#animal jam tutorials

[animal-jam-shitposting]

COMPILATION OF EVERY ANIMAL JAM CLASSIC INTRO

(thank you to @toneinaflat for finding the first two videos!)

0. Beta Testing

i don't know what introduction (if any) was used during beta testing! (beta testing happened from ~march 2010 (closed beta) to september 8, 2010). i think it's probably the introduction shown in #1, but if you have any more info, please let me know!

1. Liza in Jamaa Township (original)

video posted october 1, 2011

started: either beta testing (march 2010-early september 2010) or the official release of the game on september 9, 2010

ended: some time between october 18, 2012 and december 14, 2012 (likely closer to december 14)

this is the original intro to animal jam! it shows liza around the mira statue in jamaa township, where she explains some background lore of jamaa (about mira especially), and some in game functions: moving, changing animal colors, getting achievements, and checking your gems. it's the earliest version of the lore, where "alphas" are called "shamans".

2. 3d Liza in Jamaa Township (update)

video posted december 14, 2012

started: some time between october 18, 2012 and december 14, 2012 (likely closer to december 14)

ended: february 6, 2014

this is an edited version of the original intro. it uses a new, jarringly 3d looking, model for liza, and has an updated introduction to the lore. liza's beginning explanation of mira is replaced with the "return of the alphas" cutscene also shown in the blue heron intro, and the "shamans" were renamed to "alphas". otherwise, this intro is identical to the previous

3. The Blue Heron

video posted february 6, 2014

started: february 6, 2014 (jamaa journal announcing it released on this date)

ended: january 23, 2015

this is the first major change in introduction! the player spawns in on a ship named the blue heron, that is modeled after mira. liza is piloting the ship, and gives you an introduction to jamaa. she introduces you to some in game functions: moving, changing color, checking your gems, and buying from shops. she also gives the option to "Learn about Jamaa's history", via watching the "return of the alphas" cutscene. at the end, the boat pulls in front of jamaa township.

fun fact: this was the only introduction that you could access without making a new account! when this introduction was released, they added an option in the settings to do this tutorial! (shown in the video, i actually couldn't find a video of this tutorial that started from the create an account screen). this option was removed an unknown amount of time later

4. Peck Intro

video posted january 23, 2015

started: january 23, 2015

ended: never 👍 (this is the current intro)

this intro changes the alpha greeting you from liza to peck. the player spawns into a long, forest-y room, and is greeted by peck. she takes you over a bridge to see a bunch of randomly generated animals that are spamming emotes and bubble chat phrases. she introduces you to some in game features: moving, changing color, using emotes, and checking your gems.

fun fact: from november 2016 to march 30, 2017, completing this tutorial would send you to the welcome party, an edited version of the jam session party that has other new jammers whose accounts were just created (if there were any online then....). this party had a singular clothing shop, the same "Clothing Shop" (literally its name) as the one on the blue heron. the end of peck's dialog in the main room is slightly changed to reference this party

BONUS: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE TUTORIAL?:

after almost all of these intros, you spawn in jamaa township.

at first, completing the original intro would just spawn you in the middle of jamaa township and open up the jamaa journal and daily spin

but then, sometime before october 18, 2012*, the ending was somewhat changed. now it showed the avatar walking from the mira statue area to the middle of the town, and then the player was given this screen:

* why this date specifically? because this video of someone being mean to liza during the intro shows this new ending, and was posted on that date

however, i am almost certain that this was actually implemented on march 1, 2012; because that was the date that the loading screens were changed to their new (and current) format (date gotten from the animal jam wiki)

this end screen stayed for a while, but was minorly changed for the blue heron intro, and stayed that way for the first few years of the peck intro— "explore jamaa" was changed to "go on an adventure":

also, in the blue heron intro you're seen running up from the bottom of jamaa township (from the body of water where the boat dropped you off!). this is kept for the peck intro, although that direction doesn't make as much sense from that one.

when the welcome party existed from november 2016 to march 2017, the peck intro would lead to that party, but then the party had a path leading to jamaa township, in this same fashion. (video of this)

however, once the welcome party left on march 30, 2017, it seems this screen did too. because now, after the tutorial, the player automatically spawns in their den, where peck's den tutorial starts... guess our choice is made for us! (video of this). this date also marked the change in the items that a new jammer has from the get-go: originally new jammers got a sturdy table and a blue rug, but past 3/30/2017, new jammers get a rug, table, small window, chair, couch, lamp, and houseplant

speaking of den tutorials, a brief note:

ever since the peck intro, peck has always done the den tutorial. but i did read somewhere in my research that liza did the den tutorial beforehand— but i haven't found any pictures or videos on it, so you'll just have to take my word on that (if any of you have any pictures or videos of the liza den tutorial, or even a post talking about it, please send it to me!)

this has been information on every animal jam intro, thanks for reading 👍

[teatreejammer]

frames of unwatchable beta aj website intro

[kayo-ko]

✩ kayo | he/him | 18 ✩

here to chill and post art, might make some tutorials for stuff idk. not sure if ill do requests but feel free to send i might do some Other socials: ✩ Art fight ✩ ✩ Toyhouse✩ ✩ X (Twitter) ✩

[manonamora-if]

Lysidice and the Minotaur

You are Lysidice, a young Athenian maiden prisoner of the Labyrinth. Though you are under the protection of the Minotaur, you know your luck is bound to run out. And when he shows up... So you will need to escape the maze, if you want (him) to survive...

Lysidice and the Minotaur is an interactive parser, created for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam and is meant for beginner players, since it includes, a tutorial, a hint system, and a full walkthrough (also downloadable. 

As a parser, it is considered merciful (or polite, if I broke something). You will never reach a losing state. You can also find instructions on how to play a parser on the game page.

Mentions or depictions of: fights (swords), injuries and wounds (blood), mental illness, harm to animals (minimal). Please be aware when starting the game.

PLAY GAME | RATE GAME | REVIEW GAME

[astroismypassion]

Social media poppin’

Or how to use the energy of your MC while on social media

Credit goes to my astrology blog @astroismypassion

Aries MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 1st house, Aries degree (1, 13, 25)

Post a picture of you hiking, climbing or being at the top of the mountain, photo of you in action/while doing something or intensely focusing on something, work out photos. Fresh starts. Selfies or where you are on the photo on your own. You in athleisure or work out clothes. Reaction videos. Live TikTok videos. TikTok challenges. Gym selfies. Running videos.

Taurus MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 2nd house, Taurus degree (2, 14, 26)

Post flowers, food, meals that you cooked/baked, new clothing. Photos of homemade goods (jams, pie, pizza). Photo of you in the grass or field of flowers. Photos of you at a coffeeshop with baked pastry. Teenage photos. Landscape photos. Photos of nature. What I Eat in a Day videos. Dance video. Cooking videos. Photos of you with a bouquet of flowers. Singing videos. Doing my makeup video.

Gemini MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 3rd house, Gemini degree (3, 15, 27)

Post a photo of what you did with your hands (pastry, vase etc.), what you’re currently learning (coding, pottery), show your face without makeup, start a blog, start a running journal and post it online. Sell things you don’t need. Facebook Marketplace. Write a short story. Or the story of when you almost gave up. Photos in the library. Hands photos or couple holding hands. Whiteboard videos. Unboxing videos. Gaming videos. Animated videos. Tutorial videos. Language channel. Grammar video. Photos of you at your old elementary or high school. Live stream.

Cancer MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 4th, Cancer degree (4, 16, 28)

Showcase your close friend, family members (especially your mother) and other siblings. Photos of you in childhood or your home, before and after photos, photos of your family members generations ago, whatever you’re collecting. Family game nights. Photos of the rain. You in a vineyard or a wine gathering. Baby photos. Photo of the Moon. Post about children’s rights. Christmas video. Home/family videos. Birthday collage of photos. Singing videos.

Leo MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 5th house, Leo degree (5, 17, 29)

Show your doodles, drawings, the latest creative project. People just love your personality, so showcase whatever makes your personality stand out more. Photos from a date, a picnic. Soft launches. Photos from a live concert. Photos of you at a theatre. Love song. Love poem. Photo of you doing something creative with children or young adults. Posts about politics. Photos of your back. Music video. Short film. Lip-sync (singing) videos. Post about education. Dance video. Video essay. Fan made video.

Virgo MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 6th house, Virgo degree (6, 18)

Showcase your drawings, doodles, paintings, sculptures, collages. Review foods, describe your daily duties and reaponsibilities at your workplace, start a blog, photo of you in an actual shop. Journaling, news. Content about how to organize, eat in a more balanced manner. Masquerade photo. Photo with you reading in it. You on the bicycle. Workout videos. Ask me anything videos. Educational videos. Draw my life videos. Product reviews. Study with me video. Study with me video. “Choki” type of comforting videos. Etiquette videos. Language channel. Day in my life video. Video about a job profile.

Libra MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 7th house, Libra degree (7, 19)

Post cakes, cookies, pastries, you enjoying your meal in a nice restaurant. Couple photos. High-key launching of your partner (people LOVE to see who you’re paired with), wedding photos, engagement photo. Furniture pictures in your home. Photos celebrating love. Dressed up photo. Autumn photos. Photos of nature. Photos of jewellery. Brand deals. Lifestyle blog. Dance video. Doing nails. Get ready with me video. Beauty vlogs. Make-up artist videos. Cooking channel. Sip’n’Paint videos. Couple cooking recipes. Relationship advice videos.

Scorpio MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 8th house, Scorpio degree (8, 20)

People love to see you wear leather, black matte clothes, stockings, tight clothing and everything black or red. Working out photos, ‘just ran a marathon’ photo, black cat photos. Photos of you from behind. You staring directly in the camera. Halloween photos. Photos of your eyes. Photos with a scarf. Swimsuit photos. Transformation videos. Weightloss journey. Behind the scences videos. Short documentary. Storytime/Tea time videos. “Haunted house” video.

Sagittarius MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 9th house, Sagittarius degree (9, 21)

Post videos, vlog, diary entries from your travels (especially long-distance ones), show that photo of your college degree, photo of you in an airport or in a foreign country. Motivational quotes. Inspiring stories from your life. Travel vlogs. Challenge videos. Study with me video. Representing your University (like those Day in life at University of Cambridge etc.). Language channel. Day in my life video. Videos about your native country. Geography channel. Travel vlogs with a friend or a partner (videos from date trips). Photos of you at your university. Graduation photo.

Capricorn MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 10th house, Capricorn degree (10, 22)

People love to see you in a uniform, full on suit, they love when you give off CEO AND parent energy. Post new career milestone that makes you look like a good provider. Photo of you being presented an award. Photo from the workplace. Photo with your parents on your birthday. Photos of mountains. Photos of your (grand) parents. Study with me video. Day in my life video.

Aquarius MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 11th house, Aquarius degree (11, 23)

Photos of a nature scavanger hunt. Photos of you volunteering. Photos of group gatherings. Astrology tiktoks. You coding or learning something new. Photos of you at a protest or a social activism gathering. Photo of the night sky or of the stars. Influencer content. Webinar. Drone shoots. Space food videos. Videos about electric cars. Tarot. Videos explaining astrology placements. Trailer. Zoom call video. Conference video.

Pisces MC, ruler of the 10th house in the 12th house, Pisces degree (12, 24)

Songs, poems, your love letter to someone, illustrations, tarot videos or tiktoks. Do yoga and document it. Selfcare videos. Movie night. A sleepover. Photos of you at the sea. Of you painting. Photos of the rain. Photos of you in a gallery, museum or a hospital. Astrology tiktoks. You at the movies. River/ocean/sea/waterfall photo. Animated videos. Short film. Paint with me video. Acting video. Open love letter to someone/your boyfriend.

Credit goes to my astrology blog @astroismypassion

[asaraviapt]

[EN] Video Game Writing Resources!

Hello! My name is Andrea--I have been writing for games since 2018, and even worked as a writer at Firaxis Games from 2022 until April of 2023. So, I knew a few things about narrative design--but what the fuck is it? Recently, I gave a talk about the fundamentals and history of the field of narrative design. In Spanish. So, let's talk about it in English--the "what," "why," "how," "when," and "who," of narrative design! What is narrative design? Narrative design is not just writing--it's a huge part of it, but designing a narrative system involves implementing narrative content into the build of the game. So there is a technical learning curve to it. Personally, I watched and obtained certifications in Unreal Engine 5 and Unity in order to be aware of the limitations of each engine. I used the free trial of LinkedIn Learning, but courses about this engine are available in these websites: - https://platzi.com/ - https://www.arkde.com/ - https://www.domestika.org/?query=unity - https://www.coursera.org/ Why do we need narrative design? In order to create an interactive story that the player feels a part of, narrative designers are mandatory. It's not a responsibility that can be placed on other designers (then we would be entering crunch territory) rather someone who specifically specializes in both creative writing and game design is needed to explain within the context of the game's story why the mechanics work in a certain way. Imagine if a Telltale game did not have dialogue, for example--what would we be left with? Or if The Last Of Us did not convey a narrative through its environments.

Narrative designers are needed so that all of the departments are in sync and understand the story that they are trying to tell. For example, if a game takes place in a haunted house that was abandoned, we need all hands on deck. The narrative designer can explain to the environment artists why there are so many holes in the living room--perhaps the last tenants of the house were a rowdy bunch. Or, they can tell the sound designers which planks of wood are the most rotten and need a loud sound effect to highlight how it has been abandoned. How do I become a narrative designer? There is no one way to become a narrative designer. Some people start in QA and transition into the field, I have also witnessed engineers and doctors wanting to get into narrative design. I do recommend having the following (at least): - A passion for storytelling. - Deep understanding of the mechanics of the game and the player experience. - Communication skills are incredibly important--can you describe your story in a concise way to your peers in a Confluence page?

Documentation skills are also a massive plus.

Very basic understanding of game engines and limitations. You don't have to be a computer science major, but know what your requests will entail. If you have an idea of a cutscene, can the engine handle it? Will the animators have enough time? Is it within scope?

If you can, attend game jams! They are an amazing way to network with amazing people and get a feel of what the game production pipeline is like.

Additionally, I highly recommend the following resources: First, the free resources! ~It's free real estate~

Look up Twinery tutorials. (https://twinery.org/) Not only is it free, but you can use it on your browser. More importantly, you will learn about branching narratives and can create your own games within a few minutes--the interface, though it requires a bit of coding, is incredibly easy to use and there are a lot of tutorials available online.

Download Ren'Py (https://www.renpy.org/) and watch tutorials. It's free, and there is a huge community of visual novel developers who may need help with narrative designers, writers, editors and even translators. An amazing resource that a colleague shared was this Discord with visual novel developers--if you have an idea, feel free to connect with artists and voice actors here! https://discord.gg/nW5yn4FE

Network, network, network! Follow narrative design and game writer groups on Discord, Facebook and even LinkedIn. -- An amazing convention that is online, free and accessible regarding narrative design is LudoNarraCon.

If you go to itch.io you will see a list of game jams that you can attend to for free! Some game jams that I have attended and had a positive experience are the following: - Woman Game Jam. I encourage folks from marginalized genders to attend this game jam, as we have a large pool of mentors willing to help in every single discipline at any time due to the global nature of it. It is a safe and inclusive space for women and nonbinary folx who want to get into the gaming industry! - Global Game Jam. Self explanatory, it has some in-person opportunities but you can also attend remotely. - Greenlight Jam. Do you have an idea that can not be done in only 48 hours? The Greenlight Jam is amazing, as it lasts four weeks--which allows narrative designers to develop complex narrative systems and even record voice lines for a more complex project. Side Note: Even though most game jams have a time limit, I do encourage narrative designers to develop and polish the prototypes and levels created during game jams to have portfolios and writing samples that stand out!

Work With Indies is a job site that publishes job opportunities--including ones in writing and narrative design. Additionally, their Discord has some networking events with writers so you can connect with them.

Other websites that not only publish jobs but include networking events are Hitmarker.net (this is their Discord), IndieGameAcademy (link to Discord),

Newsletters! A lot of experienced game writers have newsletters dedicated to the craft, to name a few that I highly recommend: -- Greg Buchanan's newsletter. Rounds up game writing news every Tuesday, and includes job opportunities. -- Bright Whitney's newsletter. A studio founder with amazing insights regarding game design and thoughtful narrative, Whitney's threads are extremely insightful. -- Susan O'Connor's blog on The Narrative Department. In addition to providing free knowledge regarding world building, narrative design, game writing and other specifics of the craft Susan interviews industry professionals and alumni who offer testimonials that have amazing advice. -- GDC talks about narrative design. Though I recommend the GDC vault as well in the next section, I highly recommend the GDC talks regarding not only narrative design but the development of your favorite titles!

Now, for resources that may not be free--but I highly recommend, as someone who used them first hand. - The Narrative Department. This post is not sponsored by them at all, however it is rare to find an instructor as kind and hard-working as Susan O'Connor who has been a narrative designer in historic AAA, AA and independent titles. Known for her contributions in Tomb Raider, Batman: The Enemy Within, and BioShock to name a few (imdb is: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1897248/) her Game Writing Masterclass offers a certification in everything related to game writing. A few subjects she touches on are: -- Characters and how to make them compelling. -- Barks and ambience writing. -- Dialogue, backstories and scripts. -- How to work with other departments. And more! Additionally, you would obtain access to a huge alumni network full of game writing professionals working in independent, AA and AAA studios! Not to mention that all of the assignments completed in the class will look amazing in a portfolio as game writing samples. - GDC Vault. Though I have an opinion on the price tag of GDC tickets and the vault, I would definitely include it as it has resources from several studios, writers, narrative designers and more! When was narrative design formed? When can I become a narrative designer?

That's a wonderful question. Narrative design, as a term, was first used around the 90s but became more established between the 2000s and 2010s. So, although the field is relatively new, and there are not a lot educational resources available, consider yourself part of an innovative field that is exponentially growing! Recently, a game developer asked when was the best time to keep an eye out for job openings. And a harsh truth about the gaming industry is that it is extremely volatile--layoffs, downsizings and startups rise and fall. This is not meant to deter anyone from pursuing a career in narrative design, but rather I am including it for the sake of transparency. We cannot predict when a studio is going to layoff their employees, or when they cancel unannounced projects. Unlike most industries where we know for a fact that recruiters keep a sharp eye for candidates in Q1 and Q3, a piece of advice I received from a mentor of mine was to try to predict when projects are going to need more stories. There's the release of a game, and then there is the addition of additional narrative content--and for this, they will more than likely need associate/entry/junior level narrative designers, writers and quest designers. But--this is related to searching for a job as a narrative designer, and I can write a novel about that (and will edit this article to redirect folx into it.) So, keep an eye out for huge game announcements. Then, cater your resume to what the studio is looking for in a narrative designer. Now, to finish off this article: Who is a narrative designer? If you have a passion for storytelling and games, and have participated in game jams, congratulations you are a wonderful narrative designer! Make sure you always include that you are a narrative designer, and not an aspiring narrative designer--it makes you stand out amongst applicants. That's all I have for now--feel free to interact, comment and share! Let me know if I missed something and I will be sure to add it.

[skittle-is-little]

i followed tgcg's ms paint tutorial and drew this with a mouse on the school computers

thanks tgcg :]

and thanks animal jam for forcing me to draw with a mouse for all those years

[simspaghetti]

Simblr Gratitude Day!

Hello! Sorry this is a day late because I was really busy with deadlines over the last few days - I didn't even know this event was going on until I was tagged! 😭😭

I still want to express my love for some wonderful simblrs, and hopefully give you some new recommendations on some great blogs you should be following!! 🥰🥰 rather than clogging up everyone's inboxes a day late, I thought I'd just tag you all here (in no particular order!) <3

@kevinvoncrastenburg - you're such a lovely positive light in this community, I also love your scenery posts, the architecture of your builds looks so realistic and is really inspiring to me!

@erasabledinosaur - you always have such beautiful screenshots, I'm so inspired by your gameplay! Thank you for the work you do on creating reshade presets as well they're always so gorgeous!

@llamaheart - I love how alive your sims feel, they all have really in-depth personalities, I recently read through the Halen lepacy from start to finish and it made me want to start my own!! I'm so inspired by the way that you play :)

@sushiikinsss - you're always so supportive of my blog, if you ever post simblr content i know i would love it, you're so creative!! love you lots 💞💞

@appellosimae - i love the style of your gameplay! it feels so cosy and cute, and i've been reading your lepacy recently and loving it! I really like the fact that you include the premades in your gameplay, it leads to so much drama which is so entertaining!

@hiddengnomes - I'm so so inspired by your gameplay and screenshots, your interior design skills specifically are so on point I'm always striving to make my interiors as good as yours! The way you take screenshots could be an ad for sims 3 honestly, reading through the Maldanos makes me want to play my own game!

@twinsimming - thank you for your hard work making mods they're always such great additions to my game!! I specifically really really loved the acne mod, it's a feature that I'd always wanted in sims 3, I used to roll the chance it would occur and manually place it on my sims before your mod came along, so it really revolutionised the way that I play in such a good way! haha

@thesweetsimmer111 - you have created some of my favourite mods for sims 3, I'm so grateful for the work that you do and I use all of them in my game!! I specifically love how fluid the animations are and how they all feel like a really natural addition to the base game <3

@horusmenhosetix - there's not many cc creators like you making maxis-match content for sims 3 anymore, and I use so much of your cc in my game because I LOVE the way it looks! I really appreciate the work that you do for the community!! thank you for your hard work and your beautiful creations <3

@nectar-cellar - thank you for your beautiful cc and tutorials, i've learned so much from your tutorials on how to take good looking screenshots and set up amazing looking lighting, I also love the way that you create sims! They always look like real people because of how unique and detailed their faces are, I'm so inspired by your style!

@faeriefrolic - your sims are SO cute omg, i'm loving reading the jam legacy and the way that you create so much drama with your sims, it's something I'm trying to incorporate more of in my gameplay because I feel like I stray away from having any conflict, but I love how there's deaths, romance and so many emotions flying around in your gameplay! It makes it feel so much more real, dynamic and entertaining to read! <3

@obscurus-noctem - every time a post of yours pops up it looks like a totally different game than sims 3, I'm so in awe of the way that you're able to create sims to be so detailed and compose screenshots to be so beautiful - i LOVE deb belinski as well she's such an icon

@sim-songs - thank you for your gorgeous maxis-match cc, i also love your gameplay style, the composition of colours on your screenshots makes them feel like a cosy warm hug and i love that your sims have such unique faces, it makes them feel like real people!

@magiclabs - i love the way that you take screenshots, they're always so colourful and cosy - I love the Fitch legacy, your gameplay is so maxis match and cute it always makes me wanna go on a cc shopping spree and then go play my own game! The way that you decorate lots is also so detailed and inspiring <3

@papermint-airplane - your scenery screenshots are just so incredibly beautiful, i also love the dialogue on your gameplay posts it feels so realistic and is always so funny! you're such a warm light in the community <3

@mosneakers - the Darling legacy will always be such a big inspiration behind my gameplay - the way that your sims look so eccentric and your screenshots feeling so magical has always been something that i strive for in my own gameplay - your incredible storytelling abilities are also unmatched, whenever i read through your stories they always manage to pull at every different emotion in me! <3

@frostedshore - i LOVE your sims style and your gameplay screenshots are always so well composed, i also really like how when you makeover sims you keep their original personalities shining through, your version of Bella Goth specifically is probably my favourite makeover I've ever seen of her - I love how you captured her essence as a femme fatale which is what I've always imagined her as!

@thepettymachine - your gameplay inspires me so much, the trout legacy and the day legacy are some of my favourite gameplays on simblr to sit and read through! Your sims are also always GORGEOUS and I love love love your sims style!

I'm really sorry if I left anyone out, I'm bad at remembering names! But I just wanted to say a really big thank you and send lots of love to anyone who has interacted with my blog at all this year, even though the sims 3 community is small, it has the support and love of so many people it feels so full of joy, I'm sending hugs to all the people who are a part of this wonderful community and am grateful for anyone who enjoys my gameplay / blog in whatever form that takes 💞💞💞

[eggsploded]

fausto for the ask thing...... the girl herself

butterflaust :)

first impression: you really get the feeling that she fucking hates you. shes rly funny cuz shes the tutorial character but doesnt leave after the prologue. shes here forever, judging dante. i feel in the beginning i skimmed over all the nuance in her dialogue assuming its just wordy for the sake of wordiness.

current impression: faust is soooo... faust. upon replaying the prologue shes way less cold than i first thought, her little c: smile when talking about mephis was saur cute. in fact shes not really cold at all to me, simply operating in a faustly way. you can contextualize what she does as a way to keep herself occupied. not really for some deeper lore sense (because ionno what her deal is) but a bitch needs some stimuli. i think if she was made to do arts and crafts with no larger purpose outside of fun she would explode into blood and gore. it also makes her friendship with yi sang really funny because i wonder if she cares to understand his artsy spech past it being a little clever wordplay. if he made her a drawing she wouldnt know how to compliment it outside of a technical sense. her flavor of arrogance is also so funny to me because its so stupid? like when rodya complimented her and she puffed up and went faust Is cool. the speaking in 3rd person too is funny, knowing she isnt LARPing like don and is very much just Like That. theres alot about herself she either doesnt notice or simply does not want to examine deeply like her mild competitiveness or tendency to manipulate people if it means theyll be less annoying to her. simply the faust of all time

favorite moment: i think the sweetest and funniest thing was realizing her spiel about yi sang not being a genius Unlike Her and believing in more philosophical things unlike her Sensible and Tactile self was an attempt at a COMPLIMENT. i thought she was ripping him to shreds but no she was actually hyping him up a bit in the most clinical way possible

story idea: you know earlier when i said making faust attempt creative expression would cause her to explode into bits? well i want to see it anyway. im forcing her at the kindergarten table of that nasty smelling homemade playdoh and telling her to make a new animal. sinclair made a bear with with wings called a beear. very nice young man.

fav relationships: im enjoying the fandom divide with faust shipping where she is either getting bitches left and right and not giving a fuck to maintain them (because it comes out weird when she tries) or not even being aware of when shes down bad and having the primal part of her brain that tells her to bite and roll around hijack her motherboard. shes being corroded by an insidious EGO called... horny, different to lust, which is Krausts jam. i already wrote a little bit about fausang and i think fausts inability to know how to enjoy things makes them a very sweet duo. in her mind the guy doesnt come a lick close to her own brilliance, but something about how he closes his eyes in understanding speaks more words than compliments do. not to say that faust doesnt like being hyped up. because she does, like all the time. if they were walking she wouldve tripped when rodya called her babe. her greatest flaw is pretending shes above anything, if there was a chance to maul ryoshu she would without pausing. probably so turned on she cant see anything. ishmael too. also outis. hey, whats going on here? my sources tell me due to her ongoing opposites to yi sang she is incapable of a domestic lame marriage the way he is. ishmael is the yuri messiah, but faust is the yuri menace. you know what they are both capable of though? following rodya around enamored because that was the first pet name theyve ever been called and it felt Funny.

fav headcanon: in the newest credits cg for canto 4 i think shes telling vergil she has a tummyache

[maythray]

you make me wanna play animal jam again.............where do i sign up brother........

YAYYY!!!

Okay everything I'm gonna tell you is for aj classic, download link is here -> https://classic.animaljam.com/en

Once u get the app you can make an an account (button is at the bottom of the main menu). It'll send you though a little tutorial (not too terrible! Would suggest going through it at least once if you've never played) but then you can get right into the game afterwards!

(extra info under the cut)

Few things you'll wanna do after you make a new account:

Set up an email tied to the account

this can be done through either the settings menu, or the little gift icon by the bottom of the screen.

this can allow you to change your chat settings from the regular safe chat option (preset list of possible words) to safe chat plus (any words that fit the filters)

2. Enter me for the invite a friend system :)

There's a system in game where you're able to get rewards for referring a friend, and I recently just started doing this and would love if you helped..

You can do this through the buddy menu (icon in the top left of a tiger and monkey), and then clicking the green "how did you hear?" button. Enter my username (rem4eva) and that's it baybe!

3. Do the journey book!

This can technically be done whenever, but I personally think its a good way to familiarize yourself with the areas in the game. This is a scavenger hunt of sets of animals/plants in the background of each land. Plus it gives you some neat items to start off with.

The book icon won't be on your UI at the start, you have to find and click on one thing to activate it. Easiest are the termites in Sarepia Forest (to the left of the spawn on the tree, right next to the butterflies).

Other info:

It'll take a few days for your username to be approved! Don't worry if you're "New Jammer" for a while!

UNFORTUNATELY most of animal jam is locked behind a paid membership. Its not required to get one (most of the years I've played without one!), but it definitely opens up the game significantly. Just wanted to warn about this ahead of time! If you find you like the game enough you can always get a membership for yourself :)

The AJ wikis are EXTREMELY helpful. This is an old game and has a LOT within it. If you're ever looking for extra info on something, feel free to look around the wikis!

Classic Wiki -> https://animaljam.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_Jam_Classic_Wiki

Thisll be for your general game info!

Item Worth Wiki -> https://aj-item-worth.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_Jam_Item_Worth_Wiki

This will be to check the worth of items! Much of AJ is trading and buying, being able to know what can get you what is very helpful and essentially needed at this point.

Have fun and be yourself :)

If you have any other questions that come up while playing, feel free to ask!! Id love to help :)

(Additionally if any other players see this and have anything to add, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'm not so caught up with what its like to start out new since I've had the same account for YEARS!!)

[misterradio]

my favourite peice of lost media that i want to be found IS my animal jam fan comic that spanned many pages and i dont remember what plot point i was working towards but i jsut stopped making it one day and i think i burned it bc i was filled with embarassment. OOPS

edit: for the curious i will describe it ::-]

One thing I did in the comic that I think is fun is I was combining a lot of game mechanics into the story ::-)

The comic started with my monkey player character (creature cleverclaws) in the tutorial stage given by Liza at the Mira statue. (By now theyve changed the tutorial up so much i dont know what it is anymore... this was cgi liza not the 2d one).

Liza is interrupted by a falling phantom that crash lands next to them and has to leave on urgent business! but creature decides to do their own snooping around in the area, and rather than enter the town visits some woods on the other side of the statue where there are phantoms hiding. creature is initially captured but thinks the phantoms are cool and would love to join them ::-) the last thing i remember them doing was facing a huge cave where the phantom king (which was never revealed at this point, but i had sketches of what he might look like) was hiding in.

meanwhile after liza left, she enters the run down door in the Temple of Zios (which became the adventure base camp), this is a secret entrance to the alpha headquarters where they are all hanging out ::-) they discuss the growing numbers of phantoms and how they may combat them.... sir gilbert is very strategic and war-experienced but greely is argumentative and standoffish. (i will always maintain that greely has some weird evil thing going on for real.) umm i dont remember what other alphas do tbh.

liza goes back to the mira statue and finds that creature is gone and doesnt know what to do...

and it is at this point that i don't remember if i carried this on at all.

dog may remember this but there's a page from an unrelated animal jam coming of the shamans / alphas going to war with phantoms, i think peck charges forward but it injured, and all the other alphas charge forward in retaliation.... it was very Le Epic if i may say...

this was all drawn in a composition notebook so god knows how i managed to even rip them out to destroy them @__@ okay bye

[teatreejammer]

Posted this on my old blog and its also one of the things i like to tell randoms in the pillow room: 

I have a theory that the dust bunny in the tutorial has a name (‘word of god canon’ style) before the player inputs one. This is by virtue of the dust bunny in peck’s den having a name, which you can see if you do the takeover glitch. Pretty much every bunny in there has a blank name, ‘new bunny’, generic default like ‘bodi’, etc.. but this one was intentional. 

[groggydog]

I'm officially seeking beta testers for my Spring Thing 2023 entry, 'The Familiar' - the making of which I've highlighted a bit on this Tumblr.

ABOUT

You are a witch's crow familiar, headstrong as anything but still young and untested.

What starts as a normal day soon takes a harrowing turn when your pacific caretaker, Valmai, is struck down by a terrible hex of mysterious origin. Now it's up to you, little bird, to cure your caretaker and discover the hex's source.

Are you up for the task?

FEATURES

Beginner-friendly parser commands peppered with choice-based elements

Free to play; formatted for browser, tablet, and mobile

Optional tutorial and in-game task list to keep track of events and goals

More than 30 unique, hand-crafted pixel art scenes

Roughly 1 hour of play time

Cute woodland animals

If you're interested, you can find info below on the IntFiction forums!

[micha-lapin]

I finally made a mastertrack on animal jam, bcuz of a quest. I followed a tutorial the best I could ( it was for a fnaf song ) and like. I got so lost during the 4th and 5th instrument layers but it still sounds kinda neat. like a remix. it's rough around the edges and kinda shotty but atleast I made a mastertrack that I can actually use!! never again.

[snailmakesgames]

Hey, bro, I really like the NES game you submitted for the game jam. As I'm new to coding and eager to learn, I wanted to know how you did the fade-away effect, where the colour palette almost changes likeit does on the original NES. Looking forward to hearing from you, and best of luck with the jam!

Heya! Thank you so much :)

The way I handled the color palette effect was actually done entirely inside a shader! In my main gameplay scene - a node that handles everything at the top level, like level transitions, restarting the game, keeping track of hp/score, etc. - I have a CanvasLayer node with a ColorRect set to cover the whole screen:

This ColorRect has a shader material applied that locks the colors on-screen to the nearest color within a palette I set from an image file. I also have the filter CanvasLayer set to Layer 128 just to be extra sure it takes priority over everything. Then for the transitions themselves I actually just have a pretty standard fade in/fade out animated using an AnimationPlayer - all the magic comes from keeping to that palette! You can see it's just a normal smooth fade without it:

So it's the same concept as palette cycling, just without an actual indexed palette being manipulated.

I'm so not the person to teach about shaders as I only barely understand them myself, but you can find a shader that does this here and a Heartbeast tutorial on shaders over here!

[resharc]

a recap on jam

It's been a few weeks since I finished the Acerola Jam 0 (check out the jam if you haven't, there's a lot of cool games!) and I've had a bit of time to decompress and think about my experience. I also was literally unable to do this until this week so hahaaaaa.

If you haven't already, please check out my game jam game, Gunmatic Aberration. Some of what I'm gonna go over will make more sense if you've played it.

but maybe you like having no clue what I'm talking about, in which case, read on

A Summary

This was a good experience and has given me a good bit to think on for the other game. Which is both good and bad: part of the reason why progress has seemingly stopped is because of this. I've been working on stuff behind the scenes and polishing up bits (and rethinking others) to show off later.

I'm happy I was able to release a project that people could, you know, play. From start to finish, with very few bugs that soft-locked or broke the game. People found it fun too, which was a plus.

However, there's a few things that were problems and I'm unhappy with:

The game is confusing to play without any guidance; there wasn't obvious enough signposting or tutorials, which meant I had to tell people how to play (this is not a good sign).

The balance isn't great: some rooms are too hard. Others are too easy. Some powerups just suck, others are too good.

The boss doesn't take advantage of the core gimmick.

The presentation is lacking.

The last one is the thing that stings the most.

The Problem Of Visibility

In the three weeks the game has been around in the jam, my game was viewed 52 times, downloaded 19 times and rated 4 times. I posted it a few times and passed it around my friends. Around 6 of those downloads were from my friends. These are, by all means, not bad numbers. Someone on the Acerola discord found that the mean number of ratings is around 4 - so I'm perfectly average.

Part of this is just due to there being over 900 entries. Part of it is luck. A lot of it is because the game fundamentally doesn't catch your eye. My visual competency is, well

The biggest problem, I feel, boils down to marketing. Let's list a few problems with Gunmatic.

The game looks like a flash game made in 2008. This isn't bad but there's a stigma against those games.

The thumbnail does an awful job at describing the game and getting people to click.

The screenshots are confusing without context and frankly, suck.

The title sucks.

Part of this is just my own general competency. I am not a good artist by any means. This is something I struggle with constantly - I can, at best, make nice-ish looking animations and use some basic tricks to make it look a bit smoother. You can see this in a lot of my other clips. I also suck at names (honestly, my other game has some awful names...).

Focusing on GA, I could've done a few things better here. The easiest ones here are, add a gif to the screenshots and make a better thumbnail. I've done a quick mockup below of what that could look like (note i spent like 5 minutes on this). I could've used the gif in this very post on my screenshots screen too.

Getting People To Play

The second hurdle was actually getting people to play the game. It's one thing to get people to click, but how do you get people to actually play it?

I had a click-to-download ratio of about 3:1. That's, all things considered, not that bad! However, getting people to actually download your game, in a game jam with 958 entries, is difficult. Why play this flash game you need to download when you can play MEGA CHESS, which looks like a Real Game that you can play in your browser?

It probably would've been smarter if I'd just exported this to HTML5 and embedded it into the browser. This would've reduced the hurdle to play significantly: a lot of the most popular games in the game jam were, expectedly, browser games. And games Acerola had boosted (hint hint haha jk unless..........?).

Playtesting

This relates to my other issue: a lack of playtesting. by people who weren't me, i mean.

This is probably one of the hardest problems I've faced - both here and in my actual game. Unless you have friends who are into game development, it's hard to get someone to sit down, play your game, and give you their thoughts on what works and what doesn't. It's a fairly significant ask of someone! They have to play it for a bit, understand how it works, suffer through any problems, and then formulate their thoughts.

I developed Gunmatic Aberration over 2 weeks while working full time. I had a lot of dead time to fill in those two weeks - I should have been bugging my friends for their opinions and telling me what sucked and what didn't.

I didn't do that often.

This, above everything else, is what hurt the game the most. The game is fun, but it's incredibly unpolished and has more potential than anything else. The randomness of the game hurts it (it's a roguelite, after all): you can effectively just Die if you get a difficult room without the right powerups. It's difficult to figure out how to play without explicit instruction. These are all problems born from the developer being the only person to play it.

This is slightly just anecdotal, but I believe the top games in the Game Jam are both made by exceptionally talented people who also had some people giving them feedback. Maybe some more than others - but there was a conversation that I didn't have until the last few days.

i guess thats it?

So! That's what I did for about half a month in March. Then I went on a holiday and have been ruminating on this since.

You might be asking, "wait a fucking minute, you haven't posted anything since... November! What the hell! What have you been doing for the 4 months prior!"

That's cause, uh

um

woah check this out