Jade Scarab Island, Monthly Costume Contests

January Costume and Jade Scarab Crumbs 🐈

Hello Poptropicans! In between being addicted to the Encanto soundtrack, I have some exciting updates!

The Creators announced the winner of the January Costume Contest: The Rockette by Purple Dragon. This outfit has pretty shades of gold and jade, and can even launch the player into the air with a jet pack!

And speaking of jade…

The Creators also announced that Secret of the Jade Scarab is in development, and will be available to all players upon release. No date has been announced yet, but they posted these teasers on the blog:

Not much has been revealed about the plot or other characters yet, though you can get an inside scoop from the designer here on the PHB, and more sneak peeks are to come! I quite like this little cat. I wonder if she’s related to Bastet in some way? 🤔🐈

Are there any particular Egyptian gods you’d like to see in this island, and what theories do you have about the characters or story? Do you plan on glitching your way past the stratosphere with the new jet pack? Let us know!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Contests, Jade Scarab Island

Secret’s out: Jade Scarab is the final Dream Island contest winner! 🐞

Hey Poptropicans, more news on the Design Your Dream Island Contest is finally here — two months after the contest ended.

The third and final winning idea, which will be made into the game at some point, is Secret of the Jade Scarab Island created by Girl Power!

If you were starting to feel jaded (heh) about when Poptropica would get around to this long-awaited announcement, well, we don’t blame you! It turns out that the Creators reviewed all the submissions 12 times to determine the final winner, and that really took a hot minute.

So what’s this adventure about? We don’t know much yet beyond the name, as this is all the Creators have said about it so far:

We were looking for a great story, for intrigue, and for a great mystery to solve. We wanted something challenging, exhilarating, and that had a touch of real-world history to it. 

Poptropica Creators’ Blog

And it’s certainly got one of the longest island names in Poptropica history, second only to “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Island.”

UPDATE: Girl Power has commented on this PHB post to share a little more about her island idea! Here’s what she wrote:

The concept work I did for Secret of the Jade Scarab included lots of archeological references, curses, and Egyptian culture. The main plot featured the player investigating a string of accidents to determine whether or not a pharaoh’s curse was threatening an archeological dig site and visiting a nearby market to learn about hieroglyphics.

Girl Power, island designer (see her PHB comment below!)

While we wait for more details to be revealed, we can draw some speculations from the name. Secret suggests a mystery to be solved, centered on this jade scarab: jade being an ornamental mineral and scarabs being a kind of popular artifact in ancient Egypt, often used in amulets or impression seals. There’s that touch of “real-world history”!

Scarabs were “typically carved or moulded in the form of a scarab beetle” and were often green or blue, though jade stone would not have been commonly used in ancient Egypt—instead, jade has roots in East, South, and Southeast Asian art. So the Jade Scarab may be a unique Poptropica invention, perhaps one that takes us across cultures.

Meanwhile, the Creators’ Blog goes on to share that the first Dream Island winner, which would be Fairy Tale Island, is already in the works, and it’s going to be different from the traditional island experience:

We have so many great things in the works for you this year and can’t wait to share them all! The first dream island is already in development and it looks SO GOOD! It’s a whole new take on an island experience and we think you’re going to love it!

Poptropica Creators’ Blog

Now that all the winners of the Dream Island contest have been announced — Fairy Tale Island, Goofball Island, and Secret of the Jade Scarab Island — we can look forward to these upcoming, promising adventures. 🧚‍♂️😜🐞 Fairy Tale is promised to release this year in 2021, but then again, if choosing the contest winners took two months, who’s to say when an entire new island will be ready?

Anyway, what are your theories on Secret of the Jade Scarab Island? Which of the winning islands are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and on our Discord server, the PHC. 😄

Keep on popping on, Poptropicans!

~🐠

Arabian Nights Island, Haxe Javascript

Arabian Nights, popping onto Haxe 🏜

Hey everyone! After hardly six days since the Creators’ first announcement, Arabian Nights Episode 1: How Bazaar has appeared on the Haxe map! And, as promised, it’s open for members and non-members alike to play.

Arabian Nights, as shown on the Haxe map.

I’ve just run through the new How Bazaar, and here’s what’s I found to report: it seems that, unlike Mythology Island, the Creators made the decision to keep Arabian Nights the same as its Flash equivalent. Most of the scenes remained almost exactly as those in Flash, and the only differences I could spot in the entire island were minor dialogue changes.

Better yet, I experienced very little lag whilst playing. Despite the pop-up ads between scenes, the gameplay was quite smooth! I’d say that overall, Arabian Nights has given me fresh hope for what can be done on Haxe. If Arabian Nights can be executed so well, maybe the islands still waiting for a port will turn out awesome too.

By the way, bring along the PHB’s Arabian Nights Island Guide for handy help as you play through the episode!

A couple scenes from Arabian Nights on Haxe.

For the first time in a while, Quippy has appeared on time! You’ll find the little droid—sporting a cunning thief garb—in the Rumi’s Rugs common room, waiting to deliver his newest stash of Arabian Nights gear.

Did Quippy join the ranks of the Forty Thieves?

And speaking of the Arabian Nights gear pack, let’s see what’s in store! The four new items include: Arabian Style, Silent Thief, Desert Lizard Follower*, and Purple Smoke Bomb*. (Two of which are members-only.)

It’s the latest desert fashion.

The Creators haven’t yet mentioned if the later episodes of Arabian Nights are planned to be released as well; although, in separate news, they did mention in their most recent post that they’ve already received hundreds of submissions in the Create Your Dream Island contest! Wow. Competition is getting real, and there’s still plenty of time left to submit your ideas! All this Arabian Nights stuff is sure to get creative juices flowing.

That’s all the news today! What are your opinions on the new Arabian Nights? What islands do you hope to see converted next? Share your thoughts in the comments!

~Purple Paw 💜

Uncategorized, Video of the Week

Arabian Nights and YouTube Spotlights 🧞‍♂️

Heyo, Poptropicans! Big news: the Creators recently announced that Arabian Nights will be coming to Haxe in less than a week! And, unlike many islands before it, it’ll be available to all players—non-members included—right from the release! Pretty awesome, huh?

Arabian Nights was one of the most popular islands.

It’s not clear yet whether the Creators plan to remaster Arabian Nights (like they did with Mythology Island) or if they’re keeping it relatively the same as the Flash version. Most players, myself included, weren’t very happy with the lack of challenge in Haxe’s Mythology; but who knows what’ll happen with Arabian Nights? A new island port is progress in itself, and the most we can do is hope that the new version turns out as awesome as the original Arabian Nights!

Speaking of Arabian Nights, this fun island trilogy was the winner of the 2013/14 Create Your Dream Island Contest! It’s not a coincidence that the Creators decided to release Arabian Nights at this time, to commemorate the current Dream Island contest happening right now. (There’s still plenty of time left to submit your island entries!)

Arabian Nights (as seen on the mobile app)

In other news, a second Creators’ Blog post appeared not long after the Arabian Nights announcement, this one sharing a Halloween Poptropica fan video by Invisible Ring (inspired by the Zomberry Hero special event)! Though the post is quite late for Halloween, it’s never too late to be zombified. 🧟‍♀️ Check out the spooktacular video below:

There’s something in the title of the Creators’ post that caught my eye: “Video of the Week.” Hmm… is this another weekly promise? The store rotations that were planned to change every week don’t always live up to the promise, but it would be pretty great for the Creators to recognize their (very creative) fans with weekly videos. Between their showcasing of fan art in place of ads, social media spotlights, and now fan video features, the Creators have definitely been giving the Poptropica fandom lots of recognition lately!

Welp, that’s all for this one! What are your hopes for the new Arabian Nights? Thoughts on the Creators’ fan interactions? Let us know in the comments!

~Purple Paw 💜

24 Carrot Island, Clubhouse, New Islands, Store

It’s Time to Master the Remastered 24 Carrot!

Update: Our 24 Carrot Island Guide for Worlds is here!

Hey Poptropicans, look what’s popped up on the map…

map 24c

Bubble Witch 3 Saga!

Wait, uh… no one cares about that. But there is something else that’s new on Poptropica Worlds: 24 Carrot Island! 🥕

As we’ve rumored, it’s not a copy-and-paste version of the 24 Carrot from Poptropica Original, but rather a remastered version of the classic island. Those on the PHC who’ve already played the island have remarked that the differences include: an extended plot, improved scenery, and a new carrot museum. Considering the visitors’ center on Crisis Caverns, it looks like a museum will be a regular feature to new islands on Worlds!

We’ll be adding We’ve also just added a guide page for the new 24 Carrot, complete with a written walkthrough and other tidbits, as soon as possible here on the PHB. (You are welcome to help us out!) You can also find it on our Island Help page.

scarlet
On Home Island, you’ll meet a new character named Scarlet who’s a fellow adventurer like you – what does this mean for the Poptropica universe?

In other news, you can now buy swords for your house for 1 coin! That’s quite the bargain, even beating out the previous “cheap favorite,” the potted cactus (4-5 coins depending on whether you’re a member). It can be placed repeatedly with no limit, but will not save once you leave your house.

Update: This item seems to be gone now.

sword

Finally, the clothes shop is currently promising 8 new summer outfits, but upon scrolling all the way to the end, I (and others) have yet to see any such new outfits. A glitch, perhaps?

8 summer outfits

Anyway, it’s great to finally get some updates on Worlds – a retake on an old favorite, no less! What did you think of the New New 24 Carrot Island? (24 Carrot first came out in 2008, then re-released as a SUI in 2013, and is back again, remastered, in 2017!)

Share your thoughts in the comments – the Creators tend to read them! 😉

Beware the hare.

~/🐠