The top stop for all things Pop
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INT. FLOOR 13, OUTSIDE DR. JUPITER’S LAB
The elevator door opens, and the group enters. This floor is even darker than the rest of the prison, with little to no windows and a sparse amount of dim, yellow lights.
DIRECTOR D.
Cheery.
DR. HARE
Oh wow, it’s almost like this is a prison.
Continue reading “The Villain Saga – Episode 3, Part 3”
Henlo, Poptropicans! I’m happy to announce a special upcoming PHB post: an interview with former Pop Creator, Mitch Krpata!
While the PHB has covered and even hosted interviews with this senior story developer in the past, this time we’re reconnecting with ol’ Captain Crawfish to talk about the development process for Poptropica. And you’re invited to join!
In the comments of this post, bring your unanswered questions regarding the stories and characters of past islands, pertaining to content made before 2018 (when Mitch departed the team). This interview will not cover the current state of the game, and Mitch cannot speak for the current team. That being said, ask away!
Before I close off, here are Poptropica’s latest Instagram stories, including an animation of Monkey Wrench Island some rockin’ Zomberries by the PHB’s Lucky Joker (LJ)! (…ok I’ll take my leave now.)
Make sure to check out these artists, and don’t forget to submit your questions in the comments of this post! I’ll see you soon for the next Villain Saga episode and the completed interview!
Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles
‘Allo Poptropicans! We’ve arrived at the penultimate point of the Steam island hints! (Visit past hints: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.)
Here’s hint twelve: “Devise a plan to reverse a mega bot-ched op. Virtually everything is on the line!”
We’ve got a good hunch on this one, although the Creators’ Blog hints that this could “be applied to two other islands.” Besides the seemingly obvious, we might venture a guess for PoptropiCon, with its hench-bots serving the robo-suited Omegon, or Game Show, where we’ve got to reverse a robot domination.
However, the Mega Fighting Bots reference (“Mega Bot-ched”) points us right in the direction of Mocktropica, once again an AS3 island.
…wait. Mocktropica?
While a cult classic, Mocktropica has become notorious for its unintentional prediction of what Pop was soon to become. Many aspects of the story take a jab at the obsession with surface-level gaming gimmicks like costumes and pets, as well as removing any challenging elements.
Adding on references to former Pop Creators who had been let go by management, this island may be an odd (albeit welcome) addition to the pack. At least we can enjoy the pretty musical theme in-game again!
What do you think about the current Pop reviving this past island? Do you have ideas for other islands that could fit this riddle? Let us know, while I sulk in the corner about the Astro-Knights neglect!
Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles
Ask Poptropica Siri is a Q&A segment here on the PHB where you, dear readers, are invited to send in your Poptropica questions to have them answered with all the wisdom you can expect from a Smart Icicle.
Hey everyone! It’s been a hard time lately for the fandom, particularly with Poptropica’s controversial Roblox developments. So, I wanted to cool it down by answering some questions…
What do you think of the Poptropica Roblox games? ~Magic Snowball
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I am totally fine with Poptropica’s Roblox games. I feel neutral about this situation, even as a Roblox player myself. I think they are just having a break and trying new things. Although others are angry about it, at least Poptropica is still actively developing on their own platform, so that’s a good sign.
Do you think the Creators even care enough to bring the old islands back? ~Silver Shell
This question came in before the big announcement of 13 old islands returning via Steam, but yes, I do think they care! They brought Zomberry to Roblox, and previously released the Zomberry Hero mini-game on Pop, which means they haven’t forgotten their old lore. Even if they play around with Roblox, they will never give up on Poptropica.
If there was one old island which could release early and you were given the choice, which one would you pick? ~Dangerous Dragon
Oh wow, so many choices! Well, I’m going to cheat a little and pick two: I would want either Skullduggery or Astro-Knights to be brought back. They were fun to play, even if they are the most difficult out of all of the islands ever made. Although we’ve lost a lot of old islands, they are still in our hearts and hopefully can return someday. 💙
That’s a great question! You can use the following methods:
Before I go, I would like to share two movies I’m looking forward to this April: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Fantastic Beasts 3.
That’s it from me! See you next time!
~🌸📚❄️🌸
Poptropica fans waited in anticipation after the promise of a big announcement today. And at long last, we received the news:
Poptropica has selected 13 old islands as well as the Minecraft-esque Poptropica Realms to port for download on Steam, the video game distribution platform. Currently, there’s no word of an exact date or which islands will be included. However, they will be “dropping daily hints” starting tomorrow, so keep an eye out and start guessing!
While this is definitely exciting (and long overdue), we find it a bit odd for an online game to make the move to Steam. After all, why not just upload them to the Poptropica website?
Perhaps this could be related to Poptropica’s longevity. Many similar online games have either moved on to new platforms or simply shut down over time. Porting old islands to Steam could allow fans to continue exploring their favorite islands even in the event Poptropica itself has to shut down, as the game could live on without their servers.
Plus, years of waiting (and an abandoned attempt with Pop Worlds) have shown that Pop seems to have had a lot of difficulty getting older Pop islands up and running on their own Haxe-based platform. The struggle of technology and moving away from Flash may be another factor in deciding to make this content on another platform.
This bundle will also include several features from the online game, including the ability to “customize personal clubhouses, adopt pets, and access multiplayer features like the arcade and common rooms.” It’s currently up in the air if this will be free or how much it will cost. The release date will be “in several weeks.”
Was this a response to desperate fans’ pleas? Either way, this may be a sign that Pop will focus on rebuilding itself, and prioritize past promises over new ideas. Also, will the islands be completely true to the originals, or will they add features such as unreleased music?
Which islands would you like to see? How do you feel about the Steam port, and what do you think it means for the future of Pop? Let us know! (I am 100% begging for the return of Astro-Knights and Ghost Story, as many of you probably would have guessed! 😆)
Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles
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