Category: PHB Sneak Peeks

PHB Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

PHB Sneak Peeks: Zomberry Mini-Games?

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, ready for a peek into what’s going on behind the curtains of Poptropica HQ?

Many of us have noticed that Poptropica has been so busy behind-the-scenes that they haven’t delivered much lately. Whatever big updates they’re working on, they’re not divulging – we’re barely getting any sneak peeks on the Daily Pop, and even Poptropica’s own Skinny Moon has mentioned she’d love to say more, but can’t reveal anything yet.

But thanks to a brief tip sent in by PHB reader Hyper SW, we just might have some clue of what’s going on and what’s to come! This is the heads-up that was given to the PHB:

“A new game called Game Jam is coming soon! In the game you defend yourself from zomberries using different musical instruments. Due to legal matters, I’m going to keep this update short.”

zomberry2

Well, that’s interesting! Zomberry 2.0? Another sneak peek, this one from an anonymous PHC glitcher, is of another upcoming game called Zomberry Catapult:

zomberrycatapult

Despite the Zomberry Main Street scenery, we’re not sure if this is an island in itself – it looks like Poptropica is working on a series of mini-games to keep us entertained (as we await the next island!). You may remember a few Daily Pop sneak peeks from February where we saw zombie characters in what appeared to be platformer games and other mini-games. They seem to be related:

What could all this mean? Will we get to play these Poptropica original games on Home Island? Will Zomberry Island be getting an update? Or will Poptropica release a mobile app containing several these little games? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Stay popping, Poptropicans.

–🐠🐠

Guest Posts, PHB Sneak Peeks

Behind the Scenes: Development Testing Rooms

Brave Tomato

(Hey Poptropicans! This is a guest post by PHC glitcher TechWizard, here to share with us some pictures he grabbed behind-the-scenes, with commentary from Brave Tomato. Enjoy!)

What’s up Poptropicans? TechWizard here and.. wait, who is this clown?! Don’t worry, I’m just guest posting. Don’t get used to me and my charms. I’m here to discuss some inside info on Poptropica that will leave you saying “woah.” The method used here is a secret, so don’t ask Uncle Tech here to leak it.

Our first image is of a SUI (sound-updated island) Back Lot! The way you can tell is that not only does the screen appear to be bigger, but also, the menu icon is on the top right instead of the top left (as the classic islands have it formatted). We’ve also had hints way back when that other islands were about to get the same treatment, yet we haven’t heard anything since. Whether this island is being re-released sooner or later, it’s interesting to say the least.

suibacklot

Our next room is a multiplayer room with emote mechanics like the ones used in the mobile Poptropica app! In common rooms online, you’ve normally got 8 emotions (with four categories that picks one out of two emotions at random): proud, small cheer, cry, shock, frustrated, head-popping mad, laugh, and jump for joy).  The mobile version has only 6, however: three old (cry, head-popping mad, and laugh), and three new (faint, dance, and greet). How this would affect the future of emoting is up in the air, but only time can tell.

multiplayer room

This next room has some interesting dialogue referring to bugs. It seems like the room itself is a debug room, and one of the buttons leads to a halting crash. This might be one of the line of defenses for glitches, and the crash feature could very well be used in case of emergency. Who knows?

debug room

This next one has multiple NPCs, one capable of changing size. This was most likely for creating larger Poptropican models, like the gods, and a few brute characters such as the large Viking in Mystery of the Map, as well as the tinier ones like Mr. Silva and what the Minimizer store card does. Strangely enough, to do this, you’d have to click on the mohawked Poptropican. That’s… interesting.  This one can also test multiple dialogue options.

change size

This one I like to call “Tetris Land”. Not a lot is in here, besides the odd floor, space background, and three handsome Poptropicans. If you try to speak to the first of the three, he’ll say a line of dialogue, and the other two next to him say, “What he said.” The main purpose of the room, however, is to explore certain special abilities in the game.

special abilities

This one here is a sound testing room, and even the Afro Guy here serves as a test! There can be a lot of different types of grounds a Poptropican can walk and jump on, as well as object sounds, music, and even the rarer voice acting snippet. Seeing that this is a sound-testing area, this probably ensures that there isn’t glitchiness, sound skipping, or other issues. These kinds of rooms, therefore, would be perfect for this kind of quality testing.

sound testing room

Lastly, check out this cool item card I found! Psychedelic flavor PopGum – if only they had released this. Looks like it might bring more happiness to the world.

psychodelicgum

Well, I hope you enjoyed this peek behind closed doors. Now I’m off to stalk what you guys will say in the comments section!

–TechWizard

PHB Sneak Peeks, PHB Specials, Poptropica Portfolio

Poptropica Portfolio: Abraham Evensen Tena

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! 😀

It’s been a while since we’ve featured a Poptropica artist’s portfolio here on the PHB – if you haven’t already, check out the works of Chris Goodwin and Nate Greenwall.

This next one has been around for a while, but we’re finally getting around to posting about it: the portfolio of Poptropica illustrator Abraham Evensen Tena! (The character of Gamer Guy, or Abe on Zomberry Island, is most likely modeled after him.) You can check out the works we’re highlighting in this post and more on his portfolio website.

Perhaps the most interesting pictures from Abe’s portfolio are these glimpses of the forgotten underground island that we’ve seen sneak peeks of in past Daily Pops. It’s a land lined with pink crystals, flowing streams, and even dinosaur bones! I for one would love to play this island someday.

The concept art…
…and the final production piece!

The rest of the Poptropica-related art on his site are mostly desktop wallpapers for islands we’ve already seen, some illustrations he made for the Poptropica Lunar Colony chapter book, and other miscellaneous concept art. Here’s a look at some more pieces (click to enlarge the artwork):

If you check out his website, you’ll find even more Poptropica pieces. You can also see some of his personal non-Poptropica work on other parts of the site, but be warned that some of his (non-Poptropica) illustrations contain nudity, so only proceed if you are comfortable with that.

Abe Tena’s resume states that he worked as a game designer (most likely for Poptropica) from October 2010 to July 2015, which means he no longer works there. Right now, though, he’s an assistant professor specializing in human figure drawing at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, the city where Poptropica HQ is located. How cool would it be to have a Poptropica Creator be your art teacher?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this look into a Poptropica artist’s portfolio! Thanks to Abe for all the fantastic ideas and artwork he’s contributed to the game we know and love. 🙂

Guest Posts, Home Island, PHB Sneak Peeks, Sneak Peeks

Skydock Island: the new Home Island?

Slanted Fish

The island of many names is about to get another mouthful: Home Island, also known by its alternate names Hub Island or Tutorial Island, could soon become Skydock Island.

skydock

We’ve mentioned before of the Daily Pop hinting at upgrades to Home Island, including a ship-shaped renovation and the possibility of a personal home to display your medallions…

The rest of this post is written by Nice Hawk. He first made these findings on his site, Poptrickia, and allowed them to be shared here on the PHB. Enjoy!

…But it gets even better. Poking around in the unreleased files of Home Island, I found these highly interesting scenes and schematics which (partially) confirm my theories:

This first image is a preliminary look at what the Main Street of the new Home Island will look like; apparently it’ll be called “Skydock.” The buildings in this image will lead to the rooms below, the Town Hall and Saloon (click to view full size):

Town Hall
Saloon

These are actually scenes by the Creators that are in the earliest stages. Even though they’re mainly just line drawings and text on a black background, the descriptions are already getting me excited for the update. 🙂 It looks like the Creators are planning a lot of creative additions to Home Island this year.

Another thing that I found while looking at the code for Home Island, is that these rooms (Skydock, Town Hall, and Saloon) might even be common rooms! That’s right, you might be able to chat, friend, and battle with other players while also enjoying Home Island. Now I’m not 100% sure if that’s true based on the code, but it would be a reasonable enough assumption. 😉

​It looks like the Creators themselves are still working out the details though, like for instance how the rooms will look like and how they’ll be connected, so the final product may be different from what I’ve outlined here. But so far this looks like the gist of it. And I’m definitely looking forward to this huge update!

–

Ever wondered why exactly the medallion shards are scattered all over the place when you play the Tutorial, and why there’s a pilot there talking to you? Well, another update to Home Island (that might be coming sooner than the ship-related one) gives the backstory to that. This dialog file shows what seems to be you talking with the pilot while you’re both up in the blimp:

You: The view is great from up here!
Pilot: Ahoy fellow traveler!
You: Ahoy!
You: Are you on your way to Poptropica too?
Pilot: I sure am! But first, a minor course correction.
Pilot: Woah!
Pilot: Oh no! The medallion!
You: Oh dear!
Pilot: I see where it landed, I am going after it!
Pilot: Want to join me in an adventure?

Then the pilot offers you a choice to either do the medallion-shard-finding tutorial or to go to Home. So basically, the medallion is in pieces down there because the Pilot dropped it from his own balloon. Interesting backstory.

pilot

Anyway, those are all the exclusive Home Island sneak peeks that I’ve got so far! Looks like the upcoming update is full of fun new things to do or to just enjoy looking at. The Creators haven’t officially announced it yet (though they did give hints of it in their New Year’s post), so we don’t know when it’s coming. But it sure is something grand to look forward to. 🙂

–

Again, thanks to Nice Hawk for this guest post on the PHB! Be sure to check out his site, Poptrickia, which is full of tips, tricks, and Poptropica goodness. Stay popping, Poptropicans!

PHB Sneak Peeks, Timmy Failure Island

BTS Overview & Theory: Timmy Failure Island

Spotted Dragon

BTS - Timmy Failure

Hey everyone, and welcome back to our BTS Overview & Theory series! This time, we’ll be covering Timmy Failure Island, written by the PHB team and organized by myself, SD. Be sure to check out our previous BTS posts, our most recent being for Arabian Nights Episode 3.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW (but that’s what you want, isn’t it?)

Overview of evidence

As always, we will start out with the basics and lead up to the scenes, dialog, etc. Be sure to visit the Timmy Failure Island Tour for more info!

When danger lurks, and criminals hide around every corner, you need the best detective money can buy. That detective is not Timmy Failure — but don’t try to tell him that. You’re about to come face to face with the craziest cast of characters ever to appear on a Poptropica Island. Trying to solve this mystery is only the beginning!

Remember that there is also a printable poster for the island!

Daily Pop Sneak Peeks

Judging from the art style and subjects of the following sneak peeks, we know that they are for Timmy Failure. 🙂

Events

Below is a compilation of all the major events that will take place during the Timmy Failure quest.

bts timmy failure events

Items

These are all the items that will be used during the quest:

Scenes

Now we can get into the detailed stuff! Below are the image layers for each location on the island.

Main Street:

Timmy’s Street:

Timmy’s House:

School:

Mansion:

Alley:

Zoo:

Store:

Dialog

Be sure to read the captions to find out what scene each set of dialog is from!

Alley
Main Street
Mansion
School
School
School
Timmy’s House
Timmy’s Street
Zoo

Final Theory

Before diving into our theory on how the quest will play out, we first need to know our characters… Timmy Failure is a young child that believes that he is a world class detective. He has a pet “business partner” polar bear named Total that somehow followed the scent of Timmy’s cat food back to his apartment. His parents are divorced, and he lives with his mom, who dates a “Bowling Turkey”. His best friend, who he claims to be an idiot, is named Rollo Tookus and is actually an over achieving student. Molly Moskins is a girl in Timmy’s class who has a crush on him and smells of tangerines. She also owns a cat named Senior Burrito. Finally, Corrina Corrina is Timmy’s arch nemesis (at least in his opinion).

Looking at the dialog, Senior Burrito (the cat) has stolen Timmy’s pants and is hiding in a vending machine. To get them out, you’ll need some loose change to activate the machine. The Bowling Turkey challenges you to a match of bowling, and when you win, he’ll give you the keys to his car. From there, we couldn’t really follow much more of the plot using the dialogue, but it looks to be quite a lengthy island.

Remember, Timmy Failure Island is going to be out for members on September 17th, so until then, share your theories in the comments below! 😀

~The PHB Team