WildWorks is Trash Again + Some Jam-a-Grams

Hey Jammers! Eek, it's been over a month since my last post. ^^;

This semester of school has been super challenging for me in a lot of different ways, so I've been pretty stressed out just trying to get work done. Though even through my gaps in posting, I'm still here! I check comments every couple of days.

And while I'm busy focusing on other things, sometimes your comments help me learn what's going on in the world of Jamaa:

Or in this case, the world of WildWorks' long list of horrible mistakes TT_TT

The day I learned that WildWorks was re-using Fer.al graphics and user data to push its player base into a shady game that runs on NFTs/cryptocurrency... I had a project for my animation class to edit. I ended up needing to spend the whole night working on it because it was so hard to focus on editing when I was just so disappointed.

For those who don't know, NFTs and other kinds of cryptocurrency have a terrible impact on the environment. They require huge amounts of electricity, produce huge amounts of e-waste (electronic waste), and put massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They are exactly what we don't need right in the middle of a climate emergency. 

So... this just in, WildWorks: you stink. 

I'm frustrated that I have so much emotional attachment to a game about nature run by a company that obviously just doesn't care about the Earth at this point.

That's all I have to say about Cinder. I don't really have the mental energy to write anything more about it.

EDIT 1/1/22: But wait– there's more! Wildflower75 just alerted me to this AJPW Jamaa Journal page from April 2021:

(Screenshot from Rainbow000Pegasus' Ultimate AJ Blog)

...

Well, guys...

I only got one thing to say about this:

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While I know it doesn't make anything better, I don't want my first post in over a month to end on an entirely sad note. So here's a small content update I noticed in AJC:

A handful of cute older Jam-a-Grams seem to have returned–

Fun fact: the 'Friends!' one is based on an older JAG that was illustrated in a really pretty way–

The wolf JAG is also based on a cool older one too–

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the newer one also used to say 'Join our wolf pack' but they removed the text? I wonder why.

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That's all the content I have for this post today, but one more thing–

While WildWorks may stink, this little corner of the Animal Jam community brings me nothing but joy. 

All of you are kind, awesome people, and I appreciate every one of you. You are what makes this place special! :)

I'm gonna end this post now, but I hope the last few days of 2021 are all good days for you, and I'll see you in the new year!

New AJC Thing: 2-Step Verification

 Hey Jammers! Another quick post here. You know how I pretty much never talk about updates unless it's one of those rare times where something actually new comes to Animal Jam Classic? Well, today is one of those times!

2-step verification is a form of extra security that you can choose to add to your account so even if someone gets your password somehow, they'll still be locked out. You'll also get notified about any log-in attempts, so you can know when to change your password just in case. 

Button in settings that opens the Parent Tools page in your browser

2-Step Verification option in Parent Tools

It's kind of wack that hacking has become such a problem on AJ that 2-step verification makes sense, even though this is just supposed to be a fun and low-key game. 

It's the trading system, man... it's gotten way too intense. The Item Worth Wiki values some items at 100+ spikes, and the community has just gone with it for reasons unknown. With trading feeling unaccessible to so many people, it almost makes sense why some would want to steal items.

I'm not going to turn this post into another item rant, but I still think that a lot of problems would be solved if AJ items had rarity labels that were based off the actual number of that item in the game. It'd make trading a lot more fun and scamming easier to avoid :)

Alright, that wraps up this post. See you all in Jamaa!

A Spooky Surprise for Nonmembers

No matter what you've decided to do on Halloween, I hope you're all having a fun and safe day/night!

This is just another quick post, because the homework never ends ^^;

But! I do have some good news, courtesy of jrl4547, who posted about it first on their AJ blog here. 

Apparently, without AJHQ letting anyone know... 

The Haunted Mansion was re-released as nonmember this year!!!!! :O

A part of me worries that it was a mistake, and that they'll just smack the member's lock back on it as soon as they realize it. But I don't think so... I'm betting it was purposeful, because this is the smaller version of two haunted dens. The other one, the Epic Haunted Manor, is like this one, only with a bunch of extra areas. It makes sense to me that the smaller one would be nonmember– otherwise, why have both? 

A big thanks from us nonmembers, AJHQ <3

---

Ack, today is my favorite holiday, but I admit I'd be feeling a lot more Halloween-y right now if I didn't have a midterm to complete this very night >.<

But you know...

Every day can be Halloween. 

If you want to dress like a vampire and carve a jack-o-lantern in November...

Or December...

Or March...

et cetera...

literally no one can stop you. No one.

Think about it, Jammers B)

And stay spooky...

Short Lil' Post

Hey Jammers! I'm gonna be honest, I don't have any planned content today, but I wanted to write up a post anyway today, mostly to check in and let y'all know I'm still alive and thinking about AJ Stream ^^

Let's see... what to talk about?

This past contest went super well (as I'm sure you're aware), so I'll be definitely sure to host more in the future– hopefully before the end of this year? We'll see how it goes. So far I've gotten the prizes to two out of the three prize-winners. (If you see this jrl4547, let me know a good time to meet on AJC so I can trade ya!)

Also, a small heads-up: you might possibly be seeing a guest post from a different person on here at some point soon-ish! While I'm definitely not planning on making Animal Jam Stream a multi-author blog, Blackstanford3 told me they were interested in seeing what it's like to write a post or two, so I thought why not. :)

In other news... a couple different things from Jamaa:

I like how people have been creatively false-advertising their My Shops to get people to go. I wonder what the people who rushed over to Captain Arcticmajor's den were expecting... kidneys on sale for 2 diamonds a piece? Well, either way, this tactic worked on me. I guess a part of me wondered if AJHQ made it possible to sell organs while I wasn't looking xD

And here's just a Masterpiece I found that made me smile. I think it's the tiger's face that got me.

That's all I have for now! 

See you in Jamaa, and I hope you have as great a day/night as you can. c:

And the Results are...

Hey Jammers! I'm running on only 1 hour of sleep! AAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA––

But don't worry about me– I'll just try to keep this post short. And then I'll sleep. X)

After we all got to see the amazing creativity of everyone who entered the shopkeeper contest, it's finally time to see which three characters got the most votes– and which three Jammers will get to take some prizes back to their dens!

But first, each and every one of the entrants deserves appreciation!

★ Thank you Rainbow000Pegasus, for creating Kelpinn. Aside from their super well-rendered soft shading, Kelpinn as a character just makes me smile. They have such a sweet and subtle expression. I can imagine them bringing some much needed energy to the undersea lands with how they'd run Flippers n' Fins! 

★ Thank you Rivero, for creating Mystic. I think you really rose to the challenge of creating a shopkeeper to run what's probably the most obscure and least-visited shop in all of Jamaa! It's like you took the entire Basement of Secrets and turned it into a character– one look at their design and I can imagine Mystic feeling right at home watching over the quiet, damp underbelly of the Chamber of Knowledge.

★ Thank you Wildflower75, for creating Reylyn. I'm struck by the dynamic pose, the beautiful colors, and how Reylyn's quirky and interesting backstory just completely matches the character that exudes from the art you drew. The vines are a great addition too– you definitely have an eye for design!

★ Thank you jrl4547, for creating The Statuekeeper. I can tell how much thought and care you put into creating it, because its story and art just come to life for me whenever I look at it. They're just an amazing character. I love how you incorporated pieces of Jamaa lore in as well, and elaborated on how these underwater Alpha statues actually get made. The Statuekeeper adds so much life to Marine Marvels!

★ Thank you Blackstanford3, for creating Winter. The little details and quirks you added make Winter such a distinct and fun personality– she honestly feels like she could be a real person! And beyond that, her design is awesome– the white and grey of her fur go really well with the red jacket, the butterfly cap (which should really be made a real item), and especially the reindeer slippers which somehow go so well with Winter's character. 

★ Thank you vaiana70, for creating Yuri. I'm always noticing characters for their expressions and poses, and Yuri's gentle smile and subtle lean forward definitely stand out to me for how they express her personality! The sweet and simple 2D way you laid out the colors of your drawing express the gentleness of this character even more. I just love the idea of a friendly seal covered in sprinkles welcoming travelers to the Hot Cocoa Hut. 

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Y'all are all winners in my book. I'll always remember each of your shopkeepers whenever I visit their shops around Jamaa :)

As for the winning characters from the voting process... it's finally time to look at the results! 

*drumroll*

....

...

..

.

Congratulations everyone! 

Blackstanford3 will get the 1st place prize for Winter, Wildflower75 wins the 2nd place prize for Reylyn, and while Rivero has won 3rd place for Mystic, they have told me in the comments that they prefer the prize to go to jrl4547, creator of The Statuekeeper!

The three of you will get your prizes for AJC or AJPW, depending on which you chose in your contest entry form c:

Please let me know in the comments the best days/times for you to meet me in-game so I can trade you your prizes! I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

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An unrelated note before I go:

Tkaranto has written a really excellent post on their blog (The Animal Jam Bubble) about their experiences having an AJ account hacked, as well as some important tips for how to cope with that happening and how to prevent it moving forward. 

Likely due to the data breach last October, I've unfortunately known a handful of people who have lost items or their entire accounts due to hacking. If this is something you're concerned about, I really recommend you give Tkaranto's post a look! 

> Click here to read the post on The Animal Jam Bubble <

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Thank you all for making this contest so fun, and I'll see you in Jamaa!

Vote for Your Favorite Shopkeeper!

Hey Jammers! I really want to thank y'all– I was actually amazed how quick so many of you were to comment alternative links to your drawings. It was a big help, and because of that, we can finally admire all these characters and begin the voting process!!

But first, another thank you to everyone who entered this contest, supported it in any way, or just put up with my longer-than-normal(?) posting gap as I've been adjusting to my new academic year. Whether or not you comment, I appreciate you all! <3

This post will go through each of the six entries submitted to this contest– six unique character personalities along with their corresponding drawings, in alphabetical order of character name. 

The poll is imbedded into the bottom of this post so you'll be able to vote for your favorite shopkeeper entry in a couple of clicks. Anyone can vote (including if you entered the contest) but I ask that everyone please only vote once to keep things fair!

If Animal Jam had NPC shopkeepers, which one of these would you most like to visit? 

Which one's personality calls out to you the most?  

With those questions in mind, let's meet some of the hidden shopkeepers of Jamaa! 

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Kelpinn

Character and art belong to © Rainbow000Pegasus

Kind of Animal: Octopus

Shopkeeper of: Flippers N' Fins

 

"Kelpinn - absolutely adept in taking care of the store! With a love and passion for styling people up, dressing up pets is their game! Fun, easy going and always eager to share tips on pet care and fashion, the only thing that would dissuade them from conversing to you is if you're rude or mistreating your pets!" 

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Mystic

Character and art belong to © Rivero

Kind of Animal: Fox

Shopkeeper of: ??? (The Basement of Secrets Shop)

"The shopkeeper's name is Mystic, and they use they/them. They're very silent, and formal. Their hobbies are archery, writing, and collecting old artifacts. They like quiet, damp places and don't like the larger ones like Jamaa Township."

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Reylyn

Character and art belong to © Wildflower75

Kind of Animal: Fox

Shopkeeper of: Ancient Armory (The Temple of the Ancients shop)

"Reylyn is a non-binary (they/them) fox. After being trapped by Juno's spell for so long, they've taken on some aspects of their environment. Their back legs are entirely covered in crystal, as well as their tail, though for some reason their tail is a little smoother...? Perhaps this is because of the mysterious ethereal magic swirling around it! They choose to wear a few vines to remind them of the beautiful land that lies outside their shop.

 

Reylyn is convinced that they need to catch up on life, since they were isolated for so long! They take every opportunity to perform the most reckless and unsafe tricks and go on the riskiest adventures. They are unafraid of taking risks and often, their little adventures end in disaster. Reylyn is unfortunately not the most responsible fox ever, but they try their best. It is almost impossible to dislike their bubbly, upbeat, curious, extroverted, adventurous, and fearless spirit!

Surprisingly, despite the fact that they are almost always off getting dirty in Balloosh's swamps and exploring, Reylyn is really good at playing the violin. They like gray, blue, and green, music, exploring, rain, thunder, sleeping, talking, and light. They dislike the darkness, out-of-tune instruments, sand, being interrupted, and arrogant jammers."

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The Statuekeeper

Character and art belong to © jrl4547

Kind of Animal: Turtle

Shopkeeper of: Marine Marvels (Statue shop in Deep Blue)

"name: the statuekeeper; pronouns: they/them and it/its. 

a old, grumpy turtle who resides in the depths of deep blue. not much for conversation (unless it's bickering with the shopkeeper of the den shop next to them). [note: yeah i developed a whole other character. not gonna submit him but i'll probably post about him on blog sometime]

it's widely known around the ocean lands that this turtle sells statues of the underwater alphas, but it's lesser known that they are the one to carve said statues. it's a bit of an open secret among those in the know that if you catch it at a good time, it may take commissions for other statues.

it's clear that they have a deep respect for the alphas. it often says that their reason for carving these statues is to pay homage to the underwater alphas, and to educate younger jamaasians on their very existence..... as these alphas haven't been seen in quite some time. 

the statuekeeper is quite content with its life in the dark, isolated land of deep blue. maybe at one time in the past, their younger self was an enthusiastic part of the bustling city life, but now they are just fine in their secluded cave, alone save for the occasional customer and that annoying octopus. [the aforementioned den shopkeeper]"

> Extra screenshot from jrl4547 of how The Statuekeeper would look in-game <

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Winter

Character and art belong to © Blackstanford3

Kind of Animal: Fox

Shopkeeper of: Claws n' Paws

"Winter (she/her) is a flirty but hardworking fox. She loves all her pets, but specifically her pet ferret Bubbles. She always smells like pet food, and she tries to cover it up with a rose perfume. She wears a letterman jacket, a Claws+Paws cap, and reindeer slippers to work. She loves playing with all the animals and helping them find their forever homes."

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Yuri

Character and art belong to © vaiana70 / coffee.berry (CS)

Kind of Animal: Seal

Shopkeeper of: The Shiveer Shoppe (in the Hot Cocoa Hut)

"Yuri is a Sprinkle Seal, and she's as sweet as candy! She loves helping jammers pick out their boots and winter clothing, as well as making hot cocoa. Yuri's hobbies are sewing and baking!

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I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm absolutely blown away by every single one of these entries. Looking over all of these shopkeepers has totally made my day– each of them is just so blessed. I'm so glad I hosted this contest, but most of all, I'm happy that so many people entered! Thank you all so much for sharing your imaginations! <3

To recap what you probably already know, the three characters who get the most votes will be the prize-winners, and you can review the different possible prizes in the original contest post linked here. 

Let me know if you run into any issues with the poll above! It looks alright on my end, but Blogger can sometimes be finicky with imbedded content. 

Fun fact: Even though I was just copy-and-pasting people's entries, this post literally took me over 5 hours to finish. It probably has something to do with me spending a million years trying to fix the spacing of everything, or maybe it's all the pacing-back-and-forth-instead-of-actually-writing, but whatever the case... I'm glad to be done. 

Today was a full day xD

Hmm...

Do I have anything else to write?

...

Oh right!

I'm planning on keeping the poll open until next Wednesday, but if there aren't a good amount of votes by that time, I can also extend that if needed. 

And that's it.

See you in Jamaa!

UPDATE 9/27/21: The winners will be announced this week for sure! I'm gonna shoot for Monday or Tuesday, but it might be a couple extra days depending on how many other things I have to do. 

Contest Voting Notice – please read!

Heyyyy there Jammers.

Today I didn't have class, so I woke up feeling really ready to go to phase 2 of this contest and finally make this voting post.

But unfortunately...

Fate had other plans ;_;

In the Google entry form, I suggested that people use ImgBB to share the link to their drawing– just because it's a simple image hosting site and it doesn't show you any images other than the specific one you're looking at. 

Because of that, most people submitted their drawings through ImgBB... but it looks like it's having some problems right now.

I've tested in two browsers so far, I've tested mobile and desktop, I've tried uploading test images... nothing. Until this gets fixed, voting will have to continue to be postponed. 

To speed things along:

If you think you submitted your drawing/s with an ImgBB link, and you're comfortable using a more reliable image hosting site like Imgur, it would be great if you could comment a different image link to your drawing down below. 

> Here's the direct link to Imgur's upload page <

You can drop your drawing from your desktop right into the box or click "Choose photos/videos", and once your drawing is uploaded you can just click the "Copy Link" button in the top right corner of your image. 

I honestly should have just done that in the first place >.<

Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone! I'll take note of this for the future to make things simpler. 

I'll see y'all again as soon as I have everyone's drawings accounted for!

EDIT: Drawings currently accounted for: 6/6

Stay tuned for voting!

Contest: Design a Jamaa Shopkeeper!

UPDATE #2: Thanks so much everyone for submitting your amazing entries!! I'm traveling this weekend so you can expect voting to begin this coming Tuesday. Late entries will be accepted until then, so you still got some time! :)

UPDATE: The deadline has been moved from August 31st to September 10th! Submit your entry by September 10th :)

Hey Jammers! Whew, I'm finally here again with the contest details. I'll try to keep it short and simple. c:

Have you ever wandered through Jamaa, looking at all of the shopfronts, and wondered what it might be like if they had NPC shopkeepers?

Well, that's what this creative contest is all about! In this contest, you'll choose one shop in the world of Jamaa, decide what kind of animal the shopkeeper is, name them, draw a picture of them, and describe their personality and likes/dislikes!

This contest came about because for some reason, I imagined that the Flag Shop should be run by a raccoon named Archie who sleeps a lot, likes eating popcorn, and wears a blanket made of sewn-together flag scraps. I was going to draw him as an example, but I'm reeeaaally tired today so you can just join me in imagining him xD

Submitting an entry for this contest will be pretty straightforward– it's a Google Form I made that is linked at the bottom of this post. You shouldn't have to be signed into a Google account to fill it out, but let me know if you have any issues with it!

There will be three winners, and they'll be anonymously chosen by vote during the week/s after the contest deadline on August 31st September 10th!

As for the prizes, I gathered together my rarest nonmember items that I'm comfortable giving away– including some rare prizes for AJPW players, too! 

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Prizes for Animal Jam (Classic) players:

1st place - The artist of the character who gets the most votes will win: 1 Green Gecko Plushie, 1 Elephant Shoji Screen (black wolf variant), 1 Globe, and 1 Rectangular Coffee Table (green variant)

2nd place - The artist of the character who gets the second most votes will win: 1 Rare Tiara (black and red variant), 1 Rare Guitar Rug (yellow and green variant), 1 Basic Healing Staff (yellow and green variant), and 1 Wood Lawn Chair

3rd place - The artist of the character who gets the third most votes will win: Rack of Clothing (variant with silver wings), 1 Rare Fall Butterfly Wings, 1 Tiger Plushie (rare-ish variant with sunglasses/necklace), Worn Blanket (dusty blue variant)

Prizes for AJPW players:

While I don't really play AJPW, I still have a good handful of items that have become uncommon since I joined around 2016. On the Google Form, you can select if you'd prefer AJPW or AJC prizes!

1st place - The artist of the character who gets the most votes will win: 1 Founders Trunk, 1 Rare Butterfly Painting

2nd place - The artist of the character who gets the second most votes will win: 1 Founders Helmet, 1 Rare Unicorn Horn

3rd place - The artist of the character who gets the third most votes will win: 1 Play Wild Backpack, 1 Panda Power Backpack

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> Click here to go to the Google Form contest entry sheet! <

And this goes without saying, but no personal info is recorded– it's just the details you write down about your shopkeeper, the link to your drawing of the shopkeeper, and your AJC or AJPW username.

Remember that the deadline to enter the contest is AUGUST 31st SEPTEMBER 10th! After that day, voting will begin. 

Alright, see you in Jamaa! You can let me know in the comments if you have any questions c:

Fishy20002's Succulent Garden Sphere + Rainbowheartcool27's Neon Sign

Hey Jammers! Ok, so the actual Animal Jam Stream contest details are still coming soon! I just wanted to post about the first couple of new Jammer-designed items that have come out today. Because they're special. 

You'll find them in Jam Mart Furniture, right at the top of the first catalog page– and wow oh wow, it looks like both of them are nonmember!

Let's get a closer look at each one:

While I'm normally really picky with items, I'm actually happy with how this came out! It's simplified, yes, but it actually looks like a polished AJ item. It has the chunky geometric curves that make the plants, the bowl, the sand, and even the metal rings look unique. 

It also has some light gradients on the succulent and the metal pieces, and while there could be more of that to flesh out this item, it still looks great! I think many people will really like this item. ^.^

I have some really vine-y indoor plants I'd love to hang like this, but they're so heavy I'd worry they'd fall T^T

My vine-y indoor plants also need to be watered more than the desert plants featured in this item. 

If you've ever noticed that the leaves of many desert plants are thick and rigid, that's because they hold on to a lot more water than other plants! Because many desert plants only need to be watered every few weeks, sometimes it makes sense to have them in a hanging vessel like that.

If the wall can support them, that is...

Moving on, we also have a new neon sign! A nonmember neon sign, in fact– this might be the first one ever.

It looks pretty alright in its display in Jam Mart Furniture, but it does have some small gaps when you place it in a den:

If you look closely at it, you'll see some white spots, like the bottom left of the letter L. It's also kind of pixelated, which makes it feel a bit out of place in my den, but maybe not everyone will be bothered by it.

Despite its flaws, I think many nonmembers will find some good use for it when designing themed dens! I can imagine this working in an arcade den, a shop den, a hair salon den... the possibilities are endless. :3

And as you may have guessed, both of these items come in a bunch of different colors aside from their defaults! 

The purple-y signs remind me of the old Play Wild Party...

It's kind of funny how out of all of these Garden Sphere color options, there isn't a normal green color for the spiky plant in front. :P

But all in all, these are some pretty good items! I'm glad we got 'em, and big thanks to Fishy20002 and Rainbowheartcool27 for being their designers. 

See you in Jamaa~