Hey Jammers! ^3^
A while ago I put up a poll just for fun entitled "What Alpha do you relate to the most?"
Here are the results:
A large amount of Jammers relate to Greely, which I expected, because Greely is the wolf Alpha and wolves are the most popular animal on AJ. Greely is also very interesting because he works among the phantoms.
However, the most relatable Alpha is Peck! Perhaps because AJ is so full of artists. I wonder, are bunnies more popular than wolves on AJ?
The least-related Alpha is Tavie– maybe because underwater areas are not as popular. I think that must be the reason, because Tavie's personality revolves around music, and most people like music.
When I first joined AJ as a member a long time ago, I'd love going to Crystal Reef just to stare at my dolphin doing all of the actions. It was endlessly entertaining XD
As to what Alpha I personally relate to... it's changed over the years.
When Liza had her original appearance and backstory, I related to her a lot– and not just because I've always played as a panda!
While the other Alphas had their "bases" all around Jamaa and were never seen, Liza's base was rumored to be in the bamboo thicket of Jamaa Township, as she originally appeared to introduce new Jammers in that area. I related to this part of Liza because community is important to me.
However, when Liza's design changed, I was so put off by the idea of a skinny panda that I couldn't really relate to her anymore.
I guess right now I relate most to Cosmo, because I'm also really connected to plants.
My next post will be all about the Alphas and how they've changed over the years... stay tuned...
I created a new poll to replace the one I just overviewed, just to switch things up. The question: how do you feel about Jammer Parties?
I think this is important to ask because in my personal experience, I rarely see anyone at Jammer Parties. Even though the normal party list was moved off to the side, I always see a significant amount of people at them.
I also learned that two of my favorite parties were removed to make way for Jammer Parties– the Play Wild Party and the Trading Party:
I had originally consoled myself over the loss of Club Geoz by saying "at least we have the Play Wild Party." But we don't anymore! Instead, we just have underpopulated dance-themed Jammer Parties that people only visit to pick up items.
Was our last piece of Club Geoz really worth exchanging for a bunch of boring Jammer Parties?
As for the Trading Party, we need it more than ever. Not only is it beautiful-looking (I love the snowy castle so much), but safe spaces to trade that aren't crammed into Aldan are very hard to come by these days.
What I loved about the Trading Party was that you didn't need to be loaded with rares to trade. In Aldan, everyone ignores you unless you have a ton of spikes. Trading should be for everyone!
While I personally dislike Jammer Parties, I'd like conclusive evidence on how other people feel about them. That's why I'd love for you to vote on the new poll to the right of the blog!
Also feel free to discuss your views in the comments. I love it when you guys comment :D
Ready... set... comment and vote! :O
Hey Jammers! It's been what, a whole week since I last posted? I guess that's no big surprise for this blog though lol
I didn't post for a lot of last week because I had to do things in preparation for school, which starts for me a week from today. Then on sunday I met up with a friend who I hadn't seen in a year, cuz they live far away. And then yesterday I spent the whole day being useless and watching movies, which was a lot less fun than it sounds because most of that time was spent deciding what to watch.
And while I got most of my academic summer homework done... I still have homework for my art class, so posting will still be spotty as I work to finish those assignments.
While school is starting soon, and I didn't do everything I wanted to this summer, I'm still happy with how it went. ^-^
Ok, end of boring personal update! Time for what you came here for:
An exploration of phantom square!!!
What is Phantom Square, you may ask? Well, it's a series of interconnected dens that come together to create an imaginative and interactive town/mall unlike any other!
The first step on this journey is of course, the phantomsquare den. Aside from three nonmember vendor items I didn't even know existed (Pet Wash Hut, Pet Smoothie Hut, Pet Cotton Candy Hut), there are currently 19 linked dens:
- Phantom Lab
- Phantom Mall Security Guard
- Wren's Time and Again Antiques
- Greely's Pizza
- Phantom Arcade
- Information Floor and Rental Center
- Plant Depot
- Bike Shop
- Promo Pets
- Phantom News
- Phantom Toys
- Phantom Studio
- Jamaa Books
- Phantom Jail
- Sweet Beaks
- Dens To Go
- The Holiday Store
- Ties and Capes
- Space for Rent
Because there are just so many places you can visit in Phantom Square, I'm not gonna show you them all– just a few of my favorites!
Let's start off with the phantomnews den:
This den is how I originally found out about Phantom Square– or more accurately, a post on Rainbow000Pegasus' Animal Jam blog containing one of the masterpieces got me interested.
Phantom News has a collection of cool newspaper-page styled Masterpieces! Here's all of them in no particular order:
This is such a unique and fun idea!
And now I really want to see the phantom king battle godzilla XD
Next up, let's go take a look at the jamaabooks den!
I have a soft spot for library/bookstore dens, and this is a Quality example of one.
If you move towards the back of the den, you'll find a dusty, hidden portal. Where does it lead?
It leads to the phantomarchives, of course!
This whole den is a great example of how adventure items can be used. The straight lines of torches and scrolls makes the den look bigger than it is, and the stone circles and pillars covering up the wood of the den makes it look a lot more like a temple than a wooden house. I love it.
Here's another cool one:
Come to the Phantomcomic den to browse the selection of comics or purchase/admire "rare" action figures!
My favorite part of this den is the Masterpiece based on the red-suited phantom figure.
It looks so good!!! Click it to make it big enough to fully appreciate <33
You know, I've never thought about making a den-sequence until now. While it must take a lot of work, it would be so fun to build a mini-village of dens!
What are your thoughts? Do you know of any other cool den sequences? :D
See you in Jamaa! ^0^
Hey Jammers!
So, for the past couple weeks, I've been trying to trade for one specific item, that item being the Alpha Trading Mat, which can only be originally acquired after buying 120 Adopt-a-Pet toys.
So yeah... no way I'm buying that many. XD
At the beginning of my trading quest, I thought it would be a good idea to go to Aldan. That's where all those trading people go, right? Maybe they'll be more likely to trade me?
Nope.
Along with being too chaotic to even click anyone's username, barely anyone on Aldan wants to trade you unless you have a list full of spikes.
And then there's stuff like this:
Now excuse me if I'm just an unrare n00b, but isn't that a bit excessive...?
Moral of the story: don't trade on Aldan unless you're looking for lag and psychological suffering. You'll have better luck on a full non-Aldan server.
And here's a pro-tip: This is the best location to be in a full Jamaa Township for trading. Even though your animal is covered by the tree, your message and nametag are clickable for the maximum amount of people. Plus, people coming into Jamaa Township won't completely cover your tag.
My evidence is that I've gotten the most trades standing here out of any location in the Township. So if you like trading, or if you're like me and are being held hostage until you can get an Alpha Training Mat, maximize your trades by standing here!
Beyond the problem of getting trades at all is getting fair trades.
Now, I'm of the opinion that a fair trade is just what you and your trading partner can agree on. This is what AJHQ has said– value can not be assigned to any item.
Of course, when 60 den betas for 1 black long spiked collar is considered a fair trade... that's when I take issue.
This screenshot is from the AJ Item Worth Wiki, which is taken as a reliable guide for most traders.
While being seen as the best and the rarest by most traders, I can't help but say that the most common spiked collar I've seen is Jamaa is a black long.
My buddy thinks so too:
Whether or not black long spikes are statistically the most common, my experience in Jamaa has shown them to be very prevalent.
But regardless of how common they may be, the fact is that 40-60 den betas for a spiked collar is ridiculous, and I'll tell you why.
Right now, the only way to get a spiked collar without trading is through The Forgotten Desert.
This is the same case with most items popularly considered den betas.
In The Forgotten Desert, you have the same chance of winning a Spiked Collar as you do with any den beta. Therefore, any Spiked Collar shouldn't be worth more than a couple den betas.
Of course, most anyone with a Spiked Collar will tell you otherwise.
I feel like deep down all of us know that spikes really aren't worth much. But we latch on to them as a way to simplify trading and give us a leg up.
Maybe a lot of us give in to the hype to further our own goals. For instance, before I trade for an Alpha Training Mat, I'm working towards a high-demand spiked collar because no matter how much I have for trade, literally no one will trade their Training Mat for anything less than a black long.
Overall, the obsession with Spiked Collars is really harming AJ's trading economy. It didn't always use to be like this. Sure, there were high demand items that people obsessed over, but it never got to the point of trading over 10 den betas for something until now.
I think I know what would happen if Spiked Collars, the original rare Spiked Collars, were released in stores and lost all rarity.
A lot of people would get angry.
Some might quit AJ.
But the trading system would recover, and things would be back to normal in due time.
What do you think about all this?
Comment down below. See you in Jamaa!
Hey Jammers! I had planned to post earlier, but I was away for 3 days without stable internet connection– I guess I forgot to let y'all know lol
I know I'm a couple days late for the update– but I'll talk a little about it anyway. There are some interesting things.
First and foremost... Juno!
The statue mannequin is confirmed as Juno! It didn't show up, but the image above is animated to show Juno sealed in the stone.
Before we talk more about that, I just wanted to point out the second paragraph of the page above.
"Following this monumental discovery, Jamaa's top archaeologists will continue to uncover ancient items and accessories once thought lost forever!"
Really? An ancient warrior might be buried in stone, and items and accessories are the big deal?
I bet they probably just put it there to keep Jammers interested in this whole thing, but it comes across as bizarrely materialistic lol
And even though this statue is Juno, we're still using it as a mannequin... hmm...
If you click the two new papers that are covered up in the image above, this is how they read:
Again, I like how the Alphas' personalities are imbedded in each note! ^-^
So, it seems from these notes that Juno sacrificed themself for the good of Balloosh a long, long time ago– maybe even pre-Jamaa.
If you click the script to the side of the statue, you can learn more:
Even though it's pretty clear that Juno has been turned to stone, I bet there might be a new adventure to come of this– or at least I think this isn't the end. Only time will tell.
Remember that adventure The Mystery Below, where you explore an ancient city? That was Juno's city!!!
The last couple sentences of Juno's message hint that their name can be used as a code. Which it is:
It gives you a full-color carving of Juno!
I'd say this is probably the most "merchandised" lore event in the history of AJ, meaning that items are a huge focus. A little off-putting, but I guess AJHQ might be trying to fill in the gaps of a fairly small event.
In addition to the item code, there is a new shop to the left of the Juno statue:
They all cost diamonds, for some reason. :\
I personally would prefer for the banner to be nonmember– I'm surprised the lantern is nonmember and not the banner! Hmm...
This reminds me. A few days ago, someone in Jamaa said they had a time machine in their den. I went there, and who was there to greet me, but Juno the ancient warrior! :O
Because they lived in Balloosh so long ago, I asked Juno what life is like where they are. They told me the following:
Amazing.
In other news...
There's a cool new exhibit in the Conservation Museum!
I know the Museum isn't the most popular of places to go, but show it some love, won't you? You might learn something really interesting in the process! <3
Speaking of really interesting, here's a PSA:
Gabby Wild's Animal Hospital has a LOT of good-quality animal videos! While Tierney Thys and Brady Barr videos usually just include photos of animals, Gabby Wild talks about these animals while they are nearby!
Go check 'em out today :)
Before I go, here are a few random screenshots:
Saw this cool animal name...
Thought this thing was terrifying...
Met a nonmember "sabretooth"...
And best of all, I found Clark Stacey's long lost child. <3
That's all for now, Jammers. See you in Jamaa!
