Tag: dream island

Arabian Nights Island, Guest Posts, Jade Scarab Island

Comparing Dream Islands: Jade Scarab VS Arabian Nights 🪲🧞

LJ

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

If you could have one wish, what would it be?

A)  More Invisible Ring guest posts?
B) The second half of my pirate movie?
C) Poptropica to be revived in all its former glory: Monkey Wrench, Realms, classic common rooms, etc.

I wish! Don’t we all…

Unfortunately, I’m not a genie, so wish C is beyond my power to grant. I AM a poptropican with a magical craft table though! So, while I keep concocting the difficult spell of wish B, I shall now grant to you wish A.

From the scribe that brought you my comparison of the dream islands Fairytale Island and Goofball Island, comes the final dream island post, Jade Scarab vs. Arabian Nights– which are the first and last dream islands in Poptropica’s history!

Comparisons

Both of these islands are absolutely ✨magical✨, filled with magical secrets and deep-rooted legends from different parts of the world. They’re also both full of rich culture and beauty while also being challenging and exciting like most popular Poptropica islands. They even share some of the same musical soundtracks!

There were only four episodic adventures ever made, and Arabian Nights is the last of its kind. Similarly, there were only four Dream Islands ever made, and Jade Scarab is also the last of its kind! Talk about a coincidence.

Contrasts

Jade Scarab was one of the three 2020 Dream Island winners that eventually launched in 2022, while Arabian Nights was the 2013 Dream Island winner that launched in 2014. While Jade Scarab is one complete island, Arabian Nights is an episodic adventure that is split between three parts.

Fun fact: Arabian Nights is the only dream Island with any common rooms in it! 🤓 Jade Scarab doesn’t have one, however.

The medals are all different too! All of the dream islands have a different medallion and a different story to tell. 

The Fairytale medallion has a royal purple strap and an etching of the mysterious villain Rumpelstiltskin, which leads me to believe Rumpelstiltskin himself dropped the medallion when he turned into smoke and escaped the fairytale castle.

The Goofball medallion has an indigo strap and a picture of a piñata. With a dull color and a fun picture, this medallion embodies the balance of goofiness and dullness that is ultimately delivered on Goofball Island.

The Jade Scarab medallion has a jade green strap and an etching of the island’s magical mascot, the Scarab. Need I say more?

The Arabian Nights medallion shows up at the end of each of the three island episodes. Three medallions? That’s as many as the rest of the dream islands put together! All three Arabian Nights medallions all look exactly alike too. They each have a blood-red strap and a sword. Surely these bold and deadly medals were either worn by thieves, made for thieves, or even made BY thieves! Heck, they could’ve even been stolen by thieves too!

But enough about fun facts and medallions. How do the actual quests compare and contrast?

Each quest revolves around an expedition to find a special treasure; an archeological expedition to find the Jade Scarab and an infiltration expedition to finding the Arabian Nights genie lamp. Each treasure has its decoy, but only the one on Arabian Nights has a dangerous curse if you don’t find the real treasure.

There’s a curse on Jade Scarab Island, too, but it only happens to the bad guys who try to stage fake curses and lock people in caves. It’s really just the supernatural Jade Scarab guardian protecting the treasure and punishing the thieves for their shenanigans.

Arabian Nights has a supernatural being too, Samhal the genie. But he was no guardian. He was a dangerous trickster, granting wishes with cruel twists everywhere he went.

But what made the Arabian Nights quest even MORE dangerous were the villains. While Jade Scarab had one or two thieves, Arabian Nights had 40 of them! Among the thieves was the most ruthless one of all, Scheherazade: leader of the thieves and the infamous genie of destruction. Yes, Arabian Nights was one among many of the scary and suspenseful islands that were coming out from 2013-2015.

Jade Scarab, however, stayed true to the traditions of the first dozen or so islands from the early days of Poptropica. It’s a lighthearted, humorous, and not too serious island that has a fun quest and a museum where you can learn lots of cool stuff in the process!

So why is one island so serious and the other is not?  In my opinion, it all comes back to the two treasures, the lamp and the Jade Scarab. 

As you play these quests, you learn that the Jade Scarab is good and must be protected in the museum. But no good came from the Arabian Nights lamp. That treasure wasn’t going to any museum. It had to be eliminated.

And that brings us to the biggest (and best) comparison. There are happy endings to both islands! Curses are broken, towns are restored, amends are made, and all peoples have a chance to get a new start and a chance to be prosperous again.

Aww, what nice stories for both islands! Which one do you like better? Better yet, which of the four dream islands is your favorite one of all?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and if you want more dream island comparison posts, then you are welcome to share with me your own dream island adventures from the dream island contests of long ago. (If I receive readers’ entries, I will try to be as fair as I was in my comparisons of the official dream island winners.)

Thank you for reading, and I hope to pop to you all again real soon!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy watching her full-length Poptropica fan movie, Battle Morale!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you!

My Dream Island

My Dream Island: Jedi Island (Mystery in Space) by Dangerous Dragon

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Dangerous Dragon. Enjoy!

What’s popping, Poptropicans? DD here, and it is a warm bright day in the Pop universe. Today I’m going to show you my Dream Island! I did not enter this into Poptropica’s contest because I was a little inactive at that time, but hey, I’m bringing my creativity here. Let’s begin!

*clears throat*

First look

The story begins with a cutscene, where you are an astronaut in space. Suddenly, there is a blast, and your spaceship breaks. You are now floating in the open space, unconscious but alive.

Rocket Man: Try to keep from burning out your fuel up here alone.

You wake up in five or six hours, not remembering anything. Then a person dressed in black robes comes to you. You try to run, but your feet are swollen, so you can’t move. Just as the darkly dressed man reaches you, he assures you that he is a good man, and he is the captain of this Jedi spaceship you’re in. You can’t believe it! You are in a Jedi spaceship!

From there, the screen goes black. Next thing you know, they have treated your legs so that you can walk around! Then the action begins… walking around, you find the captain in his room, and he looks a bit concerned. Turns out the whole crew’s lightsabers are running out of power, and they’re not sure how long they can keep their operation afloat.

Being the smart, adventurous Poptropican you are, you volunteer to help. So you search everywhere, gathering clues to help the Jedi find fuel and crystals for their operation… 

Locations

These are just a few of the places you’ll be visiting.

  • Launch site – This is where you’ll find many spaceships.
  • The cockpit – This is where the captain stays.
  • Planet Naboo – The place where you’ll find the crystals.
Hyperspeed: We’re going to infinity. But not beyond. That’s impossible.

Clues

As you help characters throughout the island, you’ll gain some helpful items and insights.

  • Keycard – you will get it by helping RW-22. This will help you open the room and look in the spaceship.
  • Repair kit for the spaceship – in the mechanic’s room. You’ll need it to repair the spaceship when it starts to break down!
  • A bone – for Princess Kopi (hello, Thinknoodles fans!), a dog you’ll meet on Fairy Tale Island (yes, the one currently in production… and yes, you’ll be traveling to different Pop islands!)
  • Dog tail – You can wear this, and when you tap the spacebar, the tail shakes and dances! You’ll need this to befriend a dog…
Photo Finish: Snapshots of happier times.

Characters

  • Captain Cyrus – The Jedi captain. You’ll be meeting with him throughout this island.
  • Ringmaster Raven (that’s right, our boy from Monster Carnival!): He’s good now. He’ll give you the crew’s lightsabers to fill them up with the crystals.
  • RW-22 – A droid who’ll give you a lesson on how to fly a spaceship and a keycard to open up a spaceship. He’ll only help you if you help him clean the captain’s spaceship in the launch site. There are loads of ships there, so you’ll have to explore them all to find the right one.
  • Co-captain Salerno – Yes, from Lunar Colony! She’ll be on the spaceship too (God knows how) and she’ll help you locate a planet you’ll need to find to save the ship.

Inspiration

To be honest, I don’t know anything about Star Wars, but I took some inspiration from a book called Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown. It’s fun to read! I also liked Lunar Colony Island on Poptropica, which also inspired this island idea.

Wow, I enjoyed making this! I hope you liked my island, and feel free to share your feedback for what I can add! If you are interested in sharing your idea, you can comment below or create a guest post if you want to get detailed.

This is DD popping out. Keep on popping, Poptropicans! Pop on!

~DD 💜

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Dangerous Dragon. If you did, you might also enjoy other posts in our My Dream Island series, such as Secret of the Jade Scarab Island by Girl Power. And consider sharing yours!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨

Fairy Tale Island, Sneak Peeks

The magical designs of Fairy Tale Island 🧚‍♂️🎨

Gentle Dolphin

Once upon a time (a few months ago, to be exact), a Poptropica fan named Perfect Crab had an idea for a fairy tale-themed island called… well, Fairy Tale Island. The Creators of Poptropica loved the idea so much that they selected it as one of the three winners of the Create Your Dream Island contest.

Many fans such as Perfect Crab awaited the arrival of the winning islands, yearning to go on more adventures in the great wide somewhere. Suddenly, the Creators shared some concept art for some of Fairy Tale Island’s many characters. Now let us take a look at what stories are awaiting us in this magical adventure!

The first image shows some character designs for the cast of Little Red Riding Hood. Our human characters are a modern Red Riding Hood(ie), a sweet grandma, and a hairy woodcutter. Of course, you cannot have Little Red Riding Hood without the Big Bad Wolf and his many expressive faces. While this isn’t the only modern adaptation of the story, this will definitely be an interesting take regardless.

Next, we have six of the seven dwarves from Snow White. It’s interesting that the dwarves are drawn in a different style from normal Poptropicans; they even have noses and fingers! Why are the dwarves drawn this way? Why are they wearing a human disguise like the gnomes from Gravity Falls? Where is the one other dwarf? Some of their secrets will be revealed shortly.

Moving along, here are some costumes fit for royalty. Amongst the kings and queens, we can easily spot Cinderella thanks to her iconic glass slippers. Interestingly, Cinderella also has a wild hairstyle and punk rocker outfit. Is that her normal attire before she goes to the ball, or perhaps her disguise at the ball?

There is also a lady dressed in purple accompanied with a note which says “Modify Kira scrub outfit and props”. We currently have a named character who is likely a medical professional. Could she be Cinderella’s fairy godmother?

Finally, here is concept art for the island’s possible villain: Rumpelstiltskin. His longer limbs and devilish features help him stand out from Poptropica villains of the past. Perhaps he has something to do with the fairy tales going awry? What is this sinister imp’s master plan, and is he working alone?

All of these character designs give us a lot to think about regarding the island’s story and tone. The modern takes on classic fairy tales are reminiscent to 2000’s fairy tale parody movies like Shrek, Hoodwinked, and Enchanted. Wouldn’t it be interesting to defeat Rumpelstiltskin and celebrate with a dance party?

Now these designs are a taste of what is to come. The full story of Fairy Tale Island is set to be told before this summer, so keep one eye on the Creators’ Blog and another on the Poptropica Help Blog. We cannot wait to see what Perfect Crab and the Creators have in store for us!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Guest Posts, Jade Scarab Island, My Dream Island

Inside look at Dream Island winner: Secret of the Jade Scarab 🏝🐞

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we have a very special guest with us! Girl Power (aka Lyndsey, or GwenBrightly on Poptropica) is one of the winners of Poptropica’s Design Your Dream Island Contest. In this post, she’ll be sharing about her winning idea, Secret of the Jade Scarab Island. Let’s get digging!

Hello, Poptropica Help Blog readers! I’d love to share more details about Secret of the Jade Scarab Island. I kept the descriptions spoiler free, so that certain plot points remain a surprise. 🙂

I had a ton of fun brainstorming for Secret of the Jade Scarab in between grading homework and writing lesson plans (I was in the middle of student teaching). I grew up playing games like Cluefinders and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego, which gave me a love of games that teach about history. Ancient Egyptian lore and culture has always fascinated me, so it was awesome to have an excuse to use all that knowledge.

Sphinx from Nabooti Island

First look

Our story begins when the player arrives outside the Ancient Antiquities Museum in a bustling Egyptian city and follows signs inside to find that Claira the Curator is in a panic because the newest exhibit isn’t going to open on time. She’s lost contact with the team of archeologists who were supposed to be excavating King Khnurn’s tomb (his name means “reborn sun” in Egyptian). Being the kind, friendly, and helpful Poptropican that you are, you volunteer to go investigate.

Spelunky: At the end of our rope.

When you arrive in the village of Iteru (which means “river” in Egyptian), a local merchant points you in the direction of the archeological dig, where you meet Howard Diggory, head egyptologist. He explains that bizarre things have been happening at the dig and that there are rumors of a mummy’s curse, which has stalled progress in excavating and cataloging the tomb. It’s up to you to find the root of the problem and discover whether or not the tomb really is cursed.

Egyptian tomb from Nabooti Island

You’ll explore the tomb and village, speaking to the locals and gaining their trust through various tasks. Befriending the merchant is a good place to start. She’ll tell you all about the legend of the Jade Scarab, said to give its owner untold power, but only if you help her translate some old scrolls and track down her great nephew for her. Could someone be after the scarab?

Featured locations include:

  • The Ancient Antiquities Museum in Cairo – a place filled with displays of famous ancient Egyptian artifacts. Players can learn about life in ancient Egypt and maybe find some easter eggs from other islands. I like to imagine that it’s owned by the Poptropica equivalent of Zahi Hawass – a very famous Egyptologist who has probably appeared in pretty much any documentary you may have watched on Egypt.
Zahi Hawass, Egyptologist (photo: Smithsonian Magazine)
  • The village of Iteru – Close to the dig site. I envision something multi-levelled and filled with bright colors against the sandy/tan-ish color of the brick buildings. There are houses on the higher level and a market on the lower one. You can visit lots of townspeople to learn about the origins of the mummy’s curse, tomb robbers, the importance of the Nile, etc. In order to get them to answer your questions, you have to run errands for them such as potentially fishing, sailing, gathering papyrus, etc. The merchant’s shop is a highlight, as she gives the player a lot of the background on the Jade Scarab after you find her grandson (who is in an alleyway playing with a cat).
How Bazaar: Every time I look around.
  • The dig site – in the Valley of the Kings – lots of weird stuff is happening there, which has caused the locals to theorize that the team of archeologists have unleashed a curse. You can find typical archeologist tools, crates, tents, various artifacts that are being catalogued, and maybe a jeep. There are a few site members to interview, but several have fled, and one is in the hospital.
Camp Value: The Pup Tent sleep one
  • King Knurn’s Tomb – Either underground or inside a cliff. The Jade Scarab is supposedly hidden somewhere deep inside. The player can explore different parts of the tomb throughout the story, with some getting unlocked as they progress. Skills learned from the villagers (like reading hieroglyphics) can be used here to solve puzzles and gather more information about the legends surrounding the Jade Scarab.
Hieroglyphs on Nabooti Island

Important characters

  • Claira the Curator – Runs the Ancient Antiquities Museum and is worried about the museum’s latest exhibit not arriving on time. I chose her name because I wanted something with alliteration and a tie to Egypt, so I took the a-i-r from Cairo and inserted it into a name that went well with Curator.
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, Egypt (photo: MoMAA.org)
  • Howard Diggory – Head egyptologist of the archeological dig, worried about the recent mishaps and potential curse. Very passionate about Egyptology and uncovering lost history. He was named Howard after Howard Carter, who discovered King Tut’s tomb, and Diggory because he’s an archeologist and spends a lot of time digging.
Striking a blow for workers’ rights.
  • Awantagi – the foreman of the dig. He’s the prickly type and doesn’t particularly like you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. 
  • The Merchant – a mysterious old lady who sells a variety of objects (both ancient and modern). She tells the player the legend of the Jade Scarab after they have helped her translate some old scrolls (learn about Egyptian culture and book of the dead) and located her great nephew (who is chasing after a cat).
  • Bast – the Egyptian cat who likes to pop up and do cat stuff, like expect you to cater to her every whim.

Visuals

I am not the best of artists, but I do have some pictures from an old project I did for school that I used for inspiration.

I didn’t necessarily plan for a pyramid to appear in Secret of the Jade Scarab, but I do really like the concept of having a scene that shows the Nile and some Egyptian boats.

This is sort of what I’d like the market to look like. Bright colors, hieroglyphics, and an abundance of different objects for players to interact with.

Anyway, thank you SO much to the PHB for reaching out, and to all of you for your interest! It’s such an honor to be able to share some of the ideas that have been floating around in my head for the past three months. I honestly can’t wait to see where Poptropica goes with this!

—Girl Power/Lyndsey

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Girl Power/Lyndsey. If you did, you might also enjoy other posts in our My Dream Island series, such as Prehistoric Peril Island by Sporty Boa. And consider sharing yours!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨

My Dream Island

Introducing: My Dream Island ⛅️🏝

Sporty Boa

Hey all, Sporty Boa here! As you may know, Poptropica’s Design Your Dream Island Contest has come to a close with the creators announcing the highly-anticipated third and final winning submission a couple days ago. Secret of the Jade Scarab Island took this special spot alongside Fairy Tale & Goofball Island as the winning ideas, but the these were no easy choices. The Poptropica Creators stated that they reviewed all the submissions not once, not twice, but TWELVE TIMES to determine the final winner of the Dream Island Contest!

If it hasn’t already been made apparent, this community is truly brimming with creative ideas and concepts for islands they wish to see in Poptropica. We here at the PHB would love to grant the opportunity for you to share those ideas with our new series: My Dream Island!

Similar to our long running series, My Place in Poptropica, My Dream Island allows for you, the community, to share you own island ideas here on the Poptropica Help Blog. If you are interested in this opportunity, let us know by writing for the PHB!

My Dream Island: Sporty Boa

I’ll go first to kick of things off! Like several PHB authors, I entered Poptropica’s Dream Island contest. Although ours weren’t selected as winners, our island ideas remain dear to us. I for one would love to share my Cretaceous creation: Prehistoric Peril Island!

Story

Millions of years ago, all of Poptropica’s dinosaurs went extinct. Or did they? Adventurer-seeking millionaire Harold Mews has found evidence that begs to differ: A super-secret remote island where dinosaurs continue to roam free! He recruits your Poptropican for the mission of a lifetime: To travel to this mysterious island and obtain sufficient evidence of living dinosaurs! Thankfully you won’t be on your own, a team of Poptropica’s biggest and brightest minds join you on this epic escapade, with high tech gadgets at your disposal. However, no amount of tech or expertise can prepare you and your team for the challenges that lie ahead. On Prehistoric Peril Island, surprises await around every corner as you encounter creatures lost to time, and if you’re not careful, you may become one of them!

Setting

The bulk of the story takes place on the enigmatic Dino Island, where vegetation shrouds this wild world and vibrant life surrounds you. Dino Island hosts various terrains home to various dinosaurs, you must be able to traverse them all in an effort to survive.

Notable Locations

  • Cretaceous Coast – Helicopter landing site
  • Paleozoic Plains – Location of Research Site A and the locus for your team’s Biological and Historical field studies
  • Dino Desert – Location of Research Site B and the locus for your team’s Paleontology and Geological studies
  • Jurassic Jungle – Dense and dangerous rain forest area, home to a mysterious and somewhat familiar face
  • Archaic Caves – These caves reveal secrets of the past… well, present. Time is weird on Dino Island!

Characters

Prehistoric Peril Island marks the return of a handful of classic and beloved characters (marked with *) along with some new faces to add to the ever-expanding world of Poptropica!

  • Herald Mews* – Owner of the Mews Foundation; A kind, adventurous explorer keen on pushing the boundaries of science. Loves cryptids and never-before seen creatures.
  • Dr. Alima – Poptropica’s top paleontologist and paleobotanist, leader of the expedition team
  • Professor Hammerhead* – 100 year old explorer, expert in ancient civilizations and island survival
  • Shark Guy* –  Professor Hammerhead’s protégé and caretaker
  • Professor Pendulum* – Inventor of Poptropica’s first (and only) time machine, expert in all things time-related. 
  • Dr. Lange* – Head scientist of the Poptropica Disease Center; Medical professional and expert 
  • Medicine Man – Native of the mysterious Dino Island, Concoctor of special potions 
Return of the Medicine Man

Antagonists

  • Cave Collector – A long-time castaway and unstable thief/inventor, this cave man is desperate to escape Dino Island by any means necessary. 
Cave Man
  • Megalodon Man – Shark Guy wants to make a bigger impact on the team so he drinks a potion from the medicine man, transforming him into the monstrous megalodon man!
Want to hear some shark facts?

INSPIRATION

I approached the creation of Prehistoric Peril Island with a relatively blank slate, wishing to create a fun and unique experience for old and new players alike. While much of the story came off the dome, I combined aspects of my personal favorite islands, Cryptids & Shark Tooth, especially when it came to characters. New characters, like Dr. Alima and the Caveman, were also inspired by things close to home, like my verdant villain costume I made for the PHB’s Halloween contest. In a nutshell, Poptropica inspired me, along with my love for prehistoric life and the natural world.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Dream Island, Prehistoric Peril! If you’re interested in learning more about my island, I plan on posting the full story/walkthrough on the Sporty Boa Blog and my YouTube channel. Its planning and creation has been something I’ve enjoyed and put a lot of thought into, and even though I didn’t win the contest, I am still incredibly pleased with my work.

If you too are inspired to share your island idea, don’t hesitate to whip up a post like this one, highlighting story, settings, characters, and inspiration, and we’ll share them here on the PHB’s My Dream Island series! I hope you all stay safe and stay awesome, this Boa’s gotta bounce!

~SB 🐍