Horse Isle

 

Horse Isle
Developer(s)	Horse Isle
Release date(s)	May 4th, 2007
Genre(s)	MMOG, MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Platform(s)	Any with Flash Player, incl. Windows, Mac, Linux
Media	Download
System requirements	1 GHz Intel Pentium III CPU, 256 MB RAM, Internet access
Input	Keyboard, Mouse

Horse Isle is a massively multiplayer online game set in a fantasy land of horses. The player can capture wild horses with which they can feed, train, care and compete. There are many minigames, quests and activities in the world also. The game plays within the Web Browser. Graphics are Tile 2d / Vector Line Art Composite. ^[1]

Joe and Miranda Durbin started the independent game in 2007, along with a team of artists from around the world.^[2] Horse Isle underwent a 3 month beta-test period. Then the game opened on May 4, 2007, the official launch date of the game. There is continued heavy development of the game to add new content.^[3]

RPG Land gave Horse Isle a 5 out of 10 Detailed Review.^[4] Duluth News Tribune did an interview with Horse Isle creators.^[5]

Horses of Horse Isle

Horses can be caught in the wild if you are lucky enough to find one, or bought from another player. Around 50 breeds are wandering the lands of Horse Isle Currently (More added regularly) This encludes:

Mustang, Paso fino, Arabian, Fallabella, Percheron, Shire, Shetland Pony, thoroughbred, gyspy vanner, irish draught, ausrailian brumby

and much, much more!

Mini-games found within Horse Isle

There are many mini-games throughout Horse Isle. Some are associated with quests so they must be done in order to have 100% completion of them. Many of these can be completed multiple times, but no reward will be given after the quest has been completed. Many of the mini-games are scored, so the aim is to play the game to earn money, but also to have the highest score. There is a bonus for the player that beats the current top score. Not all games earn the player money. Some earn items. These are often food for either the player or their virtual horses.

Quest Game Examples

Painting: A resident (NPC) of Horse Isle asks the player to paint a picture. This painting must be done in the same way, using the same colors, as the NPC requests.
Piano: There is a tune that some NPC's want the player to play for them. These range from a simple C major scale , Three Blind Mice, to Ode to Joy.
Ant Hills: These are block moving strategy puzzles that are grouped into 3 puzzles per quest.
Carrot Run: A game where there are turtles guarding carrots. As a rabbit, the player must navigate around the moving turtles to gather the carrots and get back to its hole without the turtles seeing it.
Ice Sculpture: This is basically the opposite of Minesweeper. The player must chip away at "ice" block by block without chipping into the actual sculpture.
Pyramid Treasure: This is a labyrinth where the player must find the treasure then find the exit.
Sandcastle Moat: In this puzzle, each tile has a part of the moat on it. This can be straight or branch off in many directions. The player must spin the tiles in order to connect the moat.
Tanagrama: A puzzle that gives the player seven geometric shapes and a larger, shape to try and fit the smaller shapes into it by turning them and rearranging them. (Tanagrams)
Jungle Code: The pieces have to be rotated to make an acient jungle language.

One Player Mini-Game Examples

Balloon Pop: Many balloons flow past the screen and the player must 'pop' the balloons in the order specified. The faster this is done with the least number of mistakes, the higher the score.
Barrel Racing: This is a top-down view of the horse and the barrels. The faster the rider follows the pattern around the barrels and crosses the finish line without hitting any of the barrels, the higher the score.
Bronc Riding: This is a top-down view of a bronc with a rider sitting on it. The object is to stay on the bronc as long as possible. This, of course, gets more difficult the longer the player is on.
Butterfly Catch: The player is little girl that is holding a net out. The object is to swing and catch all the butterflies on the screen as fast as possible. Catching more than one in the net at a time also awards a bonus to the score.
Construction Job: This puzzle is a number of pieces of a grid, cut up and misarranged.

2 player Mini Game Examples

Orbital: Take turns completing spheres in this simple strategy game.
Treasure Hunter: Hide your treasure from your challenger, and then take turns digging for each others treasure.
Basket Shoot: Ball Toss, First to make enough baskets wins.

Group Game Examples

Drawing Room: Many players can all draw on the same canvas at the same time.
Dress up Room: Dress up a pony, cactus or a snowman with various accessories.
Poetry Room: Move words around with others to create poetic combinations.
Band Hall: Play basic music notes on several different Instruments together.
Horse Run: Ride your horse with others in an area in search of a moving award.

Horse Competition Arenas

There are 4 main Horse Arenas:

• Jumping (Earton)
• Racing (Appleton)
• Draft (Wington)
• Dressage (Treeton)

Economy

Some methods of making game money:

Players walking around the world will find objects on the ground that can be sold for game money.
Most quests pay a reward for completion.
Most mini games pay varying rewards depending on the score,etc.
Competing in Horse Arenas and winning will earn you money.
A player can sell a horse to another player.
Building windmills on a farm
Depositing money in the bank earns interest.
^[6]

Costs

Players are able to play Horse Isle for free indefinitely. However, players may opt to pay in order to have special privileges or additional time online when busy.
There are several different subscription options, as is standard with MMORPGs;

• Monthly Plan: $5.00 per month
  
• Yearly Plan: $40.00 per year
  

Subscription Benefits

Subscribers can own a ranch on one of the islands in the Horse Isle world. Here they can expand the ranch to add features. Expandable ranch features include:
Barn: Allows for owning more horses and selling horses while offline
Sheds: Allows you to Carry more Items
Wagon: Free transportation via wagons on the islands
Water Well: Automatically waters you and your horses.
Grain Silo: Automatically feeds horses
Vegetable Garden: Automatically feeds player
Training Pen: Free horse training
^[7]

References

External links

• Horse Isle Website - the official Horse Isle website
• Game Ogre Review - a brief Horse Isle review
• Horse Games Listing - a listing of various Horse Games

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