Support NeoGAF

[Orcastar]

To be fair, the ending of season 3 was telegraphed even without creative interpretation. It's just that few believed they would actually pull the trigger on it and when they did they assumed it was Hasbro making them.

What upset me about s3 was simply that Meghan McCarthy is not that good of a writer, and not many in the writing staff picked up the slack. :/

What upset me the most about season 3 was that during seasons 1 and 2, it seemed like they were trying to build an actually believable and consistent fantasy world with some semblance of history. In season 1 in particular, every episode seemed to introduce some new aspect of pony society or Equestria as a whole or include details that practically cried out for more exposition. For example:

The Everfree Forest -> Why is it allowed to grow wild? The pilot hints that this wasn't always the case since the old royal castle is located there, but this question has never been revisited since.

Griffons -> Griffon the Brush-off introduced griffons as a sentient race and hinted that there is some interaction at least between pegasus ponies and griffons (Dash and Gilda going to the same flight camp). This raises all sorts of questions about what their society is like, what's their relationships with pony society, etc, but such questions have never been explored.

Ponies controlling the weather and the environment -> Pegasus ponies being in charge of the weather in Ponyville and the episodes Winter Wrap-up and Sonic Rainboom in particular drive in the idea that ponies are extensively controlling their environment. There would be ample room for exploring the concept further and introducing other ways in which ponies influence their surroundings but later episodes never go beyond depicting pegasus ponies controlling the weather.

I could go on but I'm running out of time here, so I'll just say that overall it seems to me that as the series progressed, the team got more and more complacent in simply reinforcing the ideas and concepts introduced in the early episodes instead of introducing new ones or trying to expand the world. In season three, we hardly saw any world-building at all beyond the Crystal Empire, and even that was quite poorly handled.

 

[Hitokage]

I can ageee with that. It was also disappointing to see them give up on insisting that they behave like ponies on some level. That "put up yer dukes" pose in s2 still makes me want to shake my head.

 

[McNum]

WayForward developer comments: "SO many people here at WayForward wanna make a My Little Pony: FiM game. Lauren Faust ROCKS. Make it happen, Bronies!"
Reddit.

Um... can I get a "Yay!" on this idea? This seems like a good match to me.

 

[DrForester]

What? Evidence where?

Oh many in the fandom like to portray Celestia as an evil tyrant. Usually just to make Luna look better.

"Oh Celestia imprisoned poor Luna for doing nothing more than trying to kill everyone. That monster!"

All in all Celestia s a very simmilar character to someone like Dumbledore or Gandalf. Possessing great power but wanting to help others better themselves rather than solving their problems for them.

 

[PaulloDEC]

WayForward developer comments: "SO many people here at WayForward wanna make a My Little Pony: FiM game. Lauren Faust ROCKS. Make it happen, Bronies!"
Reddit.

Um... can I get a "Yay!" on this idea? This seems like a good match to me.

I actually haven't played any Wayforward games yet (never owned a Nintendo handheld) but I plan on starting with "Adventure Time: Explore the dungeon because I don't know!" and I've backed the new Shantae game on Kickstarter.

Seems to me that any developer with enthusiasm and a great track record would be ideal, and Wayforward fit the bill perfectly.

 

[McNum]

WayForward's thing, really, is well animated 2D sprites. They are the Shantae, A Boy and his Blob, DuckTales Remastered, and so on people. Well animated 2D and ponies seem like it's a good fit, no?

And I don't know about you, but a pony game with a hug button like A Boy and his Blob would be great.

 

[PaulloDEC]

WayForward's thing, really, is well animated 2D sprites. They are the Shantae, A Boy and his Blob, DuckTales Remastered, and so on people. Well animated 2D and ponies seem like it's a good fit, no?

And I don't know about you, but a pony game with a hug button like A Boy and his Blob would be great.

Sounds like a great fit. I wonder what sort of game they'd make? They seem to be pretty expert at making games suitable for a wide range of age-groups, so I imagine they could come up with something that kids and older fans could both enjoy.

 

[Choppasmith]

I've only played their Batman Brave and the Bold game on Wii. Very fun. I would pledge whatever I could if it went up on Kickstarter.

 

[Gotchaye]

What? Evidence where?

It's not something I've paid a whole lot of attention to, but like Forester says Celestia acts like Dumbledore when really important stuff is going down, and she ends up seeming awfully willing to risk horrible things happening for the sake of making Twilight figure things out for herself - look at the opening two-parter where Celestia's claiming at the end that what happened was her plan all along. Plus even if she's a nice dictator, she's very clearly still a dictator; her office is not ceremonial, and in fact she seems to be the head of both church and state. It's also notable that Twilight, who knows Celestia better than anyone else we see regularly, is perpetually terrified of what Celestia might do if crossed. Most ponies' opinion of Celestia is to be discounted since they almost never interact with her (and worship her, which she doesn't do much to stop). Obviously Twilight has some hang-ups about rule-breaking (but how did she develop those?), and narratively this is always played for laughs, but surely Twilight didn't invent the concepts of banishment and dungeons in A Bird in the Hoof - these things have happened to ponies before, and it's hard to see them happening without Celestia's approval. Celestia also eventually insists that a sizable fraction of Ponyville's adult population report to her regularly on their attempts at self-improvement (and on the doings of other citizens). And of course she banished her own sister to the moon for 1000 years for, essentially, going on strike to seek better working conditions.

 

[$200]

It's not something I've paid a whole lot of attention to, but like Forester says Celestia acts like Dumbledore when really important stuff is going down, and she ends up seeming awfully willing to risk horrible things happening for the sake of making Twilight figure things out for herself - look at the opening two-parter where Celestia's claiming at the end that what happened was her plan all along. Plus even if she's a nice dictator, she's very clearly still a dictator; her office is not ceremonial, and in fact she seems to be the head of both church and state. It's also notable that Twilight, who knows Celestia better than anyone else we see regularly, is perpetually terrified of what Celestia might do if crossed. Most ponies' opinion of Celestia is to be discounted since they almost never interact with her (and worship her, which she doesn't do much to stop). Obviously Twilight has some hang-ups about rule-breaking (but how did she develop those?), and narratively this is always played for laughs, but surely Twilight didn't invent the concepts of banishment and dungeons in A Bird in the Hoof - these things have happened to ponies before, and it's hard to see them happening without Celestia's approval. Celestia also eventually insists that a sizable fraction of Ponyville's adult population report to her regularly on their attempts at self-improvement (and on the doings of other citizens). And of course she banished her own sister to the moon for 1000 years for, essentially, going on strike to seek better working conditions.

Now now

Spoiler

let's wait until the opening of season 4 to find out shall we?

 

[DrForester]

Well the thing about Luna was that it was something Celestia could not do. Luna was totally resentful of her sister, and Celestia defeating her again might have stopped Nightmare Moon again, but it would not have gotten her sister back. Someone else needed to defeat Luna in order to humble her enough to accept forgiveness.

 

[Hitokage]

There's also the whole be nice OR ELSE hanging over everyone's head, as explained in a s2 ep.

 

[Gotchaye]

Well the thing about Luna was that it was something Celestia could not do. Luna was totally resentful of her sister, and Celestia defeating her again might have stopped Nightmare Moon again, but it would not have gotten her sister back. Someone else needed to defeat Luna in order to humble her enough to accept forgiveness.

I'm cool with that. In general I'm very willing to believe that Celestia has excellent reasons for wanting Twilight to learn how to handle this stuff, even if sometimes it's not obvious why Twilight needs to deal with particular things. What's troublesome about the opening two-parter is that Twilight finds out about Nightmare Moon days (or is it actually just a single day?) before everything's set to go down and takes her worries to Celestia. Apparently on the spur of the moment, Celestia appoints her as royal overseer of the sun celebration and off-handedly suggests that she make some friends. And this set in motion a chain of events that ended up with Twilight and company finding the Elements and reforming Nightmare Moon (where the degree to which mind control was involved is open to debate). Then Celestia shows back up, without offering an explanation for her absence (I think it remains ambiguous whether she just wanted Twilight to deal with this alone or NM somehow disappeared her), and basically comes out and says that she was counting on all of this stuff working out the way it did. Wasn't that really, really risky? Shouldn't Twilight have been sent to Ponyville well before that, at least? What would Celestia have done had Twilight not sent her a panicky letter about NM? Probably the interpretation that has Celestia coming out looking as good as possible is that she's really, really concerned with Twilight doing stuff for herself with a minimum of guidance and was ready at any time to step in and take down NM again but thought it useful to make Twilight think she'd been disappeared. But that's still a tad harsh unless she has simply excellent reasons why Twilight needs to be self-sufficient and able to essentially do Celestia's job ASAP.

 

[BDGAME]

WayForward developer comments: "SO many people here at WayForward wanna make a My Little Pony: FiM game. Lauren Faust ROCKS. Make it happen, Bronies!"
Reddit.

Um... can I get a "Yay!" on this idea? This seems like a good match to me.

If it happens, them I already know my most waiting game of the year.

 

[DrForester]

I'm cool with that. In general I'm very willing to believe that Celestia has excellent reasons for wanting Twilight to learn how to handle this stuff, even if sometimes it's not obvious why Twilight needs to deal with particular things. What's troublesome about the opening two-parter is that Twilight finds out about Nightmare Moon days (or is it actually just a single day?) before everything's set to go down and takes her worries to Celestia. Apparently on the spur of the moment, Celestia appoints her as royal overseer of the sun celebration and off-handedly suggests that she make some friends. And this set in motion a chain of events that ended up with Twilight and company finding the Elements and reforming Nightmare Moon (where the degree to which mind control was involved is open to debate). Then Celestia shows back up, without offering an explanation for her absence (I think it remains ambiguous whether she just wanted Twilight to deal with this alone or NM somehow disappeared her), and basically comes out and says that she was counting on all of this stuff working out the way it did. Wasn't that really, really risky? Shouldn't Twilight have been sent to Ponyville well before that, at least? What would Celestia have done had Twilight not sent her a panicky letter about NM? Probably the interpretation that has Celestia coming out looking as good as possible is that she's really, really concerned with Twilight doing stuff for herself with a minimum of guidance and was ready at any time to step in and take down NM again but thought it useful to make Twilight think she'd been disappeared. But that's still a tad harsh unless she has simply excellent reasons why Twilight needs to be self-sufficient and able to essentially do Celestia's job ASAP.

You don't think that this old book with the story wasn't given to her by Celestia? Again, Celestia needed to stay away from the incident so as not to be a thing for NMM to resent. It's suggested in the season 3 finale that Celestia was watching Twilight the whole time, and I think had it come down to it, she woudl have stepped in to defeat NMM again, but that would have no saved Luna.

 

[UberTag]

Lin Siniang is so full of hatred towards great things like WayForward and Rarity.
(Although even I'd admit that Sonic Rainboom makes Rarity pretty detestable... she wouldn't be my fave pony if that was my only exposure to her.)

My only request for Season 4 is that we get more amusing Rarity-Sweetie Belle interactions ala Sisterhooves Social.

 

[Gotchaye]

You don't think that this old book with the story wasn't given to her by Celestia? Again, Celestia needed to stay away from the incident so as not to be a thing for NMM to resent. It's suggested in the season 3 finale that Celestia was watching Twilight the whole time, and I think had it come down to it, she woudl have stepped in to defeat NMM again, but that would have no saved Luna.

I think that probably is the best explanation; I think it's consistent with what I've said too. It's still cutting it awfully close and is counting on a bunch of things working out just in time. Everything I mentioned still has to work out just right (also, presumably she planted a book in the Ponyville library). It's not really plausible that Celestia assigned the book to Twilight, and if she did her saying "you simply must stop reading those dusty old books" is kind of dickish. If saving Luna was the really important thing, surely it would have made sense to give Twilight more than an afternoon in Ponyville to make some friends when it was going to be absolutely necessary that she have friends.

Celestia needs to have been (or made) sure enough of Twilight's reading schedule to count on her getting to that part just in time (even though she expresses disapproval of Twilight reading as much as she does). She was apparently counting on Twilight not dismissing NM as a myth and instead writing her a panicky letter, even though she initially implies that this is what she would have wanted. And then she's relying on the anti-social Twilight to become sufficiently close to five other ponies to use the Elements in a single day and night.

Though it's certainly amusing to imagine what Twilight's education must have been like before the show starts, given the crap Celestia puts her through and her various neuroses. I'm imagining a bunch of Arrested Development-style "lessons" - "and that's why you finish your assigned readings on time", "and that's why you parse what I tell you very carefully", etc.

 

[PaulloDEC]

So over on Equestria Daily:

People liked the Nightmare Rarity arc the most? And Gazebo Repair least? Gotta be honest, I wouldn't have called it. I'd say those two are flipped for me.

What's everyone else think on the comic front?

 

[DrForester]

Return of Queen Chrysalis, followed closely by Zen and the Art of Gazebo repair. Nightmare Rarity felt too much like a rehash of the Chrysalis one. I think if it had come first, I would put it first, but it doesn't work as well as a followup.

Chrysalis issue also had that amazing ending bit about Celestia and Spike saving Canterlot.

 

[DrForester]

Why should anyone read the comics? Give me reasons why.

It's the only way to get new ponies till the show starts back up, and so far every issue of the comic and the character specific micro comics have been good. Even the Twilight and Rainbow Dash issues, which are certainly the weakest, were still fun to read.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Return of Queen Chrysalis, followed closely by Zen and the Art of Gazebo repair. Nightmare Rarity felt too much like a rehash of the Chrysalis one. I think if it had come first, I would put it first, but it doesn't work as well as a followup.

I think there was definitely an element of that about it. I wasn't sure about the characterisation either, it felt like it strayed a little far from the show for my tastes.

Why should anyone read the comics? Give me reasons why.

They're not all great, but the best stories of the bunch do a really good job of replicating the characters and storytelling that make the series so good. I've found them to be a fun little diversion while we're between seasons, and some of the best ones have had some really good laughs.

Also, what Doc Forester said.

 

[$200]

So over on Equestria Daily:



People liked the Nightmare Rarity arc the most? And Gazebo Repair least? Gotta be honest, I wouldn't have called it. I'd say those two are flipped for me.

What's everyone else think on the comic front?

*Luna fans*

They don't care what the poll is about. Just look at the latest on EQD.

 

[Orcastar]

So over on Equestria Daily:



People liked the Nightmare Rarity arc the most? And Gazebo Repair least? Gotta be honest, I wouldn't have called it. I'd say those two are flipped for me.

What's everyone else think on the comic front?

Yeah, this is bullshit. The Nighmare Rarity arc was by far the weakest.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Yeah, this is bullshit. The Nighmare Rarity arc was by far the weakest.

I thought so too. I might give it another chance, but I remember not feeling much about it at all the first time.

*Luna fans*

They don't care what the poll is about. Just look at the latest on EQD.

Yeah, people sure do love Luna. I mean, she's a neat character, but the way fandom latched onto her is pretty fascinating.

And funnily enough, I thought

Spoiler

the depiction of Luna in Gazebo Repair was actually far more interesting and endearing than it was in Nightmare Rarity.

*Shrugs*

 

[Orcastar]

And funnily enough, I thought

Spoiler

the depiction of Luna in Gazebo Repair was actually far more interesting and endearing than it was in Nightmare Rarity.

*Shrugs*

Me too.

Spoiler

I didn't like the way Luna was depicted in the Nightmare Rarity arc at all, and I hated the fact that they basically absolved her by positing that her transformation into Nightmare Moon was fueled by some external "nightmare force". They basically said that Nightmare Moon wasn't Luna's fault, that she is actually completely pure and good at her core and only turned into Nightmare Moon because some completely evil force took advantage or her in her moment of weakness. All that did was make Luna a more flawless (i.e. boring) character and the whole pony world a more black and white and less interesting place.

Season 4 spoilers/speculation:

Spoiler

Actually, I really hope that the Nightmare Moon flashback thing they're doing will end up flat out contradicting the comics and reasserting the notion that Nightmare Moon was all Luna.

 

[wookieofdoom]

So over on Equestria Daily:



People liked the Nightmare Rarity arc the most? And Gazebo Repair least? Gotta be honest, I wouldn't have called it. I'd say those two are flipped for me.

What's everyone else think on the comic front?

What the...No. Just no. Nightmare Rarity was weak, especially compare to the Katie Cook stuff.

Why should anyone read the comics? Give me reasons why.

They have been pretty great. You should definitely check out the stuff done by Cook/Price. They are really fun and wacky, more akin to Tiny Toons or Animaniacs. The art is good and Cook really nails the personas of each of the mane 6. Just all around good stuff.

I thought so too. I might give it another chance, but I remember not feeling much about it at all the first time.



Yeah, people sure do love Luna. I mean, she's a neat character, but the way fandom latched onto her is pretty fascinating.

And funnily enough, I thought

Spoiler

the depiction of Luna in Gazebo Repair was actually far more interesting and endearing than it was in Nightmare Rarity.

*Shrugs*

Luna is my favorite pony, but I like her more the way Ego or Cook writes her. In the Nightmare Rarity arc, she came across as kind of emo. I never got that impression of her from the show, if anything she is extremely strong willed (which probably got her into trouble to begin with).

Awesome Luna:

Boring Luna:

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Return of Queen Chrysalis, followed closely by Zen and the Art of Gazebo repair. Nightmare Rarity felt too much like a rehash of the Chrysalis one. I think if it had come first, I would put it first, but it doesn't work as well as a followup.

This. It all comes down to Luna fanboyism. Everything that Katie Cook and Andy Price have done so far in the comics has been gold, including the Rarity microseries issue.

Weak-flank Luna:

Amazing Luna:

Of course, now we're posting cool comic panels just for the sake of raising Lin's curiosity.

Overall, they're a great complement to the show, even though their value is admittedly bigger to those who have already watched all the episodes and are waiting for the new season to start.

 

[Slamtastic]

.

 

[$200]

Oh god this is too cute

 

[Rhomega Beta]

That's actually kinda creepy.

 

[LuffyZoro]

 

[alfredofroylan]

I've been posting a comic on deviantart for almost a month, so far 4 pages of 10 are completed. I'd like to know your opinion:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

 

[Link Man]

A little off-topic, but does anyone in PonyGAF have a WiiU? If so, add me! My NNID is LinkMan1NeoGAF. I'd love to have you guys on my friendlist!

 

[kunonabi]

A little off-topic, but does anyone in PonyGAF have a WiiU? If so, add me! My NNID is LinkMan1NeoGAF. I'd love to have you guys on my friendlist!

sent you a friend request.

 

[Link Man]

sent you a friend request.

Thanks, gotcha!

 

[$200]

A little off-topic, but does anyone in PonyGAF have a WiiU? If so, add me! My NNID is LinkMan1NeoGAF. I'd love to have you guys on my friendlist!

I don't get why anyone would put neogaf in their username outside of neogaf. I know Razek did that for Steam too :S

 

[Morgadeth]

A little off-topic, but does anyone in PonyGAF have a WiiU? If so, add me! My NNID is LinkMan1NeoGAF. I'd love to have you guys on my friendlist!

Friend request sent.

 

[Link Man]

Friend request sent.

Thank you!

 

[Hitokage]

I don't get why anyone would put neogaf in their username outside of neogaf. I know Razek did that for Steam too :S

 

[Link Man]

I don't get why anyone would put neogaf in their username outside of neogaf. I know Razek did that for Steam too :S

Why would someone use a pony avatar outside of pony communities?

 

[McNum]

I drew a thing again!

Portrait of Fluttershy

Link

Just something quick to play with the Watercolor tools in Manga Studio... and it turned out the be one of the best, if not THE best ponies I've drawn yet.

I think this calls for a yay.

 

[Hitokage]

Why would someone use a pony avatar outside of pony communities?

Your affiliation with ponies is entirely under your own control.

 

[DrForester]

Why would someone use a pony avatar outside of pony communities?

I don't use my DrForester name on the rifftrax forum. Feels to much like wearing a bands tshirt to a concert.

 

[Link Man]

Your affiliation with ponies is entirely under your own control.

As is one's affiliation with a website. This is practically my home on the internet, and it has one of the best communities in gaming fortune (though they are a bit judgmental about fringe communities).

 

[$200]

As is one's affiliation with a website. This is practically my home on the internet, and it has one of the best communities in gaming fortune (though they are a bit judgmental about fringe communities).

Still pretty odd though. I mean you don't see people with "facebook" or "youtube" in their username around >_>

 

[Link Man]

Still pretty odd though. I mean you don't see people with "facebook" or "youtube" in their username around >_>

Well, also consider the likelihood of "Link Man" being available for an online service, especially one run by Nintendo.

 

[Hitokage]

As is one's affiliation with a website. This is practically my home on the internet, and it has one of the best communities in gaming fortune (though they are a bit judgmental about fringe communities).

No, you can get booted out. That's the difference I'm highlighting here. Stopping you from watching MLP or having anything else to do with it is an entirely different matter.

 

[Nobodyspatzy]

A little off-topic, but does anyone in PonyGAF have a WiiU? If so, add me! My NNID is LinkMan1NeoGAF. I'd love to have you guys on my friendlist!

I'll add you later... Dreamcasted60, same as... all my gaming names ;p (except 3DS)

I drew a thing again!

Portrait of Fluttershy

Awesome work

 

[BDGAME]

I've been posting a comic on deviantart for almost a month, so far 4 pages of 10 are completed. I'd like to know your opinion:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

Very, very good! I want to read more of these. Your draw is top line, I believe you take a good time to do one of these, no?

 

[Cheerilee]

As is one's affiliation with a website. This is practically my home on the internet, and it has one of the best communities in gaming fortune (though they are a bit judgmental about fringe communities).

I'm pretty sure Hito was referring to Razek. He was a young NeoGaffer/PonyGaffer, and we all liked him, and like you, he apparently tagged himself as a NeoGaffer on Steam... but then Evilore gunned him down kind of randomly.

That's why Hito had the sad face, and why he said that being a NeoGaffer isn't something that any of us can entirely control.

I've been posting a comic on deviantart for almost a month, so far 4 pages of 10 are completed. I'd like to know your opinion:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

Really good, but obviously kind of twisted (nothing we haven't seen before in the fandom, and clearly referential, but worth mentioning). Looks promising.

I don't have the patience to read it as it comes out (nevermind the patience required to make something like it), so please wake me when it's finished, and I'll probably have a fuller opinion. But don't be surprised if my "full" opinion is just "I enjoyed it."