Category: Zomberry Island

One by one, the citizens of Eastman are mutating into something horrible. Now, the city is quarantined, the survivors are trapped, and ghouls prowl the streets. No one knows how the zombie outbreak began… but how it ends is up to you!

Baron's Airship, Monthly Costume Contests, Roblox, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Zomberries are coming to Roblox! 🧟‍♀️🎈🎮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! We just received more details about Pop’s upcoming Roblox game. If you have questions about island inspiration, gameplay, or other miscellaneous details, then you’ve come to the right place.

Many fans speculated which classic island inspired this little collab, with the most frequent guess being Monster Carnival. While our guesses were close, Pop’s debut Roblox game is actually based on the similarly spooky Zomberry Island! 🧟‍♀️🫐 I guess the swan threw us for a loop. 🦢

Sneak peek from Poptropica of their upcoming Roblox game

This crossover event will pit humans and zomberries against each other in an all-new multiplayer experience. Considering the fact that zombie games have a great presence on Roblox, it’s easy to see why Zomberry Island was a prime candidate for a Roblox spinoff. However, it would have been nice to see another island get the spotlight since we got the Zomberry Hero event less than two years ago.

Some fans might also be disappointed that this game won’t prominently display Pop’s storytelling capabilities. While I don’t play or watch anything relating to Roblox, it seems storytelling is not Roblox’s main priority. Plus, we hope the best stories are being saved for Poptropica’s main projects.

Update: Turns out the following featured image is just fan art. Still cool nonetheless!

We also got an inside scoop outside of the Creators’ Blog. DataSigh, a 3D modeler for Roblox, revealed a 3D recreation of Poptropica’s iconic yellow blimp on Twitter. The model looks great, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the game!

DataSigh’s tweet also included one of my own Poptropica illustrations. The original tweet did not credit any artist for the illustration, but proper credit was added after I asked for it. I’m honored that my art was featured by a game developer even if I would have appreciated credit from the beginning. That begs the question: why was fan art included and not any official Poptropica images? 🤔

According to their Twitter bio, DataSigh works for Dubit, a games studio with a slight connection to Pop: a former Pop Creator published an article about the game on Dubit’s website back in 2013. It’s possible that Poptropica hired Dubit to create the new Zomberry-inspired Roblox game, or DataSigh might just be a Pop fan — another Roblox project they shared was a boat combat system inspired by Skullduggery Island.

Before I sign off, here’s a reminder that today (March 11) is the last day you can visit the Baron’s airship and purchase the latest collection of curiosities. Grab every item to your liking before the Baron sets off on her next adventure!

If you want your costume design brought to life in Poptropica, why not submit it to March’s costume contest? You can enter via social media or Poptropica’s submissions page until March 21 at 8pm PST/11pm EST.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Fairy Tale Island, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Rumpel’s rhymes and pineapple slime 👑🍍

Slanted Fish

Boo, Poptropicans! 👻 Coming at you with a little Rumpel, another Halloween store update, and hints of something to come. Let’s pop in!

Poptropica just dropped a video walkthrough for Rumpel’s Challenge, the members-only sequel to Fairytale Island released last month. In the vid, Pop Creator Silent Frog mentions “other Halloween surprises coming later this month” — what could they be? Read on for a guess…

And if you’re interested in an even quicker way to solve Rumpel’s riddle in the treasury, check out our Rumpel’s Challenge Side Quest Guide!

Red October still reigns on Home Island and Amelia-the-unicorn’s got some creepy stuff in store to rival the Baron! Head on over and find new Headless Man and Egyptian Mummy costumes — it’s their first appearance on Haxe, though they were born from the Flash days, like the repurposed clubhouse décor here to haunt your house.

Back to the question of upcoming Halloween treats — Poptropica’s latest Instagram story may offer a clue for what might be brewing. Pop posted a pop quiz asking, “What antidote cures the Zomberries?” and if you know your stuff, the answer is pineapple slime. 🍍

The IG story is referring to Zomberry Hero, a special event from last year’s Halloween, based on the classic Zomberry Island. This mini-game involved sneaking around town to turn Zomberries back into people and previously promised more to come. Could we be coming face-to-face with zombie alligators in a sequel? Only slime will tell!

That’s a wrap for this update. Have you decked out your clubhouse (or your costume) for spooky times? What are your guesses for Poptropica’s Halloween surprises? Trick or treat yo’self, Poptropicans! 🎃✨

~🐠

Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

Spinning with sneak peeks for friends and Zomberries

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, friends! Gentle Dolphin here with the latest Poptropica news! Today, we’ll be taking a look behind the curtains and seeing some future updates as well as what goes into the making of an island experience.

Back in May 2019, the Creators asked players for feedback on how to improve Poptropica’s friends feature. Now, in October 2020, we finally get a sneak peek of the new friends feature coming soon to Haxe!

The one feature fans requested the most was the ability to find and add their friends via usernames, which was part of the original friends feature back in 2012. It looks like the Creators will be implementing this small but handy feature back to the Poptropica Friends experience. One interesting thing to note is that it looks like you can either accept or deny friend requests from other players, similar to Facebook.

Seeing the username feature return makes us wonder if any other old features such as pop quizzes and medallions will also return to Poptropica Friends, whether immediately with the update or later down the line. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.

Hopping over to Instagram, the Creators posted another sneak peek. This one is a short video showing a few kids inside a large spinning device, and the caption doesn’t give any more information. The design reminds me of a nut and bolt, so maybe it’s a hardware-themed fair attraction or observation tower? Judging by how fast it’s going, something may have gone wrong. What do you guys think?

With the Zomberry Hero special event going strong, the Creators posted a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of this event. We’ll only be covering the bare essentials, but you can read the original post for a more in-depth look of their creative process.

First, the Creators shared some concept art for the opening comic page. The artists start with a rough storyboard, then create a formal sketch closer to the game’s art style. Once the sketch is approved, the artists can then create the final piece.

Several artists also help design the various levels that players will explore, following a similar process to the comic artists. They also play a role in helping the developers understand how certain elements will work in the game.

After the art is complete, the developers can move on to animation and coding! As you can see below, the game’s assets are animated in Adobe Animate, and everything is coded in Haxe Javascript (the game’s current engine).

Last but not least, there’s the factor of sound. Not only is Jeff Heim’s music a big part of the experience, there are also the sound effects, such as the eerie moaning of the zombies. This audio sample here was made by an anonymous Pop Creator with the help of blankets!

What do you guys think of these sneak peeks? What other fan-favorite features do you wish to see return in the future, and what do you think that Instagram video is about?

There’s one week left to enter our annual PHB Halloween costume contest so make sure to submit your entries before October 30! Also, don’t forget about Poptober and Community Creations, which are ongoing until the end of this month. We love what you guys have been sharing so far, and we can’t wait so see what else you have in store!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day! 

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Contests, Fan Art Features, Haxe Javascript, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Not gone in a Flash: bring on the bevy of blimps, Beevs, and berries 🫐

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got a bunch going on in the Poptropica fandom this week: news of what’s to come beyond Flash, Instagram story highlights, and contests past, present, and future. Let’s pop right in!

In the comments of their latest Instagram post about the Zomberry Hero special event, the Poptropica Creators confirmed a couple of salient details: 1) that “nothing will get lost” regarding the old islands currently on Flash, and 2) old (Flash) accounts will be transferable to Haxe, with more details coming “towards the end of the year.”

That’s certainly something to look forward to! In the meantime, if you’re not yet caught up on Poptropica’s preparations for the end of Flash by the end of 2020, check out the following PHB articles:

And if you have more questions, shoot them at Poptropica’s CEO here — we’ll be sending some of your questions for the Poptropica team to answer in an upcoming Q&A here on the PHB!

That’s not all that’s new on Poptropica’s Instagram. On their profile, the Creators added two new story highlights, Fan Art and Zomberry, so you can view some of their past stories even after the initial 24 hours.

  • New story highlights on Instagram: Fan Art & Zomberry
  • Promo for Zomberry Hero

Check out the fan art they shared this week, including a few from PHB staffers Gentle Dolphin and Lucky Joker, and several blimps!

Speaking of Poptropica fan art on Instagram, remember all the fantastic features of Dr. Beev creations? The Poptropica Creators posted several more on the official blog, and announced that they decided to “give a bunch of artists 10,000 credits”!

Gentle Dolphin was among those whose Dr. Beev art was featured, and she confirmed that the Creators sent a DM on Instagram to ask artists to send their usernames in order to receive the 10,000 credits prize.

And there’s more from the Creators’ Blog post:

Also, if you’re under 13 and not on the gram, we’ve got you covered. We’re working on an all-new submission system so everyone can participate!

Poptropica Creators’ Blog, “Paging Dr. Beev”

Sounds like we can look forward to more contests in the future that aren’t limited to Instagram, so people of all ages can participate!

On the subject of contests, the Creators have unveiled the first 30 winners of the Zomberry Hero event who beat the game without restarting. They’ve each won a free one-month Poptropica membership! For tips on the game, check out our Zomberry Hero Guide.

There are still more chances to win a free Poptropica membership! Enter our Halloween Costume Contest as a hero, villain, and/or with a group costume — there are just two weeks until the deadline, and already plenty of entries you can browse through for inspiration! 🎃

We’re also loving all the Poptober art you all have been sharing on the PHC, our Discord server. If you’re not already on, join the server to meet other Poptropicans, discuss Poptropica, and more! See you there. 😄

~🐠

Store, Zomberry Island

With fear at zero, be a Zomberry Hero! 🧟‍♂️🍍

Slanted Fish

Hey Zombtropicans—the Zomberry Island 2 special event teased last week is here! Head over to the new “Zomberry Hero Special Event” on the map to get started saving the latest victims of the of bad blueberries.

This special event is only on the Haxe version of the game, so if you’re not seeing it, you might be on Flash. To use your Flash account on Haxe, try idk’s Format Loader tool and select “HTML5 (Haxe JS).” Or consider starting a new account on Haxe. Also, if you’re having trouble loading Haxe, try disabling your ad blocker.

Troubleshooting aside, let’s get to the Zomberries! This special event continues the tale of Zomberry Island, one of the classic islands from back in 2013. Now, in 2020, a blueberry smoothie stand run by a couple of young girls has reintroduced a new wave of Zomberries…

After the comic, click “Start” to begin the game. You’ll be greeted by a girl on a hoverboard named Anita, who equips you with a gun that shoots pineapple-flavored slime balls, an antidote to the zombie infection. Your task is to go around shooting at the zombies to turn them back into regular form (whether human or animal), using your mouse to aim and spacebar to shoot. Check the map in the lower corner too!

But keep an eye on your fear meter: it goes up when you’re near a zombie, and if you let it stay for even a moment too long, you’ll faint and the level restarts. Having audio on is helpful for hearing the heart palpitations to warn you when you’re too close.

According to the Creators’ Blog, there are three levels in the game, each getting progressively harder. And with widespread reports of game lag from early players on our PHC Discord server, it’s certainly not as easy as it sounds, so approach the zombies carefully! To add to the struggles, there are also video ads between scenes to deal with…

Still, there is a little incentive for making it through: the Creators are offering a free one-month membership to the first 30 non-members to complete the whole event without fainting! They’ll be announcing the winners Thursday, so stay tuned for that.

UPDATE: The Creators also shared a YouTube video guide for the Zomberry special event (with no lag)! Not sure who the person behind the camera is, and her character’s pink hair is more saturated than Blue Tooth’s, but it’s cool to hear some narration. Check out the 3:25 timestamp for a reference to Dr. Beev, 5:05 for a mention of Shark Boy (original name), and 7:25 for a promise of more sneak peeks to come!

At the end of it all, Anita hints that there’s more to come in the sewers, and you’ll get a “to be continued” screen with zombie alligators. Wonder what that’s all about!

Beating the game is also supposed to award you with 1000 credits as the prize, although some players have reported not seeing the credits added to their accounts. But if you do get it, it’s the perfect time for a seasonal store surprise…

Whether or not you succeed in ridding the Zomberry plague, you can still join in on the fun with the Zomberry bundle in the store!

The whole set includes a Zomberry mask, T-shirt, hoverboard, Zombify squirt gun, and even a zombie puppy follower, all for the hefty price of 1000 credits. It’s also limited edition—only available during the Zomberry Hero event, which presumably lasts until the end of Halloween season, so shop and play while you can! 🧟‍♂️

For more spooky season shenanigans, don’t forget to enter our Halloween costume contest and make some art for Community Creations and Poptober! 🎃 Oh, and drop your questions for Poptropica’s CEO for an upcoming Q&A here on the PHB!

What did you think of the Zomberry special event? Were you able to beat all three levels and become a true Zomberry Hero? Share with us in the comments and with other players on our Discord server!

🧟‍♀️🔦🧟‍♂️