Y'know, I didn’t really relate my thoughts in the previous journal to the Derpy game…

So Imma do that right now. The Marriage of Mechanics to Narrative is exemplified most in games that provide a more of an experience than a straight on game. Mostly because leading a player through an experience leaves a different, substantial impact in the long run. The main concept of the game I want to convey is “Struggles of Everday Life”, as seen through the eyes of a mother, in this case Derpy.

I wanted to take advantage of the myriads of fanon theories out there and create a happy medium between show accuracy and the events and humor that could be expanded on. The daily lives of the ponies of Ponyville or in the world of Equestria, is an interesting topic because there are many scenes in the show that showcase these everyday ponies, each going about their business with a variety of jobs; this begs the question, “How does Equestria work?” Are there contruction ponies? Are they all educated, or do some not goes through the complete annals of education? If that’s the case, are there teacher ponies, and Department of Education ponies, and civil services ponies, etc., etc. And yes, some of this curiosity stems from the fascination of these adorablely designed ponies (looking at you Bulk Biceps) wearing different sets of worker apparel, but the show conveys this facet of the world in such an interesting light that it kinda succeeds in making the mundane look fantastical.

Let’s go back to Derpy for a moment. In fact, let’s go back to game design for a sec too, because the way games explore concepts like this is interestingly done in Life Sims to varying degrees of success. Harvest Moon, being a nearly pure life sim, lets the player make their own story as they spend time maintaining their farm and interacting with the town’s NPCs, while many of the combative JRPG elements are stripped away, it allows the player to color their experience with the town and world of Harvest Moon as they pleased. The exploration in that game is then placed within these 2 avenues of play- self improvement via farming, and interaction with the locals. These mesh together well, because, while they are separate parts of the game, each contributes to a small sense of progress in terms of the depth of the systems that allow players to set their own goals, whether its clearing your field, or getting jiggy with some of those local honeys (still lookin at you Bulk Biceps). This makes you naturally feel like a part of the world, as you are, essentially, trying to get by in. Work to make ends meet so to say.

Here, we’re gonna explore the relationship between Derpy and her daughter, Dinky and their unique dynamic in their lives in Ponyville. We have ponies all around going about their business, working in the ways they want to work; so what if we add a JRPG + Life Sim elements and mix it according to the “Marriage of Mechanics and Narrative” philosophy? How will it affect their everyday lives and the ponies around them?

That’s the kind of game I’m making.
<strike>Single Mom Simulator 2016</strike>
But really, I need to come up with a better title. @~@