifty exclusive items for their clubhouse, like this “Keepeth Out” sign. Speaking of which, check out my Clubhouse Tour!

In other news, the Pop Creators’ Blog posted a real throwback in their latest Video of the Week! This one’s a playthrough of the Haunted House mini-quest shared by Ramsha T:

This classic adventure used to be available from a card in the store back in 2009, then was later released as a special event in 2018. You can read more about it in our Haunted House Guide. If you want more special events like these, let Poptropica know in the comments of their post!

That’s it for this post. Stay tuned for a special one coming up here on the PHB — it contains some pretty great secrets brought to us by one dreamy guest. 😉

Pop on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Fanfiction, The Villain Saga

Announcing “The Villain Saga,” a Poptropica fan series (with prologue)

Agent Bubbles

Long, long ago, there were rumors of a Poptropica movie or TV series. Fans speculated on what it could be about, from a whole new story to a Mystery of the Map spinoff. Flash forward to today, and that dream never became a reality.

So in my traditional fashion, I decided to do it myself!

As much as I would like to see an epic, shiny, animated finished product, there’s no way I (and my carpal tunnel) could do all that, so I’ve decided to just release the script in episodic form! Stay tuned for a sneak peek of the first episode!

I’m going to try to update this fairly frequently (perhaps every week), but I won’t make any promises currently. I do have the plot all figured out from beginning to end, and plenty more script to release!

But enough with my rambling! Let’s get to the story!

FADE IN:

EXT. EREWHON PRISON — EVENING

We see the tall prison from a worms-eye view, near the ocean. Even though it is still evening, dark storm clouds surround the sky, shrouding the prison in night. A few windows glow as lights from inside the building are turned on.

A HELICOPTER lands, hovering a bit and billowing clouds of dust on the small landing pad next to the prison. It finally finishes its descent as we get a closer look at the area. Several prison guards are standing nearby, and a bearded man, DR. JUPITER, is waiting to greet whoever is inside the HELICOPTER.

A MAN jumps out from the side door. The darkness hides most of his face from view, along with a WOMAN who jumps out behind him.

MAN

Well, this isn’t quite what I expected!

DR. JUPITER

(chuckles)

Did you expect a luxury hotel?

MAN

No, I just didn’t think the weather would be so…

He looks down at the stormy waves, crashing against jagged rocks.

MAN (CONT’D)

…cliché.

DR. JUPITER

It helps protect us from onlookers, at least!

(He looks at the WOMAN)

And hello, Miss…

The WOMAN extends her gloved hand. DR. JUPITER takes the cue and kisses it.

WOMAN

Lesser. Camille Lesser. I’m his assistant.

DR. JUPITER

You seem awfully dainty for this line of work.

WOMAN

Trust me.

(She grins. There’s something a little suspicious about it.)

I have experience with these sort of people.

DR. JUPITER steps back. His friendly smile leaves his face.

DR. JUPITER

I should hope so. We’ve had many psychologists analyze our prisoners…few were able to help much.

MAN

They should be willing to work with me, if we give them time.

The smile returns to DR. JUPITER’S face. He steps aside, motioning for the newcomers to enter the building.

DR. JUPITER

Well then, let’s get started.

The two enter as the HELICOPTER ascends. DR. JUPITER remains behind with the GUARDS, discussing something with them.

As they cross through the doorway, framed with lightning-bolt decorated pillars, the WOMAN turns to the psychologist.

WOMAN

Well, that was certainly easier than I expected, Mr. D.

They enter a lit area, revealing the faces of notorious criminals DIRECTOR D. and MADEMOISELLE MOREAU. DIRECTOR D. smiles.

DIRECTOR D.

Trust me, miss Moreau, my plans are all very simple.

We look from the outside, as they head deeper into the prison.

FADE OUT.

“Erewhon contains some of the most notorious criminals in all of the world of Poptropica…but could their abilities be used for someone’s advantage?

Director D., a cunning and charismatic spy, and Madimoiselle Moreau, a sweet yet spiteful Frenchwoman, are both villains who have managed to avoid the long arm of the law. They have teamed up to start their grandest plan yet, but they will need a little help.

Will justice and peace prevail above these many conflicting schemes, or will these villains be consumed by their own ambition and follow a murky path as the world collapses due to a plan they may not even be aware of?”

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Ask Poptropica Siri

Ask the Joker #6: Furry fave, freedom, and flying

Incredible Joker

Ask the Joker is a Q&A segment here on the PHB where you, dear readers, are invited to send in your Poptropica questions to have them answered, with wit, wisdom, and wisecracks, by one Incredible Joker.

I noticed that you have a Dr. Hare costume on your Poptropican, do you like Dr. Hare or are you a fan of someone else? ~Smart Icicle

I don’t really use that costume too much, but I actually also have another account with the same outfit in white. 🙃👍 I think that Dr. Hare leaves an impression on most players, and I think that’s because he’s usually the first villain people face. (Unless you count the spider from Early Poptropica 😂).

I don’t really have a specific reason that I like him so much, aside from that and his general story. Some villains you just want them to have a (somewhat) happy ending!

  • Spider from Early Poptropica Island

Hi my question is what do you love most about being a staff writer on the PHB? ~Dangerous Dragon

Fan art! 👍😂 I’ve never had art drawn of me before now. 😛 But really though, it’s nice to help out with this blog and like I’ve mentioned before, to have the freedom that I do with these posts I make. (In fact, I wrote part of this one while eating lunch at work! 😅)

I have a few other ideas for PHB posts in the works, that Slanted Fish has been helping me with 👍 (and being very patient with me 😂😅). I suppose that’s another part of what I enjoy about being here: how much the other PHB staff care about the blog and the game.

What was your favorite Poptropica (Flash) glitch? ~Greedy Shadow

There have been many, many glitches over Poptropica history. Unfortunately many of them are not helpful to the player. 😂😅 But I suppose my favorite one would have to be the small “flying” glitch.

It might not work now, but back in the Flash days, you could “fly” by using any spacebar-activated item action while walking off a building, and would keep going until animation was done. Here’s a YouTube video that captures it in action:

If done right, the glitch could sometimes help you get to places you weren’t supposed to be at yet. Of course it, like all glitches, it was kind of iffy on working most of the time.

How can you send in your questions to Ask the Joker?

That’s a great question! You can use the following methods:

  • 📧 Send an email to justaskthejoker (at) gmail (dot) com. This way, you’ll get to keep your questions a surprise when they get answered on the blog.
  • 💬 Comment on the latest Ask the Joker post. Your questions will be publicly visible before they appear in a Q&A post, but this allows others to interact with your question if they so choose. If you don’t have an email address, you can enter a fake one in the email field when you post your comment.

See you all next time, and remember: You can’t spell Poptropica without letters.

My Dream Island

Introducing: My Dream Island ⛅️🏝

Sporty Boa

Hey all, Sporty Boa here! As you may know, Poptropica’s Design Your Dream Island Contest has come to a close with the creators announcing the highly-anticipated third and final winning submission a couple days ago. Secret of the Jade Scarab Island took this special spot alongside Fairy Tale & Goofball Island as the winning ideas, but the these were no easy choices. The Poptropica Creators stated that they reviewed all the submissions not once, not twice, but TWELVE TIMES to determine the final winner of the Dream Island Contest!

If it hasn’t already been made apparent, this community is truly brimming with creative ideas and concepts for islands they wish to see in Poptropica. We here at the PHB would love to grant the opportunity for you to share those ideas with our new series: My Dream Island!

Similar to our long running series, My Place in Poptropica, My Dream Island allows for you, the community, to share you own island ideas here on the Poptropica Help Blog. If you are interested in this opportunity, let us know by writing for the PHB!

My Dream Island: Sporty Boa

I’ll go first to kick of things off! Like several PHB authors, I entered Poptropica’s Dream Island contest. Although ours weren’t selected as winners, our island ideas remain dear to us. I for one would love to share my Cretaceous creation: Prehistoric Peril Island!

Story

Millions of years ago, all of Poptropica’s dinosaurs went extinct. Or did they? Adventurer-seeking millionaire Harold Mews has found evidence that begs to differ: A super-secret remote island where dinosaurs continue to roam free! He recruits your Poptropican for the mission of a lifetime: To travel to this mysterious island and obtain sufficient evidence of living dinosaurs! Thankfully you won’t be on your own, a team of Poptropica’s biggest and brightest minds join you on this epic escapade, with high tech gadgets at your disposal. However, no amount of tech or expertise can prepare you and your team for the challenges that lie ahead. On Prehistoric Peril Island, surprises await around every corner as you encounter creatures lost to time, and if you’re not careful, you may become one of them!

Setting

The bulk of the story takes place on the enigmatic Dino Island, where vegetation shrouds this wild world and vibrant life surrounds you. Dino Island hosts various terrains home to various dinosaurs, you must be able to traverse them all in an effort to survive.

Notable Locations

  • Cretaceous Coast – Helicopter landing site
  • Paleozoic Plains – Location of Research Site A and the locus for your team’s Biological and Historical field studies
  • Dino Desert – Location of Research Site B and the locus for your team’s Paleontology and Geological studies
  • Jurassic Jungle – Dense and dangerous rain forest area, home to a mysterious and somewhat familiar face
  • Archaic Caves – These caves reveal secrets of the past… well, present. Time is weird on Dino Island!

Characters

Prehistoric Peril Island marks the return of a handful of classic and beloved characters (marked with *) along with some new faces to add to the ever-expanding world of Poptropica!

  • Herald Mews* – Owner of the Mews Foundation; A kind, adventurous explorer keen on pushing the boundaries of science. Loves cryptids and never-before seen creatures.
  • Dr. Alima – Poptropica’s top paleontologist and paleobotanist, leader of the expedition team
  • Professor Hammerhead* – 100 year old explorer, expert in ancient civilizations and island survival
  • Shark Guy* –  Professor Hammerhead’s protégé and caretaker
  • Professor Pendulum* – Inventor of Poptropica’s first (and only) time machine, expert in all things time-related. 
  • Dr. Lange* – Head scientist of the Poptropica Disease Center; Medical professional and expert 
  • Medicine Man – Native of the mysterious Dino Island, Concoctor of special potions 
Return of the Medicine Man

Antagonists

  • Cave Collector – A long-time castaway and unstable thief/inventor, this cave man is desperate to escape Dino Island by any means necessary. 
Cave Man
  • Megalodon Man – Shark Guy wants to make a bigger impact on the team so he drinks a potion from the medicine man, transforming him into the monstrous megalodon man!
Want to hear some shark facts?

INSPIRATION

I approached the creation of Prehistoric Peril Island with a relatively blank slate, wishing to create a fun and unique experience for old and new players alike. While much of the story came off the dome, I combined aspects of my personal favorite islands, Cryptids & Shark Tooth, especially when it came to characters. New characters, like Dr. Alima and the Caveman, were also inspired by things close to home, like my verdant villain costume I made for the PHB’s Halloween contest. In a nutshell, Poptropica inspired me, along with my love for prehistoric life and the natural world.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Dream Island, Prehistoric Peril! If you’re interested in learning more about my island, I plan on posting the full story/walkthrough on the Sporty Boa Blog and my YouTube channel. Its planning and creation has been something I’ve enjoyed and put a lot of thought into, and even though I didn’t win the contest, I am still incredibly pleased with my work.

If you too are inspired to share your island idea, don’t hesitate to whip up a post like this one, highlighting story, settings, characters, and inspiration, and we’ll share them here on the PHB’s My Dream Island series! I hope you all stay safe and stay awesome, this Boa’s gotta bounce!

~SB 🐍