7 Years of DoomyPanda

Hey Jammers! I haven't posted in a while, but for the record I was actually busy and not just being lazy. I had to do a lot of stuff this past week, but now it is the weekend. In fact, my school is on its second winter break, so you can expect near-daily posting from this point until late this week! :D

But yeah, I've been so exhausted so I was just planning to use today to not do anything productive, but then I checked the date...

It is the 7-year anniversary of the first time I logged into AJ! 

Ah yes, February 17th 2012. I still remember it like it was yesterday...

My real-life best friend was really into AJ at the time and had been adamant that I make an account ASAP, even offering to let me use a spare account of theirs. 

Believe it or not, I had been skeptical and uninterested for a month or two prior. Having never seen the game, I assumed it was just one of those generic-looking Webkinz/Club Penguin/Poptropica clones that I was all too familiar with.

One Friday evening, however, I had some computer time and decided to use it to finally check out this website my friend loved so much.

The instant I saw the home page, I was instantly captivated. It must have been something about the earthy and mysterious background, or the subtle expressions on the animals' faces. It was all like nothing I had ever seen in a kids game before-- I was used to bright colors and forced cartoony expressions. This was different.

I didn't bother logging into my friend's spare account-- I immediately made a new account just for myself.

(This is not my image-- I just found it and included it so you can know what the make-an-account screen looked like in early 2012)

Countess Spookypanda, my main animal, was the first AJ animal I ever made. The second animal I ever made was a wolf named Wretched Spiritstar, which I periodically recycled and brought back depending on if I wanted to explore the oceans.

Here's the original design for my wolf:

I always liked how this specific pattern looks so soft and smooth.

And here's the original design for my panda:

I still use this design a lot, still, even if it is just purple swirls with a blue necklace. 

Again, these are not actual screenshots taken in 2012. I just have a ridiculously good memory when it comes to Animal Jam XD

I don't know if I ever fully explained my username, so I'll do it here:

Before I played Animal Jam, there was this fan website thingy devoted to one of my favorite things ever, Invader Zim. There was a chatroom on it where I went by the username DoomyDemon. It sounds like a weird name, but it's actually pretty generic for Invader Zim because "doom" is the word the characters use the most. There were probably other users with some variation of Doom in their names.

Anyways, when I made my AJ account I was very set on being a panda, so I knew I would not regret the username DoomyPanda because it combines my love of spooky aliens with the natural world. <3

If any of you newer players are wondering, prior to 2014-2015 you could put multiple capitalized letters in your username. Now you cannot, which confused me until I realized 5 seconds ago that people could sneak inappropriate words into their names through capitalization.

This reminds me of my old AJ buddy fSlHuEfEfPy. Their name made no sense to me until I realized that all lowercase spell "fluffy" and all uppercase spell "sheep" XD

(Again, not my image)

It seems the AJ community has some mixed feelings about Liza's old design, with many newer players being terrified of it and many older players (like me) very fond of it. 

There is a pretty stark comparison– new Liza looks cutesy (and weirdly skinny) in a style predictable for a kids game, while old Liza looks like a wise mentor with a unique earth-toned design who looks at least somewhat like an actual panda. 

I guess the shift went from "Jammers looking up to Alphas" to "Jammers personally relating to Alphas". Heck, Cosmo went from being an old guy with a beard to one of the youngest Alphas.

Just know that if old Liza scares you, new Liza scares me just as much.

When I first "spawned" into the world of Jamaa, I arrived in Coral Canyons. It was predictably laggy, but not too bad– I used to wait like 15 minutes for a single room on Webkinz to load. 

The first game I ever played was Long Shot. I struggled a bit with timing at first, but once I launched the armadillo I was surprised how far it went! I got at least two achievements and reached the volcano area on my first try. 

Long Shot will always have a special place in my heart. It doesn't involve much gameplay, but it sure is soothing. 

Fun fact! Once it gets warmer where I live, I should make a post all about how different animals keep cool in the summer. I like thinking about an armadillo escaping from the hot sun in a cool burrow <3

This is a reenactment of how I initially set up my den. EXCEPT, the spiral lamp was the default purple-black color because in 2012 nonmembers couldn't change the colors of items.

I also filled my den with folding Shoji Screens and Cat Banners because both were easily bought at the store at the time. I only have a couple left, but I think both are my favorite items.

Funny story: even though I knew my friend's username, I didn't think to search it up and send a friend request. I actually ran into them randomly at a Heatwave Party and added them as a buddy then! XD

As I explored the world of Jamaa more and more, my love for it only increased. I had always loved the Earth and its amazing plant and animal inhabitants, but playing Animal Jam increased my enthusiasm for my world by 100 times. It was around the time I joined AJ that I decided to start eating vegetarian, and later vegan. I don't really think this is a coincidence.

It sounds weird, and I know this doesn't happen with everyone who plays AJ, but it's because of AJ that I've decided to go into Environmental Studies in college and I have very clear goals relating to helping local ecosystems.


I don't have time to write a whole AJ autobiography, so imma stop this right here, but I hope you enjoyed!

Before I go, I want to share with you some ideas I have for future posts to make this week-- mostly so I'll remember them XD

1. Interview with a beta player -- My buddy Gogreen16 was actually a beta tester in 2010, but is still active on AJ and has a pretty good memory of what beta is like. I think an interview with them would be interesting considering how little screenshots or video there are of actual beta testing. (Psst... Rainbow, weren't you also a beta player? I'd love to interview you too, if you want :D)

2. How to not get scammed -- Pretty standard, I know, but people keep commenting on AJ Stream about how they were scammed so I feel like I need to clear some stuff up.

3. Snowyclaw appreciation post -- I really appreciate the contributions Snowyclaw has made to the AJ community through their current website Animal Jam Archives and their old blog Animal Jam Spirit. I'm also pretty sure that Snowyclaw is the reason why Alphas and lore have a bigger role in Jamaa than they used to (lore had a big role in beta, and then stopped being mentioned for a couple of years) so Snowyclaw is a very influential player even if they're not as active anymore. I also want to talk about the idea of "Jamaasian" they popularized with Animal Jam Spirit and what it means for Animal Jam today.

4. Generally more educational nature-centric posts. -- The game itself is currently lacking in the educational material which is at its foundation, so I hope I can compensate until AJHQ takes action. I have many interesting fun facts up my sleeve!

Alright guys, that's all for now. I'm very happy I made this post instead of watching anime or something. See you in Jamaa! :D