Category: PHB Series

Arabian Nights Island, Pop Places IRL

Pop Places IRL: Arabian Nights 🐪

Spotted Dragon
Pop Places IRL Header

Welcome back to “Pop Places IRL,” Poptropicans! Miss the series? I know I did! This time around, we’ll be traveling to Arabian Nights Island! Like this series? Be sure to check out other Pop Places IRL posts.

As you might already know, Arabian Nights was the winning idea from Poptropica’s “Create Your Dream Island” contest back in 2013. The pitch? “On Arabian Nights Island, Poptropicans go on a quest across the desert to rescue a sultan’s genie from the Forty Thieves.” And it turned out to be quite the tale!

The adventure, like Disney’s “Aladdin,” takes place in Arabia (hence the name). This Middle Eastern peninsula is certainly a distinct location, and it definitely shines through in the island! Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look.

Right away on our Poptropicans’ adventure, we are greeted with “Episode 1: How Bazaar.” The title itself is a pun, playing off the term “bazaar” to sound like “how bizarre.” A bazaar, if you were unaware, is a type of Middle Eastern marketplace, which (not coincidentally) is a prominent location on the island.

  • photo: The Souk – A Middle Eastern Bazaar (zoharproductions)

Pretty cool, right? The colorful fabrics, clothing, and items for sale certainly catch the eye. But perhaps even more impressive, we have the palace to visit!

  • photo: Arabian Palace (werxj’s flickr)

I personally find the architecture of the Middle East to be a particularly remarkable characteristic of the area, but maybe that’s just my inner art history nerd coming out? Either way, the design in Poptropica seems to match up pretty well to its inspiration, so let’s take a look on the inside as well!

  • photo: Middle Eastern Palace (worldarchitecturenews)

Poptropica’s palace atrium (left) is busier than our reference photo (right), but it sure does add interest to the adventure! I think that the game really did stay true to its inspiration, even with their color/detail additions. What do you think?

Stepping further away from the bustling market, however, we could also take a look at the less populated areas of the island. Even if a huge Lair of Thieves is tough to find IRL, there are definitely still cave systems we could investigate. And, like in Poptropica, maybe we can find some salt and other minerals to trade!

  • photo: Caving Vacations in Africa & the Middle East (iexplore)

Why don’t we take a camel and keep traveling away from the market, further into the desert next? And now we happen upon an oasis!

  • photo: Oasis (wikipedia)

Even in this largely desert landscape, it’s cool to see the pops of color that show up. The Poptropica Creators really took advantage of their inspiration when designing this island, huh?

But what do you guys think? Have you ever been to the Middle East? Does the comparison match up to your expectations? What other islands do you want to see in this series? Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts below!

Farewell, fellow travelers, and good night!

~SD

Pop Fan Artist Spotlights

Pop Fan Artist Spotlight: AdventurersNHunters

LJ

Good day, Poptropicans! It’s LJ here coming at you with another Pop Fan Artist Spotlight. I’ll be featuring the works of AdventurersNHunters, a relatively new artist to pop up in the DeviantArt community. Ready, set, action!

“Main Infamous Villains Battle Attire”

AdventurersNHunters says her favorite characters to draw, for the most part, include Princess Elyana, the main four super villains, and the prisoners from Super Power Island. She also strives to tell stories through her drawings, and she likes to create unique designs for the characters she puts into them.

It’s evident just how true that is when you take a look at this gallery I’ve put together — which includes the piece she’s proudest of, “Game Show Island.” (It took her a month to complete it! Talk about determination.)

“Elyana, Future Queen Of Arturus”
“Wild West Ready For The Showdown”
“Main Infamous Villains Battle Attire”
“Studying”
“Dr. Hare Doodles”
“Game Show Island”
“Four Infamous Villains”
“Chess Playing”
“Middle of the Night”
“Baby Hare is back”

I find her art style so cute, don’t you? No wonder “Studying” was nominated for the Best Fan Art award last month during the Poppies (which I ultimately voted for, by the way!).

This gallery shows a mere 10 illustrations; there’s plenty more where that came from. She’s very active and has over five times of this in her DeviantArt gallery.

Now as the spotlight dims and the artist takes her bow, I thank you all for reading once again.

Wanna see more amazing artwork like this? Check out some of the other artists I’ve featured here on the blog. Wanna be the next Pop fan artist spotlight? Shoot me a message on DeviantArt and we’ll see what we can do.

And finally, don’t forget to take part in our Tribal Tournament as well as this month’s Community Creations — the more art, the better! I’ll talk to you guys in the next one. Pop on!

– LJ 🍀

Guest Posts, Pop Petitions

Pop Petition: Gear the game toward older kids

Slanted Fish

This is a guest post by Tiff on why Poptropica should focus more on their older players. The following is the writer’s opinion only. Enjoy!

Hi, I’m Tiff, and I want to talk about a few things—but most importantly, the idea that Poptropica should gear the game toward older kids.

Despite the fact that Poptropica bills itself as a children’s game, fewer and fewer young kids are interested in Poptropica these days. In fact, if you look at the PHB’s surveys, you’ll find that the majority of players are 13 and up (at least, the majority of who read this fan site are teens and young adults).

If the Creators want to keep Pop going, they’ll need to create content suitable for the audience they have and expand on that, rather than holding onto the past ideal of being suited for kids. They need to grow with their fanbase, so that they’re not left behind by their competitors.

After all, Poptropica is my favorite game, and I really want it to stay. Plus, with an evolving games market, and a growing trend for augmented or virtual reality, I wonder if they can explore that avenue further.

And as we know, Poptropica has been putting a little too much emphasis on Membership. I know they’ve been working on the Islands, and bringing the old ones back, but they really should be available to all players, not just members. This post isn’t necessarily about the paywall, but more on the fact that the Creators seem to only orient their game for a subset of players that they find more valuable—whether that’s members or younger kids—rather than focusing on the majority of who’s already here: the non-members and the older players. I’m here to say, Creators, focus on who your players are now, not who they used to be, and expand from there.

Creators: grow with the game, and grow with the times. We are not kids anymore, we’re teens and young adults. Poptropica’s demographic has changed, so let’s change the game with it. It’s supply and demand: the demand is the older demographic, the little kids who aren’t so little anymore, who’ve grown up with Poptropica and have stuck around for the fun and nostalgia. And the supply is Poptropica, which needs to adapt for this crowd which seems to make up the majority of our community these days.

Let’s be a little less forceful in trying to promote our game to a younger audience, who seem to have already moved on to other things—after all, there’s not much a new player can do on Poptropica these days as they’re locked into a Haxe account with few islands—and perhaps, with careful consideration for the older demographic (and particularly our desire for islands with deep storytelling), Poptropica’s demand may rise again.

Hope you enjoyed this Pop Petition guest post by Tiff! If you did, be sure to check out our other Pop Petition posts on the PHB, as well as our series on the topic of Poptropica and Age.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our page on how to Write for the PHB, and share blog posts on the PHC.

📰 If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! ✨

Community Creations

Community Creations: July 2020

Spotted Dragon
community-creations-logo

Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the July recap for Community Creations! July’s theme was Classic Islands (and the featured work is not in any particular order). Be sure to check out all the featured artists!

No clue what’s going on? Go see our intro post.

TOP 5 PICKS

Cowgirl Return by Nongmind

Though this piece was not made in time for our Wild West theme, it certainly still fits among the classic islands! The blurry effect adds a lot of hilarious motion to the scene, perfectly capturing a great photo from the island. It has a lovely composition and demonstrates wonderful craftsmanship! Very well made! Find her DeviantArt here.

The 4 Knights by BlazingAngel123

Wowza, what a heroic looking scene! Astro-Knights won “OG Island We’ll Miss the Most” in the Poppies this year, so it is obviously a fan favorite adventure. The symmetrical composition is excellent and I love the strong contrast between colors. Each knight is showing off their unique set of powers, but certainly remaining strong and unified. It really captures the atmosphere of the island! Find her DeviantArt here.

Here Comes a Giant Fist by WitchyArtistGal

Although Shrink Ray eventually got its own sound update, I think it’s fair to say that it’s still a classic considering its initial release. So this submission deserves a spotlight all the same! Comics are always a refreshing format, and a challenging one at that. Luckily, the framing and humor in this one turned out excellent! The dialogue and build up are great, bringing together the perfect little story. Keep up the great work! Find her DeviantArt here.

Spy Island by MissEligon

Oooh, another very interesting composition! Though busy, all the figures are portrayed in such a way that they are not lost within the frame. I love the subtle effect of Director D.’s hair, the incorporation of background scenery, and even the inclusion of the spy in the trashcan! This piece really acts as a summary of the whole island without giving too much away. There’s a great variety of emotion, poses, shades within a unified color scheme, and a wonderful sense of mystery! Find her Twitter here (where she has also recently posted art of some other classics).

Game Show Island by AdventurersNHunters

Hmmm, intriguing! As I previously mentioned, the format of a comic is always refreshing! And the added challenge of having no dialogue is very interesting. This long visual story really builds a world, and draws the viewer’s eye all down the page. The detail is fantastic, the shading is quite dramatic, and the diagonal lines of the frames create a great sense of action! You can really see the effort poured into the work. Find her DeviantArt here.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

  • Traitorous Spy by Midnightoilstudios
  • If Joe Puddy was in Twisted Thicket by thehypercutter

Gosh guys, all this amazing work is really making miss the classics! These adventures have really been immortalized by your submissions this month.

AUGUST: HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?

Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fics, Pop clubhouses, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.

If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is August’s theme? August’s theme is…

Poptropolis Games Tribes!

Although the summer Olympics have been postponed until next year, why can’t we still celebrate with some fun “athletic” competition, right? That’s why we have the internet in times like these! We all have witnessed the sinking of Poptropolis and the mystery that surrounds it, but we have also gotten to experience the excitement of the games! Let’s revisit those games in this month’s theme, shall we?

No matter what tribe you’re a part of, we want to see your artwork! We want to see your stories! Your costumes! And all the crafts in between! So show us your tribal pride this month, and I promise that I won’t be biased in favor of the Nanobots (or at least I’ll try).

  • Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
  • Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
  • Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
  • Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!

I will be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!

So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!

~SD

PHB Parties, Poppies

Recap: Poppies 2020 awards and party 🥳🏆

Slanted Fish

Lights? Check. Internet connection? Check. Dr. Beev—wait, come again?

This weekend, we hosted the Poppies, our annual fan-directed Poptropica awards event, in celebration with the PHB’s 12th birthday. And what an event!

Despite the lack of Multiverse rooms (that feature disappeared a while back), just a few classic head-to-head mini-games to play (only Balloons, Sky Dive, and Star Link remain), and our decision to forego the traditional livestream in favor of concentrating our energy on announcing Poppies winners via our PHC Discord chat server, we had fun in the presence of emojis of all kinds (including the beloved Dr. Beev, the Dr. Hare/beaver parody from Mocktropica Island) and hit up the Party Time Tower on Time Tangled and Midas Gym on Mythology to shake the floors with our stellar outfits and groovy dance moves.

But enough about that, right? You want to know who won, and we’re here to bring you the highlights. Our winners for the 2020 Poppies are…

🏆 Gameplay Awards

  • OG Island We’ll Miss Most: Astro-Knights Island (runner-up: Mystery Train)
  • Best Pet Accessory: Buccaneer Hat (runner-up: Flower Headband)
  • Best Clubhouse Decor: Poptropica blimp (runner-up: Fox)
  • Best Home Island Makeover: Halloween (runner-up: Wizardry)
  • Best Quippy: 24 Carrot (runner-up: Escape From Pelican Rock)
  • Best Default Character: Old School (runners-up: Love Star and Girl Power)
  • Worst Paywall Offender of the Year: Classic islands return for members only (runner-up: Store items that used to be for all return as members only)

🏆 Community Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 Poppies!! 🏆 And if you’re interested in knowing the rankings of each nominee, head on over to the PHC and check out the pinned messages to scroll up in the chat. We’ll leave the pins for some time, but not forever, so check them out while you can.

As an added bonus, here’s a quick thank-you video from Theo of Dimension Bros, whose channel won Best Fan Video (you may recall the PHB’s spotlight post for them last month). Thanks for celebrating with us! 🥳

🎨 “Best Fan Art of the Year” Nominee Gallery

We’re always impressed by what this fandom produces. To celebrate that, we’re showcasing our top nominees for this year’s “Best Fan Art” award:

Thanks to all of you who nominated, voted, came out for the Poppies awards show—and most of all, for being part of the Poptropica community in ways big and small. 💙 Also, happy birthday to the PHB! 🥳 We’re grateful to you, dear reader, for your part in making these 12 years so special.

A minute of beauty onstage is years of work offstage. Now let’s pick up those Dr. Beev emojis littered all over the blue carpet and get it rolled back up!

—🌟 the Poppies Help Blog 🌟 —