User:Evil Sith Lord/Star Stable Online

Star Stable Online is a horse-riding adventure massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). It is set on the fictional island of Jorvik.

Gameplay
There are two kinds of currency in the game: Jorvik Shillings and Star Coins. Jorvik Shillings are earned from completing quests and are used to buy food and equipment. The player cannot have more than ten thousand of these at one time. Star Coins can be used to buy horses, and they can only be received by waiting for the weekly allowance given to subscribers or by buying them with real money.

After being purchased, new horses can be leveled up in order to improve their stats by participating in daily races.

Development
A group of about 10 people running development studios in Sweden were approached by a Norwegian publisher, Stabenfeld, which produced horse-related books for a children's book club, which its members had begun to lose interest in. The game developers decided to produce video games that the club could give to its members to retain their interest. The club agreed to the idea, and in 2005 they released a series of four level-based, story-based fantasy games called Starshine Legacy.

They continued developing horseback riding games, and eventually they produced a single-player open world game, which players began posting videos of on YouTube. Inspired by World of Warcraft, the developers decided to create a subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game for girls. They went to a panel meeting where they were advised not to do this, but they ignored the advice.

The game was launched in Sweden in 2011, with less than 24 hours of gameplay. In order to retain their players, they released updates to the game every Wednesday.

In 2015, a power outage corrupted the player database and backup database, kicking millions of players out of the game. Fans brought coffee and cinnamon buns to the game's offices while the issue was being resolved.

In 2017, Spirit, the titular horse of the DreamWorks Animation show Spirit Riding Free, made an appearance in the game, where players could complete quests with him and try to get him to stay.

From April 11 to August 15, 2018, JoJo Siwa appeared in-game to debut her single "Every Girl's a Super Girl". Players could interact with her avatar, hear her song, and purchase clothing inspired by her.

In 2020, the community had begun to show interest in the old American West. In response to this, a western-themed area was added, the American Quarter Horse was updated, and western activities and equipment were released.

A mobile version of Star Stable Online for iOS was released in soft launch in September 2020. It was officially launched worldwide on February 17, 2022. The mobile version has all of the features in the PC version, and it has cross-platform play compatibility.

Playerbase
The game's core playerbase is comprised of girls aged 8 to 18, with the average player being 14 years old. A 2018 survey of 294 players aged 9 to 17 found that players tend to enjoy the story the most and daily quests the least. 65% of respondents reported that they spend time with horses in real life.

Safety
The game was designed to comply with the safety requirements set out by COPPA and other laws. The game's chat is moderated by both humans and artificial intelligence. The automated chat suspension system had been updated in 2018, and some players have reported that it had become too strict. In 2022, in response to feedback from players, Star Stable tested a new AI chat moderation program developed with the Swedish AI company Oterlu and the digital content firm Peppy Agency. The new program encouraged players who posted negative comments to be kind instead of banning or suspending them. During the six-week testing period, it was found to have reduced negative messages by five percent. Star Stable Entertainment's CEO Johan Sjöberg said that the company was also working on building its moderation features with staff to encourage players to be kind and by partnering with users. Also in 2022, Star Stable started using an AI moderation tool from Utopia Analytics that takes context into account when filtering inappropriate messages.

Reception
Sarah Van Boerum of Common Sense Media gave the game three out of five stars, saying that it would be enjoyable for horse lovers but criticizing the graphics and the need to pay for a subscription.

Music
In February 2019, Star Stable released a music label called Star Stable Music that distributes to sites including Spotify and Apple Music. The songs released under the label are produced by real musicians representing characters in the game.

Books
On March 24, 2021, Soul Riders: Jorvik Calling, the first book in a fantasy trilogy, was released in the United States. The book was targeted at children aged 9 through 14. The second and third books in the trilogy were titled Soul Riders: The Legend Awakens and Soul Riders: Darkness Falling, respectively. The books were written by Helena Dahlgren. All three of the books were winners of the National Parenting Product Awards.

Animation
Star Stable Entertainment partnered with the Finnish production company Ferly to created an animated short series titled Mistfall. The series consisted of 10 five-minute-long episodes, and it was released on YouTube in December 2020. The series, which was targeted at preteen and teenage girls, followed a heroine named Skye in a plot parallel to that of the game. It was intended to appeal to both the game's existing fans and to new fans. The series had received more than eight million views by March 2021. The series's soundtrack was provided by one of the game's artists, Nomi.

In 2021, a longer series, also titled Mistfall, was announced. The series will have twenty-six 22-minute-long episodes, and is anticipated to be released in 2022. The series will be produced by Ferly and a German company, Atmosphere Media. This series will expand upon the events of the shorter series.

Toys
In 2022, Star Stable Entertainment signed a global toy line deal with the company Just Play. The toy line will hit the market in 2023 and will include dolls and horses based on characters from the game.