Tag: sneak peek

Arabian Nights Island, Sneak Peeks

A new Dr. Hare minigame? Color me impressed!

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! Yesterday, the Creators posted a teaser image for a new Dr. Hare-themed minigame and offered a way for fans to help make it! Let’s take a look!

The game has a cute retro art style and stars a Dr. Hare who has nearly gone full rabbit. As for gameplay, it seems that you would need to jump up the platforms and reach a checkpoint before time runs out. There are also items like clocks that give extra time, stars that likely give extra points, and spikes that thwart Dr. Hare’s escapades.

This minigame already has a lot going for it; however, it is missing one crucial thing: a name. The Creators are asking fans to come up with a unique title for this new game. Do you have any cool or punny game names? You can send them to the Creators on the Creators’ Blog or on Instagram, The game will be releasing very soon, so hop to it!

With the release of Arabian Nights: How Bazaar on Haxe, Poptropica made four Arabian Nights-themed coloring pages to “keep the sense of adventure alive”. The first page is an elaborately decorated frame, and the other three are characters from Arabian Nights. You can save the pages from the Creators’ Blog to your computer so you can print them or color them digitally.

When you’re done, you can send your newly colored masterpiece (or any Poptropica-related art) to the Creators via the Submissions page. Your art could be featured on the Creators’ Blog or even in Poptropica’s video player! While you’re there, you can also submit an entry for the Create Your Dream Island contest. Who knows? Your dream island might become a reality just like Arabian Nights did.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

Spinning with sneak peeks for friends and Zomberries

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, friends! Gentle Dolphin here with the latest Poptropica news! Today, we’ll be taking a look behind the curtains and seeing some future updates as well as what goes into the making of an island experience.

Back in May 2019, the Creators asked players for feedback on how to improve Poptropica’s friends feature. Now, in October 2020, we finally get a sneak peek of the new friends feature coming soon to Haxe!

The one feature fans requested the most was the ability to find and add their friends via usernames, which was part of the original friends feature back in 2012. It looks like the Creators will be implementing this small but handy feature back to the Poptropica Friends experience. One interesting thing to note is that it looks like you can either accept or deny friend requests from other players, similar to Facebook.

Seeing the username feature return makes us wonder if any other old features such as pop quizzes and medallions will also return to Poptropica Friends, whether immediately with the update or later down the line. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.

Hopping over to Instagram, the Creators posted another sneak peek. This one is a short video showing a few kids inside a large spinning device, and the caption doesn’t give any more information. The design reminds me of a nut and bolt, so maybe it’s a hardware-themed fair attraction or observation tower? Judging by how fast it’s going, something may have gone wrong. What do you guys think?

With the Zomberry Hero special event going strong, the Creators posted a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of this event. We’ll only be covering the bare essentials, but you can read the original post for a more in-depth look of their creative process.

First, the Creators shared some concept art for the opening comic page. The artists start with a rough storyboard, then create a formal sketch closer to the game’s art style. Once the sketch is approved, the artists can then create the final piece.

Several artists also help design the various levels that players will explore, following a similar process to the comic artists. They also play a role in helping the developers understand how certain elements will work in the game.

After the art is complete, the developers can move on to animation and coding! As you can see below, the game’s assets are animated in Adobe Animate, and everything is coded in Haxe Javascript (the game’s current engine).

Last but not least, there’s the factor of sound. Not only is Jeff Heim’s music a big part of the experience, there are also the sound effects, such as the eerie moaning of the zombies. This audio sample here was made by an anonymous Pop Creator with the help of blankets!

What do you guys think of these sneak peeks? What other fan-favorite features do you wish to see return in the future, and what do you think that Instagram video is about?

There’s one week left to enter our annual PHB Halloween costume contest so make sure to submit your entries before October 30! Also, don’t forget about Poptober and Community Creations, which are ongoing until the end of this month. We love what you guys have been sharing so far, and we can’t wait so see what else you have in store!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day! 

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

Zomberries to return in upcoming event! 🧟‍♂️🫐🔦

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, ghouls and ghosts! Halloween is fast approaching, and everyone is gearing up for some spoopy fun. The hype is so infectious that the Poptropica Creators couldn’t avoid it. Yesterday, they announced a new limited time event coming to Poptropica maps near you.

Everyone, brace yourselves because the zomberries will be returning for an upcoming Zomberry Special Event!!!

The original Creators’ Blog post also featured two Zomberry-themed sketches— possibly concept art for the event’s map icon— to go along with the announcement. You can see them below.

If you go to Instagram, you can see what’s presumably the final icon design, which borrows elements from both sketches. The caption on the Instagram teaser simply reads, “Something is happening VERY SOON. And then more is happening after that.”

Man, there’s a lot to look forward to! Judging from the announcement, it’s likely not the Zomberry Island remaster that was teased last year. Since it will a limited time event, it may be a special minigame similar to D.C. Diner or a quest like the Haunted House.

This event could be borrowing elements from previously scrapped Zomberry minigames, which we covered in our “PHB Sneak Peeks” series. Maybe it has something to do with that 8-bit minigame that was teased for the Zomberry Island remaster? Who knows? We’ll have to wait and see.

Players participating in this limited time event will be awarded special perks, so who knows what new prizes could be in store. Keep an eye out for upcoming sneak peeks, and be prepared for the return of the fruity undead.

While we’re waiting for this event, why not buy some costumes to dress up your Poptropican? The Poptropica store added some new items for players to buy, so it’s a great chance to get in the Halloween spirit. Plus, it gives you more to work with for the PHB’s Halloween costume contest. 😉

Thank you for reading, and have a good day! 

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Crisis Caverns Island, Daily Pop, Membership, Mission Atlantis Island

Crisis Caverns, Deep Dive, & Membership Makeover

Spotted Dragon

Heyo everyone! SD here with another update. So let’s get to it!

First up, credit to idk for an entire album of Crisis Cavern themed Daily Pop sneak peeks! Too many to list in fact, but they’re there, so I suggest you check them out! 😛

crisis caverns sneak peek

Second up, credit also goes to idk for finding two cool test scenes for Deep Dive Island, now known as Mission Atlantis of course.  In both, you can explore and interact with a few things, but it was just a test so there isn’t much else to it.

deep dive test

While on the topic of Deep Dive Island, or Mission Atlantis, an unused diving suit was also found! As you can see below, it was all black instead of the yellow one that ended up being used. Pretty neat, huh?

deep dive suit

Lastly, credit goes to WimpyKidFan for noticing that the Membership page for Poptropica has a new design! While it does look new, improved, and sleek, is this really what we want the Creators’ to be focusing on? Don’t get me wrong, it looks pretty cool! But it does seem like a small step towards “New Poptropica.” And don’t get me started on new islands.

membership redo

Anyway, that’s it for now guys! If you’re already on summer break, I hope you’re having a blast! Or at least relaxing. If you’re almost there, I believe in you! Hang in there! If you don’t have a summer break… then, uh… *shrug*

~SD

Night Watch Island, Sneak Peeks

A nickel for a ride on a pickle

Slanted Fish

Welcome to Twin Palms Mall, where rocking on a solo oversized pickle with a marshal’s badge is just a regular activity, nothing to be suspicious about…

Lone Pickle

But check out that snazzy hat with the black flag! And that Night Watch Island medallion! Plus there’s a new icon in the top corner – a cell phone, perhaps part of your mall cop gear. Can life get any better? The Creators’ Blog reports that Night Watch is coming “very soon,” so stay tuned! 😀