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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!
I sat down for a chat with Katrin Haase, has long years of experience making games for children at Markt + Technik. After the many frustrations that this company’s games has let me feel, I finally wanted to know: why do these games get made and how are they produced? And perhaps more importantly: how can they ever become better?
Join me for a fascinating insight into the world of low budget horse game production.
Read MoreIn January, we learned of a new upcoming horse game based on Dreamworks’ Spirit franchise and the upcoming movie Spirit Untamed. The Mane Quest reached out to its creators in order to learn more about the game’s development. Santiago R. Bedate from aheartfulofgames takes the time to give us some interesting insight behind the scenes of Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure.
Read MoreWe continue our series on what to keep in mind when setting out to create your own horse game: Let’s assume now that you already have a bit of gamedev experience in this field, be it as a hobbyist or as a professional.
Perhaps you are – like me – a game creator of some experience who finally wants to tackle their passion project, who finally wants to make “the thing” that you believe is missing: the good horse game.
Read MoreWhen getting into game development, it makes sense to take the first steps by yourself, to practice game creation without relying on others at first. But the moment will come when other other people become relevant: possible team mates, playtesters and eventually the public. Let’s look at some basic guidelines for how to involve other people in your passion projects.
Read MoreStarting to make a game based on the premise of “what would be my perfect horse game” rather than “what kind of game can I reasonably expect to make” has its pitfalls. Overcomplexity, feature creep and creative burnout from wanting too much are all too common among passionate newbie creators. Let’s look at some of these challenges and how you can work your way around them.
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 MoreStar Stable Online is a massively multiplayer online role playing game or MMORPG that has been out for almost 8 years. Despite the often underestimated target audience of teenage female PC players, the game is a huge success and continues to grow and improve.
The Mane Quest spoke to SSO Product Owner Nika Bender about the work she and her team do behind the scenes of what is probably the most successful horse game of all time.
Read MoreTivola has been making and publishing games since 1995. While their portfolio has always been family-friendly, they have recently put more focus on horse-themed games in particular.
Product Manager Inga Panten invited me to visit Tivola’s offices in Hamburg for a day to get a look behind the scenes.
Read MoreThe Unity Asset Store offers everything from code toolsets, over individually animated character models to complete game projects. The quality of these assets varies drastically, with many being created by hobbyists.
In the case of one particular Horse Animset Pro however, the assets popularity has lead to several games having the same problem: the walk animation is completely wrong.
Read MoreMany horse games set the wrong priorities and get the most basic things wrong about horses. By stark contrast, watching the social media updates of Equestrian The Game has been an absolute delight. The Mane Quest reached out to developer Kavalri Games and found a kindred spirit in the team’s Vice President and Co-Founder Molly Ericson.
Read MoreTo say that Jason Kingsley leads an interesting life is quite the understatement: Kingsley is the CEO and co-founder of a successful game development company and owns 15 horses and trains them in medieval style riding.
Needless to say, Jason Kingsley made for an incredibly fitting interview partner for The Mane Quest.
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