🏝️ Poptropica Help Blog 🗺️

What’s up, Poptropicans? It’s time for another Poptropica Portfolio!

Today I’ll be featuring the works of an artist we’ve showcased before (the very first Pop Portfolio on the PHB, in fact) — the amazing Nate Greenwall (aka Shark ~~Boy~~ Guy), who worked with Poptropica for nearly 11 years from May 2007 to February 2018. Anyway, let’s get into it!

Greenwall helped design much of Poptropica’s merch over the years including books, toys, shirts, and more. Even the Dr. Hare’s Lair LEGO set that sadly was never released was designed by Nate. Poor Dr. Hare… that would’ve been so cool. I totally would’ve bought it!

Greenwall has also contributed to a whole host of Poptropica’s main assets like the old friends page, the photo booth, island backgrounds, and too many other things to list! He took part in the design process from beginning to end — starting with the wireframes and flows all the way to the final product.

In addition to the bigger features previously mentioned, he also created various advertisement content for Poptropica. Here’s a cool looking Toy Story 3 ad he worked on back in 2010.

When Poptropica was developing their mobile app, Greenwall was responsible for redesigning a lot of the game’s essential systems such as the costumization feature, item inventory, and icon (every so often).

Plus, shout-out to former PHB staffer Brave Tomato for being quoted in Nate’s portfolio from her My Place in Poptropica PHB post:

And finally, take a look at these sketches from the early stages of the island designing process. It’s pretty neat to be able to see some of the brainstorming and preliminary outlines done before an island’s release.

As you can see, Nate has contributed plenty to the game we love during his time with Poptropica, and it’s sad he was released in such an untimely manner. These days, he creates mockups and prototypes for the online furniture and decor retailer, Overstock.

Interested in learning more about Nate and his other projects? Head over to his personal website to see what he’s up to; you’ll find lots of extra Poptropica stuff there too!

I hope you all enjoyed this look into yet another poptastic Poptropica portfolio. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out all of the other artists we’ve featured here on the PHB — you won’t be disappointed!

As always, thank you for reading and I’ll talk to you in the next one. Pop on!

– Lucky Joker🍀

Blast from the Past

2012 Rewind: You’ve Got a Friend in Me

August 20, 2019February 13, 2024 Slanted Fish

This post is part of our Poptropica Yearbook series. If you missed the intro, check it out on the 2007 Rewind and browse the collection here.

Let’s delve into 2012! Bring a friend, or make some new ones, and we’ll enjoy these memories together.

One of the most exciting and long-awaited features came to Poptropica in April of 2012: Friends! Finally, the top-right icon with two faces side-by-side that had been sitting uselessly on every Poptropican’s screen now had a purpose: discovering more about our Poptropican friends and showing off our own island medallion stats and personalities! We enjoyed these profiles for seven good long years before Poptropica redid them in 2019.

Tribes were one of the personality features we could display on our profiles, which came with tribe common rooms and teams to root for on Poptropolis Games Island, which had just surfaced from the sea.

Tons of islands were released in 2012. In addition to Poptropolis Games, there came S.O.S., Vampire’s Curse, Twisted Thicket, Wimpy Boardwalk, Lunar Colony, Super Villain (the 30th island!), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Zomberry — nine new islands total, perhaps the peak of Pop’s production.

Managing mischief on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It was also the end of the previous year’s era of prequel mini-games, but the beginning of a new island tradition: members-only bonus quests at the end.

Competing for a high score on Wimpy Boardwalk’s “Thunder Volt”

Competing for a high score on Wimpy Boardwalk’s “Thunder Volt”

Plus, Poptropica expanded their book line, releasing two novels based on the plots of popular islands, a coloring book, and a Mad Libs! And that wasn’t all: they also released a Nintendo DS game called Poptropica Adventures.

Over on the PHB, we changed our site theme again, sticking with blue for Poptropica. We also had a banger of a party celebrating the blog’s 4th birthday and a rare account giveaway to commemorate reaching 7 million hits!

In 2012, the site had another makeover, using the “Lifestyle” theme.

Toward the end of the year, Poptropica reported an earthquake affecting Poptropolis Games Island. For a while there, we weren’t sure of its fate…

You’ve reached the end of the 2012 page of the Poptropica Yearbook! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and to view the entire collection, check out the Poptropica Yearbook in our Pop Plus collection.

While you’re here, sign the yearbook by commenting? ✏️

Pop 5

Pop 5: Tear-Jerkers in Poptropica 😢

August 16, 2019August 3, 2019 LJ

How’s it going, Poptropicans? I’m Lucky Joker and today I’ll be counting down the top — or should I say pop — 5 most tear-jerking moments in Poptropica! Keep in mind that this list represents my personal opinion, so your list may differ from mine. Anyway, let’s get right into the waterworks! (**Warning: Spoilers ahead)

5) The Wreckage of Poptropica (Super Villain Island)

After the job of collecting the totems from Poptropica’s most evil villains is done, it’s revealed that Dr. Jupiter (the person who sent us on this journey) was really Zeus all along! He betrays us and steals the totems we’ve retrieved in order to make himself the most powerful villain who’s ever lived, and to take over all of Poptropica.

Once he gets away, a cutscene plays out showing Shark Tooth, Mythology, and Mystery Train Islands completely destroyed. There’s something tragic about seeing the beloved past islands we’ve once explored and saved laying in ruins. I could imagine if this island was sound updated and had a sad piano or violin track playing over it, it would make the scene even more dramatic.

4) Count Bram and Annabelle’s Reunion (Vampire’s Curse Island)

Unlike all the other picks for this list, this moment is actually not a sad one, but still manages to get you emotional. After years of being cursed as a vampire and having Katya — who he believes is his wife — not want anything to do with him, Count Bram is finally happy when we break the curse and reunite him with the love of his life, Annabelle. We witness a very heartwarming moment as he finally is able to rest in peace.

3) Scheherazade’s Confession (Arabian Nights Island)

Scheherazade demanded Samhal the genie to relinquish his magic abilities to her, and after, went on a rampage ignited by her hunger for power — becoming a mere reflection of her father, the sultan. It’s later revealed that she was only acting up because she was yearning for something she missed greatly: her father’s attention. After he became sultan, he rarely showed her any affection because he was too concerned about his riches. When she opens up about her feelings, he begins to cry. That’s a sentiment everyone felt in that moment. I mean, c’mon, just look at her adorable little drawing of them happy together.

2) The Destruction of the Magic Orb (Twisted Thicket Island)

At the climax of the island — after you’ve gotten past all of the creatures and into the center of the forest — you encounter the Elf Queen and discover that the woodland creatures have been the victims of this story all along. All they want is to live in peace. The Elf Queen explains the orb’s importance to us when all of a sudden, the developer and his construction crew raid the forest and destroy the magic orb, leaving the woodland creatures in a vegetative state. Tsk tsk, greedy Poptropicans.

1) Ringmaster Raven’s Story (Monster Carnival Island)

Though this one is more of a series of moments, there’s no doubt that it’s a very sad tale: that of a boy who just wanted to feel welcomed and accepted by those around him, but wasn’t because he was different. Sure, he went about coping in the wrong way as he sought to seek revenge on the citizens (most of whom were innocent) by making them his servants through hypnosis — but really, all he wanted was acceptance, and I think that’s something we all can resonate with.

At the end of the island, we turn him into a laughingstock of a circus act through more hypnosis. So it’s on with the circus life for Raven, now dubbed “The Incredible Chicken Man.” The poor bullied bird boy never got his happy ending. 😢

Need a tissue? No judgment. Anyway, that’s it for this Pop 5! Do you agree with my choices? What other moments from Poptropica do you think deserve to be on this list? Sound off down below! Pop on…

– Lucky Joker 🍀

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Follow your nose back to school

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 Gentle Dolphin

Hey, everyone! This is Gentle Dolphin keeping you in the loop of the latest Poptropica news. Let’s get started and flash forward to our first update!

We all dread leaving summer vacation behind and returning to school or even college. Don’t worry because Poptropica has got you covered with brand new back-to-school items!

auguststorepic

This month, everyone can buy cool school fashion and supplementary supplies for their arrival back to school. There is one member-exclusive item, though: the Noodle Guy Follower. It’s a weird but funny addition to a back-to-school update, to be sure.

A recent post on the Creators’ Blog informed players of a new Froot Loops advertisement on Poptropica. Toucan Sam will stand outside a brick house and invite you to come inside. In the house, he will tell you to jump into his imagination, which is where the ad game takes place.

This ad game is similar to the Schroeder’s Piano minigame from Great Pumpkin Island. While the song is playing, click the different colored Froot Loops when they reach the bottom of their respective rows. Keep doing this in order to fill the gauge in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Don’t get too distracted by the weirdly animated Toucan Sam.

After keeping the rhythm, you will win a “Follow Your Nose” hat. Wearing it gives you the ability to leave a colorful trail of Froot Loops as you run.

I could finish this segment here, but I want to share something I discovered a few days ago. Before the Froot Loops ad appeared on Poptropica, I stumbled upon a cyclops kid standing in front of a mysterious green structure. Take a look:

mysterydoor

Weird, right? This structure acted as a place where players could watch videos to earn credits, similar to the movie theater and billboard on Home Island. However, it also showed up in ad spaces between scenes on other islands, possibly so players could earn more credits during their adventures.

I went to check on it later, but I found that it had been replaced by the Froot Loops ad. Maybe the structure was there to take up space because Poptropica didn’t have any new ads at the moment? But why did the structure have such a strange temple-like design? What was with the cyclops kid? We may never know…

Last but not least, there’s a new screen for when players need to activate Flash before playing Poptropica. Unlike the previous screen, it includes a helpful guide on how to allow Flash to run on your computer. Neat!

activate_flash_v2

What do you think of these new updates? Do you like the new store items? Do you have any theories about the mysterious green structure? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin🐬

Blast from the Past

2011 Rewind: Toys & Prizes? We’re Game

August 13, 2019February 13, 2024 Slanted Fish

This post is part of our Poptropica Yearbook series. If you missed the intro, check it out on the 2007 Rewind and browse the collection here.

2011 was like Poptropica heaven. This was a time of peak popularity for the fandom, and plenty was popping!

Poptropicans had some fun times hanging out on our Poptropica Help Chat (PHC) server, particularly during the PHB Author Night sessions we introduced. Plus, we had plenty of reasons to party, what with events like the PHB celebrating 5 million views in May, the countdown to Shrink Ray Island’s release in June, and the PHB’s third birthday in July!

A big new thing was pre-island mini-quests, which were created to promote an island before its release. Back in January, Wild West Island was the first to get one: a little horse-lassoing game called Round’Em Up! Every day, you could play for a new prize, like the color-changing Wunder Tonic.

In March, Wimpy Wonderland Island debuted on Poptropica, which was pretty significant since Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is the founder of Poptropica! (Another fun fact: Before the first Wimpy Kid book was even in print, it could be read online on Funbrain, a website that also promoted Poptropica from its beginning.)

Each island came with its own map, where you could hover over an area to see its name. The PHB would put together fully labeled versions like this.

Other games and islands released this year were: Prepare for Impact! for Red Dragon Island, DC Diner for Mystery Train Island, Money Ladder for Game Show Island, and Spook Central for Ghost Story Island.

Money Ladder, the preview game for Game Show Island

But the general consensus as to the most exciting mini-quest was not a pre-island game. Instead, it was an out-of-this-world (literally, you leave Poptropica for a distant planet) experience filled with mysterious robots and sword fights: Legendary Swords, released on the momentous date of 11/11/11 (November 11, 2011).

A small but helpful feature was also introduced: the pause button. This allowed you to freeze time on Poptropica, which was good for lingering on dialogue or scanning the scenery just a little (or a lot) longer.

Poptropica also released a wide selection of toys, each with a special code that would give your in-game character a bonus item! There were three-inch and six-inch figures, plushies, and even a big ol’ inflatable blimp.

And that’s not all the Poptropica merch. The first ever Poptropica book, The Poptropica Guide, made its debut in October 2011. Poptropica even had a few scavenger hunts from the book to unlock prizes in-game — but of course, the book’s got nothing on the PHB, where we have guides for all the islands that have been released since then… and plenty more!

To round off the year, Ghost Story Island came and gave us a spooky yet sentimental story, making it the 23rd island. Poptropica had released an impressive 7 islands in 2011 — their most yet, and that’s not even counting all the mini-games! Poptropica was really on a roll with this year!

You’ve reached the end of the 2011 page of the Poptropica Yearbook! Stay tuned for the next chapter, and to view the entire collection, check out the Poptropica Yearbook in our Pop Plus collection.

While you’re here, sign the yearbook by commenting? ✏