Tag: Zomberry Island

Member Gifts, Social Media, Store, Survival Island, Zomberry Island

I spy with my private eye some Poptropica news 👁️🔍

Gentle Dolphin

Greetings, Poptropicans! We at the PHB apologize for the lack of news coverage these past couple of weeks. We have been preoccupied by Poppies planning and your fantastic fanfictions. Luckily, we uncovered some juicy updates and memes. Here is what we found:

We began our investigation on Home Island. While we didn’t see anything new outside, we found that Adventure Outfitters had changed its display for July. This month’s display features the return of old costumes (including Maryann-favorite Acidic Dinosaur🦖), as well as some summer clubhouse decorations. 🏖️👕🏡

We then took to the skies and surveyed the islands below. Some quick investigating revealed that Survival Episode 3: Distress Signal is now available to all players! 🏔️📻 There are two more episodes that have yet to reappear on desktop, but you can play them now on Steam or with AS3 Flashpoint.

That can’t be all, right? We turned our focus to social media and found a few notable posts. The first post is a news report covering how a brave Poptropican named Courageous Bean thwarted the hare-brained scientist, Dr. Hare, who is now in prison for treason and tax evasion. We reached out to Courageous Bean for more information, but they unfortunately never replied to our message.

How about Dr. Hare? Our only clue is this image of him writing messages to music sensation Taylor Swift. Perhaps he is convincing her to bail him out of prison? Poptropica’s police department might want to keep an eye on the situation.

This next bit of news resonated with us detectives. July’s member gifts give members the ability to become private eye investigators. Members can now don a stylish Private Eye outfit, wield a magnifying glass, and ride around on a scooter. 🔍🛵

Our last discovery might be the juiciest of them all. It has been suggested that Zomberry Island‘s blueberry smoothies might have predicted McDonald’s Grimace Shake. Pop Creator Jonathan Pitcher shared his fondness toward Grimace, so there is a connection between these deadly drinks. 🫐🥛

And with that, our investigation has come to a close. We hope you appreciate what we found. We will always cover Pop news as long as Pop keeps going.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Baron's Airship, Monthly Costume Contests, Roblox, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Zomberries are coming to Roblox! 🧟‍♀️🎈🎮

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! We just received more details about Pop’s upcoming Roblox game. If you have questions about island inspiration, gameplay, or other miscellaneous details, then you’ve come to the right place.

Many fans speculated which classic island inspired this little collab, with the most frequent guess being Monster Carnival. While our guesses were close, Pop’s debut Roblox game is actually based on the similarly spooky Zomberry Island! 🧟‍♀️🫐 I guess the swan threw us for a loop. 🦢

Sneak peek from Poptropica of their upcoming Roblox game

This crossover event will pit humans and zomberries against each other in an all-new multiplayer experience. Considering the fact that zombie games have a great presence on Roblox, it’s easy to see why Zomberry Island was a prime candidate for a Roblox spinoff. However, it would have been nice to see another island get the spotlight since we got the Zomberry Hero event less than two years ago.

Some fans might also be disappointed that this game won’t prominently display Pop’s storytelling capabilities. While I don’t play or watch anything relating to Roblox, it seems storytelling is not Roblox’s main priority. Plus, we hope the best stories are being saved for Poptropica’s main projects.

Update: Turns out the following featured image is just fan art. Still cool nonetheless!

We also got an inside scoop outside of the Creators’ Blog. DataSigh, a 3D modeler for Roblox, revealed a 3D recreation of Poptropica’s iconic yellow blimp on Twitter. The model looks great, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the game!

DataSigh’s tweet also included one of my own Poptropica illustrations. The original tweet did not credit any artist for the illustration, but proper credit was added after I asked for it. I’m honored that my art was featured by a game developer even if I would have appreciated credit from the beginning. That begs the question: why was fan art included and not any official Poptropica images? 🤔

According to their Twitter bio, DataSigh works for Dubit, a games studio with a slight connection to Pop: a former Pop Creator published an article about the game on Dubit’s website back in 2013. It’s possible that Poptropica hired Dubit to create the new Zomberry-inspired Roblox game, or DataSigh might just be a Pop fan — another Roblox project they shared was a boat combat system inspired by Skullduggery Island.

Before I sign off, here’s a reminder that today (March 11) is the last day you can visit the Baron’s airship and purchase the latest collection of curiosities. Grab every item to your liking before the Baron sets off on her next adventure!

If you want your costume design brought to life in Poptropica, why not submit it to March’s costume contest? You can enter via social media or Poptropica’s submissions page until March 21 at 8pm PST/11pm EST.

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 🐬

Merchandise, Zomberry Island

Books and Guides!

elmopwns

Hey, everyone! RD here again!

Never felt like picking up a book? Ever down in the blue and always bored? Perhaps you’ve bought everything on the Poptropica Store and you’ve beat everyone in games. Well then, fear not! In case you’ve forgotten, the creators sent us a kind reminder and a grand homage to all things possible. There are multiple books on Poptropica. Heck, there’s Mad Libs, a guide to Poptropica, and even books for islands that give you clues or hints.

Okay, so maybe you’re no Kafka or Hawthorne. Maybe you don’t like reading long or mundane works that ramble on and on about some life moral. That’s okay! These books are filled with fun dialogue, colorful pictures, and even funny situations, such as in the Mad Libs. Whether you want a guide to Skullduggery Island, or you want just a fun Mad Libs to work on while bored over break, be sure to check out Poptropica books.

Eek! Zombies! To be correct: Zomberries. You’ll find the new Zomberry Island guide quite helpful in your journey to cure the island of its infestation. Need help? Stuck on that final boss/part? Fear not! The Guide is here! You can download this onto either your iOS or Android device. Or, save yourself the effort and just go right on over to the PHB’s Zomberry Island Guide.

Thanks! RD out!