Horseland

Infobox VG
title = Horseland


developer = Horseland LLC
publisher = Horseland LLC
released = "Horseland":
1998
"Horseland Jr.":
1 September 2006
genre = Online Game
modes = Multiplayer
platforms = Cross-platform
requirements= Web browser with Adobe Flash Player plugin. Adobe Shockwave (optional)
media = Web interface
input = Keyboard, Mouse

:"For the animated series of the same name, see Horseland (TV Series)"

Horseland an online community that simulates the breeding and raising of horses and dogs. Begun in 1994 [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssLeisureProducts/idUSN0133295520081003 Hand Over The Controller, Girl Gamers Say ] ] in the United States, Horseland has now grown to have more than 5 million users who play from all over the world. Most of the players are girls from age 10 to 22, although a number of adults play the game. [ [http://www.horseland.com/corporate.asp Horseland ] ] In September 2006, an animated cartoon series based on the web site was launched in the United States.

There are two games on the site, Horseland World and Horseland Junior. Horseland World is a complex and interactive game aimed at people ages 13 and older. The second game is called Horseland Junior, which is suitable for kids younger than 13 years old. The Junior game is easy to play and features content from the [Horseland Cartoon Series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseland_%28TV_Series%29] . Both games are free to play with added features for those that choose to subscribe to a pay membership. Players can upgrade to being a Premium User. Then they get privileges such as owning a stable, Training Licenses, a higher income (In game money), and a Premium-Only talk channel.

History

Horseland grew out of a webpage dedicated to horses that launched in 1994. The original website featured bulletin boards and forums where members discussed their love of horses and participated in horse-themed role playing games. A system of gameplay soon developed, and Horseland LLC launched the Horseland game shortly afterwards. The Horseland game features the ability to create, own and train virtual horses that players can care for and compete in online shows. As the popularity of the game grew, the interest in Horseland spawned a new Junior Version, and later, a series of cartoons and short novels. In 2006, Horseland LLC partnered with DIC Entertainment to produce a cartoon TG4 based on the website. [ [http://www.dicentertainment.com/press/details.php?90 DIC ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS BRAND NEW ANIMATED TELEVISION SERIES, HORSELAND ] ]

Horseland Junior Game

The Horseland Jr. game was launched on September 1, 2006. This game features characters from the Horseland cartoon. It's a very simplified version of Horseland World and is suitable for kids younger than 13 years old. Graphics are simple and colorful, appealing to the younger audience. [ [http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/Horseland_2.html Horseland.com - Website Review ] ] The Junior game is a Flash based game similar to the World game in that players can create and interact with a virtual horse. Horseland Jr. lets you select a horse (choosing from characters you'll also find in the Horseland cartoon series), pick the horse's name and the player name. Players can visit their horse in its stall, and care for it in a variety of ways ("shown in the image on the right"). The horse needs to be fed daily, exercised regularly, seen by a veterinarian and farrier, and fitted with tack.

Horseland World Game

The original game on the Horseland website was re-named from "Horseland" to "Horseland World" on September 1, 2006 when the Jr. game was launched. In the Horseland World game, players buy and sell horses, find good stables to board their horses at, find a fair trainer, and participate in shows. [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-mxa0920atplaycoverhorsesep20,1,5220248.story Topic Galleries - chicagotribune.com ] ]

Gameplay

Points

Horseland is an escalating system of gameplay, where players strive to earn as many points as possible, both for their player account as well as their individual horses. Players earn points through the training of their horses or dogs. A single player can own many animals of varying breeds and descriptions. While there is no single point goal for their animals, the players are restricted by the trainable lifespan of their horses and dogs. While a horse or a dog can only participate in show training for a period of time, it can participate in ticket training its whole life. When an animal becomes too old for show training, it is offered the option of retirement. Most players do not retire their animals, as it creates "broken lines" where the horses' or dogs' records are wiped off the Horseland database and cannot be found again. However, horses can pass a portion of their earned points to their offspring if they breed before reaching retirement age, and thus an evolving system of gameplay continues through the lineage of the animals that players foster and maintain.

Training

Horseland players can train their animals by "Show Training" or "Ticket Training." Show Training involves players entering their horses or dogs in shows where points are awarded the next day. As their animals gain points, the user will also gain "Player Points," which are equal to the number of points the animal gains. However, with every show, the animal's health bar decreases, limiting the number of shows a horse or dog can enter.

The other method, Ticket Training, is through the use of tickets that Premium players can purchase at the online store. One training ticket gives a horse or dog 50 points, without it affecting the animal's health. These tickets may be used on a player's own animals, or the player may choose to sell it as a service to other players. As it is a player-operated service, ticket prices can fluctuate depending on the seller.

Some players offer a service referred to as "point training". What they will do is train your horse/dog using one of the above methods to "x" amount of points for "x" amount of money. Generally, hiring other players to do such a thing will be more expensive than doing so personally.

Breeding

Breeding is an important part of the Horseland World game, through which a player can extend the capability of an animal to earn more points by passing a portion of the points earned by ancestors on to their offspring, giving that foal a higher starting point level.

Players can choose to breed among their own horses or with horses owned by others. The owners of the stallions control the breeding by having the option to accept or reject a "breed request" by another player. Mares can be bred once every 21 days, and stallions every 2 days (both from the age of 3 until the age of 21).

Breeding is tracked by the game, listing all ancestors of a horse still in play. Once retired, however, the information for that horse (name, age, points etc.) is lost and the offspring of that horse will lose that portion of their lineage and have what is referred to as a "broken line". Most players become very attentive to the tracking of blood-lines, so they often choose to not retire their horses. [ [http://www.horselandhelp.co.uk/breeding.html Horselandhelp.co.uk ] ]

Different Types of Bloodlines

Crossbreeds are, like their names suggest, a cross of two different breeds.

In-bred means that that a horse has the same horse twice in its pedigree (e.g. its breeding a stallion to his mother or sister).

Over-bred is a term used by players when a horse has parented more than what is considered a "decent" number of foals. The preferred maximum of foals varies from player to player and with-in each Breed Community.

Store horses are horses bought from the Horseland Store. Their pedigree is store X store.

Economy

The economic system in Horseland evolved into an free, open market by players, originally beginning with the buying and selling of horses and items included by the Horseland game system, and eventually including services offered by the players themselves, such as home page design and artwork.

Players are given a weekly income, $10,000 HLD for Basic Players and $200,000 HLD for Premium Players. Though the game itself requires players to purchase automated services, such as veterinary visits to maintain the health of their animals, elective services, such as the boarding of animals in privately owned stables and kennels, are handled by the players themselves.

Horseland allows players to dictate the price of their services and creates a natural division of labor, as some players elect to specialize their gameplay, by being "trainers" or "boarders', for example. The ability of open discussion on the Horseland Talk pages lends itself to players looking for and advertising services offered for players by players, and fosters a fluctuating open market.

Horseland as a social network

In addition to being a simulation game, Horseland also has many attributes of a social network. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/10/digitalmedia.web20 Social Networking Social Networking Sites for Young Children] ] A great deal of Horseland's social network centers around user-generated content. Each player has a homepage that s/he can alter with HTML or CSS. Players often create and "sell" design codes for homepages, turning the code over to other players in exchange for Horseland Dollars. Photographs and illustrations for horses and dogs are also exchanged between players.

Players can communicate with each other through over 10 (manually refreshed) chat rooms and through in-game messages. An additional feature of the game is lists of "Stable Buddies". Some players enjoy sending digital cards (sometimes called "Love/Luff Cards") to their Stable Buddies (the occasion for this can vary, from birthdays to holidays).

Unofficial clubs are popular. Players create their own clubs through creating a new account. (Note: this is different from the official Horseland Clubs.) These clubs are run in a similar way to a "official" Horseland Club: they hold contests, gather members, create logos (called "club cards"), and propagate campaigns.

Players can also run in Horseland "Official" sponsored clubs. Becoming the "President" of a club allows a players to control animals that are accepted and rejected from the club. The "President" sets their own registry for the club for their term, each term lasts for one month. Players campaign to become "President" by TVing (trading votes) with other premium players. Often players hold voting contests in hopes of luring other players to help them gain enough votes to win in the club. Players can also "buy" votes off of other players who do not want to trade their votes.

ee also

* Horseland (TV Series)

External links

* [http://www.horseland.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.horselandhelp.co.uk/ Help site]
* [http://www.ncircleentertainment.com/Content.aspx?id=NChorseland NCircle Entertainment: Buy Horseland DVDs]

References