D NEveryone has their own idea as to what makes a horse game. I do too—and rest assured, you will hear all about it very soon. For the most part, however, games belonging to this niche tend to fall into a few tried and tested tropes. Now, there’s nothing wrong with it—in fact, if the overwhelming charm of Horses of Hoofprint Bay or the strategic depth of Tobiano is any indication, I would say the horse gaming community is well overdue for some competent, well-crafted virtual experiences. Plus, I myself am not immune from gushing over a reimagining of my own childhood horse game.
But then, every once in a while, you find something different—the kind of story that makes you go “I want to see how this plays out”. For me, that moment happened in mid-January, when I first came across Horses of Gavarnie and was immediately smitten with its unconventional approach. Rather than just handle a singular horse, players can lead a secondary mount to carry their belongings around. While exercising two animals at the same time is common practice in the equine industry, I’ve never seen it displayed in a horse game, let alone being elevated to such a core gameplay experience.
But that, my friends, was just the beginning.
THE CALL OF THE MOUNTAINS
Let’s start from the beginning. Set against the backdrop of a magical frontier, inspired by the Pyrenees, Horses of Gavarnie does something few horse games (with the notable exception of The Legend of Khiimori and, to a lesser extent, Gaucho and the Grassland) ever do: root its narrative structure into historical events. In this case, we are talking about the anarchist and libertarian collectives that flourished in Catalonia and Aragon during the Spanish Revolution and the ensuing Civil War, leading those rural communities to organize as the ‘old order’ collapsed all around them.
The people of Gavarnie follow a similar philosophy. Coin is a foreign concept, and trust the only accepted currency. The town and its amenities, like the mill and the breeding stables, are run through discussion and consensus. With no lords or masters to decide their fate, it’s up to everyone in the community to nurture the delicate web of human connection that make this isolated mountain valley feel like home.
Ride horses, herd sheep and fight capitalism, all in a day’s work!
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
OF HORSES AND MAGIC
Our story follows Arabelle, as she returns to the village where she grew up. As the smoke of the industry and the echoes of war threaten the borders of Gavarnie, it will be up to her to mend the bonds of the community and rebuild their shared legacy of trust, cooperation and, ultimately, hope. To that end, she will need the help of the true lifeblood of Gavarnie—their horses.
A near-open stables, where horses can actually see and touch each other.
Now that’s a rare sight!
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
In Horses of Gavarnie, players can breed increasingly refined steeds from three main types. The Working Draft is the strongest, able to pull logs and even fallen trees with ease; the Warmblood is smaller in size, but faster and more energetic; and finally, the Pony can navigate through the rocky terrains with unmatched ease. It’s Arabelle’s job to find the perfect match for every family in the valley, carefully picking the potential parents and then helping the foal develop by exploring the surroundings of the ranch. Each horse that finds a forever home is one more piece of the puzzle that will help the people of Gavarnie survive the incoming storm.
But there is much more to Gavarnie than what meets the eye. The land is teeming with magic, silently waiting for a brave adventurer to come and unearth the secrets hiding deep within the mountains…
AND NOW FOR THE MAIN ACT…
There’s so much more to this game than what I just mentioned. However, I feel that the only way I can make it justice is to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. To celebrate the launch of their Kickstarter campaign, it’s my great pleasure to introduce you to the team behind this delightfully cozy adventure. Exclusively for readers of The Bridle Paths, allow me to introduce you to Mischief Studios!
When folks leave you tiny horse doodles 🥹
MEET MISCHIEF STUDIOS
We are Mischief Studio, a small collective of devs, equestrians and artists spread across countries and time zones, brought together by circumstance around this project. Horses of Gavarnie is our hope for a genre we felt deserved a deep and intentional title, amidst a though industry. It is a chapter-based, story-driven horse game set in a pastoral village, where community comes first and every being, human and animal alike, has a purpose. The core gameplay revolves around pairing horses with their forever homes through thoughtful breeding and observation, rather than profit or exploitation. There’s no currency, and horses cannot be traded as resources. Instead, we explore themes of belonging, mutual aid, anarchist ideals and ecological care through adventure and management gameplay!
Q: Welcome aboard! Can you tell us a little about the people behind Horses of Gavarnie, your gaming and equestrian experiences and what led you to create this particular title?
First of all, thank you so much for your support with this little interview, it means so much and we rely on people such as yourself to spread the word about what we do!
We are a small team of 9 people. We have 4 game artists and animators, 3 programmers (and a half!), a writer and a sound designer/musician, plus a couple game designers—yes, including double roles. Some of us have worked together on projects like Adorable Adventures, Deer and Boy and Maestro, while others are joining the adventure for the first time. Hailing from Canada, Belgium and France, we span multiple time zones and cultures. We found each other through Discord servers, and the resourceful WWW.
In recent years, we’ve all been affected by the challenges in the creative and video game industries. As such, we felt the need to take matters into our own hands. We all saw the potential and fun in creating a horse game of our very own, and we banded together to create our own “jobs”. Even though it’s not quite there yet, we feel that it’s going to play out in the long run—and things can change with something like our Kickstarter campaign. It’s an ambitious step, but we believe it’s worth the effort. There will never be a right time to step into the unknown! Make it exist first, then make it good seems to be our philosophy.
Q: Pleasure to meet you! Now, let’s talk about the ‘mane’ attraction! What sets Horses of Gavarnie apart from other horse games?
THE WORLD
Horses of Gavarnie is a chapter-based linear story with a strong focus on community and help. Our gameplay loop stands out as it focuses on pairing the right steed to their forever homes. For us, humans and horses need purpose to be happy, and everybody has a role in the community—including animals! For instance, the carpenter makes cozy homes and shelters for everybody, and their horse helps them carry wood for construction. Your role is to find a way to match the right horse to this carpenter, selectively breeding with purpose.
At this point, we chose not to include teaching horses to adapt to different jobs—the scope is simply too big. But we might have some surprises in the future!
Each and every horse has a purpose in Gavarnie!
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
THE ART
The game will feature its own custom rig and animations, courtesy of our animator Margot. We are aware that horses are often a challenge in games, and we want to get it right. In this regard, we have been fortunate enough to assemble a team with complementary skills: equestrians, equine artists, game designers and many more! To that end, we got down to study so many games and other media to spot what we wished to keep, or avoid, and we’re making steady progress even on a tight budget. It’s been a busy February for the team, but we’d be glad to share some more technical details once things settle down a bit!
Finally we’ve opted for a stylized look for the game, using hand-painting techniques and colours to achieve the magical flair we wanted for our horses (and magical they are, indeed)!
While the different horses available in the game are only loosely based on real-life horse breeds,
the Mérens was the main inspiration behind the sturdy Pony type.
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
THE PHILOSOPHY
Since our game doesn’t have any notion of currency, horses cannot be sold for money. This directly impacts our relationship with them, as they are not used in a system where exploitation is quick to arise. We are also exploring an utopian setting through the lens of anarchism, purposefully bringing politics into art because art is inherently political. We wish to inspire contemporary movements including anti-capitalism, ecologism, feminism, pacifism and various liberation movements. Games can inspire new futures and utopian games inspire resonant reflections that offer societal orientation.
Mischief Studios is also deeply concerned with inclusivity in games. This ranges from disabilities, to social classes and universal architecture. Sharkbait (Mischief Studios’ community manager, Editor’s note) teaches exactly this, helping students and game designers understand what makes games accessible—and not only for the visually handicapped. It’s our goal to create an accessible horse game without in-game purchases or other predatory strategies.
Shout out to Can I Play That, Corentin Le Méhaité (author of L’architecture inclusive, Editor’s note) and the disabled gamers Discord!
The Pyrenees lend themselves to some truly breathtaking visuals.
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
Q: Wow, that’s a lot to take in! How far in development is Horses of Gavarnie, currently?
Right now we’re in early production. Think of it like having all the blueprints approved and the concept art on the walls. The game foundations, meaning story and art direction, have already been approved for a while now. Core mechanics, such as riding, character controls and camera, dialogue and horse genetics already exist. All these elements allow us to secure the core gameplay that we shared in detail on Kickstarter. We know how the game works, what the story is and what it should look like. Now we can just go ahead and make it!
The reason why we don’t seem to share a lot of prototyping in our social media is because we are a small team—and our community manager happens to be a game artist. Most content is thus related to what they do—and they also seem to work more on short video forrmat, which are convenient and popular. It’s not a deliberate choice, and neither are we trying to hide anything (hence, our Kickstarter’s visuals), it’s just what happens when you have a small team. We can only wish to have a dedicated social media manager, one day!
The humble placeholder zebra, shown here demonstrating a riding test.
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
Q: Fingers crossed for you, then! As we reach the end of our little talk, what are your hopes and goals for the Kickstarter?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but we’re hoping to be funded so we can work more on the game. However, if the Kickstarter doesn’t meet its goal, we’ll continue working on the game, like we have been doing for some time already—we aren’t quitting! Regardless of outcome, the campaign will have a positive impact on the project. Visibility and motivation aside, it’s always good to get in touch with our community!
If goals are, indeed, met, we have established some stretch goals for more costly and ambitious elements we want to add to the game. If all parties agree, we would like to share our receipts with the backers, both for the sake of transparency and so people might learn a thing or two about how games come to be!
Horses of Gavarnie © Mischief Studios
You can support the development of Horses of Gavarnie by wishlisting the game on Steam and backing the official Kickstarter, as well as following Mischief Studios official channels listed on their website.
