Ponies.
Why did it have to be ponies?
What started off as a simple TV show has now been made into the much acclaimed Equestria Online MMORPG.
And I'm going to play it, even though I've never played any other MMORPG in my life.
Why?
Because: Ponies.
Yes, you read that correctly, this is yet another Let's Play thread for Equestria Online. Now, I know that I'm a couple months slow getting into this, but MMOs aren't really my thing. I'm much more inclined toward single player RPGs and Minecraft clones. However, I've heard a lot of good things about this game, and my friends told me that I have to try it. So, here I go, trying to play an MMO.
Why am I doing a Let's Play, when there are already about a thousand out there on this forum alone? Because I enjoy reading them, and I've found that for many games you can get one or two good ones at launch. After that, they start to die out. Trying to find a good Let's Play to get involved with a month after launch can be pretty hard, though that is mostly for single player games. I haven't looked much into MMO Let's Plays.
Anyway, I wanted to do a Let's Play that people can get in on at the ground level, in case they missed the first rush of them. I also kind of find it cool how people get awesome stories out of simple things happening in games, and I want to try my hand at it. No promises though, as this is my first Let's Play.
Some other things I guess I should note: I'm playing this blind. I have avoided spoilers as much as possible. Because of that, I didn't realize that I could only have one account (What is up with that?) and already made a character. So hopefully people won't mind. I didn't name him or anything, but unfortunately it means that for now we are stuck with how he looks. Hopefully, you can put up with it for the next while.
Random Information That Everyone Knows But I Feel Like Putting In Anyway
So for those of you that don't have the game (and have been hiding under a rock), the game can only played on a tablet called a Pony Pad. It is controlled with a touch screen, and seems to work pretty smoothly. I didn't have any troubles with it. I think it's actually more responsive than my phone. I got the Twilight Sparkle one and it looks nice, with a picture of Twilight on the back, with the case in dark purple. Twilight is not my favourite pony, but I prefer the darker colour to the lighter ones.
It's fairly light, but it is too big to fit into my pants pocket. However, it does fit in the inside pocket on my vest, so I might be able to smuggle it into work and play it on my breaks. It has speakers well hidden in the sides of the device and a camera on top that faces the player.
That right, when you stare into the Void that is MLP:FIM:EO, it stares back at you. :P
Setting up was easy. It did a search for wireless networks, and then I had to type in the password. Very standard in this day and age, but it was nice to see that they made it as easy as possible.
The game is made by Hofvarpnir Studios (Try saying that 5 times fast!), who have done only one other game: The Fall of Asgard. Considering TFoA was pretty gory and was marketed at the hard core gamers, it's kinda odd that they took on this game. I don't play MMO's, but from what I hear TFoA was a major success and they could have done whatever they wanted to afterward. I guess they just needed to mellow out after that last game. Maybe whoever runs it is secretly a brony.
Or maybe this is just a setup, and later updates will merge the two, making the MMO that brought Ponies and Mortal Kombat together at last!
Okay, that is pretty unlikely, but it is still fun to imagine. Either way, they obviously want nobody to know that they are behind this, as while we get a Hasbro logo for a second, the game skips everything else and goes straight into the game. I mean straight into the game, no loading screens, no menus, nothing.
Anyway, onto:
Things You Will Actually Care About
So, the game starts you in the character creator, and it is incredibly easy to make the pony of your dreams. For a lot of people this would be easy, but I found it rather hard. I don't actually have an OC, so I had to come up with something from scratch. After plenty of thought I decided to create an earth pony stallion, because I enjoy moving fast and platforming. I don't know how skills work in this game, but I hope that I can set up my pony so that I can move fast.
Yes, this is one thing no one gets to vote on. If there is a branch of the skill tree that lets me go faster, we are following it. Sorry, all objections overruled.
So after playing around with how he looks I ended up with this:
I know he might look kind of boring, but well, I'm not the best at coming up with ideas. Honestly, I kind of like how he looks. He looks how I feel, if that makes any sense. Oh well, if people really hate it I'm sure I can find some place to dye his coat, or something.
So, that is my character in the start area. No name, no cutie mark, and the only hint of what I am supposed to do was the game telling me to go see Princess Celestia to get my name. I guess this is a tutorial, but if I'm completely honest, I kinda just want to head up those hills and see what I can see. I really enjoy exploring in games, and really, how important is a name going to be anyway?
Well, I guess if I want to chat with other players, it might be important. Eh, if I have to I'll just use my old standby "Susland" until I get an official one. That is if we go exploring before we go find Celestia.
What do you think should I go exploring? Is it more important to get my name first? If I go exploring, where do you think I should head? Up the mountains, or down into the forest? Maybe we should try to find Ponyville for kicks!
Finally, if you could, don't post any spoilers. Playing this blind is half the fun.
PM me or Reply if you want me to continue, and feel free to ask me questions.
Next time: Actual Gameplay!