Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Of Platforms and Blog Posts - A Fansite Fangame Flashback
Foreword
In order to inject new blood into the site and get some activity going, here we have our first new writer, providing a retrospective look at a couple of EqD themed games of the past. Give a warm welcome to Magitronique, as he introduces himself briefly below. How long is he gonna stick around? How often is he gonna write? I'm leaving that completely down to him, while I am assuming the role of editor-in-chief in this context. So with all that said and done, I'm getting back to writing content myself. Despite the niche topic, enjoy the article below!-Lex Rudera
(I'll try to keep this brief since this article's already disgustingly long, but hello to Equestria Gaming and whoever's reading! I'm Magitronique, and I'll be around every now and then to talk at usually extreme and exorbitant lengths about horsegames. Happy reading, and thanks to those who are somehow still around after the lengthy, silent transition period we've had!)
In the four years at this point that I’ve happily been a part of this colorful horse cult we call a fandom, I, like many, have partaken in countless amounts of fan media of almost every single stripe. I’ve got loads of images, stories, music and a bunch of other little digital pony knick-knacks stored across an untold number of places, and like many I’m finding and collecting more every day. I suppose sacrificing loads of precious storage space is but one part of the price we pay for our (or my, at least) obsession! So it goes!
Some time ago, a neat little Cookie Clicker clone made it's rounds around the fandom. EQD Clicker allowed anyone to finally grab a slice of that sweet, sweet horse fame, providing it wrapped in the form of an endearing, snarky clickfest. You can't deny that it's a neat little idea at the least, yeah?
Commonly, and as expected, a lot of folks simply referred to it as Equestria Daily: The Game. I mean, that's accurate, right? That’s what it is, after all.
Well... not quite, actually.
Before the original incarnation of Equestria Gaming folded, and before this subsequent revival, I'd paid the arcade quite a bit of attention following the release of EQD Clicker. Somehow, smaller-scale fangames had gone under my radar for quite some time, and I was going on one hell of a binge after discovering it. In my journey through the Equestria Gaming Arcade, I discovered that another game styled as Equestria Daily: The Game actually exists, made all the way back in halcyon days of 2011.
By some strange, interesting twist of fate, we have two Equestria Daily games, made four years apart (in almost two completely different pony fandoms, really!), and with vastly different styles and approaches! You have to admit that’s at least a little bit neat, y’all. C'mon.
Naturally, this begs at least a few questions: Why, for one? How do these two compare? Which game, and which developer, did this incredibly silly concept the...proper justice, I suppose you'd call it? Let’s take a look at these below the break and find out!
