Must-Read: Polygon Analyzes Assassin's Creed Horses with an Expert of Equine History

Polygon writer Simone de Rochefort and Horse Historian Professor Donna Landry take a close look at the horses in the Assassin’s Creed games: The recent titles Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla all use the same horse model regardless of their vastly different settings and cultural context.

De Rochefort and Landry draw comparisons between this horse type and modern breeds, and go through the games’ Viking, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece settings to discuss how horses in those regions and time periods might have looked.

I absolutely love this deep dive and am incredibly happy that for once, I am not alone in reporting on video game horse accuracy. The article is an absolute must-read for TMQ fans, horse history enthusiasts and equestrian gamers. Go read it, and let Polygon know if analytical horse content is something you want to see more of!

Click right here: Polygon: A horse expert weighs in on the Assassin’s Creed pony debate (that we started)

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Steam Horse Fest is Now Live – Here's What I Recommend Buying or Looking Into
Steam Horse Fest is Now Live – Here's What I Recommend Buying or Looking Into

Steam is currently hosting a themed sale called “Horse Fest”. There are so many new and exciting things happening in horse games right now that I can’t possibly provide in-depth coverage for all of them, but I want to chime in with some recommendations to the best of my knowledge nonetheless!

Recommended: The Best Horses On The Nintendo Switch by Nintendo Life
Recommended: The Best Horses On The Nintendo Switch by Nintendo Life

Kate Gray made a list of the Best Horses on the Nintendo Switch and has consulted me for additional inputs.

Horses of Hoofprint Bay: Free Demo Available Now on Steam
Horses of Hoofprint Bay: Free Demo Available Now on Steam

I’m publishing a game that’s being developed by two members of the TMQ community and is inspired by my childhood favorite game that nothing ever lived up to in the past 20+ years. Today, we’re launching a free public demo for everyone to try.

You can now Wishlist Fernhoof Grove: Riding Academy on Steam
You can now Wishlist Fernhoof Grove: Riding Academy on Steam

Fernhoof Grove: Riding Academy is finally available to wishlist on Steam. I consider it one of the more promising WIP indie projects in the horse game space at the moment, because while I haven’t played it yet, I find that the screenshots and videos shown so far give a rather more tangible impression of what the gameplay mechanics might look like.

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Scams, Asset Flips, and Naive Amateurs: The Horse Girl's Guide to Recognizing which Games are Worth Supporting
Scams, Asset Flips, and Naive Amateurs: The Horse Girl's Guide to Recognizing which Games are Worth Supporting

Horse Games are an underserved niche and their players are practically begging for new projects to follow and support. With this article, I want to give people in the horse game audience some tools and background information on how to better gauge which projects might deliver on their promises, which red flags to watch out for in new game announcements and which critical questions to ask. 

Living Creatures vs Meat Motorcycles – How to Make Horses in Games Feel Alive
Living Creatures vs Meat Motorcycles – How to Make Horses in Games Feel Alive

What makes horses in games feel alive and how do you get players to care for them? When complex independent behaviors are out of scope, what measures can developers take to give players a sense of emotional attachment on a budget? How do you get game horses to feel like actual living creatures rather than just four-legged bicycles? Fortunately, there are a lot of options if you’re a little bit horse-savvy, so let’s look at some of them

Recommended: "A murder-mystery horse MMO baffled me so much that I spoke to gaming's resident horse expert"
Recommended: "A murder-mystery horse MMO baffled me so much that I spoke to gaming's resident horse expert"

Following the announcement of Equinox: Homecoming, Harvey Randall at PC Gamer began to wonder why someone would make a game like that and what is up with the horse game niche in general. Naturally, I was happy to provide some insight.

Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead
Friends, Forage and Freedom: Why We Should Stop Normalizing Solitary Confinement in Horse Games and What Devs Can Do Instead

How do horses live? What does a stable look like? Splendid barn aesthetics are nice to have for humans, but what horses really need are the so-called three Fs: Friends, Forage and Freedom. Today I want to have a look at what meeting those needs looks like and how horse-focused media can play an important role in education and normalization when it comes to the question of “What should a cool, fancy, high quality stable look like?” 

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