Category: Poptropica: Legends

Poptropica: Legends (previously Orb Legend) is a fan game project by former PHB staff writer HPuterpop (Andrew Wiles).

Guest Posts, Poptropica: Legends

Launching the Poptropica: Legends fan game development campaign and website 🗺️

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HPuterpop. Enjoy!

Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a while since my last announcement, which if you missed, here’s part 1 and part 2 — but I’ve returned with a lot of fun stuff to show you. Poptropica: Legends has officially launched its campaign and website!

There is plenty to explore over there, including character pages, an island tour, and maybe even some hidden secrets… Please note that for the best viewing experience, the website should be accessed on a desktop.

Check it out at www.poplegendsgame.com!

So what can you expect from this game? Poptropica: Legends will be a return to form for classic Poptropica islands – get ready for puzzles, action, detailed locations and beautiful character art! Legends will feature sidescrolling AND top-down isometric gameplay, and buttery smooth overworld combat. We hope to rival the original game’s mechanics (especially the AS3 and Haxe versions 😬), while harkening back to the best of that game engine.

The first four chapters of Legends are heavily inspired by classic islands, with Chapter 1: Pendulum Island being the in-world name of Time Tangled Island from Classic Pop. This island also combines other locations found in Classic Pop, like River City from Shrink Ray Island and Poptropica Towers from Early Poptropica. Pendulum Island was named after Peter Pendulum, who helped invent time travel and put the island on the map, so to speak. But he’s not the only classic character you’ll meet in chapter 1 — look forward to Dr. Hare making a simply hopping appearance, among others!

Before Meridian can begin his adventure on Pendulum Island, however, we’ll need to establish a few locations that will return throughout the game. That’s why our first goal is to release Northern Skydock, a kind of prologue to the Legends saga. Meridian lives here, in this small town that serves as a pit stop for travelers passing through. With shops, restaurants, and colorful townsfolk, this will be your first look at Legends in action. Northern Skydock will also include a visit to the Bureau of Heroic Poptropicans, or the BHP, where Meridian works alongside Poptropica’s brightest adventurers.

We don’t have a concrete date for this first launch, as building Northern Skydock will be a daunting and time consuming task — this is where we will need to build UI, controls, and other concrete parts of the game.

And this is where you come in — all of this is going to be pretty costly to produce! For a full breakdown, please view this spreadsheet for a ballpark of what kind of costs we’re looking at. I’m planning on asking for $16,900 USD to get Northern Skydock off the ground, which is a conservative estimate — every bit helps!

We will be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund this project, which hasn’t launched yet, but will soon. On top of this, please consider contributing to our Patreon, Creator’s Blog! You’ll get to see exclusive behind the scenes previews, get your name in the credits of the game itself, as well as access to developer livestreams (usually with me)!

The game will be free to play, so any funds sent our way will only make Northern Skydock a reality faster.

(PHB editor’s note: All donations are handled by the team at Poptropica: Legends, independent of the Poptropica Help Blog. Donations will only be used for the fan game’s production, pending Poptropica’s go-ahead.)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’re excited to experience Poptropica: Legends!

That’s all for now,

Andrew A.K.A. HPuterpop

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HPuterpop. If you did, you might also enjoy reading his ‘My Place in Poptropica’ story — the first one ever!

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!

Guest Posts, Poptropica: Legends

To Poptropica, From Earth 👾 Part 2: Pixel, and announcing “Poptropica: Legends”

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HPuterpop. Enjoy!

Like with Cobalt in Part 1 of my adventures in meeting Poptropica friends IRL, I had known Pixel by many names throughout our years of adolescence. But through all the names, she was still the Nice Dragon I had met on that fateful day in 2013. It wasn’t until 11 years later,  on January 7, 2024 in Franklin, North Carolina, that we met in person…

The morning air was filled with optimistic adventure, and the two-hour drive from my home in Greenville, South Carolina had felt like 20 minutes with the destination in mind. We were meeting exactly in the middle: she had driven two hours from her home, too.

I got out of my truck and gave Pixel a long overdue hug. For years, I yearned to meet her and bridge the gap from the internet to real life. Upon meeting, there was nothing but love between us. As digital as our relationship was, the truth was that we knew each other better than all of the people I had developed friendships with in person.

Then off we went on our real-life Poptropica adventure. On our way into Franklin, we had both spotted plenty of places to check out, starting with the Franklin Cafe.

Waltzing into this small town diner, both of us larger than life, we made ourselves at home at a booth. The walls were decorated with entirely discordant memorabilia, which was perfect for both of our focus-devoid brains. We had years of catching up to do, and the chefs at the Franklin Cafe seemed to take notice, as they took their sweet time preparing our food. But after what felt like forever, our food arrived — well worth the wait!

After the cafe, we drove to the American House Cat Museum, which was every bit as amazing as it sounds. Walking through the entrance, which itself was a large wooden depiction of a kitten, we were bombarded with everything feline — and I mean EVERYTHING. Cat carousel, cat pipes, cat paintings, a 6,000 year old cat mummy, a cartoon-sized Garfield clock.

We were even fortunate enough to meet the owner of the museum, Dr. Harold W. Sims (hey, that’s an interesting name, isn’t it?). He and his cat Mimi seemed to follow us around the museum, and he gave us the unique experience of listening to his collection of cat-themed music boxes. While the mechanically melodic chords chimed away, he told us facts and trivia about his museum, and cat art in general. On our way out, we picked up these simply unforgettable key chains, which we both kept on our car keys. If anyone asks, this guy was my grandpa!

We then headed to Lighthouse Baptist Church, which had a replica lighthouse in the front of the building. Echoing concepts from a Poptropica fan game we dreamed of years ago, we took pictures: Meridian and Sorrowyn, standing by Meridian’s lighthouse in the Skylands north of River City.

It felt like more than coincidence being in this small town, where these perfect Poptropican treasures were waiting to be discovered by the two of us.

Once we were satisfied with the lighthouse pictures, we returned to downtown Franklin. Most shops were closed, but we found two open seats at an outdoor table with a checkerboard set up. So, we did what Meridian and Sorrowyn might do in this situation. We fought a good fight, and both pulled out all the stops. But the truth of the game was inescapable: for one to win, the other must concede.

Pixel and Spencer are more real to me than the friends I made in high school or college, and they serve as a testament to the power and persistence of love itself. These experiences have made me even more appreciative of my time spent in the Poptropica community, and has made me want to honor it in the best way I know how.

Poptropica, as a game and as a community, was and is so important to me. Back in 2016, I began work on a fan game titled “Orb Legend”, featuring characters like Cobalt, Meridian, and Sorrowyn. This was a huge undertaking for adolescents with a little too much free time. Even though we had a team of around 11 volunteers at the height of its production, it wasn’t meant to be that time around. Simply put, we would have needed funding to bring the game to life, which we as kids didn’t have.

But we are no longer children. We’re now in our 20s, with the skills that we once dreamt of. And with how the game’s been going lately, on top of the recent branding changes that Poptropica has undergone, I think it might be the perfect time to try this once again. With a crowdfunding plan to launch soon, I am very excited to present to all of you…

The teaser trailer for Poptropica: Legends will be dropping on February 15! Be sure to follow us on all the socials so you can be the first to see it.

I often think back to my time writing on the PHB, and while I made a lot of mistakes and let my ego get the best of me far too often, I also have many treasured memories in this community. It was an extremely unique experience at the height of the Poptropica community, one that I’m afraid will never really happen in the same way again. We were all born at the right time, in the right place, to experience the magic. A fandom run by children, all with a simple shared passion for a game that wasn’t too incredibly popular, to prevent any one person from taking the spotlight.

Thank you all for being such an influential part of my story. I hope I made a positive impact on yours. And with Legends, I hope to continue that alongside the rest of you.

That’s all for now,

– HPuterpop, a.k.a. Andrew Wiles

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HPuterpop. If you did, you might also enjoy reading his ‘My Place in Poptropica’ story — the first one ever!

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!

Guest Posts, Poptropica: Legends

To Poptropica, From Earth 🌎 Part 1: Cobalt

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HPuterpop. Enjoy!

Hi Gs (guys, gals, and of course my lovely nonbinary folk),

It’s been a while! Longtime readers of the PHB may recognize me, but for those who don’t, I’m HPuterpop, a former PHB staff writer. Recently, I had the chance to meet up IRL with two dear friends from the Poptropica community, and wanted to share those special experiences with you all. Without further ado, let’s jump into the first of two parts!

I had known them by many names throughout our 10 years of friendship — Spencaey, Captain Spencer, Cobalt, Koi. While our friendship began in the Poptropica community (including blogging together on the PHB), behind our screennames, I had come to know them as simply Spencer, one of my best friends.

One Friday evening, on April 14, 2023, the stars finally aligned for us to meet. I was waiting in my car to pick them up at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, and the minutes leading up to our meeting felt like hours. “Why does it always take so long to get off a flight?” I thought to myself. I watched the countless people pour out of the airport, scanning each individual in hopes of seeing my friend.

Finally, after what felt like forever, they appeared through the airport doors. I jumped out of my car and gave them the biggest hug. It was a hug 10 years overdue. The feeling was extraordinary: after being so used to seeing someone on a screen, once you see them in real life, your brain gets confused and there is an indescribable phenomenon of lucid dissociation (but not in a negative way).

This was the person who, for so many years, I wished had lived closer to me. My best friend, the one who knew me better than anyone else. I finally got to see how they were in person. How does Spencer act in public? How do they walk? How do they smell (not bad, FYI)?

After an excellent Mexican dinner, we ventured to where we would be staying. My friend had opened her beautiful and eclectic home for me to use for a photoshoot for my up-and-coming clothing brand, which I’d been working on for around four years.

The house was a treasure trove of sacred geometry, fantastical trinkets, and books about spirituality and existence. A former floral shop, her property had four separate buildings, multiple stories, nooks, and crannies, and two huge terrariums in the main foyer. Every single square inch of this mythical abode was utilized in the most awe-inspiring way. “This place is magical,” Spencer kept saying as we explored.

The next day was the photoshoot. I had friends far and wide coming together to participate, and it couldn’t have gone smoother than it did. 

Afterwards, me and Spence were standing in front of a large mirror in the foyer, and I had a sudden epiphany. This fantastical place I had found myself in, surrounded by my closest friends from diverse backgrounds, was a mirror of my past life on the PHB and my desires as a kid. The floral shop felt like a location that you might have found in Poptropica.

I looked in the mirror, with my red beard and goofy smile, and all of a sudden recognized an echo of the past — I had unintentionally turned into my Poptropican, Meridian Sinker, as he was all those years ago. Spencer, similarly, had matured into his character, Cobalt.

We were still the same, only now in 4K resolution. It was a metaphysical, cosmic feeling.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2, where I’ll share about meeting another Poptropican friend, Pixel, and give an update on Poptropica: Legends!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HPuterpop. If you did, you might also enjoy reading his ‘My Place in Poptropica’ story — the first one ever!

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!

Giant Hawk Adventures, Hellos & Goodbyes, Poptropica: Legends

Giant Hawk’s Adventures: The Final Update

gianthawkpoptropica

Greetings Hawk-tropicans! This is Giant Hawk speaking, and personally, I’d say that there is no better way to start off this post than with a metaphor. I think it’ll explain everything I’ll be saying its own way. Here it is:

Life is, in a way, like a book. You start it having no idea where it will carry you. Like any good book should, it’ll lead through good times and bad, and by the end, you hopefully won’t want to put it down. But once in a while, that book will start a new chapter. Said chapter will run its course, and when it’s done, the following chapter will never be the same. And regardless of how much you may want to go back, you cannot relive that previous chapter the same way again. You can remain in the past, halting your storyline’s progression, or you can continue reading, page by page, awaiting something, whenever it comes, that is just as new and exciting.

Does that make sense? Hopefully, it will in time. For now, I won’t beat around the bush anymore. Let’s get straight into my announcements.

GHArtSketchFromMasterPinpey

Thanks to Master Pinpey for this sketch.

First off, the Giant Hawk Adventures will not be continuing. I know that a lot of you are hyped for it, and I do feel sorry for having to break the news, but I just can’t write the stories properly anymore.

Why, you may ask? The main reason is time. Yes, I understand in my mind what a lot of the events in the GHA would have been. But it takes a lot of time to go through making multiple drafts of these stories, and honestly, they are long. That’s why I originally decided to split them into around six to twelve chapters per book. But even then, these chapters would be very lengthy on their own.

GHArtInTheParkSketchByCrafty

Thanks to Crafty Poptropiqueen for this sketch.

Simply put, I wouldn’t be able to sit down for long periods of time and write them. Between high school, friends and family, my role in local theater, and my personal writing career, I can no longer find the time.

So, for that, I apologize deeply to all of you. I made the decision to create a full-pledged series without fully comprehending what the effects, time-wise, would be in my life.

GHArtGiantHawkByAirRaptor

Thanks to air-raptor for this drawing.

There is a consolation to all of this, though. If you don’t remember, the GHA was going to be linked continuity-wise to the up and coming role playing game Orb Legend, a project headed by the PHB’s own Andrew Wiles aka HPuterpop.

Because of this, the stories of the two have become intertwined in ways that Andrew and I are still surprised by. That is why I will not be leaving my role as story developerfor the production of Orb Legend, and in fact, I will be carrying many important GHA plotlines to the foreground of the game.

GHArtReVeampedProfilePictureByCrafty

Thanks to Crafty Poptropiqueen for this drawing.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but you will actually be able to play the story of what the GHA’s finale would have been in the game itself! Best yet, you’ll do so not as Meridian Sinker, HPuterpop’s character, but as Gryffin Hawke himself! If you haven’t yet, check out Gryff’s sprite for the game, as shown below.

GHArtSpriteForOrbLegend

Thanks to HPuterpop for this sprite.

Now, there is one more piece of news I have to share with you all before I end this post. This may seem sudden, but I have been contemplating this for quite a while. And after making my decision and discussing it with the rest of the PHB staff, I have chosen that it is time that I formally retire my position as author on the Poptropica Help Blog.

As I mentioned previously, I have become increasing busy in terms of my offline life this year. School, family matters, friends, and a hopefully budding career. Simply put, I no longer have the proper time to dedicate to this amazing blog and the community around it.

Fishy-GHandMeriwether

Thanks to Slanted Fish for this drawing.

Now, I must clarify something quickly. I have discussed my decision to leave personally with my brother Paul, aka Ultimate iPad Expert, and he has confirmed that he will not be leaving the blog. He will continue to stay with you all, hopefully for years to come; a choice I am completely fine with. He has made a connection with this community that I cannot properly make anymore, so I wish him the best of luck in the future.

Of course, the hardest part of this decision is regarding the people here I have grown to respect, care for, and admire. I most certainly have met a great number of amazing people during my stay here. People with great imagination and a lot of talent. People like the entirety of the authors on the Poptropica Help Blog, CraftyPoptropiqueen, DJ-Rosietta, Cyber-Girl920, Popular Wolf, Dangerous Eye, Tall Cactus, Anne14tco, TechnoBunny16, MasterPinpey, Air-Raptor… The list is truly endless. I wish you all great luck in the days ahead.

GHArtChristmas2015ByDJRosietta

Thanks to DJ-Rosietta for including me in this drawing.

So as I go, I want to wish you all a very sincere thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for this blog. Without you, none of this would be possible, and I am nothing but proud of how this community has grown. And if you have anything you wish to say to me, or if you have a question, feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you all for your time, your friendship, and your loyalty.

GHArtBootsSketchByCrafty

Thanks to Crafty Poptropiqueen for this sketch.

Until we meet again…

— Giant Hawk

Poptropica: Legends

Orb Legend: Rejected Villains

HPuterpop

Hi Gs,

I’m back with another post about the upcoming game ‘Orb Legend‘, this time focusing on the villains of the story. I think a lot of you will happy to hear that this story has infinitely more depth than Poptropica, even to the point of rebuilding some original main villains with more lore.

villains

One of the main ideas we’ve had since the beginning of OL was to take all the neglected villains of Poptropica — those who never had much backstory or screen time — and give them as much or more story and screen time as the villains we see on the forefront of the online game. When I say neglected villains, I mean villains who don’t even appear in the islands!

olBaddies

To jog your memory, Dr. Cumulo Nimbus is from a mini-quest obtained by purchasing the inflatable blimp toy. He wants to set fire to all of Poptropica using his decked out blimps. He lives in a Fortress of Solitude type area.

Arthur Eraser is a peculiar artist who owns a magic pencil, which he plans on using to erase all of Poptropica. You can stop him in the book Pencil Warrior.

Daphne Dreadnaught is an inventor from a promo quest for Ghost Story Island. She plans on collecting souls and using them to power her evil suit.

The Mole King is a speculative villain from the unreleased island coined “Underground Island” that was dropped a few years ago. All that is known of him is a neat sketch released on the Poptropica twitter.

E.Vile is a cyborg who for some reason wants to destroy Poptropica via a robotic army he created. He appears in the mini-quest Legendary Swords.

Again, these villains will be fleshed out greatly in OL — from Arthur’s doodle rogues to Cumulo’s secret identity! Keep tuned on the dev blog for more.

TAFN.

-HPuterpop