Animal Jam – Play Wild! Is a family-friendly game where you can become your favorite animal, collect amazing items, adopt adorable pets, and create a style to express the real you as you explore the beautiful 3D world of Jamaa! Jun 04, 2019 I've personally never played Feral Heart, but I watched my friend design some characters and the whole part about Animal Jam Feral allowing you to 'design a character from the ground up' and including kitsune just reminded me of it XD Alright, that's enough for now. I promise a post this coming weekend! See you in Jamaa.
Play Wild, the mobile version of Animal Jam, is a game that has been downloaded millions of times, and is currently extremely popular. The game was released nearly five years after the original Animal Jam browser game. This meant that the developers over at AJHQ had a lot of content that they could transfer over to the mobile platforms. Today, we are going to take a look at the Beta Testing phase of Play Wild, and see what the game looked like at the time.
Launch of Play Wild Beta
Play Wild Beta, or Beta Testing, is considered the very beginning of Play Wild. It started on December 18, 2014. On this date, the CEO of WildWorks, which is the developer of the app, posted a tweet stating that players can now sign up for the Animal Jam app.
On May 8, 2015, the Animal Jam Support twitter account tweeted that the Play Wild Beta stage was coming to an end, and that they would no longer be sending out any invites.
Five days after the tweet by Animal Jam Support, on May 13, 2015, the Beta Testing stage for Android officially ended. A post on the Daily Explorer website notified the players of this news.
The CEO of WildWorks assured players that they will be able to play the released version of PW very shortly. He even stated that the game would be released somewhere in June 2015.
Launch of the AJPW App
Jammers worldwide were becoming increasingly impatient, and then it finally happened. The WildWorks twitter account posted a tweet on August 18, 2015, stating that Play Wild has gone live worldwide, and was available on the iOS App Store.
It would take several more months before the game was released on the Android Play Store. On December 8, 2015, PW was live for Android devices.
Requesting a Beta Invite to Play Wild
In order to partake in the Play Wild Beta, you had to request a beta invite. If you received an invite, you were able to log in and play the game. The official beta testing started on December 18, 2015, and was only available to Android users. You would receive the game through email, since the beta testing feature was not yet available on Google Play Store at the time.
Beta testers were given access to the Buddies and Gems feature. They also received 50 Sapphires as a gift, so they would be able to purchase a few items. The purpose of the beta testing stage was to see if there were any bugs in the game.
In March 2015, the beta testing stage ended, and all data was removed. If you were a beta tester, you would receive an email from AJHQ with a special code that was redeemable on the Animal Jam website. After this point, all beta accounts were removed from the game.
Jamaa Founders
At first, Jammers had the choice between three animals. You could either choose to be a Wolf, Rabbit or Monkey. Once you chose your animal, you were able to customize its appearance, such as its color and pattern. You were also able to add clothing items and accessories. The March 2015 update allowed Jammers to purchase multiple animals for 30 Sapphires each.
The only den that was available in the game at the time was the Small House, which is still the default den. The default den items were as following:
- Plaid Couch
- Trendy Pillow
- Bean Bag Chair
- Pretty Flowers
- Paw Rug
During the beta testing phase, the only currency in the game were Gems. After signing up, Jammers would receive 2,500 Gems, and they could earn more by recycling items and playing minigames. AJHQ introduced Sapphires as a premium currency in the March 2015 update. You would get 50 Sapphires when you signed up to the game. However, the ability to purchase and win Sapphires was not yet implemented into the game.
Play Wild Beta In-game Areas
The world map in Play Wild is called Jamaa. It consists of a total of eight locations, but only five of them were accessible by Jammers at the initial launch of Play Wild. Those five locations were called as following:
- Jamaa Township
- Sarepia Forest
- Coral Canyons
- Temple of Zios
- Crystal Sands
The three locations that were inaccessible were completely dark on the world map. Those three locations were called:
- Shiveer
- Appondale
- Kimbara Outback
If you opened up your world map, you would see Phantoms floating over Mt. Shiveer and Appondale, and you would not be able to visit these locations. The March 2015 update made Mt. Shiveer accessible to all Jammers, but Appondale and Kimbara Outback were still locked.
Jamaa Township
Sarepia Forest
Coral Canyons & Canyons Pathway
Temple of Zios
Crystal Sands
Mt. Shiveer
In-game Stores – AJPW Beta
Animal Jam and Play Wild are also known for their numerous in-game stores. In those stores, Jammers are able to purchase clothing items and den items. The first three stores that were opened up in Play Wild were as following:
- Jam Mart Clothing
- Jam Mart Furniture
- Shiveer Shoppe
Jam Mart Clothing
Jam Mart Clothing was the location to go to if you wanted to purchase new clothing items for your animal avatar. In this store, you can find head items, wings, gauntlets or boots, armor and necklaces.
Jam Mart Furniture
Jam Mart Furniture sells all kinds of different den items. Jammers can purchase new den items and place them in their own dens.
Shiveer Shoppe
The Shiveer Shoppe opened its doors after the March 2015 update. In this store, you are able to purchase winter clothing items.
PW Beta Minigames & Parties
Nowadays, there are many different minigames and parties available in Play Wild. However, back in 2015, there were only two parties that you could access, which were as following:
Feral The Game Animal Jam
- Dance Party
- Tea Party
The Dance Party takes places at Club Geoz, which still exists to this day. The Tea Party event is located at the Pillow Hut, which is also still accessible.
Both locations have received small updates, but you can see what the Dance Party and Tea Party locations looked like in the pictures above. Which one of the two parties would you have liked to attend? Let us know in the comment section below!