An Actually Interesting AJ Classic Update

Heyyy Jammers! While I trimmed the difficult parts down as much as I could, the last post was about a rather heavy topic. I think it's still an important issue to discuss, but for now I think we can take a break... because for once, there's some good news:

A genuinely good AJ Classic update.

(gasp emote)

It's not the best thing in the world, of course– just a small step in the right direction for AJHQ. Still, it was enough to pull me away from all my other plans so I can post about it! 

Maybe you've already noticed this, but I've really held off on reviewing updates for over a year now because they just haven't been that interesting. 

But I'm happy to say that that changes today!!

While there are two main highlights I think are particularly interesting, I'm gonna go in order of the Jamaa Journal pages cuz I think there are little good things in each as well c:

So first up, we got a Wild Weekend featuring some coding related items! Not my favorite items, but coding can be a good skill to have. If I knew how to code, my blog would be looking a whole lot better than it does right now X)

What's good about this item set is that it seems to be all new, at least! Even though I don't think I'll ever get used to this minimalist style, some artists are doing their best to add new AJ items to the game.

I probably mentioned this before here, but I'll bring it up again because me and a buddy were talking about this recently: my theory behind the big art style shift in items. So, since Fer.al began production, I think that most if not all item design for AJ Classic may have been outsourced to other studios that might be struggling to adjust to the Animal Jam art style. That could explain the minimalism as well as the cautious re-colors of clothing items that keep getting released instead of entirely new ones. 

Either that, or WildWorks is just stretched thin and low on resources :\

Could be both!

But anyways, moving on...

We got this thing too! Looks alright, but don't worry– we haven't gotten to the best parts of this update yet... 

Aaaaand, now–

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!

So much is on AJPW that just never makes its way to Animal Jam Classic, so I was happily surprised when I learned that another den item design contest was finally coming back.

One of the best parts about this is that ten contest entries will win. Ten!!! Ten people get to see their art become a part of Animal Jam!! :D

And as a reminder, only five winners were chosen for the AJPW clothing item contest. You know, maybe this has to do with the fact that Animal Jam has been around for ten years while AJPW has been around for five... HMMM....

But anyway, I love that creepy purple chair(?) thing. It's absolutely nightmarish and I would never ever wanna sit on it xD

I bet it lives in the same dimension as Blinky, the WildWorks mascot :D

In the past, some really nice AJ items have come from contests:

Cleverclaw's Dresser, designed by Miss Cleverclaw in April 2012...

Speedywolf's Seahorse, designed by Awesome Speedywolf in May 2012...

And the Mira Waterfall, designed by Princess Fierywolf in June 2015. So far, these are all the den items designed by Jammers, and I can't wait for there to be more! 

...and oh yeah, I'm definitely entering >:)

Moving on, the next cool thing:

A never-before-done plushie scavenger hunt through AJ! Probably inspired by all those plushie hunts that people do in their dens for prizes. 

Along with being a nice lil throwback to the fun-fact Spring egg hunt that used to happen from 2011 to 2014–

–the fact that Epic Plushies are being made fully available brings up more than a little trading weirdness.

I'll show you what I mean:

On the left is the Epic Panda Plushie as you can now find it through the scavenger hunt. The Item Worth Wiki views it as not being worth much, because of course you can buy it through the scavenger hunt. 

On the right, however, is the Rare Epic Panda Plushie on the Item Worth Wiki– the original Epic Plushie release with the same exact design, and the only differences being the added rare tag and the dramatically higher "worth".

I say "worth" in quotations because as I've talked about before, the Item Worth Wiki doesn't accurately show item worth– the editors don't have access to the real number of these in the game, so everyone's just guessing. 

This seems to be AJHQ's attempt at keeping traders happy by maintaining the rare status of their pre-existing Epic Plushies, but technically, the same exact item is now easily available without trading... will people really keep viewing Rare Epic Plushies as rare when the non-rare ones are exactly the same?

This reminds me of a conundrum some people deal with on another game I play:

On Chicken Smoothie, these two are the same exact kind of pet and both have the same level of rarity. However, the original is from 2008 while the other is a re-release from only a few years ago. Some people view the "true date" pets as rarer than the rereleases and will trade accordingly, but many people don't see a difference cuz they're just the same pets.

Here's a feature that might make AJ's trading system less messy: on Chicken Smoothie, each pet's rarity tag is calculated by the real number of that pet owned by active players. Popularity/demand also effects trading, of course, but what if AJ items had real, accurate rarity tags based on the true number of existing items?

Alright, I know how ugly those example tags look xD

Maybe adding extra tags would end up looking too busy. But I think it might make trading easier. It might also completely turn trading around as people realize how common Spiked stuff really is in the game...

Let me know what you think about this idea! 

Anyway, moving on...

Next up, the Rainbow Raccoon has returned this month as it did back in June 2020! Presumably as a small nod to Pride Month :)

And finally, pet elephants! Not much to say about this, but they are cute. 

Whoooo... it's a little after 1AM where I am right now, and I have no idea how long I've been working on this post.

I'm gonna go to sleep now, but before I do, here's something you might find cool:

Up until around 2016, snowyclaw would update an archival blog for the Jamaa Journal! For this post, I turned to it to find the original drawings for Cleverclaw's Dresser and Speedywolf's Seahorse. 

If you want a blast from the past, or you just want to enjoy looking at how cute the Jamaa Journal used to be before it became the Jamaa Wood Slab, click here to go to snowyclaw's Jamaa Journal archive!

Alright. I'm done with this post. See you in Jamaa!

P.S. It might take a while, but I'm still making progress on the upcoming color palette post! 

Take Responsibility, WildWorks

Hey Jammers! Eeee... I know I have a big line-up of post ideas that I want to write, but new stuff keeps coming up and it's hard to know what to focus on >.<

I wasn't originally planning on posting today because I feel kinda sick, but Popcorn called something to my attention lately that I strongly feel should be addressed. It's not a nice topic, but I'm hoping that every effort to spread the word counts toward putting pressure on AJHQ to do the right thing. 

So, there was a period of time earlier this week that I was considering writing a post on internet safety. I know; not the most interesting topic, but it's something important to me so I had thought it might be good to repeat.

However, it's also important to know that internet safety shouldn't just be all on you. With content aimed at all ages, adults need to do their part to make sure the online spaces they facilitate are safe for everyone. 

I'm writing this post because WildWorks has not fully been taking responsibility for the actions of certain users who may be compromising the safety and wellbeing of others. The full situation may be triggering for some of you, so I'm choosing to leave out all inappropriate details and focus mostly on AJHQ's response. 

So, even separate from this more recent situation, Hyenine1's art has always shown that AJHQ is very inconsistent when it comes to approving Masterpieces. 

Even though people have gotten their own Masterpieces banned for really small reasons...

...Hyenine1 has gotten tons of Masterpieces approved that, while detailed, can be pretty borderline inappropriate for a kids game. 

AJHQ's Masterpiece approval rules also aren't that clearly defined:

It seems it's mostly up to the personal decisions of individual moderators... but the Animal Jam rules also need to be considered:

Many people think that AJHQ is playing favorites with Hyenine1's work and is bending the rules, just because it's detailed looking and Hyenine1 is well-known. Meanwhile, less well-known artists get their work rejected for seemingly no reason...

Likewise, tons of people get banned or put on Bubble Chat for seemingly no reason. Without going into detail, this reflects the current situation with this person– from what I've read, there is plenty of in-game evidence to ban Hyenine1's account before things escalate even further, BUT WildWorks is holding back on it because they imply there isn't enough evidence.

Here's the most direct statement AJHQ has made so far:

All of these are fair points. 

But from what I know, plenty of other Jammers get banned because of little to no evidence and don't know why..?

If those instances aren't all glitches in the game, then given that logic, AJHQ should ban Hyenine1's account just to be safe. 

But they're not... which isn't fair, and isn't smart. I know AJ is an important part of my life and it may be a big part of yours, but having your account banned is not as bad as the consequences that are already unfolding. 

People are leaving the game because they don't feel safe, people who may have been hurt are feeling silenced, and it just isn't good for the Animal Jam community at large. 

I know with issues like this, it's sometimes difficult to figure out what actually happened and what actions AJHQ is really taking, so I'm not going to say I 100% know everything. However, AJHQ should not be bending rules with some people just because they're well-known in the community. 

I want to stand with everyone who has been hurt by people involved in this, and everyone who has been impacted by similar things in their life. It's hurtful when spaces that should be safe end up causing pain. 

No matter what, I'm here for you.

Entry for Popcornpizza25's Spring Graphic Contest :)

 Hey Jammers! I have about two more final papers to do as well as an internship to apply for, so I'm not back to actual posting just yet ^^;

But because I have a small break and Popcorn's Spring graphic contest is nearly wrapping up, I thought I'd take some time to make and post my entry today! 

The in-game screenshot I chose to make transparent was this flower in The Lost Temple of Zios:

I thought the dark pinks were pretty, and had just enough contrast with the background to erase easily in Mac Preview.

And the final product is...

...this thing!!

The leaves ended up getting somewhat reduced in places, but overall I'm happy with it :3

Anyone wishing to use these transparent blossoms for editing purposes– go ahead! It's not my original illustration anyways; it's owned by Wildworks.

I'm going to eventually add a disclaimer at the bottom of AJ Stream clarifying that 98% of the graphics I use belong to Wildworks... cuz it's true! You don't own a piece of art just because you edit it. Thankfully, AJHQ seems to be fine with edits as long as you don't put them on a T-shirt and sell them or something.

So that's all for now, Jammers! See you in Jamaa, hopefully soon c:

Happy Earth Day 2021!

 Hey Jammers! I still have work to do so this is just going to be a quick post today, but I thought it was needed because of what day it is today c:

Yes... today, April 22nd, is National Jelly Bean Day. 

Wait, no– 

Well, yeah, it is National Jelly Bean Day... but it's also Earth Day, and that's a lot more exciting :D (to me anyway!)

> photo credit to NASA <

I just love the Earth. Aside from the obvious reasons, isn't it so pretty? Isn't it such a miracle that our planet is so full of life when most planets have none at all?

That's part of why it's so important to protect it. Life is fragile, and we all have to do what we can to support each other– humans, plants, animals, everyone. 

While reducing pollution and waste is incredibly important, it's kind of a cliche at this point that it's usually the only thing that gets talked about during Earth Day. 

For today, what I wanted to use this short post to focus on is the idea of unity. You as an individual are part of the vast web of beautiful ecosystems that make up our precious planet– you're just as much a part of nature as a beetle, a flower, a crystal, or a cheetah. 

> photo credit to Gil Wizen <

A lot of destruction and terrible things have happened to our planet. There are many convoluted reasons that corporations use to justify tearing up the land and causing untold millions of animals and plants to loose their homes and go extinct... 

But ultimately, I think a lot of this destruction happens because we believe that humans are somehow separate from the rest of nature. Separate from the consequences of our actions, and separate from our dependence on the wellbeing of all other beings on Earth. Separate from the wellbeing of each other.

But the impacts of climate change are showing people that our actions do matter. The fact that human-caused pollution has caused devastating wildfires, storms, and heatwaves to become dramatically more frequent is only proof of our being a part of nature– and proof that we, as a member of nature, are aggressively not doing our part. 

...but also, remember when air quality became so much better early on during the pandemic because people weren't driving, flying, or operating factories as much? That's proof that if enough of us do our part, we can make things so much better. 

We might feel separated from the world within our four walls, but I want you to know that you're never alone. You're never isolated. There is life all around you, and every plant and animal has their own perspective– their own story to tell. You do too, and your feelings matter.

Humans are animals like any other– and that is not a derogatory thing. That's a beautiful thing, because it means we're not alone in this world. 

I hope you enjoyed this emotional post and I hope that you have a wonderful Earth Day today– or just a wonderful day in general, however you choose to spend it c:

If you would like some ideas for how you can help the environment on a day-to-day basis, or if you want to start making an environmental new year's resolution (ayyy I just came up with that), I made a few fun informational posts in 2018 that have some easy green ideas in them:

> Earth Week post #1 <

> Earth Week post #2 <

> Earth Week post #3 <

> Earth Week post #4 <

> Earth Week post #5 <

I'd completely forgotten that I'd made these, but I think you might like them! I used Animal Jam screenshots to act out the different ideas :)

Until next time...

Happy Earth Day, and see you in Jamaa!

Finals Time!

 Hey Jammers! You've probably noticed that I haven't posted all month so far, and that's because... it's finals time. For me, at least.

I wanna be able to concentrate enough so I can finish my semester off strong, so I'm not sure if I'll be posting much at all this month. If I somehow find time and get a random boost of motivation, I might write up a post before May, but it's probably unlikely ^^;

Because I won't be posting for a while longer... I think I'll let you know a bit more about that big upcoming post I hinted at, so you can have something to (hopefully) look forward to.

Basically, it's all about how to create a completely unique color palette/design for your animal that gets mathematically determined by the number of characters in your username, animal name, favorite color, etc. (nothing too personal of course)

So if you're tired of decorating your animal based on what looks good and would rather it be based off of random number combinations, this will be the post for you! X)

...

C'mon, I'm an Animal Jam blogger. I have to come up with content somehow :P

The difficult part is coming up with easy equations that have an equal chance of yielding every color and pattern. I've already made a lot of progress, but I still have a ways to go before this next post is finalized!

(Trust me, it'll make more sense when it's done)

Does this sound boring? Maybe a little fun? Let me know what you think about this! And until then...

See you in Jamaa!