What I've Been Doing + Cool New Feature!

Heyyo Jammers! This post is admittedly a little late, simply because I admittedly slept through the whole day. I had a really fun week! So fun, in fact, that I forgot to sleep. 

So... what exactly did I do last week?

Long story short, I went to an animal rights and advocacy summer camp located on an animal sanctuary. My special friend pictured above is Beatrice, a turkey born to be killed in a slaughterhouse. At a young age she was rescued and parted with her 45 million friends and family who did not even see the sunshine before their deaths. 

It's amazing, even though humans have wronged Beatrice unimaginably, her heart is still open to us. She loves wing massages and will approach you asking for them. Beatrice spends her days in freedom, exploring the land, looking for yummy grass and bugs to eat, daydreaming beneath trees, and chatting and cuddling with her fellow rescued turkey friends. 

You know, while me and my friend at camp were stroking Beatrice's soft white feathers, she told me something that struck me hard. It's a simple phrase that sounds obvious at first: 

"Turkey is a turkey"

The flesh you eat for dinner used to be a living, breathing, beautiful being; someone who had needs and wants that were never fulfilled; someone like Beatrice who cried when they were sad and purred like a kitten when they were happy. 

My friend had only realized this a year ago, she was embarrassed to tell me. When she saw someone eating a turkey, she only saw "meat". They probably only saw "meat" as well, not the being from which that flesh was stolen from. When my friend began to realize the folly of that train of thought, she was never the same again.

Beatrice was molting a little during the time we were stroking her wings, something completely normal. She purred as she fell asleep in our arms, the caruncles on the top of her head shifting into a blue as cool as the sky. Turkey's caruncles are like mood rings, when they feel excited they are bright red, and when they feel relaxed and loved they turn cool blue. 

A small downy, angelic feather fell from her wing to the earth. I brought it home with me to remind me of Beatrice, all her friends safe at the sanctuary, and in memory of all those who were never so lucky, who continue to live and die in painful darkness.

This experience really changed me, seeing an animal usually objectified and eaten at head level, looking into their deep brown eyes and seeing their hearts and history unravel before me.

 I just wanted to share this meaningful thing that happened to me. I feel honored to have met Beatrice and heard her story, so I'd like to share it with you for you to think about. 

Overall, this camp was an extremely positive experience. Everyone in the community was so close, and it was amazing to meet so many kind people who have had vastly different experiences and yet all hold the deep-set belief that animals deserve respect and understanding-- something I often have to defend back home lol

I like to use this blog to tell y'all about the new stuff going on in my favorite game, Animal Jam, but I also like to tell you a bit about myself sometimes to make the experience more personal. I'm not AJHQ, guys! I don't have to worry about public relations or anything. 

Besides, I'm sure a good amount of you love real-world animals and not just Animal Jam animals, and a major aspect of AJ is learning about the animals around you. I personally love all animals, not just the charismatic megafauna of faraway countries! 

On a more internet-related note, I noticed an awesome new feature when I logged on this afternoon:

At first I thought, '*gasp* is this the new feature I've been waiting for??'

And, yes! Yes it is! Finally, after all these years, a general feedback button for all of AJ!

If you've been reading this blog long enough, you probably know what I'm going to write first:

Yep, classic DoomyPanda. XD

Honestly, I think this change could be so simply yet effectively implemented by putting stuff like notices of new Conservation Museum exhibits on the front page of the Jamaa Journal and pushing the "OMG SPIEK SALEZ" notice back a couple pages. This is also good because people are more likely to read the whole Jamaa Journal if you safe the "best" for last. 

I just think that AJ needs to understand that it's classified officially as a "biology educational MMO" and not a "spike collar  simulator" for a reason. It's simple as that. :|

What kinds of things will you write into the suggestion button?

See y'all in Jamaa,

~DoomyPanda

I'M BACK YO

Hey guys! I'm back from summer camp with a new passion to post for you all. I really want to talk about it but it's a little late right now as I write this, so tomorrow you'll hear more from me about it. 

See you tomorrow around 4 to 6 o'clock EST!

~ DoomyPanda :)

The Wonders of Tiki Trouble

Hey Jammers! It seems odd, that after so much fragmented posting I'd declare an even longer hiatus instead of just getting my act together. Still, I can't change the fact that I'm going away for a week and will not have access to internet.

But I do have a little time today to post. I'll be using this post to talk about the new adventure 'Tiki Trouble', just because I like it so much and it'll probably be old news by the time I get back. 

The promised post about Beta Testing myths will come after I get back home.

So... Tiki Trouble. Where do I begin?

I guess I'll begin with NPC villager Mele's assessment of the whole thing, which is admittedly pretty accurate. The main goal of this quest is to upset the peace of an island village by awakening their three annoying tiki statues, Momi, Koa, and Kapena and make tedious trades for their magical pearls that, according to dolphin alpha Tavie, will banish all the phantoms from the ocean. 

Interestingly, the names of the statues have deliberate meanings. Momi is a Hawaiian name meaning "pearl", Koa is a name meaning "brave", and Kapena is a name meaning "captain", which is rather fitting, given their dialogue:

I wonder how a pirate got turned into a tiki statue.

What if...

A pirate ship crash-landed on the island, and the captain's spirit went into the tiki? 

That would be the most interesting secret story line in all the AJ adventures, in my opinion. 

Let's see how the other tikis live up to their names:

Momi's name means PEARL. Can't really see any resemblance between Momi and a pearl. This statue's defining characteristic is that it talks in rhyme. Momi is a Hawaiian girl's name, so perhaps Momi is a girl. (Or if my theory is right, that these are spirits, this statue's spirit is a girl).

Maybe Momi is responsible for giving pearls to all the other statues, giving her her name. Hmm...

Koa is also a kind of tree native to Hawaii. Maybe this is a tree spirit? They look kind of... tree-like. Their defining characteristic is their not-very-articulate English. Hmm... not many clues here, but I guess I wouldn't imagine a tree's first language to be English?

Each tiki will only trade specific things for their pearls. You even need to bribe them to get them to talk to you!

Kapena, for instance, needs to be offered one gold coin combed from the shallow waters:

Follow the water-with-rock arrow to the shallows and click all the pawprint grab buttons 'til you find a gold coin. 

I believe you have to talk to a tiki before their special item becomes accessible to you. (I mined every single deposit before talking to Koa and I got nothing but fossils).

If you're finding too many purple conch shells, sell them to a trader for gems!

After you give Kapena the gold coin, he will want three pieces of fruit. The order may vary, but I believe he wants a pineapple, coconut, and banana. To save time, keep an eye out for those as you follow Kapena's trail.

I suggest you look for Kapena first, simply because he's closer to Tavie. 

Here's a secret: You'll stumble upon a treasure hunter by the seashore who might just validate my theory that the three tikis are spirits from a sunken ship.

Hmm... is it pushing it to wonder if that sunken ship is Sunken Treasures in Kani Cove? 

Next up, Koa. Koa wants a jewel first, then three pieces of fruit. Mine the jagged silver deposits looking for some shimmery jewels. You'll get a lot of fossils, but you can sell those to a trader.

You also have a chance of finding a Gold Brick in a deposit. 

You'll want to talk to Momi last, simply because she's so far away and that it takes awhile to get her special item, a sad polluted phantom fish.

Nice save, AJHQ– having the player fish for squishy phantom fish instead of real fish in a game where you can play as a fish. XD

I don't know how to feel about that sad, sad phantom fish, though. Is it a normal fish made sad and sick by pollution? Or is it a fish bioengineered by the phantoms? Who can say!?

As for the process of fishing, you'll get a lot of cans. Luckily, you can sell them to the village trash enthusiast for her 'collection':

I suggest you go around and talk to the villagers. Not only will they offer you friendly advice about their island...

...but for an AJ adventure, their dialogue can be genuinely funny:

I was so not expecting this XD

Of course, after each pearl you receive, you deliver it to Tavie and she'll give you a prize. Here are some nonmember prizes in order, from first pearl to last pearl, left to right:

I assume the tiki statues vary, so you can collect 'em all! 

Plus, the middle guitar is the first item of its kind: when you click it, it plays an electric guitar sound! 

Here are some other prizes you can get as a member and in secret treasures, like if you find a boot in a fishing net: 

Look around, see which ones you can find!

I just love this adventure so much. It doesn't emphasize items as heavily as it does the plot, at least I think so. 

Before I go, I just learned that Animal Jam is being developed into a downloadable computer application!

I think the goal is to make gameplay more convenient and less laggy, or maybe also make money. According to snowyclaw, browser AJ will not change at all– whew! :)

Open beta for this computer app will happen while I'm away around July 26th, so I hope it's fun, for those who'd like to try it.

Well, that's all for now, Jammers. See you when I get internet again on July 30th! 

Jammer Wall Changes

Hey Jammers! Quick post from me, DoomyPanda, about something unexpected that is reported to happen next update:

According to this obviously homemade meme posted by the Animal Jam CEO, Clark Stacey, some changes will come to the Jammer Wall.

Here are some possibilities as to what that will entail:

1. It could become nonmember (hopefully!)

2. There might be new trading section, perhaps where you can make a wishlist of items you want. Unlikely though, considering how much coding it would take to include EVERY item.

3. If the use of Cosmo in this post is intentional, something plant or nature related might include itself in the Wall. I can't imagine how that would work, but if it's nature related, I'm in! XD
4. Minor cosmetic changes to the layout of the Wall, which might be the most likely outcome.

I wonder what will happen. Do you guys have any ideas?

Before I go, I just wanted to say that I'm currently finalizing a design concept for the blog. It might be a little much, but I want to make something that is legible and more accessible than this layout.

Peace!!!!

~ DoomyPanda

THE GIVEAWAY WINNER IS...

 Hello, Jammers!! Today's post will be about the winner of my Animal Jam Slogan/Jingle contest! Thank you to everyone that joined, I really appreciate it! I was reading all the slogans/jingles and honestly, all of you guys are so talented and creative, it's incredible! Now, I will choose a winner using the random number generator, so let's find out who the winner of the contest is!

And the winner is Sarahkey8! Congratulations and great slogan!

Just add me on Animal Jam (Kimberley082) and I will give you your prize!

Once again, thanks to everyone who entered! I will hopefully have more contests in the future and if you have any suggestions for contests, feel free to leave them down below! That's it for this post, have a great day in Jamaa!

Post coming soon(ish)...

Yo, it's DoomyPanda and I am going to publish a post about beta testing today but before that I have to finish this watercolor for my grandfather. Seeya in a few hours!

EDIT: Sorry guys, gonna be a lot more than a few hours. That watercolor took me all day and now I need to prepare because I'm going away tomorrow... and won't be able to post. For three days. 

For those who want to read this post I'm planning, I am endlessly sorry and this is kind of jerk-ish in hindsight. I have a super busy day tomorrow.

In slightly better blog news, I'm currently drawing out the plans for the new layout. The one up right now is kinda thrown together, and I love designing websites, so I am very happy to finalize a look (mostly) everyone will like. 

Sorry for getting your hopes up too soon about this new post,

~ DoomyPanda, the Disappointing

Check out Kim's Contest! :D

Hey Jammers! As you can see, I've really been skimping on posting for the past few days. I was just taking a quick break to get my life back together AKA cleaning my room so I don't have to sadly stare at my scattered school supplies even though it's Summer.

And by "was"... I mean I still am taking a break. I HAVE BEEN PROCRASTINATING-- ON MY LIFE, THAT ART COMMISSION I HAVE TO DO, AND EVEN ANIMAL JAM! BOY, AM I PATHETIC!!! :)

So, I just wanted to ask y'all to click this link to a post that got buried about a quick contest that co-author Kim is hosting. If you want an actually rare Bow and Arrow, make up a motto for Animal Jam! This time, a more creative motto than simply 'Play Wild'... :P

(Play Wild is still a nice motto, but can you replace it?)

As many contests on AJ Stream go, only one person has entered so far so you have an XTREMELY HIGH CHANCE!!!!!! of winning a rare blue Bow and Arrow.

I'm gonna focus on cleaning my room tomorrow, so I think the next time you'll hear from me will be Wednesday-- but I'll still continually answer comments.

See ya then!

~ DoomyPanda

That Weird Cave You Probably Forgot About

Hi I'm Star and I'm a fellow returning author here at the Animal Jam Stream. The sidebar lists my name as SkyWatcher.

     So I'm guessing that the majority of you took a look at this picture and thought..

"Hey, that looks really familiar. Where do I know it from?"

The rest probably thought something like..

   "Oh yeah! It's the cave at the bottom of the Adventure Basecamp"

..And the 5% thought something like..

"The adventure basecamp cave. I was just there a couple days ago,"

⬆

Of course, no one thought that because there seems to be a curse placed on the adventure basecamp that prevents people from going there.

No one quite knows the purpose of this cave, nor do they know its meaning, but I have a couple ideas about it. 

Credit to Meloetta385 of the Animal Jam Flash

This is an older version of the current Member benefits list that can be found here. So if we look through the list, there are quite a few features that have not been fully put in the game. For our cavey friend over there, the Animal Bases features sound pretty promising. 

So what exactly is an Animal Base? An animal base is an area that can only be accessed by one specific animal, much like today's -animal- only parties. Many areas in Jamaa actually have the potential to have been animal bases. For example, this cave..

once looked like this..

Seals were the first animal released after Beta Testing, They were released along with Mt. Shiveer.

So, it is very likely that this cave was designed to be a animal base for the seals!

Sadly, this idea for animal bases was discontinued, likely because with the ratio of animals to lands we have now, each land would need to have several different bases. And since AJHQ seems to have a problem with releasing new lands, this pretty cool idea wouldn't work out. 

(This idea was later implemented into Play Wild!)

So if this cave isn't an animal base, what is it?

To understand this base, let's take a look at the adventure basecamp.

 

We have entrances to Water, Land, and Flying adventures.

Could the cave be an entrance to..

Underground Adventures!!

For burrowing animals in Animal Jam, such as otters, foxes, and bunnies.

The idea of new areas or lands for underground animals is actually pretty promising. 

Take the Crystal Sands to Mt. Shiveer caves.

There's no way a tropical warm beach leads straight to a cold icy mountain!

But do you know what is possible? A network of underground tunnels that lead through Jamaa and to each other. 

So what'd you think? Is it possible or am I just a jammer with too much time on her hands. xD

Leave your opinions down in the comment section. 

Byeee.

Animal Jam CONTEST!

 Hey, Jammers! Kim is back with a post and no, it's not about an update, in fact, it's a CONTEST! I've never hosted a contest before, so I decided, why not?! Now, I will explain in further detail what the contest is about.

WHO?: Anyone can enter! The prize is for nonmembers and members!

WHAT?: This contest is a Jingle or Slogan contest. Basically, you have to create either a jingle or a slogan (or both!) for Animal Jam in order to win a prize. You can only enter once and only under this post, entries commented on other posts won't be entered. Under this post, comment the jingle/slogan (or both) and a number between 1-20. To make this fair, I will use a random number generator to choose the winner.

WHERE: Under this post. The winner will have to buddy me if they haven't already and I will trade it to them ASAP.

WHEN: The entries must be submitted before July 12 because on July 12 I will choose the winner.

(If there are any questions about the contest, feel free to comment them down below.)

Now, onto what the prize is. There will only be one winner and that winner will win a ... Rare Blue Bow and Arrow! It may not be much so I apologize for that.

Also, if you have any suggestions as to what other contests you'd like me to do, comment that down below.

Anyways, good luck to all who decide to enter! Remember to only enter once and only under this post, thanks! See you later Jammers!

AJHQ Fools Us All + Freedom Party Secrets

Hey Jammers, DoomyPanda here! I'd once again like to thank Kimberley082 for filling in yesterday. I had promised that I would post daily for all of the summer, but some days that's just not feasible for me.

I do an internship at a local wildlife reservation Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and while it's only six hours a day, I get reeeeaaally tired after doing all that work outside lol :S

All in all, it's really fortunate that Kim decided to post again. Thank you! =^-^=

Last Thursday there was no update, meaning that today there will be.

Oh boy, here it is already:

What did I tell ya? All the panda items are here.

Sadly, the one item I liked in this mess, the Bamboo Flute, is member's only. :\

Everyone who wants to be a panda: you can be one again! I completely forgot they went traveling in the first place. On the topic of returning animals, a new land will come when goats return. They'e been gone for about a year so far. 

And yes, if you are a new Jammer, you might not already know that pandas are for everyone. Thanks to this page in the Jamaa Wood Slab, now you do. Woohoo

I can't keep track of all the pets as it is, but here's a new one to add on top of the ever-growing pile.

I kinda miss when there were only a few pets available in Jamaa and it was actually a big deal when new ones came out. Yeah, there was less selection, but at least I'd know them all! There are so many right now that there could be a pet Flesh-eating Demon and no one would no because they already gotta keep track of the squirrels and ladybugs and whatnot.

Yay, Sketch Jam! I wanna learn how to draw a cute chubby crocodile. Genuinely, I do. Aside from pandas, crocs are my favorite animal avatars. Maybe you didn't know that already about me.

This just in, yet another new animal in Jamaa! But what are they? Let's look closely at that image:

Looks eerily familiar. Wait a minute... is that a pet gecko?

I photoshopped a green pet gecko behind the very same rocks and--

WHAT!?! Aside from the hasty image-edit blurriness, it looks practically the same! Is this some kinda joke?

If this is indeed just a pet gecko (which are already in the Diamond Shop, mind you), then it would most likely be this one:

I think it would be really funny if this is genuinely a joke. Maybe next update there will be a follow-up page saying "Oops, no new animal. It was just General Wackystone's lost gecko!" 

If AJHQ should do that, it would add a bit more realism to the biweekly Jamaa Wood Slab. Plus, I can't really say that we need a new animal with a massive reservoir of 42 animals to choose from as it is. (It's 42, I counted. To think there were just six original animals... XD)

But if this isn't a joke.... then it's a snake. The new animal, if there is one, is probably a snake. But I really hope it isn't. This is a golden opportunity, AJHQ... use it. 

Moving on, there are two more pages in the Jamaa Wood Slab, but because they're advertisements for things that aren't really relevant to the game I'll skip them for today. 

In their place, here are two screenshots from Freedom Day:

You know, I don't really care much for the subject of July 4th, but I always get the uncontrollable urge to be festive whenever a holiday comes around-- especially when it has a counterpart on AJ. 

So yeah, I went to the Freedom Party. And then I turned off my computer and went outside to look at fireworks from over a bunch of trees. It was pretty, yeah, but I always wonder about how the local birds feel about all the noise. They have to get up early in the morning to get all the worms and morning dew! :0

Back to Animal Jam. Have you ever looked at the sky at the Freedom Party and wondered about the trees buildings on the horizon? I never did, until this Tuesday. I think I figured it out:

I dunno if this is already common knowledge, but I'm still proud of myself for noticing XD

Is there any other small visual detail in the lands/parties of Jamaa that you think is cool?

See you in Jamaa!

~DoomyPanda