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If you’re looking for any specific article, I generally recommend typing “the mane quest” plus your keyword(s) into Google. The Squarespace site search is not always helpful. A full list of all my articles can also be found over here on the Horse Game Database, which is very useful if you want to quickly search all my content!
About a month ago, a passionate rant posted to the /r/Games forum on Reddit brought the topic of horse games and their faults to a wide audience. The Plaid Horse, an online magazine dedicated to horses and equestrianism, approached the post’s author shortly afterwards to share a slightly edited version of the Reddit rant on their blog.
Read MoreGetting approached by the developers of horse games is always something exciting for me. In a call with Aesir Interactive CEO Wolfgang Emmer, I learned a lot about the development and reception of 2017s Ostwind/Windstorm and its 2019 sequel, as well as Aesir’s fascinating upcoming project.
Read MoreShortly after publishing my latest article on Horse Isle 3, I was thrilled to receive a reply from Joe “Jor” Durbin, lead developer on all three Horse Isle games.
Since then, Joe and I have exchanged a few emails about the development process of Horse Isle 3. As Joe does not have the time for a full interview with TMQ, I am happy to be able to provide a bit of insight in this form nonetheless.
Read MoreAesir Interactive, the studio behind single player horse games Ostwind/Windstorm (2017) and Windstorm: Ari’s Arrival (2019) is working on a new horse-themed project.
Under the working title “Stable Girl”, the German team has qualified for funding at FFF Bayern, Bavaria’s film and media sponsorship program
Read MoreInstead of a proper review, I tried a new format for playing Horse Isle 3: On December 5th, I streamed my first two and a half hours of gameplay, aided by some members from the TMQ Community.
I wasn’t able to record the whole stream, but I’ve edited the footage I have down to a 20min highlight video.
Read MoreI regularly search Twitter for anything that includes the words “gamedev” and “horse” in an attempt to keep track of what’s being made. One such search I recently stumbled across Kanna, an independently developed open world role playing games which promises to treat its horses as more than just ways of transport.
Read MoreJoin the TMQ communities on Discord, Reddit and our brand new Facebook Group to meet other horse game lovers and share your ideas, complaints, jokes and thoughts about all things horses and video games.
Read MoreHorse Isle 3 is an open world online multiplayer game focused on catching wild horses and breeding them for better stats. The game went live in August, after several months of open beta testing.
The decision for the game to get “released” came as a surprise to some players, considering the game’s status: The game’s 3D art and user interface look rough to put it mildly.
Read MoreMost horse-focused games feature brushing your horse and picking its hooves, feeding or combing mane and tail. Unfortunately, many of these horse care minigames quickly grow tedious or even frustrating: let’s take a look at why that is, what developers could do differently, and whether or not horse care mechanics are even necessary to begin with.
Read MoreAfter the less than stellar experience with My Riding Stables, I would likely not have bothered with this game if the publisher hadn’t sent me a review code. Fortunately, Bibi & Tina auf dem Martinshof frustrated me a lot less than My Riding Stables did. Is that enough to make it a decent horse game however or is the bar just incredibly low?
Read MoreThe Mane Quest website was launched on October 23rd 2018, exactly one year ago today. The site started out with 10 articles, many of them much shorter than most that have been published since.
For The Mane Quest’s first anniversary, I want to share some interesting site statistics, tell you all a bit about what this project means to me, and to ask you for your feedback.
Wild Horse’s Valley is somewhat unique among the genre in that you control a herd of wild horses rather than managing a stable or equestrian center. You take the role of the lead stallion in charge of protecting your herd. In the wild, you may encounter dangers or new herd members.
Read MoreGerman developer Caipirinha Games has a new horse game in store in time for this year’s Winter Holidays:
The Unicorn Princess is an open world horse game with a fantasy twist: “Befriend Unica the unicorn while exploring the real world and the world of dreams,” says the promotional material.
Read MoreAfter some teasing and speculation via a Livestream the past weekend, the official Pokemon YouTube Channel has announced a new creature for Pokémon Shield: Galarian Ponyta.
Read MoreSix Ages: Ride Like The Wind is a story-driven strategy game where you lead a clan of horse riders. The game is out on iOS already and will be released on Steam in October 2019.
I’ve had Six Ages on my list of games to review ever since The Mane Quest was launched, because the developers offered me a review copy early on. I’ve finally had a look and realized that I won’t be able to give this game a fair review after all.
Outside of the genre of “horse games”, there are plenty of games in which one or multiple horses are a secondary feature. The horses in games like The Witcher, The Legend of Zelda, Assassin’s Creed or Red Dead Redemption have varying depths of gameplay and serve purposes such as being a means of transport, an important Non-Playable Character or one of many collectible items. Broadly speaking, most implementations of horses in video games fit into one of two categories: Companion Horses and Collectible Horses.
Read MoreIf you’ve been following TMQ for a while, you’ll know that good horse animation is hard to find, and for those of us more gifted in game design or coding than in art, a sprite pack like this can be an incredible ressource.
Read MoreHorse Isle 3: Infinite Wilds has officially gone live on August 25th, after several months of open beta testing.
Unlike its predecessors, Horse Isle 3 is fully 3D, with the exact looks of horses being determined by their stats and genetics. “No two horses look or behave alike!” claims the game’s website.
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