Thursday, October 27, 2016

Mysterious Messages

Hey Jammers! I'm here, as promised! Wow, I'm really proud of myself. Just for showing up.

You know, for the longest time whenever there'd be a new update I'd get really worried that something catastrophic would happen. A nightmare I used to have was that AJHQ would announce humans as the next new animal. A thought terrifying and just wrong in itself. Hopefully that will never happen. 

However, did you know there were a few times when AJHQ announced bad changes to be made in the Jamaa Journal... and later backed out because so many people were upset? That's actually a rarity among games. It takes a lot of work to say, design an entirely new map, so no way would you want to just scrap all that hard work because some consumers complained! Still, there were a few times when AJHQ did remove new features because of complaints. And, you guessed it, one of those was a map.



Don't it look weird? All chunky and minimalist? Totally not AJ's style. Despite the work the artist/s most definitely put into it, people hated it and the map switched back.

Another big time AJHQ pulled out on their plans was when Club Geoz was planned to be remodeled. They put it in the Jamaa Journal, put construction tape around the building, everything. It seemed official. Until... it didn't happen. The construction tape was taken down, and it was never mentioned again. People had complained, and reasonably so; Club Geoz looks wonderful the way it does! If it was changed, AJHQ would have to deal with a bunch of nostalgic people leaving.

Anyway, let's get to today's update. I think today I'll talk about each new thing with screenshots instead of just posting the Jamaa Journal. Just to try it.

The centerpiece of this update are the mysterious messages washing ashore, enough for each Jammer to receive one every day!





According to the style of those eyes in the message, the sender of this note might be a bunny. The Peck Portrait checks out. And because this portrait is haunted, something spooky might be afoot. 

Something that might end in an... adventure? Maybe, maybe.

Over in Jamaa Township by the statue is the last pet phantom stand of the season: 



They may come back next year, ya never know. 

You know how phantoms were born out of Mira's tears? What if when Mira is really upset she literally turns from a blue heron into a giant queen phantom? Is that why her statue is a phantom for the Night of the Phantoms? I dunno, but that would make a funny story.

Next up, the Masterpiece Party has turned into a constant, permanent party. Oh joy.



You know, I don't really like art museums. I don't really know why. They seem a little too sterile for me, the modern art particularly. I guess I'm just used to spending months on drawings and hiding them all in the depths of locked boxes to never see the light of day again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In less dwelled-upon news, the map changed a little.


I'm not too upset by it, although of course that white border is a little unsightly. That's it, though. Could be worse! 

And... last but not least, a new animal is coming! It's suspected to be either a toucan or a jaguar. Ostriches were promised a while back, but things aren't random. They'll come soon, probably, every update brings a new animal. Eh... I'm fine with the ones we have, but a new one is okay.

I'm getting a little sleepy, so goodnight! Or good day, depending on where you are.

See you in Jamaa! I'll keep you all updated on what these messages in bottles may mean!

~ DoomyPanda

3 comments:

  1. about AJHQ making an update but then backing out...
    I'm still pretty salty about them removing the original medical center, because I hung out there all the time! It was where I immediately went when I was bored. The muted ambiance of people working was so nice to hear. Now I just don't like hangin around the new center (it's so tight and empty... no offense, Gabby Wild). and the music is so high pitched and grating on my ears :\ I complained a lot and I'm a little surprised they didn't switch it back after a while.
    ALSO I LOVED the original Crystal Sands... it was another one of my favourite spots (but the tiki statues gave me the creeps). Now with the giant waterslides being its main feature, it seems too industrial for AJ's style.

    Oh well, things change.
    (sorry this comment ended up being me reminiscing on things past, i do it a lot)
    ~jhana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even though I wasn't on AJ back then, I can really understand. Kids games always try to change too much because they think their audience has too short an attention span to stick around in the same kind of places, but that's not always what happens. It seems odd, but compared to other kids games, AJ has changed the least. There are still big changes like Crystal Sands and the Medical Center, but compared to a digital wasteland like Club Penguin... you can see the difference.

      What's come about from staying relatively the same for so long? A strong community that's only getting stronger. I think that's an important lesson for kids game developers who want to make something that'll last.

      Also, don't apologize for reminiscing on things past! I think all periods of time are strongly interconnected and one and the same in some aspects.

      Delete
  2. Well if a another animal is human it should be call Human Jam! XD -Mini

    ReplyDelete

Heyyo! I love it when you guys comment. I'm always checking for more, so even if you comment on an older post I'll definitely see it and try to respond. :)

Before you comment, of course, here are some basic things to remember:

-Don't be mean on purpose.
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-Rants/long comments totally encouraged! You don't have to apologize for a long comment, I love reading them xD

-*NEW!* Please be safe about the personal information you share here, and on the internet in general. Just like AJ's in-game safety guidelines, don't share your real name, photos of yourself, phone number, address, email, or age. Always turn to a trusted adult if you're unsure about something.

Pretty easy rules. Nothing to stress about. As long as you follow them, you can say whatever you want!

Thanks for reading! C(o.o)D

P.S. That's a bear emoticon up there. ^