Horse Games That Should Exist – Vol II
Welcome back to another round of Horse Games That Should Exist! This is where we like to fantasize about what horse-focused games we would want to have in our lives, if only the world were fair.
If you dabble in game development yourself, know that these ideas are freely available for stealing – the more attempts at good horse games are made, the better!
In case you missed Volume I, be sure to read it right here:
A Polo Game
Photo by Paul Chambers on Unsplash
A variety of equestrian sports are regularly included in horse games, most predominantly flat racing, show jumping and cross country racing. One popular equestrian discipline that has stayed largely absent from the gaming world so far is Polo.
As a team sport – Polo is played in teams of four against four – a Polo game might offer competitive multiplayer gameplay in the vein of Rocket League, which could have eSports potential. Alternatively, I can imagine a game with a top-down perspective where one player controls whichever character is closest to the ball, similar to team sport games such as the FIFA or NBA 2K series.
To satisfy those more interested in the horses than in the sport itself (👋), a campaign mode for either version could include breeding polo ponies and training them at your estates, with plenty of room for tycoon gameplay and management simulation elements.
And since sports games are always excellent opportunities for product placement, a developer tackling this may even count on additional funds through sponsorships.
Mobile Endless Runner but you’re a horse
Okay this one is simple: Imagine a mobile endless runner along the lines of Temple Run, Subway Surfers et al., but you’re a horse.
Think about it, it’s perfect: the mechanics of an endless runner usually boil down to running and jumping, two things that horses tend to really like doing. To add some variety and a little bit of realism, there could be places along the endless way where the horse can slow down and rest a bit or eat something, so you’re not just constantly going at a gallop.
To show off the game’s gorgeous horse animations (which it will of course need to have), there might be parts where you see the horse from the side rather than from behind.
In between runs, perhaps you return to a barn, or your home pasture for a bit of satisfying, perhaps optional horse care before you set out on your next run.
While this could of course also work as you playing a rider that steers and takes care of the horse, I think it would be a great opportunity for being one of those rare cases where you actually are the horse, and no humans need to be involved. Perhaps the horse care takes the shape of herd mates grooming each other instead of the usual hoof picking and coat brushing?
Another advantage of this concept is that it’s comparably easy to implement: endless runner gameplay is not incredibly complicated to build, which leaves the motivated developer a lot of room for polish and nice additional horsie content.
Update: It’s been brought to my attention that a horse endless runner already exists! Check out EverRun.
yes I edited my Star Stable horse into a Temple Run screenshot
Blood Bae
Okay I’ll admit this one is based on a single pun tweet, but I liked it too much to not include it. There’s a coat color called blood bay, i.e. a horse with a reddish-brown coat and black mane and tail. And the game we’re making out of this one is a vampire horse dating simulator, because Blood Bae.
That’s it. That’s the whole game idea. I don’t know enough about dating sims to elaborate further, I just want everyone to know that I am 100% on board with this.
War Unicorn
In recent years, much of what we get in terms of unicorn-related content tends towards the cute, pink and fluffy. Pink or rainbow unicorns have even become something of a meme in some contexts.
For the first “HGTSE” entry about unicorns, I vote we go into another, often neglected direction: that of the badass unicorn. Imagine a combat-focused action or action adventure game, where you play as a unicorn during times of medieval warfare.
Your combat moves are biting, kicking and stabbing people with your horn. You probably have some magical abilities thrown in for good measure.
On your back, you have a rider. Perhaps you can use magic to protect them. Or perhaps you choose another rider when one dies because unlike you, they don’t have magical healing powers?
The cool thing about a war unicorn game would be that it could be developed and marketed as a rather serious, mature action game, in the vein of games like Dark Souls or For Honor, thereby proving that equines are not solely the domain of young girls.
Sadly, I don’t see any AAA developer taking this kind of risk anytime soon, and a large scale battle epic is not really the sort of project I’d recommend to an indie dev.
My favorite 7 seconds from Cabin in the Woods
Just a bit of horsie For Honor gameplay to set the mood. Src
Ranching
Cattle Herding in Red Dead Redemption
There have been Western-themed horse games in the past, but generally a lot of equestrian content seems to focus on English riding. But the idea of digitally owning a ranch, herding cattle and galloping across the wide prairie can appeal to Europeans and English riders just as much to Americans who have grown up closer to the ranching lifestyle.
The first Red Dead Redemption game had a few missions dedicated to ranch management – an aspect sadly almost entirely absent from its 2018 sequel.
Much like in a classical stable management game, a ranch management game could have building and expansion mechanics, ways to earn money by raising and selling cattle or sheep and their milk or woll, an option to breed horses and sell or train them, and perhaps even competitions in Western disciplines such as Reining, Cutting and Barrel Racing.
Instead of being a whole new game, this would also make for an amazing expansion pack for Red Dead Redemption 2, since so much of the mechanics and content is already in the game, but unfortunately Rockstar just does not want me to be happy.
And more
As many developers will tell you, having “the idea” is usually the easiest part of game development. Please do feel free to take inspiration from this post if you are the game-making type. Which of these ideas would you like to play the most? What is your #1 Horse Game That Should Exist?
My own list remains long, so look forward to a Volume III of HGTSE some time in the future.
I am convinced that putting the focus on horses as a theme and setting and making a solid, well-executed game are not mutually exclusive. Or at least, they shouldn’t be. And while I would do many things for a good stable management game, that is far from the only genre in which a good horse game could be made.