Horseland
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- For the animated series of the same name, see Horseland (TV Series)
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HorseLand is an online virtual pet game where players create and raise horses and dogs. Begun in 1994 by a 14 year old girl in the United States, HorseLand has grown to now have over 3 million users who play from all over the world. Most of the players are girls from age 10 to 22, although a number of older women and men play the game. In September 2006 a animated cartoon series based on the web site was launched in the United States.
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[edit] Gameplay
In the game people create virtual horses that they can take care of, breed and compete with other players in shows. At the shows, you enter individual sections, called "classes." Winning/placing in the top 30 earns the horse entered points. It makes sense then that the goal is generally to have a horse with the highest points. For most, the ultimate achievement for a player is to have a high pointer--a horse who has managed to amass 100,000 points (or more) in the 21 week span that it has in the game to show and thus earn points. As of Mid-March, 2007, the horse with the highest points in the game goes by the name of Dante, and is a "retired" Norwegian Fjord stallion with about 2.5 million points. This is highly unusual, however. Most dedicated players generally get to about 80,000-120,000 points at the most. There are deviants however, who through a combination of consistent showing, "tickets" (see below), and what must be some serious luck and dedication, do end up with more points then that. Once again, that is a rarity. The vast majority of horses in Horseland have far less points then that.
People also create virtual dogs that they can take care of, breed and compete with other players in shows. Winning/placing in the top 30 earns the dog entered points. Dogs are then useless when they turn 16-the retirement age.
In addtion to the game function, HorseLand also has many attributes of a social network. Players often create layouts on their home pages,(You can buy and sell layouts for HL money) can chat with other players and can create lists of "stable buddies". Sometimes players will become such good friends with other players that they'll even start joint accounts, where together they'll work on their mutual goals (showing a particular horse/breed to a ridiculously high point total, making money, amassing player points, making friends with what seems like every Horseland player and their horse/dog, et cetera.)
An interesting note in the history of HorseLand: There was a period of time before a drop-down breed selection list was added where players could "breed" whatever they wished (i.e., houseplants, cats, fish, humans, forks). A drop-down horse breed list was added that limited players to real life horse breeds, and in 2004, virtual dogs were officially added to the game. A lot of players disapprove of dogs being on Horseland, but many more support dogs being included, and hope that more animals will be added in the future. Alos, many players argue that Horseland staff dont do enough to help their players, because there have been alot of glitches and errors on HorseLand for the past few moneths,and the players dont see much improvement to the errors.[citation needed] Sometimes horses will get ill, incurring a large cost.
There are two sections of the game. In 2006, a Junior version of the gamed aimed at children less than 7 years old was launched. Many players are dis approving of this since they have grown to love the real Horseland The junior part of the game is easy to learn and play and features characters from the Horseland cartoon. The regular part of the game, Horseland World has more complex play and more ability to customize your horse and home page. Players can start playing in the Junior game and upgrade to the regular game if they are over 13. If they are under 13, they need their parent's permission to upgrade. Regular members of HorseLand World can upgrade to a "Premium membership" by paying real-life money. Premium members can create horse and dog shows, open their own stables and kennels for boarding regular members' animals, and sell 'horse tickets' and 'dog tickets' - each ticket gains the horse/dog an additional 50 points without affecting the animal's health. Tickets are very much in demand, with horse tickets selling at around $1,000,000 HorseLand dollars per ticket and dog tickets selling at around $500,000 HorseLand dollars per ticket. Premium players can also create horseland shows, which any player can enter their horses and dogs in as another way to gain points for their animal, although it can cost up to 30$ to enter one class. Although any player can enter shows, the players horses or dogs will lose health between shows, giving them a less chance to win future shows. Animals on HorseLand can only be entered in a show if their health is above 25%, otherwise Horses and Dogs are unable to be entered into shows. An animal has a higher chance of winning a class and getting more points if its health is close to 100%. HorseLand Premium members can also run, own, and vote for club presidents. The present owner of an official HorseLand club has a term of one month: but with a cost. You must have other premium members vote for you during the month before: whomever has the most votes, wins. Unfortunately, it becomes more of a popularity contest: who has the most money or the most premium accounts to trade votes with, with other members.
[edit] The Slaughter Debate
Many of the mature players on horseland have virtual 'slaughter houses', or 'CleanUp' accounts on the game, because they think that by retiring (or not feeding them) all of the 'worthless' (few points, poor lines, old, etc) animals to the pasture will help the game to speed up and improve, and unfortunately it does. But what happens when the horses are retired to the pasture they are deleted the next week so some lines become 'Broken-lined'. They are not out to scare children into buying their horses, in fact, most of them just dont even let people know that they are slaughter houses. With the surpluss of "cross breeds" Horseland would shut down if these players didn't delete horses.
[edit] Neopets Distinction
HorseLand is often compared to Neopets. Unlike Neopets, HorseLand virtual pets are based on real animals species and breeds. Actual animal characteristics are featured to give the game realism. Players often model their virtual pets on real pets they own. Furthermore, HorseLand virtual pets can breed and produce offspring. Animals that come from long lines of pure bred animals are prized by players. Some players have worked for years to build up long lines of pure bred animals. Also, Neopets currency focuses around playing games that earn you money, whereas the HorseLand economy is based upon the buying, selling, breeding, and training of your pets by entering them in "shows" or obtaining "tickets".
