Fan Art Features – Page 32 – 🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺

Hey Poptropicans — you may recall that just last week, the Poptropica Creators’ Blog put out an open call for guest writers. Today, we’re seeing our very first guest post on the official blog from one Fearless Walker!

Interestingly, Fearless Walker’s writing doesn’t show up on the blog’s homepage, but only appears when you click into the post. From there, she shares that she’s gained her expertise from having played for 8 years now, as well as 5 random facts and tips for Poptropica, punctuated with exclamation marks aplenty. Read Fearless Walker’s full post »

Though it’s our first time meeting Fearless Walker (hello if you’re reading this!), you may be more familiar with some of the other guest writers who will be making an appearance on the Pop blog.

Over the past day, a few of us from the PHC received an email from the Poptropica Creators inviting us to be Poptropica guest bloggers: Invisible Ring, whom you might recognize for her recent fan videos and compilation of the Poptropica comics; Purple Paw, a PHB staff writer, and yours truly, Slanted Fish, also a PHB staffer. What an opportunity!

The email sent by the Pop Creators inviting me to guest blog. The signer may be Natalie Shahmiri, Poptropica’s general manager, who was part of our Q&A with the Pop CEO.

I’m personally grateful for the chance to share on the Creators’ Blog and am already thinking about what I might write about! In particular, I’d love to take the chance to ask and share about Poptropica behind the scenes, as well as highlight creative work from the fandom (a little intro to the PHB, perhaps? 😉 ). We’ll see how it goes!

As the PHB noted earlier, the Creators are only offering guest writing opportunities to those who are 13 or older. They didn’t say why, but our speculation is possible concerns about child labor laws, though we don’t know the specifics. Still, the policy has spawned some discontent among younger kids in the Poptropica community, expressed in the official blog’s comments. Might there be an explanation?

If you feel similarly, or didn’t get an invitation for the Creators’ Blog, let me offer you the next best thing: you can guest write for the PHB! We might not be as big as the Creators’ Blog (though we don’t know their stats), but we’ve shared plenty of great guest posts here, and have no age requirements. All the details are on our Write for the PHB page!

While we’re on the subject of blogging about Poptropica, the PHB recently published a new page all about Our Philosophy. 📖 You can find it under the “About” tab on the site menu. The article is a reflection on why the PHB exists and endures, including why we think it’s worth investing in this corner of children’s media and how that shapes those whose lives it touches. Enjoy the read »

See you next time—and perhaps on the Poptropica Creators’ Blog! ✌️

~slantedfish 🐠

Fan Art Features, Member Gifts, Social Media, Store, Video of the Week

Stylish packs and spider pranks 🐻🕷

January 9, 2021June 6, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, new member gifts are here, and they come in packs of three! First up is the Furry Purse Pack, with variants of a cute brown bear, happy pink bunny (not at all like the evil Dr. Hare), and a sleepy gray kitty. It’s an overshirt item, so it can’t go with jackets.

Then there’s the Snowboard Pack, which has a version with stripes of different colors, another that says “Powder” (interesting brand name?), and one with rounded lines and shades of purple.

The last batch of bonus goods are the RC Cars, or remote controlled cars, although you can’t see the remote. They come in blue (with flames), red (with lightning), or green (truck style), and pressing space bar will make the car drive around a couple times on the ground.

All in all, that’s 9 new member gifts to kick off the new year! But if you don’t have a membership yet, why not enter our giveaways for Free Poptropica Membership? That’s right, this newly launched feature on the PHB gives away free membership to a lucky Poptropican every month, and entering is as easy as 1-2-3. Get started »

While that’s happening, there’s plenty of new stuff for all players over at the store. In addition to some classics, the latest update includes 7 new items: the Floral Tee, Camo Kid, and Record Spinner in costumes, plus a Spider Prank, Jetpack, Baby Penguin Follower, and White Combat Boots. Check out the full stock in the gallery below (thanks, Gentle Dolphin):

Take a look at a couple of these new items in action below. They sure look like they could become fun common room classics in the Haxe era!

The RC Car, one of the member gifts, in action — driving around.

In other news, here’s what the Pop Creators have been featuring this week on social media. On their Instagram story this Friday, they shared two pieces of fan art as well as a snap of Binary Bard socks from the Poptropica merch store. Have you gotten your Pop swag yet?

Pop characters as humans by @hfevra (link)

On the Creators’ Blog, they shared a Video of the Week from Shade-e’s 101, who recorded himself exploring his friend’s clubhouse. The Creators mentioned how they loved seeing the Poptropica community be supportive of one another, and that you can tag your videos with “Poptropica” for a chance to have them featured!

There’s a lot more going on in Poptropica and the fandom than we can fit in this post! Catch up on other news below, like the new Legendary Swords: Match 3 mini-game, and stay tuned for further commentary about the reveal of the second winner of the Design Your Dream Island Contest: Goofball Island. 🤔⚔️🤪

By the way, if you’re a Poptropica fan who’s eager to hear about the latest news as soon as it drops, consider joining the PHC, our Discord server! On the PHC, fans can share and respond to things more immediately than we can blog about them, though of course, we’re still committed to maintaining quality records and commentary here on the blog — it just takes a bit of time. Thanks for sticking with us, and pop on!

~🐠

Escape from Pelican Rock Island, Fan Art Features, Social Media

Pop Quiz: 😇 Good or evil? 😈

January 4, 2021June 6, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, pop quiz incoming! Head over to Escape From Pelican Rock Island and you’ll find a new pop-up stand right in front of Bay City Bank on Main Street asking: Good vs Evil — Which are you?

Click to “Take Quiz” and you’ll get five fun questions to determine just how malicious of a person you are. The quiz is hosted on Interact Quiz Maker, so you can also visit its direct link here to take this pop quiz!

(Spoiler) If you answered like you’re an angel, your result is that “You’re a good one! Phew! You’re certainly not evil. High-five!” But if you pick even one of any of the guilty responses, you’ll get “Evil Villain! You’re a regular human who does questionable stuff sometimes. Unless you answered yes to the last question. You may be an evil mastermind!”

Thanks, BrittScarlet, for letting us know about the quiz update — as well as this next one. If you check your Poptropica messages, you might find a new one that promises new games starting in January!

Also in your messages, you may find a notification about the announcement of the Design Your Dream Island Contest winner. In case you missed it, Fairy Tale Island is only the first of a few winners — we’re still waiting to hear about the rest, which were supposed to be announced last week!

In other news, Poptropica rang in the new year with an art feature on their Instagram story: @capax_infini’s latest piece with Poptropicans celebrating. Here on the PHB, we also shared our latest Community Creations on New Year’s Day, including another piece from GEAR (capax_infini) featuring an anthropomorphic Dr. Beev with fan-made Dr. Nyah! A perfect intro for this month’s creation theme: Doctors!

If you’ve been traveling around Poptropica lately, you may have noticed the recent ad for The Croods popping up at inopportune moments, as its own ad scene with an incongruent background: the hand-drawn streets of Timmy Failure Island. You might come across it while entering and exiting buildings on Home Island, for example.

But recently, it’s gotten more ridiculous, even appearing right as you jump in your blimp. Tell me, Poptropica, why I’m having to cross the street before flying off to a new island? The game world might defy logic from time to time, but this much? What do you think?

Speaking of ads, there’s another one on the map: American Girl has returned, but this time as a bit of an Australian Girl. Check out our deep dive into American Girl: Kira’s Island, with all its authenticities and oddities, in the post below! See ya later, mate. 🦘

~slanted fish 🐠

Fan Art Features, Haxe Javascript, Pets, Social Media, Store, Video of the Week

What’s in store for Poptropica’s future?

December 23, 2020June 6, 2021 Gentle Dolphin

As 2020 draws to a close, we are dreadfully awaiting the end of an era on the internet: the Flash shutdown.

This event will drastically change the internet at large with countless Flash games being rendered unplayable. Not wanting Poptropica to become lost to time, the Creators have been hard at work moving the game to a new platform and preserving it for (hopefully) more years to come. Now to answer the burning question: “What’s in store for Poptropica’s future?”

Players may have seen a new pop-up appear when they boot up the Flash version of the game. This pop-up, along with a more detailed Creators’ Blog post, lets players know what’s going to happen to the game in the coming days.

On December 28, Poptropica will officially make the switch to Haxe as its sole platform. Players don’t need to worry about their years-old accounts being lost to time. The Creators assured players that existing Flash accounts will make a smooth transition to Haxe. You still get to keep your username, inventory, medallions, friends, and more!

What about the islands that have yet to be converted? While the Creators are still converting all of the islands, they are also working to make the old Flash version of Poptropica accessible to players! Sounds crazy, right? Here’s what they said regarding the matter:

For those of you who are members and are playing the Early Poptropica islands – this will stay on the map and can be accessed in the newest version of the game. We’ll keep this access up for as long as possible and recommend not updating your browsers! Newer versions of browsers are starting to block Flash which will keep you from being able to access these.

To summarize, members will still be able to play the classic islands as long as they don’t update their browsers. While we understand why the Creators say not to update browsers as it’s the only readily available way to access the classic islands, there are some notable flaws with this approach.

First, not updating your browser can leave your computer vulnerable to performance issues and security flaws, which is one of the big reasons why Flash is being retired. Second, some browsers automatically update without the users’ knowledge. Some browsers like Chrome have been warning users that Flash is going away after 2020, so it’s unlikely that such browsers will be supporting the classic islands after this year.

Although it’s uncertain if these classic islands will be accessible for long, their memories will live on in the hearts and minds of players. If you’re feeling nostalgic, you can watch playthroughs on Youtube or read our island help walkthroughs right here on the PHB.

Man, that was a lot to take in. There shouldn’t be too much left to cover, right? Right?

Anyway, a new item rotation has graced the Poptropica store. Players can buy classic and contemporary items to customize their avatars. A few holiday-themed items such as Tangled In Lights and Snowman also arrived just in time for Christmas. 🎄

The Creators didn’t want pets to be left out of the fashion fun, so the pet store also saw a new rotation of items. There a lot of accessories that we have seen before, though the Blue Sunglasses may be new.

Now let’s take a moment to highlight some awesome stuff from fans. Our most recent fan art features come from Instagram artists quria.kressly, birdswithshoes, and grandmother_duck. We also got a Poptropica merch feature from an unknown fan who bought a Binary Bard phone case.

Our “Video of the Week” comes to us from Zany Ice, who created a walkthrough video for the new Wolfwalkers ad game. I recommend playing the game if you haven’t already; it’s one of my favorite Pop ads from this year.

Aaand now I’ve covered everything! Phew!

How do you guys feel about the upcoming move to Haxe? Nervous? Excited? Nervouscited? Feel free to discuss with others in the comment section below. Though Poptropica’s future is uncertain, we can come together as a community and face the new changes ahead.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Advertisements, Fan Art Features, Membership, Pets, Social Media

Walking with wolves and our creatively festive pets

December 17, 2020June 6, 2021 Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! We’ll be checking out one magical advertisement, two wild prizes, three festive accessories, and four creative illustrations. But enough counting, let’s get reporting!

We have a new ad game for the Apple Original film “Wolfwalkers.” To start your adventure, go inside the tree and talk to apprentice hunter Robyn. You have three minutes to explore a dark woodland maze and hunt seven wolves as well as one wolfwalker (a human who can turn into a wolf). When the creatures pop out of their hiding places, walk over to them to capture them.

Once you find all eight creatures, you will be rewarded with the Wolf Follower and the Wolf Transformation. In order to transform, equip the Wolf Transformation item and press the spacebar to (temporarily) become a wolf.

We received a tip from PHB reader PercyJackson1010, who told us that members have received three new holiday items for their pets: Red Plaid Scarf, Reindeer Antlers, and Cozy Sweater. How could we have missed these adorably festive outfits!?

To wrap up this post, let’s take a look at some awesome creations that the Creators have featured on Instagram. We have pet designs by capax_infini aka GEAR, Game Show Island art by PHB author Lucky Joker, a Christmas illustration by happyclonetrooper, and Baby Dr. Hare drawings by adventurersnhunters.

That’s all for now, but there’s still a lot more to come! The new Christmas side-quest is promised to release later today, the Create Your Dream Island contest will be ending tomorrow at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, and we at the PHB will be hosting our “Gone In a Flash” Holiday Party on the PHC this Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. We hope to see you guys there!