My Little Pony: Racing is Magic (Video Game Idea)

[ShadowHeart]

there is a horse racing mmorpg called Alicia but it asks for ur social security number and it only works on a certian version of windos. I really want to make my own someday too!

[Fluffy Cloud]

You know...since ponies really want to make it, how about we try?

Who's with meh?

[Fluffy Cloud]

I said a running game.

[ShadowHeart]

id be with ya if i had the money for a server 

[Vick McBread]

Yes, pony kart... oh I love it!

[Derpy Toaster]

called ponykart, google it

[The Wandering Magus]

called ponykart, google it

has already been brought up and a rebuttal written   learn to read the thread first before making baseless accusations.

[Firey]

You know... Ponykart is opensource. Mod it 

*hack hack hack hack hack*        

[byndbored]

[Tekner]

I haven't worked on my demos in a while and I wanted a fresh idea to work with. I saw this thread and got to work. So far what I've made differs a bit from what you suggested, but that's because I tweaked a few things to make it more balanced and fun. That and it also only has about three days of work into it. I added the mane six (you still have to use your imagination because I don't have proper models for them), gave them all unique stats, created two race tracks (the other one not shown in the pictures below is a simple figure 8 with a jump), souped up the physics, and added a moderate amount of intuitive GUI.

The way it plays out is you select your pony, select the race course, and then run the course by yourself in single player. The main challenge in it is staying on the course (if you stray off the course, you get slowed down immensely) and using your sprint properly. Sprint is a boost of speed that you can only sustain as long as your stamina allows you. So, for example, Rainbow Dash has a massive sprint, but low stamina, so she's only good for quick bursts of speed. Twilight, on the other hand, has a much lower sprint speed, but a lot more stamina. I did my best to make each pony feel different and to give them their own unique niches where they excel.

I'll upload a demo of what I've done tomorrow most likely. I have a family trip today and still want to add a few more things before I release a demo. Tell me what you guys think!

Spoiler: Pony selection • show

Spoiler: Race courses • show

[ShadowHeart]

that's awesome! but....wouldn't it be cool if....we could cusomize our own oc to race in this.....if you want to 

[Fluffy Cloud]

I haven't worked on my demos in a while and I wanted a fresh idea to work with. I saw this thread and got to work. So far what I've made differs a bit from what you suggested, but that's because I tweaked a few things to make it more balanced and fun. That and it also only has about three days of work into it. I added the mane six (you still have to use your imagination because I don't have proper models for them), gave them all unique stats, created two race tracks (the other one not shown in the pictures below is a simple figure 8 with a jump), souped up the physics, and added a moderate amount of intuitive GUI.

The way it plays out is you select your pony, select the race course, and then run the course by yourself in single player. The main challenge in it is staying on the course (if you stray off the course, you get slowed down immensely) and using your sprint properly. Sprint is a boost of speed that you can only sustain as long as your stamina allows you. So, for example, Rainbow Dash has a massive sprint, but low stamina, so she's only good for quick bursts of speed. Twilight, on the other hand, has a much lower sprint speed, but a lot more stamina. I did my best to make each pony feel different and to give them their own unique niches where they excel.

I'll upload a demo of what I've done tomorrow most likely. I have a family trip today and still want to add a few more things before I release a demo. Tell me what you guys think!

Spoiler: Pony selection • show

Spoiler: Race courses • show

*jaw drops* So amazing....

[Tekner]

Like I said, I don't have pony models, so that's hard at this point. I guess I could, for now, just let you choose a color for the stand-in "model." I'd also have to carefully balance the stat customization.

Does anybody know someone who has/can make animated models of the mane six? Any other resources such as trees, barrels, wagons, rocks, or other scenic models and textures would be nice too. If you want this game worked on more, it needs resources.

Note: I am now leaving the family BBQ I've been at all day and will be home in an hour or so. Expect download links in a few hours! Please give me constructive criticism! I need to know how to improve it!!!

EDIT: Or not... There are a few more things for me to tweak before I'm happy enough to release it. I also added Everfree Forest as a race course, and may I say that it looks pretty sweet, challenging, and disorienting considering my lack of resources. I'll definitely put up a link tomorrow like I said in my previous post, though. If, for some reason, I don't, feel free to scold me

[ShadowHeart]

i know that people here make some. idk if u could get them to help u. --> http://www.feral-heart.com/
And if you want any ideas of how to make racing more exilerating, look here -->

of course, nobody will ride the ponies but if u wanted only the unicorns to have magical powers, then this would be a good place to look. Like unicorns could could put ice down to slip up the apponents, throw fireballs at other ponies, and give themselves a force feild to protect themself from other unicorns. Pegasi could have certain shortcuts that only flying ponies can use to make them go faster. And if you look at the horseshoe in the bottom left of this vid, u see that the more jumps u do, the more the meter on the horseshoe goes up. Once it is full, the pony will get a boost. Or, if your a unicorn, you get either a boost or a random spell. Earth ponies should sometimes get better boosts than the others to balance things out. This game also has power sliding like in mario kart.
It would b cool if this game came out and u could customize your own pony (when we get somepony to do that), collect items to wear, and connect with total strangers to race with! These are all ideas. I'm not saying that we should flat out copy this game but base a few things off it.
It would be cool if we could level up in this game and only connect with people who are around the same level as us. but not exactly, it would be too hard to search for other ponies of the exact level. You would unlock more items and courses as u level up and better spells if you're a unicorn! tho the leveling up system might be hard. But if we did it, you would get faster as  ur level progressed like in the horse game i showed u( the higher the level the WAY faster u go, that's y u should only play with ponies of your level). It would also be cool if u pressed a button at the right time at the beginning to get a boost(like in mario kart).
These are just some ideas  (if u wanna know more about this horse racing game, ill tell u. It's not in english and it asks for ur social security number wich is stupid)

another idea would be if the game would always be in progress. This means that even tho the game is finished, the ppl making it could still release new items, courses and spells!

[Tekner]

Spoiler: show

i know that people here make some. idk if u could get them to help u. --> http://www.feral-heart.com/
And if you want any ideas of how to make racing more exilerating, look here -->

of course, nobody will ride the ponies but if u wanted only the unicorns to have magical powers, then this would be a good place to look. Like unicorns could could put ice down to slip up the apponents, throw fireballs at other ponies, and give themselves a force feild to protect themself from other unicorns. Pegasi could have certain shortcuts that only flying ponies can use to make them go faster. And if you look at the horseshoe in the bottom left of this vid, u see that the more jumps u do, the more the meter on the horseshoe goes up. Once it is full, the pony will get a boost. Or, if your a unicorn, you get either a boost or a random spell. Earth ponies should sometimes get better boosts than the others to balance things out. This game also has power sliding like in mario kart.
It would b cool if this game came out and u could customize your own pony (when we get somepony to do that), collect items to wear, and connect with total strangers to race with! These are all ideas. I'm not saying that we should flat out copy this game but base a few things off it.
It would be cool if we could level up in this game and only connect with people who are around the same level as us. but not exactly, it would be too hard to search for other ponies of the exact level. You would unlock more items and courses as u level up and better spells if you're a unicorn! tho the leveling up system might be hard. But if we did it, you would get faster as  ur level progressed like in the horse game i showed u( the higher the level the WAY faster u go, that's y u should only play with ponies of your level). It would also be cool if u pressed a button at the right time at the beginning to get a boost(like in mario kart).
These are just some ideas  (if u wanna know more about this horse racing game, ill tell u. It's not in english and it asks for ur social security number wich is stupid)

another idea would be if the game would always be in progress. This means that even tho the game is finished, the ppl making it could still release new items, courses and spells!

All good ideas. I think my current model could stand to be more like Alicia. So far, the only difference between the races is that they tend to be better in certain stats. Earth ponies are better in running speed, unicorns in stamina, and pegasi in sprint speed. It only has about 25-30 hours of semi-concentrated, not-knowing-what-the-heck-I-was-doing work into it. Nonetheless, I've compiled it and am releasing it in all its "glory" (or lack thereof.) Let me know what you think and don't feel bad critiquing it. There are sooooo many things I wish I could have added or fixed up before I released it, but I'm too tired to care at the moment and need to take a nap....

So... yeah. Here is the windows version, and here is the mac version. Have Fun!

EDIT: In my tiredness I forgot to mention how to play the game
<W> and <S> makes you go forward and backward respectively, <Shift> makes you sprint, <Space> makes you jump, and the mouse is used to turn. Press <Escape> to pause the game and/or go back to the main menu. I didn't add a quit button, but you can easily Alt+F4 or Cmd+Q to exit.
    I think I made jumping too important in the game too... I made it so that when you jump, you leap in the direction and at the same speed you were moving at before the jump, but your stamina regenerates even if you're flying at sprint speeds. If you bounce consistently (especially as a unicorn) you could potentially stay at your sprint speed without having to worry about your stamina depleting much at all. Though, as the pegasi and Applejack, it's a lot harder to manage because their stamina drains so quickly and because their jump height tends to make them jump off the road. It's balanced in a sense, I just think I emphasized jumping too much on accident. I'll let you decide.
    I think I may also need to clarify the stats' roles a bit. Run speed is the highest speed you can move at when not sprinting. Sprint Speed is the highest speed you can move at while sprinting (holding down shift.) Wade Speed is how fast you move when not on the road. This would be grass on the "Figure 8" track, stone in "Dirtville", and the creepy blue stuff in "Everspeed Freeway." Jump Height is self explanatory. Traction is actually acceleration. The reason I call it traction is because of the way I designed the physics. It's acceleration in all directions, not just forward. Traction affects how well you turn and how quickly you speed up and slow down. Wading is the only thing not affected by traction. Stamina is your "energy" used for sprinting. As you sprint, the stamina bar depletes. The more stamina you have, the longer you can sprint. Stamina works inversely for how quickly it drains and how quickly it regenerates when not using it. Also, very important, if you run out of stamina completely by sprinting too much, you will become "exhausted" and cannot sprint again until your stamina bar is full again. Otherwise you can sprint as much as you want.

[ShadowHeart]

looking good so far! just a few things that u could fix.....if u wanna
I think the turning.....is a bit more like a car. Like u coast too much. If u don't get wut i mean, just ask. or if  we get someone to make us a pony model, they would clean things out so dont worry about that too much. I think wut im saying is that the turning is too wide. It's more like a car's rather than a pony's. I think a pony's turning wouldn't be so wide . look at Skyrim's model of horse running. look at the turning too. hope this helps -->

this was the best vid of the horse i could find. I wouldn't base the run cycle off this tho. this run cycle really BUGS me. The turning is good tho with it.
I like the figure 8 track. its nice for beginners. If it's not too hard, could u move the two jumping ramps closer together? I barely made the jump and most of the time, i didn't even make it. maybe its just cuz im too lazy to build up lots of momentum. but if somepony were to miss the jump, they would have to go ALL the way back so they could gain enough speed to make the jump. I would also let ponies go just a tad bit faster in the grass and off road....just cuz if u go off road just a bit, u kinda lose the race...
Dirtville is a real challence but that's wut makes it fun! I think the hills shouldn't be on there for running but for decor because when we do get the running pony on there, it might look wierd running on a mountain...that's just me. this is only a minor concern so don't worry about it too much.
The twists and turns of dirtville are challenging and sometimes annoying. U could try changing the turns like a mentioned before. That might make it easier.
Everfree freeway is fun too. I like the aspect of jumping over the grass that makes u go slow but if u added sharper turning, it would make it less annoying. Again, I wouldn't let the ponies run on the pointy mountains because it would look a little funky once we got the final model in.
One more thing, we need an artist to make a main menu! I wanna be the....uuuh......Concept designer...is that what it's called? U know, the person who thinks up ideas for the game. can i be dat??
anyways, i luv the game so far!
1 more thing! I think the game is too based off of springing. I don't think there should be sprinting or run speed. I think everypony should have the same running speed and no stamina bars because then everypony would be zooming around and it wouldn't be very action packed if ponies were zipping and zooming everywhere. It would be better if ponies were in a clump and that would make it more exciting! The only way they should get boosts if they jump over an obstacle well enough, they press a button at the right time at the beginning, or like i said before.

And if you look at the horseshoe in the bottom left of this vid, u see that the more jumps u do, the more the meter on the horseshoe goes up. Once it is full, the pony will get a boost. Or, if your a unicorn, you get either a boost or a random spell

Also, I think the jumping is too high. Once we get the final pony model, i hope it will jump like a real pony
most of these things are things we will worry about when we get a real pony model. 
you might also find people to help u here. It's on the second post and its called Lyra's List. http://www.equestriagaming.com/search?updated-max=2012-05-02T11:17:00-06:00&max-results=7&start=7&by-date=false

[Crystal Chaos]

I wonder if we could leave LoE and make this game...heh heh heh

Dat face.

[Tekner]

Spoiler: show

looking good so far! just a few things that u could fix.....if u wanna
I think the turning.....is a bit more like a car. Like u coast too much. If u don't get wut i mean, just ask. or if  we get someone to make us a pony model, they would clean things out so dont worry about that too much. I think wut im saying is that the turning is too wide. It's more like a car's rather than a pony's. I think a pony's turning wouldn't be so wide . look at Skyrim's model of horse running. look at the turning too. hope this helps -->

this was the best vid of the horse i could find. I wouldn't base the run cycle off this tho. this run cycle really BUGS me. The turning is good tho with it.
I like the figure 8 track. its nice for beginners. If it's not too hard, could u move the two jumping ramps closer together? I barely made the jump and most of the time, i didn't even make it. maybe its just cuz im too lazy to build up lots of momentum. but if somepony were to miss the jump, they would have to go ALL the way back so they could gain enough speed to make the jump. I would also let ponies go just a tad bit faster in the grass and off road....just cuz if u go off road just a bit, u kinda lose the race...
Dirtville is a real challence but that's wut makes it fun! I think the hills shouldn't be on there for running but for decor because when we do get the running pony on there, it might look wierd running on a mountain...that's just me. this is only a minor concern so don't worry about it too much.
The twists and turns of dirtville are challenging and sometimes annoying. U could try changing the turns like a mentioned before. That might make it easier.
Everfree freeway is fun too. I like the aspect of jumping over the grass that makes u go slow but if u added sharper turning, it would make it less annoying. Again, I wouldn't let the ponies run on the pointy mountains because it would look a little funky once we got the final model in.
One more thing, we need an artist to make a main menu! I wanna be the....uuuh......Concept designer...is that what it's called? U know, the person who thinks up ideas for the game. can i be dat??
anyways, i luv the game so far!
1 more thing! I think the game is too based off of springing. I don't think there should be sprinting or run speed. I think everypony should have the same running speed and no stamina bars because then everypony would be zooming around and it wouldn't be very action packed if ponies were zipping and zooming everywhere. It would be better if ponies were in a clump and that would make it more exciting! The only way they should get boosts if they jump over an obstacle well enough, they press a button at the right time at the beginning, or like i said before.

And if you look at the horseshoe in the bottom left of this vid, u see that the more jumps u do, the more the meter on the horseshoe goes up. Once it is full, the pony will get a boost. Or, if your a unicorn, you get either a boost or a random spell

Also, I think the jumping is too high. Once we get the final pony model, i hope it will jump like a real pony
most of these things are things we will worry about when we get a real pony model. 

First off, let me just say that I was so relieved when I saw someone actually reply. For the past day and a half I've been refreshing my download count and forum posts to see if anything changed. I guess I just get impatient and nervous with stuff like this. It also frustrates me when people say, "I have an idea that would be awesome if it was made!" and then don't participate in the process at all. Meh, but that's me. Anyway... back on topic:
    All of the things you pointed out are things I was aware of being troublesome, hehe. I obviously made this with only a vague idea of what to model it after and exaggerated nearly everything to make them stand out. That's something I do a lot that I need to stop doing... Sometimes I feel like everything has to be super-overpowered and stand out or it's pointless. I should know better than that.
    There are a few things I want to address specifically:

I think wut im saying is that the turning is too wide. It's more like a car's rather than a pony's. I think a pony's turning wouldn't be so wide .

First off, and most importantly, don't be Fluttershy . Say what you need to say. I've said it in a previous post: don't be afraid to critique. If I didn't think I could handle it, I wouldn't be posting a half-flanked (pony censor ftw?) game on a forum. Regarding the turning, do you mean make them all turn more like Fluttershy currently does with the very high traction? Acceleration and Traction are currently the same thing, so I think what you're suggesting I do is separate them, increase the ponies' traction, but have their accelerations vary. Well, ok, you didn't say anything about acceleration, but most racing games have that as a stat, so I assumed that you were thinking that

I would also let ponies go just a tad bit faster in the grass and off road....just cuz if u go off road just a bit, u kinda lose the race...

Do you think removing sprinting would make this point null, less important, or would it still be valid?

Everfree freeway is fun too. I like the aspect of jumping over the grass that makes u go slow but if u added sharper turning, it would make it less annoying. Again, I wouldn't let the ponies run on the pointy mountains because it would look a little funky once we got the final model in.

Making turning sharper? You turn with the mouse, which makes it as sharp as you want. Though, I think you're referring to the general low traction of most of the ponies, which I agree with. Also uh, you weren't supposed to... run in the pointy mountains . They're there to make the course look more ominous and tell you, "Hey! Pointy stuff here! Try to run around us!" Of course, those short turns and low traction will make you slide into them quite often . When testing I actually utilized and placed specific patches of grass to slow down the turns, but I should have figured it wouldn't be as obvious to those who didn't design it xD.

I wanna be the....uuuh......Concept designer...is that what it's called? U know, the person who thinks up ideas for the game. can i be dat??

    Yes, that would be the concept designer: the one who designs concepts for games before they're worked on
As far as help goes, I have no objection or preference, nor will I acquiesce any given to me. If this thing is actually going to get anywhere, I need all the help I can get. If you want to be the concept designer (or hopefully, one of the concept designers), then be aware that you will need to be detailed and specific with what you bring to the table.
    My ultimate goal would be to integrate this into LoE as a game you can play with friends whenever you want. For example, there could be a special raceway somewhere, or multiple raceways for the different courses, and you queue up for races. This would streamline the online portion of it, O.C. aesthetic and statistic customization, and so many other things. This, obviously, isn't going to be the easiest thing to do, though I have reached out a few times and Swebow has mentioned me in one of his livestreams (I still squee at the thought); this is a goal, and unfortunately, unlikely to be a distant reality.
    This does present a tiny problem, however. If, and I say this rather loosely, LoE does want this racing game assimilated into their game, they can't and won't hire everyone who's been working on it. So unless people are fine working on it with the possibility of being "fired", or want to continue even though a sort-of-similar game is already being made, the team can't be that big until confirmation, or the opposite, is established with this project's relationship to LoE. It's a very awkward situation indeed.

EDIT: THANK YOU for showing me Lyra's list. I have been looking for something like this for the longest time!

[ShadowHeart]

np. anyways, i was also thinking we could have a reward system! like:
Congradulations! You have won your first race! *you receive an ear piercing*
or
Congradulations! You have participated in 10 races! *receive a diamon necklace*
Contradulations! You participated in your first race! *recieve a bracelet*
I think that would be a good idea. Ive drawn out a few item ideas. i also have a pony creator thing drawn out too incase LOE doesn't want this in their game.
as for turning.....idk...i guess it just feels like a car to me....like drifting, hooves don't drift..

[Tekner]

np. anyways, i was also thinking we could have a reward system! like:
Congradulations! You have won your first race! *you receive an ear piercing*
or
Congradulations! You have participated in 10 races! *receive a diamon necklace*
Contradulations! You participated in your first race! *recieve a bracelet*
I think that would be a good idea. Ive drawn out a few item ideas. i also have a pony creator thing drawn out too incase LOE doesn't want this in their game.
as for turning.....idk...i guess it just feels like a car to me....like drifting, hooves don't drift..

Just open the game real quick and run around as Fluttershy. I have a feeling that this is what you're talking about. Also, you're right, horses don't drift, but on sand and loose ground surfaces horses do slide a little because of how often they lift their hooves off the ground. The amount of slide, I think, shouldn't be eliminated, just drastically reduced.