Howrse Helper

I had a great opportunity to be interviewed by red_chick94 who is such an amazing player on Howrse. Below are the questions I was asked (Howrse graphics still included xD). Check out red_chick94′s forum as well for more player interviews!

(Graphic made by red_chick94)

Hi Jessica27 – is Jessica your real name?
Hello! Haha, yes it is!

Do you remember the old achievements? Do you prefer those or the objectives we now have?
Yes! Hm…that’s a tough question for me. After the achievements disappeared, I was a bit worried as to how the objectives would replace it. Now, I think both are pretty great. It seems that the achievements were arranged more towards experienced players who knew their way around Howrse. The objectives are a bit pushed more towards newer players, who are still trying to get familiar with it. Or it may just appear like that to me since it’s basically a second round of achievements for me.

I see you were left on level 9. Did you get stuck or did you run out of time to complete the old achievements?
Actually, I was racing to get to level 9 once it was announced they were going to be removed. The only task I had left for Level 8 was to get into the top 500 ranking for prestige for my EC. I had everything set, I just need my competitions and stabling prestige to boost. I didn’t make it in time; the achievements were removed. Then a day later, Howrse announced they would be added back for a short amount of time before the objectives came. I was right where I left off on the achievements and I was able to complete Level 8. I even almost completed Level 9 before they removed for good! I just needed to produce a unicorn. (Still stuck on that for the objectives. I even have my alarm set for it today )

I see you have your own Howrse help website, can you tell me why you set it up? (Pm Jessica27 for the link)
Yes! Almost two years now! Basically I was inspired by my family, as we have always been…technological..I guess you could say. I began to learn HTML coding because of this, which led me into making layouts for Howrse. At the same time, I was a blogger for a different website. I really wanted to own my website, but I didn’t know what to do. I connected my graphic work on Howrse and want for a website to create a tip site! I literally spent my summer between Howrse and the farm, so I had plenty of experience on Howrse by then!

You’ve got plenty of congratulations. Do you congratulate people often?
I like to set goals for myself, so one day I thought it would be awesome if I could match the number of my congratulations to my days of seniority, but the number of congratulations would be 1,000 more. When I have time, I got on congratulations sprees to hopefully bump up that number. So yes, I do congratulate people pretty often. I always try to return them when I see ‘em!

Who inspires you on Howrse?
Hm…Not a particular player, but anyone who has been on a long time and stays on and continues to help others. Also, those who continuously care for their horses. Usually I let my horses just rest on the account, but now I’ve been getting back into caring for them because of some inspiration!

Can you tell us about your close Howrse friends?
Unfortunately, I’m known to take some good time off of Howrse, so I haven’t really stayed in touch. I would have to say the top 6 or 7 users on my friends list are pretty good friends of mine. There are several others, who have quit Howrse, or may be lost in my friends list, who have done some terribly nice deeds for me when I was in need of help.

You are on the new versions with the same name. Which version including this one is your favourite and why?
Honestly, I’m only registered on the other versions. I don’t really care for my horses..or maybe just horse. I only have those accounts to see if there’s anything new happening there to post to my website. Maybe when I have time I’ll log on to fix up my account a bit. In the end, the international version is, by default, my favorite.

I see you make graphics. What program do you use?
Previously, I think I used Corel Draw 12…not sure if it was that version. Maybe 13. Now, I used Photoshop Elements 5.0.

Have you ever been in a graphic group? What happened?
I have received several offers of players asking me to join theirs, but I usually turn them down due to my time schedule. I’m sure when I will/won’t have time. I did agree twice – one with you, red, (J&J Graphics) and once with 80Bex (unnamed). With both groups, I guess we just lost contact/didn’t have time. I’ve learned from both experiences that graphic groups can be helpful as to get the layout done faster, but it requires a lot of constant communication.

What is your favourite aspect to this game? What is your least favourite aspect?
I combined these two questions together since my answer fits both. My favorite, but least favorite is all the changes. Some I really enjoy, such as the divine promotions, new objectives added, etc. But others, like the salt stone and pets being removed and the changing navigation (takes some time getting used to) aren’t always my favorite things to see being changed. But overall, I must seem to like the changes if I’ve played for this long!

Are you a pass buyer? If yes, what do you like purchasing the most? If no, why?
I only bought one pass of the entire time I’ve been playing. I only bought it because I was too eager to reach the private sales; I needed one more karma point. (Every ten passes bought gives a karma point: 1st, 11th..etc) I also used a promotion to get several passes: when buying your first pass, you get 1 pass free. I also caught a +1 pass UFO which gave me another one on top of that. In the end, I got 3 passes for the price of one. I’m not a pass buyer because I think they are a *bit* overpriced. I always saved BM items I got from the previous achievements and would often do trades with others to get the items I needed. There are several ways to get items worth passes without actually spending money.

Do you ride in real life?
Yes! I was going to go riding today, but I’m not feeling too well. I took a long break from riding from last spring to spring this year, so I really need to work back up to it. :/

You have an ‘improve my EC’ scheme, can you tell me about it?
Oh, wow. I created that a while ago! I was even thinking of removing that from my page today! I know several players usually have a tough time building up their EC. Usually, they get too excited and want to buy boxes and get boarders right away. I created this program to give tips to players who had trouble with getting their EC started. Or, if they were stuck at..let’s just say 40%…I would message them to help them personally with raising the prestige.

What are your hobbies outside of Howrse?
-I enjoy anything involving music: music theory, learning instruments (mainly guitar, flute, and a bit with drums).
-Anything involving animals. I care for four dogs and a chameleon. In the summer, I try to foster kittens. I also work weekly at a local farm, caring for the horses.
-Reading when I have free time. I’m open to any book suggestions!

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would you use and why?
I would say caring because I always try to help others with their troubles and put a smile on their face.

What is your favourite animal?
Oh man…Could I say all of them?! I’ve honestly looked into every animal as a pet too…chinchillas, owls, even zebras! (They can be trained to be ridden, although it’s a bit controversial). I honestly can’t pick.

If you could trade places for one person, (celebrity, friend, Howrse player) who would it be and why?
Well…I think I wouldn’t want to trade places with anyone…I just can’t think of anyone in particular. I guess maybe anyone who grew up on a big farm with a lot of animals. That just seems like the coolest childhood.

Finally…what is one thing you hope to achieve on Howrse by the end of 2011?
To overall improve my game. I have neglected it for some time. My ranking used to be better and my EC was in better care. I’m hoping to work on that this week! Also, to help out more on the forum.

Thanks for the interview and your time!

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