Game Show Island, Pop Places IRL

Pop Places IRL: Game Show 🤖

Spotted Dragon
Pop Places IRL Header

Welcome back to “Pop Places IRL,” Poptropicans! SD here to take you on a trip to Game Show Island, which coincidentally takes place all over the world! Liking this series? Be sure to check out other Pop Places IRL posts.

Even though Game Show Island primarily consists of, well, game shows, each competition does take place in a distinct, very real city. So, despite the constant immersion in mini games, pay closer attention and you’ll notice some world destinations!

Let’s start off with Tokyo, home to the big baddie of the adventure: Mr. Yoshi’s Game Show. The city, located in Japan, is actually one we’ve visited before in this series! Remember Red Dragon Island? Familiarity aside, however, Game Show Island takes place in a much more modern version of the city. We can clearly see the inspiration for this location as far back as the concept art! The city is clearly known for its bright advertisements, technology, animation, and much more!

  • Oh No: There goes Tokyo.
  • photo: Where to Stay in Tokyo (livejapan)
  • photo: Where to Stay in Tokyo (hostelworld)

Moving on, why don’t we head to Miami next? Located in Florida (USA), this city is home to the Spin for Riches Game Show. While the state does have a lot of retirement homes, I think the area is more well known for its bustling beaches! I think the coastal colors translate well in-game.

  • A Retirement Community: Old circuits never fry, they just fade away.
  • photo: Downtown Miami Views (miamiandbeaches)

What’s next, you may ask? None other than Istanbul (not Constantinople)! In Poptropica, this is where we get to play the Scaredy Pants Game Show, but fear not! IRL, we’re just taking a trip to Turkey. Look at that remarkable architecture!

  • Still Not Constantinople: Why they changed it, I can’t say.
  • photo: Istanbul Guide (thetelegraph)

Next up on our list, Moscow! Here we will find the Brainiacs Game Show, in the capital of Russia! Isn’t it kinda cool that you can even see the resemblance of the city in the simplest of concept art? It’s pretty interesting to see the unique architecture of each city translated into Poptropica, that’s for sure.

  • See the Motherland: Necessity is, of course, the mother of invention.
  • photo: Moscow (awomoscow)

Turning back round to our last big city, we have Buenos Aires! This one is the capital of Argentina, but in Poptropica it’s known for the Kerplunk Game Show! Perhaps not as flashy as some of the other tourism hot-spots on our list, but noteworthy nonetheless.

  • The Air Is Good: The robots, well, they’re not so good.
  • photo: Buenos Aires (lonelyplanet)

Wow, who knew you traveled so much on Game Show Island? It’s like trying to fit the whole globe into one island! And that’s not even considering Main Street, Club Nouveau Riche, the Factory, Holmes’ Lair, and—oh! The Museum!

Before I adjourn our travels for the day, I will leave you with one more fun comparison from the Museum we see on Main Street. Remember that robot statue? Fun fact: it’s based on “The Thinker,” a sculpture by Auguste Rodin.

  • Deep Thought: Putting processing power to good use.
  • photo: The Thinker (wikipedia)

And with that, I think our trip is just about coming to an end. What did you think of the journey? Do you think Poptropica captured the real nature of these cities? What other islands do you want to see in this series? Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts below!

So long, Poptropicans! Keep on traveling!

~SD

Guest Posts, Social Media

Join us for a month of Poptropica videos! 📽

Slanted Fish

The following event is not run by the PHB. Hear it from Isaac, one half of the YouTube channel Dimension Bros, which makes videos about Poptropica and other fandoms.

Hey everyone! I’m Isaac, and along with my best friend Theo, we’re Dimension Bros on YouTube. For the past few weeks, Theo and I have been thinking of what we should do to celebrate Poptropica’s 13th birthday coming up this September. And so Poptropica Month was born! Watch and read more below:

The idea for a Poptropica Month collab came after we started bouncing ideas back and forth about what videos we would make to celebrate Pop’s birthday and decided that our usual 8 videos a month schedule simply would not be enough of a celebration for such a great game. We wanted to make more than 8 videos, but with school coming up for us, that seemed out of the realm of possibility. Enter… the rest of the Poptropica fandom!

We invite all video creators/enthusiasts/YouTubers to join us during the month of September in uploading Poptropica videos. Whether you’re new to sharing on YouTube or you’ve already got a channel with other content, you’re welcome to join this collab! If you’ve been considering starting up a YouTube channel, maybe make a Poptropica Month video as your first video to get off to a good start—after all, there’s a community already here to support you.

Isaac (left) and Theo (right), the Dimension Bros on YouTube.

How can you get started? After watching the video above, take the next step by clicking the link in the video description, which will guide you through joining the Poptropica Month Discord server, sharing the link to your channel with us, and sharing your Pop Month video(s) with us on the Discord server. We’ll include all the Pop Month videos in this master playlist for all to enjoy.

Any kind of video goes, as long as it relates to Poptropica. This could be a simple let’s-play or walkthrough, a top ten list (or a Pop 5, per PHB tradition), a theory about your favorite island, a Poptropica-based song or speedpaint… anything you can imagine! Like to cook? Bake a Poptropica cake! Comedy skits? Maybe you could do a sketch about the Poptropica Creators and their never-ending secrecy of when we’ll be getting the old islands back. Make as few or as many videos as you like—you don’t have to stress about uploading non-stop Pop content like we’ll be doing on Dimension Bros.

Also, you don’t need super fancy equipment to make a decent video! Most Dimension Bros videos are filmed on our phones and edited with iMovie. (There’s free editing software for Windows, too.) It’s more about the creativity than the tools, so don’t be afraid to try with what you’ve got! Just take a look at my setup for videos—yes, my laptop is on a cardboard box.

Behind the scenes of a Dimension Bros video.

Even if you don’t participate in uploading any videos, Poptropica Month is for everyone to enjoy. So when September arrives in just over a week, be sure to go support all the videos posted to the master playlist.

Looking forward to seeing what types of videos you guys will upload for Poptropica Month! Also, NANOBOTS FOR THE WIN!! WHOOOOO!!!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Isaac from Dimension Bros. If you did, be sure to check out our feature post for Dimension Bros as well as our other Poptropica YouTuber spotlights for more video ideas!

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.

📰 If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! ✨

Member Gifts, Membership, Paradise Island, Sneak Peeks, Store

Let’s taco ’bout some new store items 🌮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! This update comes in two parts: one new sneak peek, and hundreds of new items. Let’s pop right in.

Last week, Poptropica gave us a sneak peek of an upcoming feature called Poptropica Airways. Needless to say, it left many fans curious. And this past week, the Creators shared a new teaser image on Instagram, of two characters in front of a taco truck (“Taco Loco”) manned by the same girl who also mans whatever the latest food stand is on Home Island (currently, ice cream). Is this related?

  • “Another sneak peek of some new things in the works,” from @PoptropicaCreators on Instagram.

Whether or not this is another remodel for Home Island with tropical trees, we’re also wondering, could this be related to whatever Poptropica Airways is?

And who are the other characters? They seem like player characters—the girl wears the Sweet Strawberry summer dress from the store, and the boy has the exact look of “Got Game,” one of the default Haxe characters. And there’s a pet puppy. Could this be a new multiplayer space? What’s your theory?

In other news—and this is a big one—the three main stores on Home Island have all received massive shipments of new items. We’re talking hundreds of items across the shops, the most we’ve ever seen!

The Poptropica store currently has 44 costumes (practically double the usual), 4 followers, 4 powers, 4 pranks, and 15 miscellaneous items. That’s 71 items in total!

A few new items can be found within this large gallery of goods. We have 6 trendy outfits: Summer Cool*, Sunny Sport*, Natural Breeze*, Gossip Girl, and Coolin. While 9 new items have graced the miscellaneous section, 3 of them are actually new: Slime*, Rainbow Balloon*, and Instant Camera*. (* = for members)

Speaking of members, a few formerly-exclusive member gifts are up for purchase in the store (for members only, of course). These include: Stylin’ Outfit*, Cool Outfit*, Party Popper* (one of this month’s member gifts), Flamingo Floatie*, Watermelon Purse*, Drone Flying Follower*, Popsicles*, and Hover Scooter*.

Why give these exclusive items for a limited time if they’re going to be available in the store down the line? Sure, they’re still “exclusive” to members, but they’re no longer limited edition. And buying a member gift at a later date does mean they aren’t free like before. This might be a good thing, as it makes the items more easily available, while monthly subscribers can still be the first to have the shiny new thing, though others may later catch up to their collections. Thoughts?

Member Gifts are touted as “exclusive.”

The pet store lineup has kept the same items, but there are three new accessories: a Unicorn Horn (slightly different from the Rainbow Horn), a Pink Tiara, and a purple Beanie. In Haxe, the visual quality of these items has become noticeably pixelated. Looks like this part still needs a bit of work.

  • Pet store in Flash.
  • Pet store in Haxe, where items appear pixelated.

The clubhouse store probably received the largest update up to this point. Across its five sections, the clubhouse store has 197 items, most of which are brand new! There were so many, I had to group each category. Behold!

There’s plenty of cool stuff to decorate your clubhouse with, so make sure to save some extra coin! Prices range from 25 credits (for simpler items like balloons) to 2000 (!!) credits (for big motor ships). Slanted Fish and I took some pics with some of these new furnishings to show you what they look like in-game:

So it looks like the Creators are well on their way in creating options for customization for Poptropica’s future in Haxe. Let’s hope the island migration from Flash to Haxe sees similar progress! What other items and features do you want to see in the game? Share your ideas in the comments!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

PHB Parties, Tribes

Join us for the PHB Tribal Tournament party! 🏅🎉

LJ

Like all good things, the Games are coming to an end. But the fun isn’t over: it’s time for the 2020 PHB Tribal Tournament to go out with a bang! 💥 Join us at our closing ceremony, where we’ll be announcing LIVE the winners of our three rounds (and overall) as well as partying in Poptropica common rooms.

Here are all the details you need to know:

  • 🕗 When: Saturday, August 29 @ 8 pm Eastern / 7 pm Central / 6 pm Mountain / 5 pm Pacific (for all other time zones, check this time converter). In some parts of the world, it may be Sunday morning, August 30.
  • 📍 Where: On our Discord server, the PHC — a safe chat space where PHB staff and other Poptropicans regularly hang out. It’s open anytime, so come on in!
  • 🎉 Why: To find out which tribe reigns supreme! And to have fun while cheering on your tribe, of course.

🏃‍♂️ Remember, you still have till next Tuesday, the 25th, to compete in the current Gamers’ Gauntlet and send in some more Poptropica fan art for the Creative Competitors round to earn points for your tribe.

Mark your calendars for the party, too! We’ll meet you at the finish line. ✊

🔸 United we stand 🔸

– the PHB tribe reps –

Noveen (Black Flags), Sporty Boa (Flying Squid), Spotted Dragon (Nanobots), Slanted Fish (Nightcrawlers), Lucky Joker (Pathfinders), Gentle Dolphin (Seraphim), Fierce Flyer (Wildfire), & Silver Wolf (Yellowjackets)

Arabian Nights Island, Pop Places IRL

Pop Places IRL: Arabian Nights 🐪

Spotted Dragon
Pop Places IRL Header

Welcome back to “Pop Places IRL,” Poptropicans! Miss the series? I know I did! This time around, we’ll be traveling to Arabian Nights Island! Like this series? Be sure to check out other Pop Places IRL posts.

As you might already know, Arabian Nights was the winning idea from Poptropica’s “Create Your Dream Island” contest back in 2013. The pitch? “On Arabian Nights Island, Poptropicans go on a quest across the desert to rescue a sultan’s genie from the Forty Thieves.” And it turned out to be quite the tale!

The adventure, like Disney’s “Aladdin,” takes place in Arabia (hence the name). This Middle Eastern peninsula is certainly a distinct location, and it definitely shines through in the island! Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look.

Right away on our Poptropicans’ adventure, we are greeted with “Episode 1: How Bazaar.” The title itself is a pun, playing off the term “bazaar” to sound like “how bizarre.” A bazaar, if you were unaware, is a type of Middle Eastern marketplace, which (not coincidentally) is a prominent location on the island.

  • photo: The Souk – A Middle Eastern Bazaar (zoharproductions)

Pretty cool, right? The colorful fabrics, clothing, and items for sale certainly catch the eye. But perhaps even more impressive, we have the palace to visit!

  • photo: Arabian Palace (werxj’s flickr)

I personally find the architecture of the Middle East to be a particularly remarkable characteristic of the area, but maybe that’s just my inner art history nerd coming out? Either way, the design in Poptropica seems to match up pretty well to its inspiration, so let’s take a look on the inside as well!

  • photo: Middle Eastern Palace (worldarchitecturenews)

Poptropica’s palace atrium (left) is busier than our reference photo (right), but it sure does add interest to the adventure! I think that the game really did stay true to its inspiration, even with their color/detail additions. What do you think?

Stepping further away from the bustling market, however, we could also take a look at the less populated areas of the island. Even if a huge Lair of Thieves is tough to find IRL, there are definitely still cave systems we could investigate. And, like in Poptropica, maybe we can find some salt and other minerals to trade!

  • photo: Caving Vacations in Africa & the Middle East (iexplore)

Why don’t we take a camel and keep traveling away from the market, further into the desert next? And now we happen upon an oasis!

  • photo: Oasis (wikipedia)

Even in this largely desert landscape, it’s cool to see the pops of color that show up. The Poptropica Creators really took advantage of their inspiration when designing this island, huh?

But what do you guys think? Have you ever been to the Middle East? Does the comparison match up to your expectations? What other islands do you want to see in this series? Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts below!

Farewell, fellow travelers, and good night!

~SD