Fan Art Features, Social Media, YouTubers

Scariest moments and villainous depictions

LJ

Hello, everyone! It’s Lucky Joker here with some fun stuff to share with you all today: scary moments, more fan art, and a throwback highlight for a YouTube gamer. Let’s pop into it!

On Instagram and the Creators’ Blog, Poptropica asked the community: What’s the scariest moment in Poptropica? Appropriately timed for the spooky Halloween season! Check out some of the responses below.

Here were some of the answers given by Poptropicans in the comments:

scoutin0ut wrote, “Definitely the Ghost Story [Island] ‘Are you looking for someone?’ part!! I jumped out of my seat and actually gasped during that!”

cacaocheri added, “For me, it was walking through the tunnel in Zomberry [Island].”

Gentle Dolphin of the PHB shared, “One scene that still unnerves me is the haunted house on Monster Carnival Island. I’m not a fan of jumpscares, so a creepy puppet popping out of random doors is definitely terrifying.”

What was your scariest Poptropica memory? Share with us in the comments here on the PHB, our PHC Discord server, or on Poptropica’s official channels!

In other Creator-fandom interactions, Poptropica also showcased more awesome fan art on their Instagram story this past week. Check out the poptastic gallery below (including a piece from Gentle Dolphin with the spooktacular Jersey Devil of Cryptids Island!)…

Pretty neat, huh? I encourage all of you to get creative and whip up your own Poptropica fan art too. For inspiration, we’ve got Poptober and Community Creations going!

And who knows? Your work just might get featured!

And finally, we have a video feature from the Creators’ Blog showing kid gaming YouTuber EthanGamer playing Poptropica for the first time—and since it’s an older video (from 2016), he’s playing Monkey Wrench Island, the old tutorial that has since been replaced by Snagglemast. The Creators loved his joy over the Hot Dog costume too! Give it a watch:

We featured another one of Ethan’s videos on the PHB a few years ago, when he played the now-inactive Poptropica Worlds for the first time and was even sponsored by Poptropica for that video.

Anyway, it’s cool to see the Creators give some love to Poptropica YouTubers, even if they’re from the archives!

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, have a spooktacular rest of your day, and stay tuned for our Halloween contest wrap-up. 🎃 Pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀 

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 🐬

Poptropica Worlds

A new look into an old new Poptropica

LJ

Howdy, Poptropicans! It’s Lucky Joker here with an unlisted video to share from the YouTube channel of Poptropica visual designer, Kyle Fox. (Thanks to idk the glitcher for the cool find!)

In the short preview, you can see what Poptropica Worlds was like during its early stages before it was released. A few placeholder art and other assets such as “Short description or clue for how to use the item” were never seen in the game — as well as items including a Big Apple and various clothing parts.

At the very beginning, in the top left corner, you’ll also notice a bar marked with a number six (possibly referencing a level system?) and a not-so-familiar currency called Moonstones. We could only wonder what the purpose of having two forms of currency was.

Pretty interesting, huh? It’s unfortunate the developers’ hard work has gone to waste, seeing that Poptropica Worlds has since been abandoned. Were you a fan of “the new Pop”? Leave your opinions in the comments!

Plus, if you’re interested, check out our Poptropica Portfolio on Fox from a couple years ago. And don’t forget to participate in this month’s Community Creations and/or enter our Halloween costume contest for a chance at a free membership! You don’t want to miss out on the fun!

Talk to you all in the next one. Pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀

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. 😄

~🐠

Astro-Knights Island, Guest Posts, Reviews

Ramble Review: Astro-Knights Island 🚀

Slanted Fish

Welcome to another Ramble Review! This guest post comes from MaryannTheConqueror, who will be rambling about Astro-Knights Island.

It’s no secret that I love Astro-Knights Island, and from what I’ve seen, many others feel the same. There is an abundance of fanart of all its major characters, and even some minor ones! Despite this, it is strangely ignored by the Creators, a trend I’ve noticed over the past few years.

“Lost in the Stars” by MaryannTheConqueror

Again, Astro-Knights was a big deal during its heyday. It was so difficult that it was the first and only island to have a built-in official guide. The villain (who I shall get to) won the Villain Showdown hosted by the Creators’ Blog back in 2011, against the likes of Zeus and Dr. Hare.

And yet, hardly any content related to it gets released anymore. Most ads for Poptropica featuring many classic villains leave Mordred/Binary Bard out of them, and we’re lucky to see any Astro-Knights references at all, despite its continuing popularity, even after it was among the many classic islands removed then brought back but locked behind the membership paywall.

The story of this Island had potential. Serious potential. I’m saying right here, right now, that it could have easily been turned into a book series, game series, or even a TV series that expanded on it, and with the right writers, it could have been one of the most unique ideas in decades. This isn’t just my inner fangirl speaking (though I can’t deny that my 14-year old self is influencing the writing of this article) — this is from what I’ve observed in the creative world.

Astro-Knights is a clever blend of historical medieval fantasy and futuristic technology (sometimes referred to as “clock punk”). There’s space travel, epic boss fights, a lore connected to one of the most famous Western legends, the legends of King Arthur. Of course, now I’m just stepping around what I consider to be the best character not just from the island, but from the entire game, and one of my greatest examples of Poptropica’s squandered potential.

But first, let me give you a little bit of, as TV Tropes calls it, “fridge horror.” A couple times during Astro-Knights, it is mentioned that Mordred made his near-fatal ascent into space twenty years ago. Meaning he was trapped in space for that long, without any human contact that we know of. Imagine going through quarantine but for two decades, with no contact from family members or friends of any kind.

Binary Bard is what is known as a tragic villain, similar to Azula (from Avatar: The Last Airbender) or Sweeney Todd (from the Sondheim musical). He’s a character who, through a mix of his own bad decisions and circumstances beyond his control, was sent down a path with little hope of him ever turning back, except maybe through a very carefully written redemption arc (I might talk about my mixed feelings with a certain sequel island another time).

I was very disappointed that the Astro-Knights book (anyone remember those?) did little to expand on him or the lore of this island. These are the characters and stories that can go very far if allowed to do so, and I am sad to say that, just like its villain, the fate of Astro-Knights is tragic.

Less is Mordred.
Less is Mordred.

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by MaryannTheConqueror. If you did, be sure to check out the first Ramble Review on Twisted Thicket Island, and stay tuned for more! And of course, join in on the fun on the PHC Discord.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our page on how to Write for the PHB, and share blog posts on the PHC.

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