Hello everyone!
Community manager Secundus here once again. We hope April didn’t turn your world too upside down… though we can’t promise things are entirely stable just yet. Either way, we are BACK FOR MORE!
May has arrived, and with it comes something a little different. Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a step we’ve been quietly preparing for quite some time... We’ve begun beta testing Pony Island 2. Not in theory. Not behind closed doors. But with you. And let’s just say… things have been interesting.
Before we dive into that, we have something new to show you.
I can hear you asking yourself: "What is a monthly update without its teasers?" Well, here are some wonderful teasers to bless the month of May!
Ah... Vasilisa. Stories of love and passion are often told in your name. But here, something feels different. A quiet hall, a single artifact, and a scene that seems frozen in the middle of a story yet to be fully understood. If you checked previous month's update, you might find some elements to be matching. With all this mystery in the air, you are needed to unravel this story and put it into rest. Could there be more, even?
If you’ve played The Case of the Golden Idol, some elements might feel familiar. Observation, deduction, and a careful eye for detail appear to be key. Lucky you, six clues are already found! Three still remain. What do you think this story is trying to say?
How lovely it is to be greeted by the one and only Pando each time we step into the Panda Circus! You can see how joyful he is to see you. It's been a while they've had a visitor, after all.
The Circus seems to be PACKED with points of interest. We got horses, clowns, balloons, target practice, and... a phone box tent? Everything looks lively. Even inviting!
Which tent would you explore first?
Wait... what? B̵̛̼̹̜̑͛û̷͓̏̉t̸̩̠̼̃̈́̉ ̸̼͉͚̻̽͗̋̂i̴̙͇͒̎̌͒t̵̲͙̫̐͆ ̷̤̥͝h̶͖̑̑ă̷̮̈́̐̕š̴̟̩͓̉́̾ ̷̰̝͔̍b̷̞̟̙̄̚ë̶͉̣́̿ê̷̙͋͐̚n̷̟̟͒̐ͅ ̸͍͉͖̗̐̿͌͝t̶͇̽͐̒e̶̮̺̮͒s̴̤̗̊t̸̤̒̀é̴͉́d̵͓̓̔̀ ̶͉̗̽͜1̷̺͙̅0̴̡͂0̸̢̪͎̯̅́0̴̱̟̚ ̷̝̖̞̝̐̎t̶̗̐̀̂ĭ̵̛̋͜m̸̗͇͘e̶͈̝̽́̒s̴̛̪͖̲͓̅͆͝?̷̛͔̹̼̾͑!̵̼̻͔͋͊͆
Ahem... Apologies for that! It seems there are still a few minor issues with this... old game. You would think something like Pony Lasers™ would behave exactly as expected by now. Perhaps we should reach out to the developer. Players will lose their minds over these bugs at this point.
On a second thought... maybe let’s not rush that. After all, developers have feelings too.
And to wrap it up, we got a brand new soundtrack! It is as mysterious as it sounds...
Over on our Discord server, a select group of players has already begun stepping into the world of Pony Island 2. And from what we’ve seen so far... the world of Panda Circus is making people lose their minds.
Feedback has been pouring in alongside tons of other reports! I wasn't personally expecting my Discord DMs to blow up with 350+ messages over a night, but I am not complaining. I can only imagine the number of messages Daniel is receiving, haha. Thankfully, they are detailed, thoughtful, and sometimes wonderfully chaotic. Some of you have managed to break things in ways we didn’t even know were possible. Others have uncovered details we were convinced would stay hidden for at least a little longer. I think that's the magical aspect of our community. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive (filled with a lot of WTF moments), and we’re incredibly grateful for the time and effort they've put into exploring, testing, and questioning every corner of the experience. Of course, with great chaos comes great responsibility. We are currently hard at work squishing bugs and making sure that Pony Island 2 becomes the best version of itself it can possibly be at launch.
If you’re not in the beta yet, don’t worry! While we cannot confirm whether additional testers will be needed at this time, the game is already shaping up to be something truly unique for everyone. As always, you can join our Discord server to stay updated! Don't worry, I don't spam @everyone pings...
Another month, another set of questions for the boss! As always, feel free to drop your questions under this thread so that we may answer them in the next month's update!
kid.little.kat asks: I need to know if there will be any pre-orders and Panda Circus demo.
Daniel: I am currently not planning on a demo - I want to spend all my time making the game as good as possible. A demo often requires unique elements that don't make it into the final game. And, in my case, it also requires a meticulous purge of assets from later parts of the game to prevent data miners spoiling it. As for pre-orders, I don't see that much of a benefit!
Shrike(Kozodoy) asks: Will this game have visuals like Incryption?
Daniel: This game definitely has visuals! But as for art style choices that veer closer to Inscryption, there is a section that will seem familiar to card gamers.
SearchingForGryphons asks: I remember looking up and finding the Panda Circus easter egg years ago, and I kind of figured it was only ever going to be a joke once Inscryption was announced. Were you always planning/hoping on making a Pony Island 2: Panda Circus, or was it a joke/maybe-one-day-tease you decided to follow up on later?
Daniel: I was earnest about it even at the time! But it's easy to make a promise like that and think you can fulfill it when you're 23 and your first game took 1 year to make. 6 years later I had a big enough stockpile of dreams and ideas to seriously commit to it.
Our community's talent keeps enriching our newsletters/updates, so we are not holding back when it comes to sharing more of their talent here! If you want to have your art showcased on our posts, feel free to share them with me directly via [email protected] or fan-art channels in Discord server. You can message me directly as well!
This month's lovely cover art & thumbnail was drawn by Tiff again! We love her talent and everything she does for our community. Thank you Tiff!
If Folden has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Folden has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Folden has only one fan then that is me. If Folden has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Folden, then I am against the world. Fortunately, soffblossoms agrees with me. Their drawing of Folden is simply SO CUTE not to share!
I will not provide any context for this. taigasoda captured a moment from the game. We decided that it would be best if this... moment would be experienced firsthand by the players themselves. So uh... yeah.
Somehow, vaantus on our Discord created this suspiciously accurate(?) panel. Who leaked this to you, vaantus?
That’s all for this month! May has been a big step forward for Pony Island 2, and we’re incredibly excited to continue this journey with all of you.
Until next time,
Community Manager Secundus signing off.