3 Years of AJ

Hey animals! I'm really sorry that I didn't post yesterday. Things were weird so I didn't have much time to use the computer. But now I'm back! Not in time for my exact 3 year anniversary of being on Animal Jam but it's only a day after, so thats okay, right?

But before we get into my yearly rant about Animal Jam, we have to get through the new item. Plus I have something extra for y'all that came up recently!

The kelp archway is members only and sold in Sunken Treasures, Kani Cove.

Have you heard about the so-called leaked goat that everyone is screaming about on Blogger? If you've somehow avoided all of that, here's a picture:

It was a while ago that goats were first sighted, so maybe AJHQ gave up on actually releasing them. But then again, maybe they have the animations for a whole lot of unreleased animals "in storage" and they're just slowly let go one at a time. Maybe one of them (the goat) just slipped out a bit too early. Maybe this was a fake and I shouldn't be so speculative about it. 

But admit it, doesn't it look real?

(UPDATE: NO IT ISN'T. XD)

You know with all of these Animal Jam ads I see now, a ton of people have joined rather recently who don't know that this wasn't always what happened. When new animals came out it was rare and special and a ton of hype was given over them! I used to complain about the shift to things happening faster on AJ, but I guess I was just being unreasonably nostalgic. More stuff more frequently equals more people who are excited equals more players equals AJ's success equals AJ being around for a long time!

And it can and will happen, at this rate. You'd think that kids games aren't built to last years, but look at Club Penguin! Once October comes around again, CP will have been around for ten whole years. Ten whole years of stability.

There was a point where we could only hope and wish that the same future was going to be kind to Animal Jam, but this game that started off so small has grown so much in five years. That's right, five years. Animal Jam is only half as old as Club Penguin with twice as much promise for the future. Go on, log on to Club Penguin and tell me it isn't a wasteland. However glitzy and populous it'll seem now, theres a big disconnect. It is the true definition of a game thats "not what it used to be." Club Penguin has long since lost it's charm.

...And as Club Penguin crumbles, Animal Jam will rise and absorb what little power remains from there. The kids who used to play CP will say "Hey, this is lame. Now whats this about Animal Jam...?" and just up and leave for the greener grasses that are Animal Jam.

That's just my hypothesis, but it seems pretty likely to me.

Animal Jam has always been a little more special than other games. It's intricate; there are thousands of ways to customize your animals and den (which is what attracted me in the first place), there are a ton of rooms and lands, all with incredible detail. There are many types of games you can play, and there's a new item every day, too. How often do new items come out in other virtual worlds? Like every other month. Releasing a new item every day takes dedication, and to me it seems that "dedicated" describes AJ perfectly.

There's also the element of connection between company and consumer. We are the consumers of this product (Animal Jam) and the company is WildWorks. There are suggestion bubbles all over Jamaa, players can be directly involved with the Daily Explorer through commenting and submitting their things through contests and the gallery, as well as emailing AJHQ. 

Remember the time when AJHQ said they would be renovating Club Geoz but nothing happened? Thats probably because Club Geoz was good already and almost no one was big on change, just look at the AJ blogs from then. And with email, while people complain all over the place about AJHQ sending back pre-written responses, they really do read emails from players. Why would they respond and have a "Contact us" button if they didn't actually read emails?

Here's a story: around Spring of 2012, my friend sent an email to AJHQ with my own idea of implementing a Conservation Center to AJ (for the monkeys that had recently become "endangered"). And now the Animal Museum has long become the Conservation Center where I donate all my extra gems every day. 

Another story: a long time ago my friend suggested bronze, silver, and gold bricks to the suggestion bubble in Epic Wonders. Only a week later, they came out and she was ecstatic!

While AJ has some problems (as all games do), AJHQ really listens to you, which is what makes it different from a ton of other kids games, like Club Penguin. Maybe it's the reason why Animal Jam is called "the most popular social network game for kids in North America" while there are so many others.

While I may sound like a walking commercial right now, I have played Animal Jam since February 17th, 2012 and have loved it all the way through. 

Now that I've concluded my rant, lets all celebrate 3 years of wasting my time on a kids game with clapping out loud. Do it now. So what do you personally love about Animal Jam? What made you stay online? What are some things that could make it better? 

Comment below! :D

– DoomyPanda