Uncategorized

Call for Change: The PHB is not the only voice!

Hey everyone, it’s Perfect Sky.

Today I’d like to bring up some issues within our Poptropica community of fansites and chat servers. In all that I’m about to say, I want to emphasize supporting the multitudes of Poptropican voices out there, and remind everyone that the PHB is not the only voice in this community. And I believe we can work together to make things better.

phb voice

The only server in the community?

Ah, the Poptropica Help Chat. While it’s fun to chat on there most of the time, it seems that other, smaller chat servers with Poptropicans in them have fallen off the wayside. These other servers that were once very active now remain quiet. But guys, the PHC is not the only Discord server in the Poptropica community. Let’s start talking on smaller servers so people can have a wide variety of places to chat.

Although it makes sense that the most popular chat server with the largest list of members will be the most active, there’s no reason why other places can’t have a chance to thrive, too. It makes no sense to join smaller servers with no intent of participating in conversation there as well. Having many decently active servers provides a place for several different discussions at a time, making it easier to find a topic that suits your interest. Not to mention, this gives more others a chance at having a staff position – if not on the PHC, then on another Poptropica chat that they enjoy.

Please, let’s tone down the PHB “worship”

The PHB is an amazing blog, there’s no doubt about that.Many people seem to value any content from the PHB at the same level, if not more, than the Poptropica Creators’ Blog itself. But the flipside to this is that smaller blogs aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Often, any positive comment towards smaller blogs includes a comparison to the PHB, such as “Your blog is the best, besides the PHB.” I get where you’re coming from with that – and it is a privilege for the PHB to provide content that gets enjoyed – but let’s be a little more gracious to our fellow Poptropicans, alright?

But this ‘worshipping’ doesn’t end there! For some, Poptropica blogging has become a competitive race to see who can make it onto the PHB first, and that’s not how it should be. Many smaller bloggers never feel quite ‘good enough’ when skills are primarily judged by the number of guest posts someone has written for the PHB, and becoming a PHB author, of course.

And anyone who’s ever attended a PHC party and a non-PHC Pop party has probably noticed the difference in attendance. Now, it makes total sense that the blog with the largest following would have more people show up to these events, but hey, let’s support our fellow non-PHB Poptropicans’ events, too. Let’s engage in conversations on other servers, be listeners and appreciators, and focus on building a diverse community that spans many more sites beyond the PHB network. After all, are we just the PHB community, or are we the wider Poptropica community?

Everyone deserves a voice – so support those other voices!

I remember logging onto Discord one Saturday afternoon in October to chat on the PHC, when I noticed someone repeatedly tagging a PHB author with a Pop-related question. As the author was idle at the time, this person received no response, so I decided to answer their question for them. But after answering five times, I gave up when I realized they wouldn’t listen until a PHB author responded.

Several other people have experienced similar situations in which a PHB author’s voice was favored over that of another member of the community. And, skipping ahead a couple months, after having been invited to join the PHB, I began to receive that kind of attention myself: somehow, becoming a PHB staffer had elevated my authority in Poptropica knowledge. Which is an understandable train of thought, but ultimately a mistaken one: a person does not need to be a PHB author to give good insight on all matters of Poptropica. So let’s listen to the other voices.

If we work together, we can bridge the gaps of inequality, and once again make the PHC a fun place to hang out and make friends. This community is for Poptropica after all. And that includes every Poptropican.

It’s not a competition to see who gets on the PHB first. Please remember, just because someone works on the PHB doesn’t make them better than everyone else. Everyone deserves a voice, so let’s be engaged with every voice.

Thank you for reading. You can pop into the PHC anytime at discord.me/thephc, and be sure to look around for and participate in other Poptropicans’ chat servers and fan blogs too. There’s a whole bunch of them waiting to be discovered.

-Perfect Sky ✹

Uncategorized

March’s super IotMs that are out of this world!

Hello, everyone!

It’s the start of a new month, which can only mean one thing – two more Islands playable for bonus credits, of course. This month’s featured islands are
 Super Power and Galactic Hot Dogs!

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SUPER POWER ISLAND

After losing to Reality TV in the Island of the Month poll that took place in January, Super Power secedes its opponent as one of March’s Islands of the month (like you don’t know already).

As usual, Captain Crawfish has made a video walkthrough if you’d like to use it:

If you’d prefer to use a written guide, check out the one here on the PHB.

GALACTIC HOT DOGS ISLAND

A fan favorite, am I right? 😉 If you’re interested, Captain Crawfish made a video walkthrough for GHD last year upon its release if you’d like to use it as well:

Of course, if you prefer reading, we gladly welcome you to use the written guide here on the PHB.

Remember, first-time finishers of these islands will receive 500 credits and those who are replaying them will earn 300 credits, so make sure to take advantage of the boost while you can!

___

Also, if Galactic Hot Dogs Island isn’t giving you enough and you’re wanting more intergalactic action, look forward to Galactic Hot Dogs: Revenge of the Space Pirates coming to bookstores this October!

galactic-hot-dogs-book-3-revenge-of-the-space-pirates

Well, that’s all there is for now. Stay tuned for any behind-the-scenes sneak peeks that might float adrift later this month.

Thanks for reading, I’ll talk to you soon. Pop on!

-Lucky Joker :luckyjoker~1:

Community Creations, Uncategorized

Community Creations: February 2017

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Why hello everyone! So, how is everyone liking the new series? As of right now, I think it’s been going pretty well. There are so many amazingly talented artists in our li’l fandom. ❀

Anyway, getting right to it, here is the February recap! This month’s theme was shipping. The featured work is not in any particular order. 😉

Top 5 Picks

The Stars, They Remind Me of You by Criaha

criaha-the-stars-they-remind-me-of-you

A very beautiful piece. Not only does it represent the LGBT community with an adorable ship between Black Widow and Criaha’s own Fearless Popper (a ship I’ve fallen in love with), but the creative starry night theme was brilliantly executed. Find her DeviantArt here.

Why Dr. Hare Shouldn’t be Cupid by ArtisticAsianBunny

artistic-asian-bunny-why-dr-hare-shouldnt-be-cupid

Just… adorable. It highlights Valentine’s Day with some much needed humor and the overall style is wonderful. This ship is super cute and I could totally see this scene happening. Find her DeviantArt here.

SD and a Narwhal (Not the official name) by Yumi-Chan-Chu

yumi-chan-chu-narwhal-sd

I may be a little biased on this one, but this is freaking adorable. I recognize that not everyone in the community is into full on shipping, so I admire this piece for showing love but not romance. The drawing and colors are great and hey I mean the Poptropican she chose is pretty cool. Find her DeviantArt here.

Movie Night by Honeybox360

honeybox-movie-night

Now this is a ship you don’t see everyday. Based on a unique Poptropica AU (which ships Speeding Spike x Ned Noodlehead), this really brings out the softer side of some of our favorite characters. The lighting is great and the piece just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Find her DeviantArt here.

First Date by BlazingAngel123

blazing-angel-first-date

Ah, the Bashful Sword x Sir Rebral ship has always been another favorite of mine. I feel like this piece perfectly sums up the emotions of what a lot of people go through on a first date. Shipping isn’t always easy, right? The dialogue and expressions are great. Find her DeviantArt here.

Honorable Mentions

And that’s it! Honestly, all of the entries were incredible, narrowing it down was tough. I can’t wait to see more of the creative talent to come! 😉

March: How do I Participate?

Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fic, realms, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.

If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is March’s theme? March’s theme is…

NATURE!

For many of us in the northern hemisphere, spring is here, and it’s prime time to celebrate the beauty that comes with it. For ideas, a lot of Poptropica’s scenes and background art are breath-taking. I think this could not only be an inspiration for cool drawings, but also literature, realms, photo booth pics, and more.

  • Submitting: Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
  • Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
  • Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
  • Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!

I will always be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. Bonus points if you make a compelling description for your piece! Remember that I’m mainly looking for something to catch my eye, so you don’t have to be any perfect artist or anything.

So what are you waiting for? Go make something! 😀

~SD

Uncategorized

#MyPoptropicaCostume Contest Results: Vote Now!

Hello, everyone!

It’s Lucky Joker here bringing you some poptastic news regarding the #MyPoptropicaCostume contest!

Yes, it’s the announcement we’ve been waiting for – Just a little while ago, the two grand prize winners, along with 20 runner-ups (which I’ll talk about later), have been announced on the Creators’ Blog! There were over 750 costume entries submitted, but in the end it was Creepy Peanut’s “Ocean Princess” and Speedy Toes’ “Hip Hop Boy” costumes that took the grand prize!

As promised, each of their costumes will be created by Poptropica, sold in the store for a limited time and worn by an NPC on Home Island. Additionally, they will each receive a free 6-month membership. Now onto the voting information!

Again, 20 runner-ups have been chosen by Poptropica, and now the ones that become real costumes are up to us! Vote for 10 of your favorite costumes and make sure to do so before February 7, midnight ET over on the Creators’ Blog.

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Each of the ten runner-ups will win a free 3-month membership and also have their costume sold in the Poptropica Store for a limited time later this year! (Hey, that’s what they said about New Poptropica too…)

As seen in the collage above, the runner-ups are, in order from left to right, top row to bottom row:

  1. “Witch and Wizard” by Young Heart
  2. “Cyborg” by White Coyote
  3. “Watermelon Threads” by Shiny Penguin
  4. “Winter Explorer” by Maroon Ring
  5. “Elven Chic” by Little Ghost
  6. “The Hipster” by Slanted Fish (the PHB’s very own founder!) *
  7. “Elemental Beasts” by Red Paw
  8. “Jazz Musician” by Perfect Sky (a PHB staffer!)
  9. “Diwali Inspired” by Lucky Joker (another PHB staffer – yours truly!)
  10. “The Dreamer” by Friendly Kid
  11. “Starlight Dress” by Mystery Poptropican
  12. “Mad Scientist” by Invisible Biker (one of two!)
  13. “Skater Pro” by Golden Berry
  14. “Gamer Chic” by Fearless Dragon
  15. “Cyber Angel” by Bashful Sword
  16. “Fire Flier” by Invisible Wing
  17. “Sports Vendor” by Fast Lizard
  18. “Rainbow Unicorn” by Cool Sword
  19. “Psychedelic Steampunk” by Bronze Fire
  20. “Celestial Mage” by Invisible Biker (congrats on placing twice!)

*Side note and update: “The Hipster” replaced an earlier runner-up, “Technology Girl” by Tall Hero, after it was pointed out to Poptropica that it was not an original drawn/invented costume. They decided to disqualify and replace it.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go on the Creators’ Blog and vote today!

Thanks for reading, I’ll talk to you soon. Pop on!

-Lucky Joker :luckyjoker~1:

Uncategorized

Creator Q&A: Poptropica Worlds Edition

Hey everyone, it’s Perfect Sky!

This afternoon, I received a message from Poptropica Creator Skinny Moon on Twitter, informing me that she’d join us on the Poptropica Help Chat for a Q&A session. She popped on around 9:15 EST, and stayed for about an hour, answering our questions about the big announcement – Poptropica Worlds! Here’s a little recap of the Q&A:

creator-q-and-a

Criaha: How are you??
Skinny Moon: I’m fine, how are you all? What’s going on? Seems like there is some discontent about Poptropica Worlds…???

Fast Lizard: Will we have more realistic hands in the new version or was that just for the trailer? If that’s an answerable question
Skinny Moon: Honestly I don’t know. Feedback is good. I can pass on that some of you want more realistic hands and think the legs are too long.

Perfect Star: Do u know when it will be released?
Skinny Moon: No, no exact date. As you can probably imagine, lots of things can come up during game design so we can’t commit to an exact date!

Tall Cactus: Are worlds islands?
Skinny Moon: Yes, worlds = islands. Worlds are islands. Poptropica Worlds will stay true to the concept of Poptropica.

Shaky Skunk: Will we be able to transfer our old stuff (including looks)?
Skinny Moon: Yes, the plan is for your avatar and all your old stuff to port over!

Blake: I like the concept of test dummies though, it gives Pop that industrial aspect that I seem to like for some reason
Skinny Moon: The crash test dummies are just for the video and for our internal testing.
Skinny Moon: There will be a mix of beloved previous islands/worlds and brand new ones!

Tall Cactus: How many islands are being transferred? Will their plots be changed?
Skinny Moon: Can’t get into details like that quite yet. I can just say there will be a mix of remastered old islands/worlds and brand new ones in Poptropica Worlds! And remember that Poptropica didn’t start with 40+ Islands all at once. These things take time…

TechWizard: Will the dummies be in the final game?
Skinny Moon: No, the dummies are just for testing

Tall Cactus: Will we still have names like Tall Cactus?
Skinny Moon: I am almost positive that you’ll still have fun names like Tall Cactus. You should be able to port over your name, look., and all your stuff!

Tall Cactus: Why are islands being called worlds now?
Skinny Moon: “worlds” is a term that is more universal in gaming

Perfect Sky: What does “One account for everything Poptropica!” mean? Does this mean one account for all Poptropica websites or something (maybe the old site will still be there)? Or does this mean one Poptropica account per email address?
Skinny Moon: One account for all Poptropica everything!

Shaky Skunk: Can your avatar be genderless in new pop?
Skinny Moon: I don’t know about genderless, tbh. But lots of customization possibilities, for sure.

Tall Cactus: What will happen to the original Pop?
Skinny Moon: Original Pop is not going anywhere, no worries

Megaman : Since I saw that Poptropica Worlds video, are we going to create our own homes and have other multiplayer Poptropcians visiting our home?
Skinny Moon: You will have your own customizable home. Not sure about other Poptropicans visiting it – I don’t know the answer to that

Tall Cactus: When will we get more in-depth details on Pop Worlds?
Skinny Moon: We’ll release more info gradually. No time table, tbh. But I’m hoping every few weeks I’ll have something new to show/tell you all about Poptropica Worlds!

Perfect Star: Will there be colored eyes?
Skinny Moon: I don’t know about colored eyes

Magic Panda: How different will the art style be? Will there be more shading, bigger/smaller characters, etc.
Skinny Moon: From what I know so far, the art style will still be very “Poptropica” – but remastered, updated, better than ever!

Criaha: So I know me and many other people in the community have more than one Pop account (I myself have around 5 ish? I think?) Will we be able to link them?
Skinny Moon: I don’t know about linking lots of accounts, sorry!
Skinny Moon: Costume contest: still going through the 100s of entries and narrowing down. Hope to open voting later this month!

Blake: Is there any possible way that you could answer exactly how far customization would be able to go at this point in time? Distance between eyeballs, eye color, etc
Skinny Moon: I don’t know exact details about customization

Quiet Berry: Will we have to use a browser other than Chrome?
Skinny Moon: You will be able to use whatever browser you want, as far as I know

Short Feather: Will it only be available on certain devices, or will it be accessible to all?
Skinny Moon: Poptropica Worlds will be available on web and mobile devices

Chris: Are you from Boston or did you move here for the office?
Skinny Moon: I have been in the Boston area since college – I went to Boston College/ #GoBC

Barefoot Hammer: Will the Poptropica app be updated to the new Pop, or will it stay the same?
Skinny Moon: Current Pop app and Pop Worlds are two separate games.

idk: The new Poptropica will be on http://poptropicaworlds.com , correct?
Skinny Moon: No that isn’t correct. As of now Pop Worlds will also live on poptropica.com

Shaky Skunk: What ever happened to the other bloggers on the Creators’ Blog?
Skinny Moon: The other Poptropica people who used to blog just don’t have as much time to blog anymore, tbh! I am a writer and a social media person so it makes sense for me to do it. I love writing!

TechWizard: WHAT ARE THE HOUSES LIKE?
Skinny Moon: I don’t have details on the houses yet – except that the voting that everyone did on the blog was absolutely taken into account!
Skinny Moon: I’m starting to understand what the Wendy’s social media manager feels like

Bendy Flyer: Are you and the Creators going to use Unity for Poptropica Worlds?
Skinny Moon: Yes we are using Unity!

idk: Games in unity can also be ported to video game consoles. Any plans for that?
Skinny Moon: Great question. I don’t know of any plans for consoles but hey. Who knows?

idk: So Sandbox Networks only registered http://poptropicaworlds.com to protect the name?
Skinny Moon: Well, we need the domain name. This is just me guessing but if you types that URL in the future I bet it would lead to Poptropica.com

đŸ‘‹đŸŒđŸŽđŸƒđŸŒ: What do you do at poptropica? And how old are you?
Skinny Moon: I’m the social media/community manager. I also have done a lot of writing for the company. I’ve been with FEN/StoryArc/Poptropica for two years now. And no, not telling my age.

Shaky Skunk: Burgers or hotdogs?
Skinny Moon: BURGERS. duh

Shaky Skunk: Will there be Poptropica Worlds merch?
Skinny Moon: I’d love to see Poptropica Worlds merch!

đŸ‘‹đŸŒđŸŽđŸƒđŸŒ: That sounds like an amazing job, and also totally understable about not telling your age
Skinny Moon: It IS an amazing job. I work with awesome people. And what’s better than working with Poptropica and its awesome fans?!?!

HPuterpop: Do you think you will ever make any appearances in an island quest?
Skinny Moon: That would be wicked cool but who knows…

Friendly Foot: Will you ever change your signature outfit?
Skinny Moon: I think about changing my outfit but I feel like I need to stay recognizable. So I just try to accessorize differently each month!

Tall Cactus: Will Pop ever get a TV show?
Skinny Moon: Would love to see a Pop TV show! Not in the works rn as far as I know

Gregoryk_: Do you play any games besides Poptropica?
Skinny Moon: I’ll be totally honest: I don’t have a whole lot of time outside of work and family

Well, that’s all for this Q&A session. Be sure to join us on the PHC  for a chance to chat with Skinny Moon, as well as many other Poptropica players in the community!

– Perfect Sky