Screenshots + Beta Graphics + more

Hey Jammers!

So, recently I was digging around in my folder of AJ screenshots when I stumbled upon some gems that I thought you would appreciate:

is sonic needs girl

is sonic needs girl

 ĭ̘̹͙̗̳s̮̤̖ͦͮ̋͒̄͌͐͟ ͖͚͈̠͓̊ͩ̆ͦͭ̈͊s̡̠͍̯̩̟̬̹̄̂̑o̠̟̣̻̮͙͝n͊̌͐͘i̟͍̜̽͆̎ͬ̓ͮ͡c̢̪̪͇̜ͥ̃̓̈́͐ ̹̯̼̣̯̠̖̋͐̚n̬̠͙͖̅͐ͫͮ͛ͧͣ͘e̲̓̅́̂̏̈́̋ḙ̢̈́d̻̥̱̥̼̲͖̋̾ͤs̛͉̓̌ ͇̝̻̬̦͓̼̇g̛͚͐̃̑̽i͈̞̰̯͍̣̅̽̽̌ͤ̎r̸̳ͯ̊̚l̗͈̙̰͍̿





And then there's that time when I accidentally crashed a roleplay while playing Twists & Turns:

Ah, memories...

And then, the most terrifying thing you could hear during the Jamaalidays:

Another reason not to scam people-- you never know who might be Santa disguised as a piece of wood.

And now, the saga of my brother:

I don't remember the exact context of this image but when I joined AJ my friend said that you could get a Lava Glove if you praised the Mira statue. Maybe it has something to do with that

Please read the above quotation to the tune of Pompeii by Bastille.

An honest wish for the Jamaalidays

And now... the grand finale.... I present to you, the most amazing screenshot I have ever captured:

 :')

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I recently read on Animal Jam's official Instagram that chocolate4froggy is hosting an AJ artist meet-up in their den this weekend:

Apparently AJHQ is going to be there too!

However, when I tried to go there it was locked:

Maybe chocolate4froggy is just setting up or something? I'll check back later.

---

Yesterday I used the Wayback Machine to go back to the beta AJ website. You can't log in, of course, but you can look at the graphics and text of the non-gameplay parts of the site.

Here are some I saved. Even if you don't know how you'd use them in an AJ collage project, let's just bask in the aesthetic of them:

Something is just so soothing and happy about these colors and textures ^-^

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Wow, yet another segment to this post! It's sure been a long one so far.

This is to make up for this coming week. My week-long winter break is over tomorrow, so school will take away a lot of my time that I could be using to post :\

Anyways, do you know animal bases in AJ Play Wild? I haven't used the app in a while, but the last time I did there were special areas only accessible by certain animals.

For the longest time, it was thought that something similar was going to be implemented on desktop AJ!

And it might as well have been. Here is a screenshot from AJ's membership page in late 2010:

Not all of these features were introduced into the game– including animal bases.

It was theorized from specifically placed symbols, inaccessible entrances, and guesses where in Jamaa different animal bases would be... and where their corresponding Alphas lived.

Let's start with Coral Canyons:

Beyond that game symbol is a carving of a wolf. Greely, maybe? Because of this, it was thought that this was a door that Greely lives behind.

And you know what? This is the location of the wolf base in AJPW, so we weren't too far off.

Next, Temple of Zios:

This monkey symbol has been covering this window for a very long time. There was, however, a brief period in which a Den Portal shop covered it up, but those items were moved to the Chamber of Knowledge shop soon after.

Most monkeys live in jungle-y areas, so it's pretty logical that Graham might make his home here.

When I think of canyons, though, I think more of coyotes than wolves. Wolves seem to mostly live in areas with lots of trees, but I guess I'd imagine some kinds of wolves also live in more desert-y areas too.

Now, Jamaa Township:

Because Liza originally greeted players right by this area, and there is an unaccessible path through bamboo, it was generally assumed that the panda Alpha would live here.

Although... pandas never live in places like a township. They prefer to be far far away from all that activity. This is probably why the animal base for pandas in AJPW is in Sarepia Forest.

Now, Mt. Shiveer:

This is an older image, before the seal carving was replaced by an arctic fox carving and before the cave was covered by a Masterpiece Party sign.

It was thought from the symbol and the unaccessible cave that this must be the home of Harper, the seal Alpha. I believe the seal was the first new animal after the original six.

Aside for the other animals... it's mostly just guessed, because there are no other obvious symbols. It's thought that crocodiles live in the cave in the Temple of Zios, along with other animals who would normally live in a jungle. It's thought that Peck lives in the Art Studio, and that Cosmo lives in the Appondale tree, even if those might not be their exact habitats in real life.

Alright, I'm going to go mentally prepare to go back to school tomorrow. See you in Jamaa as soon as I can!

Game Thing + Recreating the Beta Style

Hey Jammers!

Yesterday I noticed something odd.

I remembered that the game Fast Foodies exists, and that it's really fun, so I stopped by the Juice Hut to play it, because I remembered there was a game icon right by the door. 

...and it's gone.

My memory is correct. It says on the AJ Wiki that it's supposed to be here.

Hmm. This must have been a recent change.

But don't worry, guys! You can still play it. The game itself still exists, you just have to use the Games menu:

Still, it's more fun to play the game straight from Crystal Sands. I hope AJHQ fixes this eventually.

Along with Fast Foodies, I played a lot of other games yesterday: Spot On, Gem Ball, Double Up, and more. While I played, I came up with an idea for a new post:

Things in today's AJ that look like they were from beta testing!

Well, I'm pretty sure that Gem Ball and Double Up look beta because they were from beta, but there are also a few things that look beta but are recent developments.

This item, for instance:

It is the pink variety of an item called Abstract Pottery. It looks like a beta item, but it literally came out last August. 

It's funny that this item looks more like a beta than some of the items in the shop at the actual Beta Party:

The only thing that's beta about them is that they're front-facing whereas most current AJ items are turned to the side. (The reason for this is that the beta den had straight walls instead of diagonal walls)

Aside from items, something that looks beta because it is beta is the second floor of the Chamber of Knowledge:

It's basically gone unchanged– which is how it should be. I'd imagine the Chamber of Knowledge is like a museum of the past, so it would make no sense to update things to look more current.

The only difference is on the far left end of the second floor. This is how it looked in beta, before the third floor was built:

(These screenshots are from this video by a beta player.)

Do those three staffs on the wall look familiar to you? You can actually find them in the mysterious Basement of Secrets:

The Basement of Secrets is another beta-looking non-beta thing, probably because it uses assets designed during beta testing!

This brings me to my main point: how could the unique style of beta AJ be recreated?

To start, let's compare a beta item with a more recently released item:

 (Image credit)

Hmm...

Something that catches my eye immediately is the amount of gradients on the Venus Flytrap– they're everywhere but the soil in the pot! In a way, it looks almost metallic, but not so much that it looks weird.

The item below is far more simple; the only gradients I can see are on parts of the orange cushions, and they're very subtle.

Another striking difference is the kinds of shapes used. The Venus Flytrap is jagged and geometric but in a fun natural way. It's more unpredictable.

Alright, I'm going to go to sleep now. Comment any other ideas you have about how to recreate the beta style!

See you in Jamaa!

~DoomyPanda

Lucky Update + Mini Exploration

Hey Jammers! It's been exactly two weeks since the last update, so here it is! Nothing too interesting, but I still wouldn't say it's a bad update.

Let's take a look at the Jamaa Journal:

Arctic foxes are back, and like with most members-only animals, I had no idea they left in the first place XD

When AJHQ puts Diamond Shop animals on clearance, they rarely announce it. At the moment, there doesn't look to be any other animals on clearance. I can't check if any other animals are currently "traveling" because to do so, I'd have to recycle my wolf.

Even though we already have Lucky Day to think about, AJHQ has brought back the Summer Carnival for a brief period to make things more Spring-y. 

I'm kinda excited for the rare carnival item– those are usually nonmember. I unfortunately can't check until this evening because that's when the next Carnival is.

If anyone is confused, you can visit the Carnival through the usual Party List:

This Party List.

Lucky Day is here! I actually really like the Lucky Party– fun music, pretty green clovers, and it's in a Small House Den. :)

I like what AJHQ said in this page of the Jamaa Journal: "This annual holiday reminds us how lucky we are to live on such a beautifully green planet" Thank you!!!

It's been far too long since the last time they talked about the natural world at all. Sometimes I get afraid that the only reason why Animal Jam incorporated info about the natural world into the game was to appeal to parents when AJ was first getting started, and that the breakup with Nat Geo was because AJ got so successful that the game didn't need the extra advertisement. 

Honestly, at a point in time when it is more important than ever to care about the natural world, it would be an incredibly irresponsible decision to eliminate that kind of educational content. C'mon AJHQ!!!!! Step it up!!!!

A notice that yes, you can probably get a Spiked Collar/Wristband/Headband/Rubberband in the big chest in Lucky Clovers. 

And this update closes with some filler– but hey! At least it's not a merchandise ad. Did-you-knows like this are probably helpful for newer players.

Still, I can't help but notice: Why is Greely the same size as Sir Gilbert? Aren't wolves smaller than tigers? And why is Liza so small? Giant pandas can be as big as tigers. 

Moving on...

As you could expect, the Lucky Day update brought along with it fresh greenery in Jamaa.

Mira has shed her icy coat for the warm months...

...and the little ladybug by the Diamond Shop is back! :')


In other news, I spent an extended amount of time on AJ a day or two ago.

I had a lot of random items I didn't want, but because I thought some other people might want them, I put them on my list and traded them for 1 necklace each. 

It was fun! Because I'm weird and don't like having too many gems, it was nicer for me to recycle 31 necklaces instead of 31 RIMs. 

While in Jamaa, I explored a couple of parties. They were surprisingly full!

The Dinner Party was packed. Pretending to eat the cake floating next to your head honestly never gets old

I also went to the Pets Only Party– not to be confused with the Play-As-Your-Pet Party.

Look at that pet seal!!! I had no idea they existed. Their dance animation is so cute <3

I really really really like the Pets Only Party. The music is one of my favorites in all of AJ, and the whole area is like a darker version of Sarepia Forest.

:D


Thanks for reading, everyone! More posts are soon to come~