Ugh, I still haven't uploaded those toy pics to Google Drive. I'm sorry. My mom keeps being gone every time I want to upload them.
Okay, so, it's not all HER fault. I've been using Musical.ly a lot lately. * Follow me if you have one! I'm WildSwirls! ;D* Hehehe. Honestly, I've mostly been making LPS stop-motion videos. Don't hate me. Yes, I like LPS. THEY'RE SO CUTE, OKAY!? Plus, I've had them since I was little, so...yeah.
Wow. That was...an...amazing intro, wasn't it?
Let me make a real one now.
Hey jammers! Just a reminder, there's only ONE DAY LEFT to enter the code giveaway, so if you haven't entered, please do it soon!
Now, today, as the title says, I'm here to talk about the BETA days of Animal Jam. Ah yes, the age of the game where there were no members, no rares, and no famous jammers that took a worthless item, called it beta, and made everyone crazy over nothing. Seems nice, doesn't it?
But we're going to mostly be looking at the lands in the BETA days of AJ.
Now doesn't this look pretty? This was Crystal Sands in it's testing period. As you can see, the water looks more green than blue, giving it a natural look. AND there are no waterslides! Don't get me wrong, those waterslides are super fun, but it looks so much more like a regular beach in this picture. Back there, I think I can even see some kind of passage between the rocks that the water goes through. A waterfall, perhaps?
Here's another picture of Crystal Sands, by the Juice Hut. In this shot, the wolf has a golden nametag, meaning that members had probably been introduced to the game. I honestly don't know when memberships were released, so it's possible that this picture might NOT have come from the BETA days. Maybe Crystal Sands still had the same look when BETA ended. I don't know.
Overflow is on the left side of the beach in this pic, and there is a moss-covered rock that has been removed. See what I mean about it being more like a real beach? You can even see some of the Juice Hut back there, although who knows if it was opened at the time.
And finally, our last picture of Crystal Sands! Doesn't look familiar, does it? That's because this cliff was removed later! But just look how beautiful it is! I really think AJHQ should add this piece of Crystal Sands back into the game! If they did, I would go there often! Look at it! There are natural plants and trees growing all around, and that view is amazing!! The rock in the left corner was actually shaped like Sir Gilbert at the time! I suppose that means that Sir Gilbert was the "creator" of Crystal Sands? More of a decorater to me, Mira was the one who CREATED the lands.
Now, this one SHOULD be familiar! It's the Lost Temple Of Zios! Only, at that time, there was a monkey statue where Zios' broken mask sits today. I think that this means AJHQ released the legend of how phantoms were created AFTER the game's testing period. The legend says that, after Mira " lost" Zios, her tears of sorrow created the first phantoms. If this had happened during the BETA period, wouldn't Zios' mask be sitting in the pit already?
There's also something else you should know about this picture. See that koala? Her fur is a color that we cannot use today! You may also notice that some of the items these jammers are wearing are in different colors than the ones we have today, like those Gazelle Horns!
Ah, Sarepia Forest. Such a calm, peaceful place back in the day. Nowadays, jammers use Sarepia Forest to roleplay, usually as wolves, Warrior cats, dogs, or dragons. But, from the looks of this picture, there seemed to be no way to get to the bottom half of the forest!
Oh, never mind! I see it now! The ladder, of course, hadn't been constructed yet, but if you look closely, the slide is accessible by going down the stairs, close to where Peck is standing. Speaking of Peck, don't all the Alphas look so different!? Cosmo looks older, Sir Gilbert has creepy green eyes, Graham looks...odd, Liza looks chubbier ( Sorry Liza!), Greely has a ruby replacing one of his eyes, and Peck...well, she looks less...bright. Ya know? But AJHQ's art style changed over the years, and now we see the...happier...and...younger looking Alphas we have today! To me, that was a gift to our game.
But, back to the forest, Wind Rider hadn't been released, so there was no blue platform, the "floor" extends behind Graham, and there are lots of ropes for support hanging around. Makes the place look a little more messy, but hey, would you rather walk around on a messy tree-maze system, or an unsafe one?
Here's our last picture of Sarepia Forest. There was a GIANT mushroom on the forest floor, at the time! I honestly don't know why this was there, it looks unrealistic. Unless that mushroom was a trampoline, I'm not a big fan.
I really should have put this after the Temple Of Zios picture, but oh well.
Anyways, this is the old Chamber Of Knowledge. Empty, I know. This looks like the first room, where the mini-books are now. There was no book-filled shelves as walls, no secret trap door on the ground, Gem Ball was in the first room instead of the second, and there are a few extra added decorations. I see a Golden Mira Statue, and a creepy Cosmo statue that's eyeballing me like I'm stupid. Oh yeah, and the floor design is now painted in the modern Chamber!
The BETA Jamaa Township. Honestly, the only major differences I see about this land are that gong-thingy where Jammer Central now is, a sign pointing to Jam Mart Clothing, which I guess was where the Diamond Shop is now, and a stretched blue cloth-thing by what I guess was Jam Mart Furniture?
The major ANIMAL differences? THEY SLEEP WITH THEIR EYES OPEN!
Honestly, WHAT was AJHQ thinking back then!? There were not, and there still isn't, any snakes in the game, and has anyone ever seen a bunny or koala sleep with it's eyes open? I'm guessing not. Seriously, it's creepy! They look dead or something...O.O
* Ignore someone's smeary attempt to cover up the panda that took this picture originally*
Our modern Pillow Room, or " Adoption Room", as a lot of jammers call it, used to be the old Medical Center.
Looks pretty cluttered, but I like how it looks more rustic. This Medical Center had crates, bottles, and blankets. In our new Medical Center, we have an IV, bright hospital bed, and a sink. I do wonder why there's some kind of saw resting against a wall in the picture, though. Yikes. Wouldn't patients get freaked out?
Patient: Doctor, will I be okay?
Doctor: Yes, you just need a surgery.
* Doctor gathers supplies, then grabs the saw*
Doctor: Now, I'm going to give you the sleeping medicine. Then I'll perform your surgery. It won't hurt a bit.
* Doctor leans against saw*
Patient: Um....you know what?! I'm feeling a whole lot better! See? Haha, some tumor can't bring ME down!! So, um...gotta go, bye!
* Patient runs out door*
Doctor: Haha, sweet! She paid me to do nothing! This saw works miracles.
And scene. Hope you enjoyed that. XD
This was what the Claw used to look like when you played it. This is really freaking me out. They look just like what the players' animals looked like! So...they put real, live animals in a CLAW MACHINE, and let other animals of the same species pay to grab them with a metal claw? O.O
Finally, we have the BETA " Change Your Looks" template. As you can see, there are colors included in the color palette that can't be used today. The animal picture also looks more cartoonish. Like something I would draw. Dark outline, no shading. The animal's nametag, at the top, also was different, as well as the eye picture on the Eye tab. The items in Jumping's inventory are also drawn cartoonishly.
Now, this one ISN'T from the BETA days, but I thought I would include it.
One Thursday, AJHQ decided to change the style of the Jamaa World Map. In fact, I was there when it happened. I didn't exactly like it, and many others didn't either. So many jammers sent AJHQ complaints that, a day or two later, they changed it back to the old map that we know and love. I actually don't think this map looks too bad, but it would be a pretty big change to get used to. Plus, I just don't think it matches AJHQ's art style anymore.
I hope you enjoyed this post! I feel like I've been typing for a hour! I need to log onto AJ now, but while I'm gone, just remember to PARTY HARD, BE CURIOUS, and JAM ON!!
