As we celebrate the PHB’s upcoming 9-year anniversary with the Poppies this month, I thought it’d be interesting to look back on how far we’ve come in a visual way: our lifetime of site headers.
About 8 years ago, then-PHB “graphics guy” Codien released a post reminiscing all the headers that had gone up on the PHB over the life of the blog, many of them designed by himself. He has since moved on to other things, but the PHB has continued his practice of adorning the top of the site with a graphic that tells who we are.
This post is here to commemorate the many designs we’ve had since his post, and as it’s been 8 years, there are many! Most were designed by me, with some graphic assets from Poptropica mixed into most. Other contributors have also been credited on their respective headers. Hover over each image for captions, click to see in full-size, and enjoy!
July 2017
May 2017 (release of Poptropica Worlds)
March 2017
February 14, 2017 (Valentine’s Day)
December 2016 (winter)
December 2016 (holiday season)
October 2016 (Halloween)
August 2016 (PHB Tribal Tournament)
July 2016
July 2016 (PHB Poppies 2016)
April 1, 2016 (Pop Help Vlogs prank)
March 31, 2016 (Pop Help Vlogs prank)
December 2015 (winter)
November 2015
July 2015 (first Poppies)
April 2015
February 14, 2015 (Valentine’s Day)
December 2014
November 2014 (Arabian Nights Island recently released)
November 2014 (winter)
October 2014 (Realms contests hosted by Poptropica Creators)
October 2014 (Halloween)
August 2014 (PoptropiCon Island released)
May 2014
February 2014 (Monster Carnival Island released)
December 2014 (holiday season)
November 2013 (Poptropolis Games Island rises again)
October 2013 (Halloween)
August 2013
June 2013
May 2013 (Virus Hunter Island released)
April 2013 (Back Lot Island released)
April 2013 (Back Lot Island released)
February 14, 2013 (Valentine’s Day)
January 2013 (Poptropolis Games Island sinking)
January 2013 (Zomberry Island released)
December 2012
December 2012 (winter holiday season)
October 2012 (Halloween) – created by MT
September 2012 (Super Villain Island released)
July 2012 (PHB’s 4th anniversary)
July 2012
July 2012
December 2011 (winter) – created by Bluorang
April 2011 – created by Frostdragon
December 2010 (holiday season) – created by Metsfan21
November 2010 (American Thanksgiving)
November 2010 – created by MT
October 2010 (Halloween)
October 2010 (Spirit Day) – created by Frostdragon
September 2010 – created by MT
August 2010 – created by Blooberry
August 2010 – created by MaroonFire23
July 2010
July 2010 – created by Frostdragon
July 4, 2010 (American Independence Day) – created by Frostdragon
June 2010 (World Cup)
May 2010 – created by Coderkid
November 2009 – created by Coderkid
Well, there you have it! PHB’s headers from 2009 onwards. Don’t forget to catch Part I here, which in addition to Codien’s brilliant designs, includes my awkward attempts at a header from when I first created the blog in 2008.
How many of them were you around to see? Which ones did you like most? Do you feel like the designs have improved over the years? (I personally do.) Share your thoughts and feedback in the comments!
Thanks for sticking with the PHB. Here’s to many more years.
Anyway, the nomination round has ended, so hopefully you had a chance to nominate! If not, don’t despair: the poll for the voting round is now open!
What’s the Voting Round, you ask?
The voting round includes the same categories that were in the nomination round, but this time you’re voting from a smaller pool of options under each category. These options (about 5-7 per category) were the most popular nominations from the first round.
You may also notice a few new categories in this round that weren’t open to nominations in the previous round, due to options already being set. These categories are: Best Adventure Island, Best Common Room Game, Best Tribe Common Room, and Best PHB Author.
The Voting Round closes on Saturday, July 22, so make your voice heard while you can!
We’ll be announcing the winners LIVE at our PHC party next next week, which will be on July 26, the PHB’s birthday. You won’t want to miss it! We’ll keep you posted on more details in the following week. In the meantime…
(Hello, Poptropicans! This is a guest post written by Magic Sinker, who has her own site called The Poptastic Blog. Keep in mind that this list represents only the author’s opinions. Enjoy!)
Hi, Poptropicans, Magic Sinker here! Today I am going to do a Pop 5 post, which is, if you had no clue, a post in which a Poptropican writes a list about a topic on Poptropica, which in this case is Top 5 Best things that have happened to Poptropica! Let’s start!
#5: In the year 2007, Poptropica was released!
Behold, the inevitable truth that many overlook. Yes, this may seem like a small fact to you, but it’s the foundation for everything we’re talking about here!
Also in this year of 2007, this was the year Poptropica founder, Jeff Kinney, published the first Wimpy Kid book! The debut of the game also came with its first and only island at the time: Early Poptropica.
#4: The First Sound-Updated Island, Episodic Island, and Sponsored Island was released!
These three Islands are: Virus Hunter Island (first SUI), Survival Island (first episodic adventure), and Big Nate Island (first sponsored island). All three of these Islands are — believe me — very different when you first take a look at them, but even with their differences, they were all special in their own ways.
Personally, my favorite Island out of these three is Virus Hunter Island.
#3: Skinny Moon became the main author on the Creators’ Blog and the social media manager!
To all the new Poptropica players, there used to be a few other authors on the official Creators’ blog, such as Dr. Hare and Captain Crawfish, but now there is only one: Skinny Moon. This didn’t only happen on the Creators’ Blog, though.
For all the fans of Poptropica over the age of 13, the Poptropica Creators are on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, and a few other social media platforms. Skinny Moon herself has also been known to stop by Discord on occasion!
#2: The Poptropica Help Chat moved to Discord!
Some of us know that the PHC, which is the PHB’s chat hangout, used to be on Xat, but I think that Discord is the more convenient server option. You may already know about Discord, since the PHC recently had a party for Pride Month, but still, this is big!
Thanks to the ease of use with Discord, many more Poptropicans (including myself) were able to discover and chat with the friendly community of fellow Poptropicans.
#1: Poptropica Worlds arrived at last!
Yes, we definitely all know this and, sorry to say, but if you didn’t, where you hiding under a rock this past time? We had been waiting for a little more than a year, and a few months ago, the Poptropica Creators posted the sneak-peek teaser video which gave us the name Poptropica Worlds, instead of the mysterious “New Poptropica.”
Anyway, in May, the long-awaited reboot game finally debuted! Yay!
So, I hope you guys enjoyed my little list, and please tell me your opinion in the comments below. Bye!
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Magic Sinker! If you did, be sure check out her site, The Poptastic Blog.
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 Write for the PHB page. We also encourage sharing blog posts on the PHC.
If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in to [email protected]!
Hello once again Poptropicans! Spotted Dragon here with the second installment of our new Pop Petitions series! We received a lot of feedback on our last petition post and I’m thrilled to see not only all the support expressed for this series but also to be hearing all of your shared concerns.
If you aren’t familiar with this series, it is basically a compilation of what the PHB authors and community want to see happen in Poptropica.
No one is fully adjusted to Poptropica Worlds yet and with all the changes it brought with it, there is no way we could fit all of our thoughts in just one post. I mean, we’ve already made more than our fair share of reviews on the subject. Anyway, this will serve as a continuation of our last petition, so let’s just jump in!
#1: Imported Outfits
I have a sneaking feeling that your eyes might have lit up when first reading the title of this section. We all miss our old Poptropican’s outfit, especially those of us who have an iconic look. When Poptropica Worlds was first announced, we were reassured that our accounts could be imported, but recently we realized that did not include our old costumes.
Awesome pixel renditions of the PHB team from Brave Tomato.
Granted, it’s obviously not a surprise that we lost our old style. It would be a big stretch to assume that each bit of clothing we know and love would get revamped for Pop Worlds, but that doesn’t lessen our loss. Everyone still wants their old clothes back, but the Creators have said that that will not be happening.
It was a long shot to hope for direct transportation of our original designs, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask for at least more costumes to purchase. Specifically, more costumes with clothing that’s as similar as possible to a lot of original Poptropica looks. Even more specifically, more costumes that are available to everyone and not only members. I mean… I just want my blue hoodie back guys.
#2: Interaction
When it comes down to it, Poptropica is a game. More on that, Poptropica Worlds is supposed to be better than the original, right? And that means improved game-play. This not only means better interaction in our quests, but better interaction in average scenes as well.
I think we all know that Crisis Caverns Island was lacking in some categories, but we go into more detail on that in our review. However, I do need to bring up the fact that the quest had very minimal elements of interaction. There were lots of things that looked like platforms that actually couldn’t be jumped onto for example.
I’m not only talking about limitations in exploration, but simple fun features too. I think it would be much more interesting to have things in our houses that we can actually use for instance. Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to flip through TV channels (I’d love to watch some Bucky Lucas clips), or serve yourself some ice cream, or play pong on your computer, or design your own posters, or anything like that? Even hidden Easter eggs like the old Hypnotic Costume can spark interest. Little things like this can be what really make a game unique and while it’s not a necessity, I think it would enhance Poptropica World’s whole experience.
#3: Glitch Improvement
No, calm down glitching community, I don’t mean to take away your fun. Actually, I’m talking about fixing all the unwanted glitches. Of course it is inevitable for a game still in progress to have a multitude of problems, but there are some big ones that I think need addressing as soon as possible.
Yes, we are all familiar with the “Bleachy Boy” glitch by now, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many other problems have been reported, spanning from flying through walls to disappearing items. Some of these problems have quick fixes, like just refreshing the page, but others have stopped players from completing Crisis Caverns indefinitely and have made simply enjoying the game impossible.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until a majority of these problems get fixed, but at the moment it is causing a big hassle for just about everyone. Not only is glitching a big dilemma, but so is lag and poor game response in general. Not that all this isn’t new, but eliminating stuff like this would improve the whole experience tremendously.
#4: Islands
This one is no surprise. In fact, it is guaranteed that Poptropica World’s has more islands in its future, since it wouldn’t be Poptropica without them. I can’t stress enough that I understand Pop Worlds is still new and so still has a long way to go. We aren’t expecting new islands immediately, but it’s still something to look forward to.
Similar to importing our old costumes, I’m sure we’d all love to see some of our old favorite islands get added to this new world. Another big dream, I know, but still a nice thought. While original Poptropica is still up, it’s in the shadow of Pop Worlds now and we simply don’t want to see our old adventures fade away.
Islands and their story lines take up the majority of Poptropica’s game play. With nothing left to do in game, players tend to quickly get bored and that is what leads to the game being forgotten. New islands can’t be pumped out each week, but the countdown to new releases is something we all get excited for.
#5: Costume Closet
This one shouldn’t be a big surprise either. It ties into us wanting more customizing options as well as us wanting the Friends page back. While “saving up to 30 outfits” was always a members only paradise, some of Poptropica’s oldest players will even remember the costume collector item card that allowed for the saving of a simple 3 outfits.
While we do technically already have a “closet” in Poptropica Worlds, it only holds the clothes that we have purchased through the store. When it becomes possible to customize random Poptropicans you meet on your adventures though, how will you save those awesome looks for later?
Whether or not we are able to save more of our looks in the future, I think one thing is clear to everyone: we want more customizing! Right now, we are stuck with whatever look we chose when we first logged in. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m regretting not choosing those rainbow shoes right about now…
Despite these setbacks, we still think Poptropica Worlds has a lot of good features as well as potential for more, as outlined in our last Pop Petition post and our Poptropica Worlds Review. This post isn’t meant to bad mouth the game, but simply to let the Creators know what their fanbase wants.
What about you guys? What improvements do YOU want to see on Worlds? Shout out your suggestions in the comments below!
Welcome, ladies and gents of the Poptropica community, to the Poptropica Help Blog’s third annual Poptropica community awards event: The Poppies!
What are The Poppies?
If you were around for last year’s event, you may remember how this works. We start off with a nomination round, where you nominate your picks for a certain category. This begins today, Wednesday, July 5, and will last for a week, until Wednesday, July 12.
Next, we move on to the voting round. Once the nominations have been narrowed down, you’ll be able to vote from the most popular nominations of each category. This will commence on Saturday, July 15 and will end a week later on Saturday, July 22.
Finally, this leads us to the awards ceremony, where we will be announcing the winners as we celebrate the PHB’s9th birthday on Wednesday, July 26. More details about the party will be announced soon!
Part I: Nomination Round
First up is the nomination round. Each award category announced will be followed by a brief description (see below). To keep the nominations a surprise, you’ll be putting your nominations in our survey, where the Poppies team will look at the most popular nominations to create the voting options for the next round. Keep in mind that some of these categories are applicable to both Poptropica Worlds and Original Poptropica.
Best Store Item: With over a hundred store items Poptropica has released, which one stood out to you the most? Was it a costume? A power? A mini quest? Whatever it is – nominate it!
Best Tribe Common Room: Ah, the Tribe common rooms; the exclusive space where tribal mates can meet up and plot their revenge enjoy each other’s company. Each room has its own interactive elements and they all have awesome designs, but which one is really the best?
Best Common Room Game: Poptropica’s common room games include: Sudoku, Hoops, Sky Dive, Paint War, Star Link, Balloons, Soupwords, and Pathwise. Nominate your favorites from the list!
Best Adventure Island: Poptropica has classified four islands as Adventure Islands. These include: Mythology, Arabian Nights, Survival, and Mystery of the Map. Which one is the greatest play?
Best Challenging Island: Poptropica defines the challenging islands on the map as the following: Galactic Hot Dogs, Timmy Failure, Poptropicon, Spy, Shrink Ray, Reality TV, Escape from Pelican Rock (EFPR), Red Dragon, Super Power, Zomberry, Wild West, Vampire’s Curse, Cryptids, Monster Carnival, Mystery Train, Mocktropica, Wimpy Boardwalk, Shark Tooth, Night Watch, Astro Knights, Back Lot, Early Poptropica, Lunar Colony, Super Villain, S.O.S., Poptropolis Games, Counterfeit, Skullduggery, Ghost Story, Virus Hunter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Nate, Steamworks, Great Pumpkin, Twisted Thicket, and Nabooti. Wowie, that’s a lengthy list; it does offer some great choices, though. Which one do you think is the most challenging?
Best Poptropica Merchandise: Over the years Poptropica has released quite a wide range of merchandise: books, toys, video games, and even clothing! Whether it was released or never released – which piece of merch was your favorite? If you’re not quite sure, our merchandise page is a good place to browse for favorites.
Best Island Trailer: Typically a couple of weeks before a new island releases, Poptropica releases a video trailer to give us a preview of what our next adventure has in store for us. They’ve made one for almost every Island, and they’re all very good, but are some better than others? Which one is your favorite? Whether it’s on a basis of cinematic feel, the music, or just the island itself – go ahead and nominate it!
Best Poptropica Ad: While Poptropica’s Islands keep us occupied most of the time, sometimes there isn’t anything to do. Quite often, advertisers contract for temporary games that appear on Poptropica. Advertisers have included Disney, Kellogg’s Froot Loops, Lego toys, and various animated movies and DVD releases, but there have been many others as well. If you can’t remember many of the past ads (then again, who can?), the Ad Transporter, developed by Keith Sammut, allows you to teleport to retired advertisement stages – so go check it out!
Most Surprising Plot Twist: When playing a Poptropica Island, it’s not a surprise to expect a surprise, but sometimes it’s just not what we saw coming. We can think of a few examples that are perfect for this category, but we’ll leave it up to you to come up with the plot twist that surprised you most.
Wittiest Poptropican Name: We’ve chosen the best (Golden Dragon & Golden Sword), we’ve chosen the worst (Big Belly), we’ve chosen the funniest (Cuddly Cactus), but how about the wittiest? Poptropica names can be pretty witty, but which combination is just too witty? Check out our Poptropica Names page to come up with something clever.
Community Awards:
Best PHB Author: The PHB currently has a team of eight staff writers who work hard to provide informing and entertaining content, and each author presents with their own unique style. The current team consists of Slanted Fish, Brave Tomato, Spotted Dragon, Slippery Raptor, Lucky Joker, Happy Lobster, Silver Wolf, and Purple Claw – and all of us are automatically nominated!
Best MPIP: Here on the PHB, many poptropicans have written their “My Place in Poptropica”, where they’ve shared their stories on how they came to Poptropica as well as their involvement in the community. (Look back on every MPIP here!)
Best Active Fan Site (outside of the PHN): We, the PHB, want to take a moment to recognize another Poptropica fan site out there that’s doing awesome work, and this is that award! That means this award is not for the Poptropica Help Network, which includes this blog, the PHC (chat), our Twitter, videos, and wiki. Don’t worry, though – there are still so many content creators out there who put out neat stuff. Whether it’s a blog, a YouTube channel, or something else, go ahead and nominate it if it’s your favorite! As for blogs, the Poptropica Bloggers Network is a perfect place to start looking through a few.
Best Fan Art of 2017: Poptropican artists from all over have created wonderful masterpieces throughout the year so far, but which of them deserves the title of “best”? Our DeviantArt group is a good place to start searching. This category looks for works that were created/published in the year 2017, to give the more current and active artists a chance at the award.
Best Fan Fiction: Because art consists of such a diverse range of creative and imaginative pieces, we thought we’d make a category specifically for fan fictions. Again, the PHB magazines and our DeviantArt group are great places to look. Get reading!
Best Realm: Another form of art on its own; there are tons of realms that have been created. Look through some of them and provide the code in the nomination survey so that we can see it too! You may nominate your own Realms, your friends’, or even someone you don’t know – it’s up to you.
Best PHC Staffer: In case you’ve been living under a rock, the PHB hosts a chat server on Discord called the PHC, which stands for Poptropica Help Chat. You should really stop by! The PHC has a staff team of kind and reliable people who keep the chat a fun and safe environment. That sounds pretty award-deserving, don’t you think? Nominate your favorite staff member and tell us why you picked them! This award excludes PHB staff but includes any current Guardian (mod) or Supreme Overlord (admin).
Undesirable Awards:
Most Underrated Character: While some characters are given much attention, some are very overlooked. Which Poptropica character do you think is the most underrated? (Note: Don’t nominate fellow players. This is for NPCs.)
Worst Poptropica Update: Poptropica has come out with many amazing updates that have really expanded the game such as the friend feature and restart-an-island feature, but there have been others that many weren’t on board with. Do you have any in mind? Which update is the worst to you?
As said before, the nomination round starts now, so sound off in the survey who/what you think is deserving of the awards! Please limit your nominations to a max of three per award. Also, you’re not required to nominate for every category, though it is encouraged!
Remember, the voting round starts next week, and next week’s poll options will be based on this week’s most popular nominations. So, be sure to check back in next week to cast your votes! For now…
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