''Animal Jam Classic'', formerly known as ''Animal Jam'', is a

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, although t ...

developed by WildWorks and recommended for kids up to the age of 12. It was launched in 2010, in collaboration with the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

. As of late 2020, there were 3.3 million monthly active users and a lifetime total of 130 million registered players in 200 countries across both ''Animal Jam Classic'' and the mobile app spin-off ''Animal Jam.'' In ''Animal Jam Classic'', players can discover various facts about

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

using the game's numerous features, including mini-games, puzzles, adventures, parties, and social interactions. Due to its rapid growth, ''Animal Jam Classic'' has spawned different types of

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

, including

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

toys, books, board games, and a

subscription box Subscription boxes are a recurring delivery of niche products as part of a marketing strategy and a method of product distribution. Subscription boxes are used by subscription-based ecommerce businesses, referred to as "subcom" for short, which ...

. Although ''Animal Jam Classic'' is primarily played on PC, the ''Animal Jam Classic'' universe has been expanded to incorporate most mobile devices such as

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s, tablets, and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

devices. The most popular ''Animal Jam Classic'' mobile app spin-off is ''Animal Jam'', previously known as ''Animal Jam - Play Wild!'', which is a 3D version of the ''Animal Jam Classic'' world. WildWorks has also developed other mobile apps based on the ''Animal Jam Classic'' game, including ''Tunnel Town'', ''AJ Jump'', and ''Dash Tag''. In May 2020, in an event dubbed the "aMAYzing Migration", WildWorks rebranded the desktop game from ''Animal Jam'' to ''Animal Jam Classic''; as part of the event, the app that was formerly known as ''Animal Jam – Play Wild!'' was rebranded to ''Animal Jam''.

Development

''Animal Jam Classic'' was developed by WildWorks (formerly Smart Bomb Interactive) and was launched on September 9, 2010. In 2011, ''Animal Jam Classic'' had accumulated over 1 million registered players. Later, in March 2013, the game had grown to over 10 million players, a milestone which was made known to all of the players in the game itself. Since then, ''Animal Jam Classics player count had grown rapidly with the game having over 100 million players as of late 2018. As of 2021, ''Animal Jam Classic'' is not available to play without the desktop app, due to the discontinuation of

Adobe Flash Player Adobe Flash Player (known in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome as Shockwave Flash) is a discontinuedExcept in China, where it continues to be used, as well as Harman for enterprise users. computer program for viewing multimedia ...

Gameplay environment

''Animal Jam Classic'' takes place in an

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

known as Jamaa, with various different

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s and customizable animals. New players can create an animal with a name that is composed of three simple words. From that point, players can customize and move it around in the

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...

environment. The original 6 virtual animals that could be utilized were the Bunny,

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

, Panda, and

Koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

, though many more animals have been added. Players can customize their own dens (virtual houses) with furniture, chat with other players, adopt pets, play mini-games, purchase in-game clothing and furniture with

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

, trade items, attend parties, and go on various RPG-style adventures. There is an optional subscription-like membership feature available on the site that costs real money and lets players access certain exclusive in-game features.

Communication and safety

''Animal Jam Classic'' contains three versions of in-game chat, which offers various levels of restriction. Bubble Chat restricts players from typing messages but will allow them to select predefined words and phrases in a list. Safe Chat, the default setting, allows players to type words or phrases in a particular list which only the game permits, similar to a

whitelist A whitelist or allowlist is a list or register of entities that are being provided a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. Entities on the list will be accepted, approved and/or recognized. Whitelisting is the reverse of ...

. Safe Chat Plus, which was previously available only to members but is now available for all players, allows players to type any word or phrase while being run through the game's safe chat filter. Parents can control players' chat settings from the site's parent dashboard. Players can report or block another player for unacceptable, intolerable, or inappropriate behavior. If a player is found chatting in an inappropriate way, the player may have their chat temporarily muted or even be suspended from logging on for a long period. ''Animal Jam Classic'' is free from outside advertising and adheres to a strict privacy policy. In October 2020, a data breach occurred where over 46 million player records were released and uploaded onto raidforums.com. To remedy this, Wildworks forced all players to immediately change their passwords.

Educational elements

In addition to in-game nature facts and activities, ''Animal Jam Classic'' provides educational video content featuring

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Brady Barr and marine biologist Tierney Thys. Furthermore, there are certain events and activities that help raise awareness for environmental problems.

Other media

Merchandise

''Animal Jam Classic'' shirts, stuffed animals, hats, in-game currency, books, and toys are sold on the ''Animal Jam'' Outfitters site. In 2013, WildWorks partnered with ''Sidekix'' to produce a set of eight stuffed animals modeled after the ''Animal Jam Classic'' avatars that can be "flipped" into a ball. In October 2015, the company named Jazwares as the main toy partner for the ''Animal Jam Classic'' brand. Jazwares began developing figures, playsets, and plush items which were launched internationally in 2016. In June 2016, WildWorks released ''Animal Jam Classic'' toys which consisted mainly of stuffed animals, figures, and toy sets. One of which is a series of toys called "''Animal Jam'' Adopt-a-Pet" which comes with a miniature figure of a pet from the game and two accessories in a den shaped box, along with an in-game item code. Since the release, four series of toys have been released so far, featuring different pets, accessories, and dens. On November 16, 2016, WildWorks launched the "''Animal Jam'' Box", a

that contained merchandise sent to those who subscribed to the plan. In early 2019, WildWorks' contract with Jazwares ended, and thus the company could no longer make merchandise with Jazwares. However, the subscription box is no longer available as of spring 2020. '' Pillow Pets'' based on ''Animal Jam Classic'' in-game avatars are sold on the Pillow Pets official website, and on various online stores and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

''Animal Jam'' Academy

''Animal Jam'' Academy is a program that is directly linked to the ''Animal Jam Classic'' website. It provides users with "how-to" projects using the themes of science, technology, engineering, and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

Mobile apps

''Animal Jam''

The most popular mobile application by WildWorks is ''Animal Jam'', formerly known as ''Animal Jam - Play Wild!'', which is a 3D version of the ''Animal Jam Classic'' game and was released in August 2015. In February 2016, WildWorks had announced that ''Animal Jam'' had reached over 1 million downloads. The app is the top downloaded iPad educational game in 24 countries, the top downloaded game for 11 in 35 countries in 2018, and top-grossing iPad game in 54 countries. On May 19, 2017, ''Animal Jam'' won th
Google Play Awards
2017 for Best Kids' App. In early 2020, a version of ''Animal Jam'' was released for personal computers, allowing players to play on

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

without a browser.

Other apps

On July 18, 2013, a free ''Animal Jam Classic''-based city-building mobile game called ''Tunnel Town'' was released on the iOS and Android. In ''Tunnel Town'', players raise a bunny family underground by purchasing, looking after, and raising new rabbit species. Later, in 2013, a second ''Animal Jam Classic'' mobile game spin-off was available for purchase, titled ''AJ Jump''. The game is centered on kangaroos, with a similar gameplay format to

Doodle Jump ''Doodle Jump'' is a 2009 platformer video game developed and published by Igor and Marko Pušenjak, who make up the Lima Sky LLC. The game was released for Windows Phone, iOS, BlackBerry, Android (operating system), Android, Java Platform, Micro ...

. In 2018, a third game was released, titled ''Dash Tag''. In ''Dash Tag'', the player collects various animals and attempts to evade capture from a character named Misha the Panda. The gameplay is an endless runner game, similar to Subway Surfers and Temple Run, and especially similar to the game "Tag with Ryan", made in collaboration with the Ryan's World YouTube channel.

Reception

''Animal Jam Classic'' has received relatively positive reviews, with some criticism towards perceived inadequate moderation and strict limitations on accounts with the free plan.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

reviewer Dana Anderson gave ''Animal Jam Classic'' a 3-star rating, saying that the site was most appropriate for ages ten and over due to "unmonitored chat."

Gamezebo ''Gamezebo'' (sometimes stylized ''GameZebo'') is a website which reports on and reviews video games. Founded in 2005 by Joel Brodie, it was billed as the first website to solely cover casual games and expanded its scope to social games in 20 ...

reviewer Nick Tylwalk gave the site a 4-star review, which stated, "There's something for

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

lovers over a load range of ages." Jenna Glatzer on ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reported problematic social interactions on the game, including

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

scam A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their Trust (emotion), trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence ...

s for virtual items, and

cybersex Cybersex, also called Internet sex, computer sex, netsex, e-sex, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication (webcams, VR headsets, etc.) and other electronics (such as ...

. Natalie Shahmiri, WildWorks' Vice President of Marketing, provided a statement in the article on how the staff are aware of these problems and working to close moderation loopholes that allow such interactions to happen.

Awards

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website for ''Animal Jam Classic''

Official website for ''Animal Jam''
2010 video games Browser games Children's educational video games American children's websites Fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing games Flash games National Geographic Society Video games about animals Video games adapted into comics Video games developed in the United States Windows games MacOS games