Tag: language

Hold onto your blimps, Poptropicans—we’re about to take a deep dive into an alternative universe. You’re looking at a Chinese Poptropica!

《卜克环游记》— which translates to BoKe Travelog — was a PC browser game made by TaoMee Inc, a Chinese company creating children’s entertainment. The game ran from 2011–2013, though it was only recently discovered by Poptropica fans now, over a decade later!

Though this Poptropica-inspired game is no longer playable, it was once hosted online at boke.61.com. We used the Internet Archive to explore what the site used to look like and grabbed some screenshots:

Unlike Poptropica, BoKe Travelog came with a background story, as found in this Chinese wiki. The lore goes that due to climate change, human life gradually moved from land to sea. As water levels rose, cities were submerged, and mountains turned into islands.

People known as BoKe lived happily on the islands, each with their own unique styles. One day, a mysterious black fog appeared on the southeast side of the ocean. As it continued to thicken, the islands faced various troubles, with people disappearing and economies collapsing.

The attacks came from the evil and highly intelligent Dr. Hedra, whose face no one had ever seen, and who wanted to rule over the world. But the brave BoKe people chose to unite to solve the crises of each island.

Inside BoKe Travelog are many visual similarities to Poptropica, as documented by Simon Cai 蔡思敏, who played both games in 2011. While BoKe Travelog puts its own spin on designs, many of the mechanisms such as the map layout and island adventures are clearly inspired.

BoKe Travelog had eight islands that closely followed many of Poptropica’s classic adventures, as outlined and documented in videos which you can watch by clicking on the BoKe island names below.

• 🥔 土豆岛 Potato Island is like 24 Carrot Island
• 🐙 章鱼岛 Octopus Island is like Shark Tooth Island
• 👦🏻 卜克岛 BoKe Island is like Early Poptropica Island
• 🕰️ 时光倒流岛 translates to and is like Time Tangled Island
• 🏚️ 鬼堡岛 translates to and is like the Haunted House mini-quest
• 💎 钻石岛 Diamond Island is like Counterfeit Island
• 🦸 超人岛 Superman Island is like Super Power Island
• 🕹️ 对战岛 Battle Island had multiplayer interaction and mini-games like Poptropica’s Paint War, Hoops, and Pathwise

Also like Poptropica, BoKe Travelog released a book series with more stories unrelated to the in-game islands. They were called Mystery Island Adventures (谜岛大冒险) and some details are on Amazon.

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What an interesting glimpse into an alternative version of the game we know! Though this green Chinese Poptropica is now lost media, its existence is a testament to the inspiring power of Poptropica. 🌴

Did you know that there’s another alternative Poptropica? Check out our exploration of Our Discovery Island (Orange Poptropica)! 🥕

What do you think of BoKe Travelog 《卜克环游记》? Would you play it if you could? Share with us in the comments! 👀

~🐠