Category: Social Media

Clubhouse Crawl, Social Media

Eyes popped for Pop playthroughs 🎥👀

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got a clubhouse to visit and videos to see. A Poptropican’s eyeballs always stay popped open! 👀

First up, the official blog’s Clubhouse Crawl series continues with this jungle home from Orange Tiger! You can take the tour on the Pop Creators’ Blog or here in this Instagram video. Look out for the big troll, hex-a-decker couch, and Amelia-approved unicorns! 😈🛋

Speaking of Amelia, remember when she invited us over for tea and made us do her dirty work? The Creators recently dropped a new video playing through Amelia’s “eye-popping” mini quest along with a written guide, but just saying, the PHB’s got one too. 😉☕️🦄

Amelia’s mini quest also hints at lore not yet revealed, particularly through a photograph of a baking session with some mysterious girls and a cat. Some Poptropicans have their theories, and Poptropica promised in a recent tweet that there’s more to come!

If your eyes need to be popped and ears peeled for any video, though, we can’t help but mention our recent hit, “Backspace.” Watch the clip below and get the behind-the-scenes of this “Blank Space” Taylor Swift parody music video created as a lament for Pop’s ex-islands! 🏝🪦

Hear “Backspace” on Poptropica Help Videos (PHV)!

Even the Pop Creators seemed to enjoy the callout. 😂

And while you’re on our YouTube channel, check out our new playlists:

That wraps up this update. Keep on popping on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Advertisements, Monthly Costume Contests, Social Media, Store

Switching it up in spooky style 🎃😎

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone!

After two weeks of judging (and a questionably handled submission reel), the Creators finally announced the winners of the Red October Halloween Costume Contest. Without further ado, the six winning designs are Heart Witch by Big Rider, Zombie Nerd by Cheerful Boot, Pumpkin Punk by Gentle Dolphin (me! 😁), Midnight Kitten by Quiet Crumb, Phantom by Maroon Cloud, and Will-O’-Wisp by Sleepy Biker.

We look forward to seeing these spook-tacular costumes get brought to life this Halloween! ❤️🧟‍♀️🎃🐈‍⬛🎩🔥

After announcing the winners, the Creators’ Blog post goes on to say that the Red Baron will be on Home Island throughout the month of October! Not only is the Baron bringing the winning costumes, she’s also bringing some other spooky items from Poptropica’s past. Perhaps we’ll see a Count Bram costume or a Jersey Devil plushie?

While we wait for the Red Baron to arrive with her spooky bounty, Amelia’s Adventure Outfitters introduced a new outfit to celebrate skateboarding becoming an official Olympic sport. Members can purchase the radical Street Style outfit for 250 credits. Now avatars can at least look the part of a pro skater. 🛹

The Pop Creators don’t always post on Twitter. But when they do, it’s to like and share tweets promoting their game. This week, they’ve been engaging with a few fans who want to see Poptropica on the Nintendo Switch. Seems they like the idea:

The idea of Poptropica on the Switch isn’t too far off. Some of you may recall that there were two official Poptropica DS games: Poptropica Adventures and Poptropica: Forgotten Islands. While a Switch port would be cool, the Creators’ priorities should perhaps be to port the old islands to the base game, which is pretty lacking in its current state. But still, imagine Poptropica appearing in an upcoming Nintendo Direct!

Image edit by me, and text by Sporty Boa

Before I end this post, I want to talk about a new ad that has been turning heads. Some players have encountered videos ads for Venom: Let There Be Carnage playing in both the video bar below the game screen as well as in between scenes. It’s pretty shocking that a violent PG-13 movie is being advertised in a game aimed towards children. We’re not sure how much control the Creators have over these video ads, but let’s hope they are able to take these particular ads down.

That’s all I have for now! Are you looking forward to the Red Baron’s visit this October? Would you like to see a Poptropica Switch game? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay tuned for a background look into one of the upcoming Dream Island winners. We’re sure it will have you rolling on the floor with anticipation. 😜🏠

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Fan Art Features, Social Media

Thank u, Jeff 🥳 and T-rex? 🦖

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we’ve got a couple TikTok clips and tons more Instagram stories to unpack. Let’s pop into it!

Earlier this week, Poptropica dropped a new TikTok featuring the picking of the golden apple at the Tree of Immortality on Mythology Island. The vid is accompanied by some rather peculiar squeaking and coughing, apparently a trending TikTok soundbite.

@poptropicacreator

Can you believe it’s been 10+ years since Poptropica invented Greek Mythology with this iconic scene? 🙌😌 #Poptropica #mythology #facts #foryou

♬ original sound – Paige Zilba

Also just recently, another quick vid popped onto the scene, wishing Poptropica a happy 14th birthday along with a slideshow of photos of Jeff Kinney, Poptropica’s original founder. Strangely fitting for the occasion, it’s joined by James Corden’s parody of an Ariana Grande song — “thank u, jeff” — originally for Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum, which explains the line, “I’m so freakin’ scared of that T-rex.”

@poptropicacreator

Celebrate our 14th birthday and share your favorite #Poptropica scene or memory! 🎉⬇️ or drop a “thank u jeff” if this should’ve stayed in drafts 🤔

♬ original sound – ❂

But maybe the prize should go to TikTok user @seejayseemusic, who asks in response to the clip, “Jeff Kinney is 14?“

Curious about Jeff’s role with Poptropica? Check out our thank-you birthday post from last year, focusing on OG Pop Creators’ vision for the game!

“Thank u, jeff” also debuted on Poptropica’s Instagram stories, along with tons of fan art, including some chubby villains. Enjoy:

Itching to add to the sea of Pop fan art out there? Those Poptober prompts from HCT might be just the thing to inspire your next piece(s). Like last year’s Poptober, the drawing challenges are here to encourage you to create throughout the coming October. You can do as much (or little) as you like — possibly even one a day as LJ did! ✏️ However you participate, just have fun with it!

And yes, as the story says, Rumpel’s Challenge is in fact out now! This follow-up to Fairytale Island is currently only available to members. Stay tuned for the PHB’s guide coming soon. Don’t stumble on ol’ Rumpel! 😈

~🐠

Fan Art Features, Social Media, YouTubers

Real questions raised in Red October reel & September birthday feels 🎥🎉

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got fan art galore in this post with costume creations, memes, and more featured by the Pop Creators. Let’s go!

First up, Poptropica has posted the monthly compilation video of entries for the costume design contest. With the theme of Red October, you just might find your bones tingling from the early Halloween vibes.

UPDATE: A day after this PHB post, the Pop Creators quietly replaced the video with a new version (shown above), taking into account the concerns we addressed (shown below). While the old video is now unavailable, the new one credits IG artists and removes an offending username. They thought they could be sneaky in not announcing the change, but we noticed! Still, props for doing the right thing.

The PHB’s comments before the change: While the costumes are undoubtedly spooktacular, we did make a couple of chilling observations in the vid: 1) the questionable attribution of “via IG” for various entries from Instagram that do not properly credit their artists, and 2) the inclusion of a watermark from a username with profanity that the Pop Creators previously featured on their IG story.

From these observations, perhaps the Pop Creators only want to credit people by their Poptropican name (although they don’t mind keeping in any watermarks that appear on images, even the aforementioned iffy name). Still, not every IG user put a watermark on their pic, which means that some in the video have gone uncredited. (Tips for Pop: take the extra step to give credit where it’s due, even if it’s not a Pop name, and maybe not at all if it’s vulgar. It matters!)

Beyond these oddities, they also haven’t yet announced the six winners promised whose costumes will be created for the game. While we wait, I figured I’d share some of my own personal picks:

  • Dryad Fan by Red Panda
  • Pumpkin Punk by Gentle Dolphin
  • Will-O’-Wisp by Sleepy Biker
  • Zombie Nerd by Cheerful Boot
  • Gem Enthusiast by Red Toes
  • The Lurking Witch by Brave Cheetah
  • Lil Ghost by Red Panda
  • Autumn Leaves by Little Lizard

Besides the costumes, fan artists have been busy making drawings and even videos for the fan-run Poptropica Month. The Pop Creators’ Blog recently featured several pieces starring Amelia, the Baron, and MVB:

  • Amelia with Pop’s 14th birthday cake by Sleepy Biker
  • Amelia & Baron as Mario & Luigi by Sleepy Biker
  • Red Baron discovers Amelia’s love of unicorns by Friendly Feather
  • Meme by Red Toes

In addition to these pics, they also featured a few videos, all of which were posted this month for the fan-hosted Poptropica Month 2021 playlist! Here’s one from iHateFridays (aka Magic Snowball) doodling while describing their personal experiences with Pop:

And here’s one from TheOrangeHelium taking various online quizzes to test her Poptropica knowledge. (Hey, look at Pop crediting fan creators by their non-Pop usernames on social media. It’s not that hard!)

Finally, the Pop Creators also highlighted a sneak peek of a storyline told in comics from Invisible Ring. For the record, you can read (and watch) all about her dream island, Megatropolis, here on the PHB!

That concludes this post! Stay tuned to find out which costumes the Baron will be bringing in her next visit, and enjoy the plentiful productions from both players and Pop Creators throughout the game’s birthday month. Keep on popping on, Poptropicans! ✌️

~🐠

Advertisements, Fairy Tale Island, Fan Art Features, Sneak Peeks, Social Media

My Little Art Features: A New Challenge Rumbles 🦄✨

Gentle Dolphin

Hear ye, hear ye! We will soon be returning to the fantastical world of Fairytale Island in the upcoming side quest: Rumpel’s Challenge!

The Creators’ announcement goes on to explain that the quest will continue the island’s story and answer some of our burning questions. The promise of tying loose ends reminds us of the Fairytale Fanfic Contest, in which fans wrote their own endings to Fairytale Island. How closely will the official tale match fanfiction? We’ll have to wait and see.

However, this story has a dark twist: only members can take on Rumpel’s challenge. This news may remind some players of Poptropica’s members-only bonus quests, which were extra quests added to the endings of islands during the early 2010s. It’s disappointing that not everyone will be able to end Fairytale Island on a satisfying note. We can only wish that the Creators will eventually give every player the chance to finish the tale…

To tide us over until the release, the Creators graced us with some concept sketches for a new character! The image name is Queen Ideas_2, so it looks like we’ll be meeting the queen of Fairytale Island! Judging by the art shown below, she appears to be regal ruler who loves cats and knows how to use a sword. She also has a curly updo similar to Cinderella, so could they be related? Where was she during the main story? Theorize away, Poptropicans!

But wait! We have more news for you, though prepare to feel some déjà vu.

Some of you may have already played the ad game for My Little Pony: A New Generation. In a surprising development, there is now a second My Little Pony ad on Poptropica! It’s not often that Poptropica hosts two separate ads for the same product at the same time. There is no game in this particular ad, though. All you need to do is watch the trailer to win two new pony prizes: the Zipp Outfit and the Hitch Outfit.

Here’s a neat tidbit about these prizes: if you press the spacebar while equipping one of the prizes, that respective pony’s cutie mark will pop up on screen for a second. Stop by both ad spots and win all five prizes, one for each of Gen 5’s Mane 5. Gotta befriend em’ all! 💫🧶🛡️🎤⚡️

The official Poptropica Instagram account shared eight pieces of fan art in yesterday’s stories. Among them were spooky and silly entries for the now closed costume contest, and they all look like they could be great additions to the game. There is also art of original characters and airships, as well as some Rumpelstiltskin fan art just in time for the announcement of Rumpel’s challenge.

That’s all for now! Are you looking forward to the follow-up to Fairytale Island? How do you think the tale will end? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬