Wajas
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Wajas is a popular virtual pet game where players create and breed wolf-like creatures known as Wajas.
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[edit] History
The site began as a series of adoptable images made by the artist Estuko, sold on other pet sites for their currencies, but as the popularity of the adoptables grew, a decision was made to turn Wajas (a name derived from the Navajo language word for wolf) into a website. The site is mainly run by Estuko and was programmed by her partner Senz: Estuko is known as the artist of the site, and Senz as the main coder, though both sections of the site are also worked on by other people. Recently, Senz has branched off from the website to work on her own projects. By February 2007, the site has over 25000 individual accounts: this does not necessarily reflect the actual amount of players on the site, since every player is allowed to have two accounts.
[edit] Gameplay and Breeding
Wajas is centered around breeding wajas, which come in an endless variety of specimens, thanks to the automated breeding code of the site. A waja always has a basic color, which is often added to by any or even all of 20+ markings and 9 mutations. Markings are always shown by a waja if they are inherited from its parents, and are shown in points from 0 (no marking) to 10 (a very strong marking). The point value of a waja's marking is a number between that of its parents' point values in said marking. If only one parent has a marking, the marking shows up as a value of less than five. A few wajas exist that, due to glitches, have 11 or 12 in a marking. Mutations can either show or be a carried trait that may show in the individual's offspring.
The basic color of a waja is determined from the hex codes of the base colors of its parents: if the waja's parents share markings or mutations, they will pass on to the pup as a mixture of the colors of the parents' markings or mutations. If only one parent has a marking, it will show up in a variation of that parent's marking color: if a parent has a mutation and the other does not have or carry said mutation, it will not show up in the pup, but if the pup does gain said mutation, it will be a mixture of the mutations of the parents or the mutation of the parent that shows it and the carried color of the mutation of the carrying parent that it has inherited from its parents.
The gestation period of a waja is five days, and wajas grow up in three stages. The first stage ranges from the waja's birth to the age of five days: at this stage, no clue of the waja's final appearance can be seen, as all pups are a default color (usually a variant of brown, though baby corsie wajas are yellow and baby earth wajas are bright pink). The pup's statistics reveal what mutations the waja has, as well as its markings and how strong they are in point value, but the colors of the markings and mutations cannot be seen. A good estimate can be made by looking at the pup's parents. By the age of five days, the pup becomes an adolescent, showing its permanent adult base color but none of its markings or mutations. Recently, the aging process was changed so that the final appearance of a waja can be seen at the age of twelve days, though it cannot be bred to other wajas until adulthood at twenty days: previously, players had to wait a full twenty days before they could see what their waja looked like. The aging process can be skipped entirely by using an Age Pear, which automatically changes the age of any waja to 20 days.
The easiest way for a player to get a waja is to send a site message to the owner of a female waja and ask for what is known as a Reverse Breeding, abbreviated into RB. In a Reverse Breeding, the owner of the female waja breeds said waja to a male waja, then gives the resulting pup to the person who asked for the RB. Usually, this is the cheapest way to get a waja. The owner of the female will typically charge a fee for the breeding process, called an RB fee, in the currency of the site (WC, short for Waja Credits): the owner of the male also charges a fee, known as a stud fee. Also, an item known as a Love Pear is usually required by the owner of the female, as this item is needed in order for wajas to breed.
Another method of acquiring a waja is buying them from other players. Players can put their wajas for sale for a specific price, which is usually far higher than the price of an RB. The advantage to this method, however, is that if the waja for sale is an adult, the player looking for a waja can see instantly what they are buying. When getting an RB, there is always a chance that the resulting pup will be undesirable in traits or appearance.
Breeding or buying wajas from other players are not the only ways to acquire a waja: customized wajas, known as "customs" or "starters" can be bought by using the second currency of the site, CWP (Crazy Waja Points) or won in contests. Unlike WC, which can be gained by selling wajas and items, as well as playing games, CWP can only be gained by donating USD to the site or by buying it from other users using WC. The current trade rate is approximately 150,000 WC for 1 CWP, (although occasionally during high demand and low supply, each CWP could cost roughly 200k) making custom wajas very valuable in terms of game currency. Customs can be bought in normal, corsie, and egyptian breeds: earth wajas were available as customs for a short time only in December 2006 at a slightly lowered price, and divines are occasionally available at nearly double the price of the other breeds. Custom wajas are created using a token system, in which CWP is traded for tokens. These tokens come in several varieties. Silver tokens allow for the creation of a waja with two markings or mutations: gold and diamond tokens allow for three and four markings or mutations, respectively. Diamond tokens cannot be bought, and are only given away by the site administration as contest prizes. Gold tokens retail for 30 CWP, and silver tokens for 20 CWP. Since a custom waja is not bred and has no parents, it does not carry mutations, and all of its markings are 10.
Each waja is registered in the database with an unique ID number, which allows for tracking down wajas even if their names are changed, and also for multiple uses of the same name. Users are given these unique ID numbers as well, known amongst players as "cave numbers" after the name for the area of the site in which wajas are stored. Users also have unique sign-in names that cannot be changed, though the name visible to other users can (and, for security reasons, should) be modified. The possibility to use a tag, or small image, instead of a name is available to upgraded users of the site.
The personal page of each waja contains the name, title, and picture of the waja, as well as information on its gender, generation, age, breed, breeding statistics, owner, lineage, offspring, studding price (in the case of male wajas), genetics for mutations and markings, and past owners. The owner of a waja can also edit many things about the waja, such as its name, title, and personal description.
A waja's four breeding statistics are MU (Mutation), MG (Male Gene), LQ (Litter Quantity), and In% (Inbreeding Percentage). These four statistics are displayed in numbers from 0 to 100, and pass on to the pups of the waja just like markings do. Each stat effects a different thing about the offspring of the waja: MU increases the chances of the pups receiving a random mutation or marking at birth; MG increases the chances of a female waja giving birth to a male pup, making males much rarer on the site than females; LQ increases the chances of a female waja giving birth to twins or even triplets. In% is considered a negative trait in a waja, though it does not affect them in any way except for passing on the In% to its offspring: In% is gained if a waja is bred to a waja that is somewhat closely related to it. The closer the relation, the higher the In% on the resulting pup. (e.g. If the pups mother and father are mother and son then the inbred % is likely to be around 60%.)
[edit] Breeds
Wajas currently has eight breeds of wajas. They all have the same markings and mutations available to them, though the appearance of certain markings and mutations changes dramatically from breed to breed due to differences in anatomy and style.
- Normal: This is the 'default' breed of waja: it resembles a wolf with puffy cheeks and generally rather fluffy fur, and is the most common breed on the site.
- African: A breed of waja that resembles the African Wild Dog in appearance, though it has two tails.
- Plushie: A breed of waja that looks like a plush toy.
- Divine: These large wajas are often compared to dragons or lions, and have a distinct Oriental feel to them. Divines have long whiskers, multiple horns, and large bird wings as a default: this breed is one of the most sought-after on the site, and breeding one is very expensive.
- Water: These wajas are said to resemble eels or seals. They have elongated bodies, short forelegs, no hind legs, and a large fin at the end of their tail.
- Corsie: A short-legged, floppy-eared waja, this breed resembles a small dog more than a wolf.
- Egyptian: Just like corsies, this breed resembles a dog more than a wolf. This breed is based on a greyhound-type dog, with long, slender legs and pointed ears (a possible reference to the Egyptian god Anubis, considering the name of the breed).
- Earth: These large wajas mostly resemble a mixture of the normal and corsie breeds, but they have hooves instead of paws. They were released for purchase during December 2006, for three days only. New earths are now only available through breeding.
The creation of more breeds has been discussed, and there will be a possible "Fire" breed in the near future.
All breeds can be crossbred freely, though some players prefer to breed wajas with specimens of the same breed only. The breed of a pup is that of either of its parents, selected at random. Certain breeds are more difficult to breed than others: divines, for example, very rarely produce divine pups with a breed other than another divine.
[edit] Items
The items of Wajas are mostly centered around pears. Many kinds of pears can be used on wajas, all with different effects.
- Love Pears are by far the most important pears of the site. A Love Pear is needed every time a player wishes to breed wajas, and is used automatically when the breeding begins.
- Age Pears can be used to age a waja to 20 days, which is the age at which a waja becomes an adult. This effectively skips the entire aging process of a pup, making these pears extremely popular and sought-after.
- Age Pear Crumbs, like Age Pears, raise your waja's age, but only by three days.
- Normal, Male, and Strange Pears increase a waja's LQ, MG, and MU, respectively.
- Ice Pears lower the In% of an inbred waja. These are considered by some players to be a form of cheating, since even if a waja is lowered to 0 In% using Ice Pears, its offspring will still have a In% score.
- Gender Pears change the gender of a waja.
- Marking and Mutation Pears add a random marking of a random color or a random mutation the same color as the waja's base to a waja. Most users have a love-hate relationship with these pears, since they can effectively make or break a waja.
- Instant Birth Pears are the rarest pears on the site, and retail for several million WC. They make a pregnant waja instantly give birth.
All pears but Marking, Mutation, Instant Birth and Age Pear CRumbs can be bought at the Pear Shop, as well as in user shops. Age, Marking, and Mutation Pears can also be found at the Pear Tree, which is only accessible by upgraded users.
Other items on the site include accessories like bracelets, collars, sledding harnesses, bandages, earrings, and other items that can be equipped on a waja to enhance its appearance, such as holiday items. In addition to accessories that are directly equipped to the waja, there are a number of items like teddy bears that can be placed next to a waja: some of these accessories, like the pink winged panda-koala crossbreed with wings known as the Kodarit and the squirrel-bat combination called the Felibat, are actual original pet species for the wajas. None of these accessories have any effect on the statistics of a waja, functioning only as decorations.
A much smaller but very important group of items contains items that alter the breed of a waja. A waja's breed is determined at birth: by using one of these items, a player can alter the breed of their waja into one preferable to the previous. The most common of these items is the Plastic Waja, occasionally won by players from the Fish-a-Waja game: this item changed the breed of a waja to Plushie. Other items include the Frog, Rock Waja, and Lollipop, which change a waja's breed to Water, African, or Normal, respectively.
