Character Diversity, Beta Testing and Patreon Support – Latest News from Equestrian: The Game

If you’re a regular reader of The Mane Quest, you’ll already know that thousands of horse game fans are eagerly awaiting what looks like the most promising project this genre has ever seen: Equestrian the Game.

Kavalri Games’ mature and realistic approach to an equestrian simulation game has been in development for several years now, and although a release date has still not been announced, the team is diligantly sharing updates on social media. Let’s have a look at the latest.

If you’ve missed out on Equestrian so far, be sure to have a look at TMQ’s interview with Kavalri Games co-founder Molly Ericson:

Characters and Diversity

Unlike genre behemoth Star Stable Online, Equestrian does not intend to limit its players to female avatars. A variety of body types and skin colors will be available, as well as a variety of hair styles that characters of either gender can equip.

While many horse games do include male avatars, Equestrian’s options in body shapes and darker skin tones are relatively novel in the world of horse gaming.

Horses, Tack and Clothing

Many of Kavalri’s recent posts show off pieces of equipment for horse and rider. The team has created their own fictional brands with unique visions of style and color, as Kavalri Co-Founder Molly Ericson explains in a dev vlog. While these items tell us very little about the game itself, a few cool details about the riding can be garnererd from other recent posts: Your horse in Equestrian will have different jump heights, avoiding the common problem of having horses take huge leaps over tiny branches.

A short riding video on the other hand displays a UI element that appears to differentiate between collected and extended gaits, a very welcome bit of realism that many virtual horses do not offer.

Beta Testing

Earlier this year, Kavalri Games began searching for Beta Testers. Since these playtestings are protected under a Non-Disclosure Argeement, none of the people who have been selected so far are allowed to share information or visual material of what exactly the gameplay looks like at the moment.

While fans can of course never get enough information in advance, keeping playtesting under wraps is common in the game industry for good reason: making games is a very iterative process, a lot of things change while improving features, graphics and functionality. While Kavalri is sharing a lot of preview material, keeping the gameplay itself out of the public eye can avoid conflicts and false expectations down the line.

If you’re interested in active playtester involvement, sign up on Kavalri’s website for a chance to get selected as a Beta Tester.

Patreon

If you are among the many who eagerly await the game’s release and want to help this project get made, you now have a chance to directly support the team: Kavalri Games has launched a Patreon account.

The crowdfunding website allows supporters to pay a monthly fee to the development team in exchange for additional insight into the game’s making as well as exclusive ingame items. If you want to join TMQ in supporting Kavalri Games with a few bucks, click right here.

Outlook and FAQ

Since the questions keep appearing under every mention of the game, let’s add a bit of basic info:

• Equestrian the Game does not yet have a Release Date

• Equiestrian the Game will be released on mobile devices first, and will be available for iPhones and Android. A PC and/or Console release may follow later, but is not yet certain.

• Equestrian the Game will be available for free and contain in-app purchases.