Contests

Week 5 Sweepstakes Winners and Twitter Roundup!

Ultimate iPad Expert

Heyyo Poptropicans, it’s Ultimate iPad Expert here. The Creators announced the winners for the final weekly Island Hopper Sweepstakes winners! And here they are:

Congratualtions to Greedy Turtle, Happy Heart, Lucky Club, Skinny Tiger, and Sleepy Sky! 😀 If one of these Poptropicans is yours, you’ve just one yourself a one-month membership for Poptropica!

Be sure to tune in soon, because the Creators will be announcing the winners of the overall Island Hopper Sweepstakes including the winner of the grand prize, a 30 minute call with Poptropica Creator, Jeff Kinney.

–

Now onto a little segment I like to call the Twitter Roundup!

TwitterRoundup

(Thanks to HPuterpop for help on the logo)

First off, the (currently unknown) Creator running the Poptropica Twitter account has begun a really cool “series” of tweets, in which they show off Poptropica fan blogs.

The PHB was lucky enough to be the first blog to be shouted out, which is a super big honor!

Even PHB author, Slippery Raptor, got a shoutout for his blog:

Also, apparently Poptropica has moved to a new HQ, while still staying in the city of Boston. The official Twitter has been tweeting out some images from the new headquarters, which you can check out below:

Speaking of Mystery of the Map, you may have noticed that the main trio is pretty racially diverse – according to Kirkus Reviews, Oliver is white, Mya is Asian, and Jorge is Latino. But Oliver and Mya are siblings – how does that work? Well, it turns out they’re half-siblings!

So, that about wraps up this post. Are you excited to see the winners for the overall Island Hopper Sweepstakes? What do you think about the  series? How about the new Poptropica HQ? Comment below.

• Ultimate iPad Expert •

Guest Posts, Popspiracy Theories

Popspiracy: What’s in Poptropica’s Future?

Slanted Fish

(Continuing our Popspiracy series, PHB reader Tall Cactus speculates about the direction of Poptropica’s future in this guest post. Keep in mind that Popspiracy posts are not to be taken as fact. If you have a Popspiracy, let us know – more details are below! Enjoy! –SlantedFish 🐠 )

popspiracy

Hello Fellow Poptropicans!

My name is Tall Cactus! You might know me as a commenter on the PHB.

Not too long ago, we all said goodbye to 2015 and welcomed a new year. But what will 2016 bring to Poptropica? What will the future bring to Poptropica? That is what I will be discussing in this Popspiracy. But before we begin, I just want to note that I’m not trying to criticize the game in anyway, and that everything said in this post might not even happen. Now that that’s over with, let’s begin

In 2016, I’m guessing that Home Island will get a huge update, more new islands will be released, and volume 2 of the graphic novel series will make its debut. But Poptropica may also be doing even more work to fully convert Poptropica to SUI. While it’s great to have bigger screens and music, there will just be even more glitches. See, Poptropica needs to realize that if they want to expand to things like the mobile app and TV, they need to fix the glitches in the original game first. I actually think that’s the problem- Poptropica’s so busy with other things that the quality of newer islands is just getting worse and worse. Hopefully one of their New Years Resolutions was to fix this.

But things may get interesting farther in the future. I think one of three possibilities will happen, ultimately changing how successful and how long Poptropica lasts.

Scenario 1: Slightly more or less popular

The first possibility is that Poptropica will stay more or less the same as it is now. New islands would be released every few months, along with giveaways and other fun things. The new islands will hopefully start to get better like Pelican Rock. However, the creators might still be converting to SUI, which means that some glitches and bugs might never get fixed. Poptropica might become more successful, but maybe only a little bit more or less popular. That all depends on the quality of the islands and the game itself.

How long will Poptropica last? – 5 to 10 more years, maybe a little more or less.

Scenario 2: Failing

But what if the islands DON’T get better? Would Poptropica slowly end in a few years? With glitchy SUIs, more sponsored and members only islands, and a focus on expanding, the game could suffer, with less and less kids playing the game each year, until Poptropica doesn’t make enough money and shuts down. If it did, would the website be deleted, or would it still exist, just never updated? Never mind. Let’s not think about Poptropica ending, but we need to know that it might still happen. However, with support with fans like all of you, this future might not happen.

How long will Poptropica last? – 2 to 5 more years.

Scenario 3: Most popular it’s ever been!

And lastly there’s that last possibility, which is more likely than the terrible second one, but wouldn’t happen for a while. It would happen if Poptropica’s dream of having a TV show and stuff like that DID happen one day. The good news? Poptropica would be the most popular it’s ever been! The bad news? The game itself would suffer. Less and less islands would be released each year, and even if kids did find out about the game that inspired their favorite TV show they might not want to play it. But you never know how successful this “TV show” could be.

How long will Poptropica last? – Who knows?

Well, we don’t know what the future will bring, but no matter what ends up happening, I’m sure 2016 will be the best year yet. What do you think will happen? Sound off in the comments below!

–Tall Cactus

Share your Poptropica conspiracy theories in the comments – we’d love to hear them. If you’d like to develop your thoughts into a full guest post like this one, contact the PHB (minimum 500 words) at [email protected]. Stay popping!

Advertisements, Guest Posts

Bear in the Big Apple! (Norm of the North ad)

Slanted Fish

(Heyo! This guest post is written by a friend of the PHB, Spencer, with app pictures by Slippery Raptor. Thanks for the tip-off goes to Maroon Cheetah. Enjoy the post and the ad prizes! –SlantedFish 🐠)

Hey Poptropicanos, it’s Spencer! Alas, I have returned! Get your beautiful Poptropican self some candy, some popcorn, an extremely overpriced soda (or pop, shall I dare make a pun?), and let’s get ready to watch Norm of the North. Well, it’s not exactly the movie we get to watch. But, it is yet another Poptropica advertisement!

2016-01-05

This ad is sponsoring the upcoming Dreamworks movie Norm of the North, in cinemas January 15th, 2016! From what I read, Norm and his friends wind up in New York City! Hey, that’s where I live! 😉

Anyway, you’re confronted by Norm the Polar bear to come into this peculiar looking building. (Remember kids, you shouldn’t always listen to strangers telling you to follow them if your parents aren’t around! 😉 ) There are two different versions of this ad: one for the mobile app and one for the web. Let’s start with the app.

Once you enter the building, you get to play a mini-game! Lucky you! (I admit, it’s a lot better than usual Poptropica watch-the-trailer ads.) Glad Poptropica stepped up its game this time around!

You’re presented with the quest of catching a bunch of anthropomorphic rodents in a condensed amount of time to win clothes. I can’t make this stuff up. Basically, you have to run around New York City collecting the three lemmies! They look just like they do in the picture, can’t miss ’em. 😀 (I noticed that this was incredibly similar to the mini-quest Don’t Be an Energy Hog, available in the Poptropica Store!)

Anyway, once you win, you get to have these fabulous prizes!​

Oooh, incredibly fashionable Lemming Rider! Wearing this rat on your head is definitely socially acceptable behavior, in my book! This stylish cap is not the only thing your Poptropican gets to obtain: now, you get to impress all the hunnies with these designer sun Glasses. I love all the NYC references, by the way! 😛

If you’re playing on the web, it’s also the norm! (Do I seriously make a pun every paragraph?) Hop onto any SUI, and the building looks about the same. Except, it’s a common room! Hop directly up, and you can snatch this rad Norm the Polar bear costume.

lemmy2

Hop up again, or click anywhere it asks you to, and you can play Lemmy Launcher, which is different from the game on the app. Hit 8 tourists with your awesome lemmy aim and win! No prize, though.

lemmy1

High up in the left corner, you can grab a Tumbling Lemmies power. When used, a bunch of lemmies will roll on your screen.

lemmy3

Well, I guess my time is up yet again! Take it easy Poptropicans!

PMFM (Poptropican Meme Face Mondays)

Poptropican Meme Face Mondays: Round 7

Ultimate iPad Expert

Heyyo Poptropicans, it’s Ultimate iPad Expert here.

RunTheMemesAreComing

Round seven of PMFM (Poptropican Meme Face Mondays) is coming right at ya!

PMFM-Round7

The lucky meme-faced Poptropicans this week are Super Drummer, Massive Fire, and WhiteCheetah216! And here are the memes:

Feel free to click on the images to view them in their full glory. 😛

Want your own meme face?

Well, it’s simple. Comment on the most recent PMFM post (just choose the one of the list here). Be sure to follow the criteria below:

  • Very crucial: Wear the outfit you want to have in the meme face on Poptropica and keep it on for at least a week.
  • As mentioned, find the most recent PMFM post (it will be at the top of this list)
  • Include your Poptropican username in a comment.
  • Include the meme face you would like on your Poptropican in your comment (a link to an image of the meme is very preferred).
  • Post your comment and wait! (PMFM is operated on a first come-first serve basis, so your meme face will come after all of the ones before are released).
  • Just a note: You do not need to re-comment on newer posts if you haven’t gotten yours yet. Once I reply to your comment mentioning “You being added to the list,” then I have seen your comment and added it to my literal list, so yours will be made after each one before is made.

This completes round seven of meme faces. Tune in next Monday for the next Poptropican Meme Face Mondays!

What do you think about this week’s meme faces? Comment below.

• Ultimate iPad Expert •

Giant Hawk Adventures

GHA Updates!

gianthawkpoptropica

Greetings Hawk-tropicans! This is Giant Hawk speaking, and today, I have a very important update to give you all.

So… January 5 is closely approaching us. As such, the GHA should be on the brink of its release! However, it is not anymore.

DogMemeCouldYouClarify

Now, before anyone panics, I need to clarify. Over the past week or so, HP and I have been working on the stories of my written series, the GHA, and his game series, Orb Legend. Unfortunately, we ran across some major continuity errors. We both agree that they cannot go unchecked. In order to fix these mistakes, some major rewrites will be made to the GHA.

This will make it impossible for me to make my January 5th deadline, as I had hoped. It really breaks my heart to postpone the series like this, but it must be done if I want to improve the coherency of my series.

Now, considering that school will be starting back up for me again this week, I’m not sure how long the rewriting process will take. At most, I’m hoping for release sometime this summer.

But honestly, I can’t just leave this here. Those of you who have been waiting for this series cannot leave disappointed! Hence, I am planning on releasing a GHA short which will be entitled ‘An Afternoon at Queequegs’.

AnAfternoonAtQueequeg's

It will not reveal much, continuity-wise, but it will focus on Giant Hawk and his closest friend, Nice Seal, as they hang out at a local coffee shop the day before the starting point of the series and it will released later this week!

In other GHA related news, I wish to clarify how exactly the series will be posted. The original idea would be, supposedly, to put them in actual blog posts on the front page of the Poptropica Help Blog. However, that might clutter said front page and confuse newcomers to the PHB.

The plan instead is to give the GHA a section in the toolbar to the top of the Poptropica Help Blog. This will allow the series to publish similarly to how we post our island walkthroughs, also making the series easier to organize.

As it so happens, it is time to move on to a completely different topic!

StopTryingToSegwayMeme

Speaking of happening, the New Years may have already happened, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still highlight the new year!

Case in point, the Poptropica Creators released a super cool graphic in honor of the switch over to 2016. Check it out:

happynewyear

What a way to celebrate the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016! Happy New Year, and may all your acquaintance be forgot and never be brought to mind.

Until next time…

— Giant Hawk