Pop 5

Pop 5: Islands I want to see return to Poptropica

Good day, Poptropicans! It’s Lucky Joker here popping into 2020 with one of my first non-news posts, a Pop 5 list. It’s a new decade and that means a new era for Poptropica.

With the new version of Zomberry Island on the horizon (or is it? we’re still waiting…), it feels like the perfect time to start compiling my list of islands I hope to see return to the game one day, in full sound-updated glory. Let’s begin! (If you haven’t played all the old islands: beware, spoilers ahead.)

#5: Mystery Train Island ๐Ÿ”

Starting off this list is Mystery Train Island, which is possibly one of Poptropica’s most popular adventures โ€” and among my personal favorites. Every island has a theme; and the theme of this island is a classic, yet compelling whodunit set in the late Victorian era. How appealing does that sound? Right up my alley, that’s for sure.

I can just imagine how calm and soothing the soundtrack would be with a soft piano playing beautifully if it was sound updated. And can we talk about how awesome the boss level is (or should I say was…)? It’s one of the most climactic scenes in the entire game in my opinion. A crescendo would go along brilliantly with it I’m sure.

#4: Wild West Island ๐ŸŒต

Popping in at the number four spot comes another Poptropica fan favorite โ€” Wild West Island! This Old-West-inspired escapade is full of many fun and exciting moments. With the multitude of western mini-games, lingo, and scenery, this island makes for one special and enjoyable experience that you can 100% immerse yourself into.

As for the soundtrack choice, it’s undeniably unquestionable โ€” western folk music of course! Give Jeff Heim a banjo, a guitar, and a harmonica and I’m sure he could create at least a dozen hillbilly hits. It’s a sound we have yet to hear in Poptropica, I believe.

#3: Super Villain Island โšก

Smack dab in the middle at third place is the super Super Villain Island! I mean, how could an island featuring four of Poptropica’s most prominent wrongdoers not be in this list? In my opinion, SVI has one of the most creative and out-of-the-box concepts โ€” it’s like a cool sci-fi movie or something โ€” and of course, some of Poptropica’s coolest characters.

The roaring storm over the ocean, each of the villains’ dreams, the colossal battle at the end โ€” there are so many great tracks to be made here! I can already hear them now. Super Villain needs to return and there should be no doubt about it.

#2: Game Show Island ๐Ÿค–

Just behind the top pick is the remarkable, robotic extravaganza that is Game Show Island! Sure, it’s not the absolute best to have graced the screen in the past 12 and a half years, but Game Show is arguably one of the most fun islands in the game; I don’t think there’s one Poptropican who doesn’t like it (even if it’s not their favorite). All of the mini-games and funny looking robots totally make the island interesting and amusing. I think having it sound updated would enhance that.

Each location could have a different background song. A modernized gypsy-like tune would be a good choice for the city of Istanbul. It would capture that unique Turkish sound perfectly. As for Japan, I’d like something kawaii, or something highly electric to really get my heart racing during Mr. Yoshi’s Super Terrific Challenge. Russia’s pretty diverse, so perhaps a remix of the national anthem would suffice? In Miami, a rad hip-hop track would definitely work well. And you can surely count on the vibrant sensations of tango to create an atmosphere in Buenos Aires. You could hear the world in one island! (Not to mention all of the mechanic and techy sound ops throughout.)

Honorable Mentions

Alright, before I reveal my number one choice, I wanted to honor a few other beloved islands that almost made this list. Give it up for Super Power Island, Nabooti Island, and Counterfeit Island! They’re all wonderful classics, and totally deserve to be in the top five as well.

And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Taking the trophy for the island I’d love to see return most…the astounding, the stupendous, the one and only โ€” it goes to none other than…

#1: Astro-Knights Island ๐Ÿš€

Astro-Knights Island! This thrilling quest is one like no other and is definitely one of my all-time favorites (along with Mythology)! This intergalactic island is jam packed with mythos, action, and adventure โ€” everything Poptropica is all about.

Can’t you just envision a dreary, medieval melody accompanying the crummy streets of a fallen Arturus as you played? I certainly could! In addition, we could get some celestial tunes for when we’re journeying through the stars and an intense orchestral symphony with a battle like dynamic for when we’re defeating the evil Binary Bard.

Astro-Knights is an absolute must play for any Poptropica player and it undoubtedly needs to grace the map once again. What do you think?


And there you have it โ€” the full list of islands that I think should make an epic comeback to Poptropica! (Psst, creators, if you’re reading…I’m sure many others would agree with me, so you know…)

Thank you so much for reading as always and I’ll talk to you all soon. Happy Easter to those who celebrate! ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿค

My aim is egg-cellent, hehe

โ€“ Lucky Joker ๐Ÿ€

Community Creations

Community Creations: March 2020

community-creations-logo

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

No clue whatโ€™s going on? Go see our intro post.

Top 5 Picks

DnD Night by BlazingAngel123

Ah, DnD, a classic hobby if I do say so myself! Each character in this composition has a unique expression and design, which really makes the scene dynamic. Can you imagine these villains actually playing games together? It certainly would be a sight to see, and I think Raven would make a great DM. Excellent work! Find her DeviantArt here.

Painting by iLee-Font

I think it’s safe to say that if you’re a fan of community creations, you’re likely a fan of painting as well. Poptropica’s art community is strong and talented as ever, so of course painting is a perfect hobby to showcase! And who better to showcase it than Black Widow herself? I love her design in this piece, and I love the more pastel color scheme. Absolutely wonderful! Find their DeviantArt here.

Poptropica Chess Playing by AdventurersNHunters

Another classic game! For some reason, it is super easy for me to imagine our beloved Poptropicans from Mythology Island playing chess. And to be honest, my money is on Athena over Zeus. But anyway, I love the colors and detail in this design! The background and foreground work well together for sure. Great work! Find their DeviantArt here.

Extreme Work Out (Collab) by NineTenOnetyOne and WitchyArtistGal

Oooh, a collaboration! When two artists put their heads together, great things happen. I love the humor in this piece and the posing of the characters. Plus, dialogue always adds a unique layer of context and interest. You can definitely see the talents of both artists coming together here, which is a wonderful thing to feature! And exercising is certainly a good hobby to get behind. Fantastic! Find their DeviantArts here and here.

Ok by Criaha

Now music is a hobby that certainly has a place in Community Creations! This simple design shows a lot of artistic talent through subtle details and choices. The lineart and shading is smooth and the composition of the arms is excellent. Even the slight glow of the eye adds such great interest! Seeing Binary Bard in this style is really beautiful. Nice work! Find her DeviantArt here.


Honorable Mentions

No honorable mentions this month guys, sorry! Keep sending in those submissions though! In the meantime, did you catch the PHB’s annual April Fools prank? I think that the work Gentle Dolphin put into it definitely deserves a feature.


April: How Do I Participate?

Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what itโ€™s about, itโ€™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 monthโ€™s theme. So what is April’s theme? April’s theme isโ€ฆ

Stay Home!

During these tough times, it’s important to stay at home so we can keep as many people safe as possible. But I definitely know that boredom can be a tough enemy during these times as well, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay bored! Finding a creative outlet that you can work on while stuck at home is a perfect boredom buster, so why not participate in Community Creations?

The theme is pretty vague this month so everyone can join in. Show us what you’re doing to have fun at home, with a Poptropica styled twist! Any Poptropica art (or writing, or costumes, or anything) you create purely out of boredom is perfectly acceptable to submit. So get out of bed and get creating! Having trouble? Check out our post on what to do in Poptropica during quarantine to spark some inspiration!

  • Comment below with a link to whatever youโ€™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 youโ€™d like!

I will always be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. Bonus points if you make a compelling description for your piece! While quality counts, Iโ€™m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so donโ€™t be afraid to join in!

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

~SD

Pranks

Flashy Fools: the real April 1st experience โšก๏ธ

Heeey Poptropicans! So you remember all that talk we posted yesterday about a grand PHB Flash Experience? Our little Flash game of homage to the pending doom of Flash and old school islands? Well, check your calendars…

Yup. So, April Fools! How long were you clicking to “allow Flash” and refreshing the page so you could play the game? Were you convinced that your computer just couldn’t handle Flash anymore? Did we fool you?

Whether our shenanigans had you flashing with anger at game that was never meant to load, or flushing with embarrassment for refreshing way too many times, we hope that, in the end, we can still make you flash a smile. So here, enjoy the behind-the-scenes of this year’s PHB prank.

Gentle Dolphin put a ton of work into making the preview scene of a glitching bridge in our prank post. Check out the stills behind the gif, from a peaceful Red Dragon Island scene to the world falling apart with game-breaking code.

In addition to the scenery, she also made plenty of outfit prototypes before settling on the final look of our invented villain, Addo B. Flash. (And yes, he even has the Flash logo in his design!) Addo also came with views from different angles when we introduced him, which was Gentle Dolphin’s idea to add to his legitimacy as a game character.

Which of these outfits do you like most? Were you bamboozled by the PHB Flash Experience, or cautiously suspicious through it all? We’d love to hear from you in the comments! Keep on popping, Poptropicans.

โ€”the PHBโ€”

p.s. Play the old school islands before Flash is truly gone, here.

p.p.s. Quarantined? We’ve come up with ideas for making the best of Poptropica in these bizarre times here.

Pranks

Once and for all: the PHB Flash Experience โšก๏ธ

Heeey Poptropicans, we’ve got a little surprise for you…

Meet the evil meddler of worlds Addo B. Flash! Read on to find out what he’s up to… and how YOU can stop him.

As you’re probably well aware by now, the oncoming end of Flash has done quite a number on Poptropica. It’s already killed Poptropica’s classic old school islandsโ€”and yes, you can still play them with this Old Island Directory. But in the official game, they aren’t coming back anytime soon.

Of course, here at the PHB, we couldn’t just let that happen without a proper goodbye! So, we’ve been working up a little something to pay homage to the many great classic islands that have gone before us, and now we’re ready to reveal this thing. What is it, you ask? We call it: the PHB Flash Experience.

Warning: The following experience contains bright, flashing imagery. It may cause discomfort for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Gahhh! What happened to the bridge on Red Dragon Island? That’s just a taste of the wreckage to come…

The PHB Flash Experience a sweet RPG adventure (kind of like Poptropica!) where you travel around through different dimensionsโ€”from the clouds of the purple giant in Early Poptropica to the distant planet of E. Vile’s Legendary Swords battlesโ€”all in a noble quest to save them from perhaps the most nefarious villain of them all: Mr. Addo B. Flash, vanquisher of a zillion islands.

You can play this epic PHB Flash Experience right here, right now on this PHB post in the blue box below. Of course, as the name implies, you’re going to have to enable Flash. But you already know how to do that, don’t you? ๐Ÿ˜‰

Have fun, and hey, when you’re done with the game, share your feedback with us in the comments. ๐Ÿ˜œ

โ€”the PHB teamโ€”

Surveys

๐Ÿ“‹ PSA: Take the 2020 PHB Readers’ Survey! โœ๏ธ

Howdy, Poptropicans! It’s Lucky Joker here, inviting you to fill out the 2020 PHB Readers’ Survey. Every year, we survey our readers to get a current picture of our community’s demographics and hear from all of you.

Your feedback helps determine the way we run things around here so that you get the best possible reading experience when you visit โ€” and that is the primary goal for us. ๐Ÿ™‚ We also like to get a better understanding of how our community and reader base has evolved since the last survey.

The survey will stay open until Saturday, April 18, and we’ll share the results here on the PHB sometime in May. With that said:

โœ๏ธ Take the 2020 PHB Readers’ Survey now!

Note: Your identity will remain anonymous, unless you opt to include it in the comment box at the end.

Thanks for sticking with us, and thanks for your feedback! Stay tuned for the results in May, and feel free to check out survey results of previous years in the PHB archives. See you in the next one.

โ€“ Lucky Joker ๐Ÿ€