Special Somepony Dev Log #1

Special Somepony

 Well what do you know, Special Somepony (also known as Cloudsdale's infamous SSP, who has simultaneously been the most popular and infuriatingly annoying person on Romance) has recently announced that he/she is providing updates about their status for whatever reason. Not that you'd want to follow the premature dating misadventures of several twelve year old children on an internet chatsite anyhow, but apparently this is pony related so I guess you can...try to enjoy this?

Demo Footage of Story of the Blanks HD

 Only a couple days after the previous Story of the Blanks HD update comes this new video, featuring two very similar concepts for the game's visual style: the former being more zoomed-in while the latter taking a more effects-heavy approach with a more distant camera and the background being blurred out quite a bit more. I lean more towards the latter myself, although I get the impression that using varying camera distances for different scenes would actually be rather useful for story and atmosphere-related purposes, but if you want to give your own feedback then feel free to comment on their YouTube video and speak your heart out.

 Also, you'll be pleased to hear that the team are apparently going to continuing the original, more show-accurate style unless they happen to receive a C&D, a decision which I fullheartedly support.

Story of the Blanks HD Update

 After over a year of almost absolute silence from the developers of the Story of the Blanks HD remake, aside from the rare animation preview and occasional snippets of the soundtrack by Kyoga, their head has come forth and confessed that she's essentially paranoid about the possibility of a C&D (nevermind that the vast majority of fangames have never received one, contrary to what your average EqD commenter might tell you) and is really wanting to move to an entirely original style with renamed characters and...ugh. It's almost as if she's forgotten that this is supposed to be a fangame, let alone a remake of a fairly well-known creepypasta, and such a project should be more a labor of love rather than merely an opportunity to make money. Heck, the reason why people were attracted to this project in the first place was because it purported to be an expanded re-imagining of the original game in the same spirit, not some cutesy Power Puff Girls-style romp that just happened to share its title with Story of the Blanks.

 Look, I'm sorry if this comes across as rude or anything like that, but this was honestly the one ambitious fangame I was really, really excited to play someday (aside from some quirky projects like Raycord Legends and Curse of the Lost Kingdom), and now it almost looks as if it's all going to go down the drain just because the creator is afraid to accept the necessary chance of a C&D. If you're going to enter the fangame development scene at all you have to take some risks; trying to skirt around the issue by changing names/character designs will only result in people getting upset and a smaller overall playerbase.

PPPPPPonies

PPPPPPonies

 This has been sitting in our inbox for a few days undetected, but someone by the name of inderpxar modded VVVVVV to replace all of the characters with ponies. There are also a few dialog changes. There's not really much to say about a simple graphics mod, but it's an excuse to play through the game again, so I suppose it must be worth something. More information, and a download link with instructions for applying the mod, can be found in the Tumblr post.

- RedEnchilada

Fallout Equestria: the Unblinking

The Overmare Studios

 Now that The Overmare Studios has released this new Fallout: Equestria preview, I can kind of understand why their previous videos used a first-person perspective: their current pony model looks surprisingly creepy when animated, especially with those large, unblinking eyes. Come to think of it, it feels like there's something a bit off with almost all of the animations, although I can't quite lay my finger on it. Perhaps it's just because the animations are incomplete, or maybe this is actually a surreal horror game and Littlepip is an android who happens to fall into the uncanny valley. It's already scarier than Dead Space, so why stop there when you can go all the way down?

 They're also recruiting, and since I don't feel like pasting their ad below the break this time you can read about their requirements at http://theovermare.com/blog/2014/04/flow-of-animations.

Ponykart Looking for 3D Modelers

Ponykart

 Work on the Ponykart C++ port seems to be progressing smoothly, if at a rather slow pace, but it seems that they still have a shortage of 3D modelers (a problem seemingly shared by many FOSS games). The fandom does seem to have a distinct lack of those as well, sadly, but if you happen to have some experience with 3DS Max and/or Blender and would like to contribute to the community in some way or another, this is probably an almost perfect opportunity for you to get some practice and should look pretty good on your résumé.

 I wasn't told exactly where interested applicants were supposed to apply for the position, so you might as well just do so at the recruitment thread if you feel like it, which can be found at http://ponykart.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=dqbg1ss4oeajnblv8k3b5g44f0&topic=52.

- Tuxxy

Review: Pony Platforming Project 3 1/2

Pony Platforming Project 3 1/2

 If you remember when Minty Fresh Adventure was released back in April over two years ago (has it really been that long?), Mark Sprague mentioned that he was planning on releasing an expansion of sorts to the game, but it kind of got pushed out of the way in order to focus on finishing the much more ambitious Minty Fresh Adventure II by the end of the year. Of course, we all know how that went, and in order to keep us distracted from asking where his game went Mark has gone and finally tossed PPP 3 1/2 to the masses...two years late.

Ah well, at least it's something. In case you're wondering how the expansion turned out, I've written a review of sorts below the break.