Pikmanipulator

This sounds like the start of a good deal. I have a project of my own that I've been thinking of forming a similar production group for, but of course that's a different matter that sounds rather incompatible with yours. Still, I suppose it's good to start somewhere. Since you have all the writers you need, maybe I could join as an artist of some sort?

This is a concept that I've had burning in my mind for a long time now. I've been thinking about keeping it to myself until I have some reasonable amount of resources that could get it off the ground, but I think the first and foremost thing it needs is characters. And for that, I need--nay, want--other people's participation. So here I am, letting this idea out for the second time. My Little Pony: Teamwork is Strength THE IDEA: Teamwork is Strength is essentially a spin-off of Friendship is Magic, taking place in the same universe but with a main cast consisting of males instead of females. It basically stems from the question that I'm sure all guy fans of the show have wondered at one point or another: "If there was a cast of male characters in the world of My Little Pony, what would they do?" This would attempt to answer that question. In other words, it would be a serious attempt at producing an animation that strives to measure up to the show while relying on the unpaid labor of fans. (To think we could replicate the show's quality exactly at this early a stage would be rather arrogant of us, I think.) Since I want this project to follow the same format as FiM, that means that it will be rated G, or PG at the very highest. Sorry to any of you who prefer more "mature" stuff, but this is how it's rolling. THE CHARACTERS: This is where the fun starts. Each character in the main cast will be created by a different participant in the project--preferably writers, as they will be the ones writing the episodes and be able to utilize their creations to the fullest extent (not to mention they would be the ones most capable of creating good characters). That is not to say that writers would be the only ones who could create characters--animators could too, or anyone who could have close ties to the project. Suffice to say that anyone who creates a character and gets him in would have a guaranteed spot on the project's work force. Make sure you're capable of providing for it first, though. The main cast will consist of either 3 or 6 ponies, or possibly 5. It mostly depends on how many writers/others submit decent characters. I cannot accept more than one character from any one person unless I decide otherwise. I've already got a character of my own, so that fills in one spot--however, that may change if the final number of main characters is 3, because that would probably change the game and make it unfitting for my character. I'll elaborate more on that if necessary. Also, it should go without saying that we should have a balance between Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns. On that matter, I've selected Earth pony for my character. I figured it would be the least popular. Basically, what I want to see in the character applications are these: A degree of relatability to young boys. This could be something as simple as a goal or dream of the character's, or it could tie directly into the character's personality. Nothing that would be out of place in Friendship is Magic. A good knowledge and understanding of English. Spelling and grammar are points that could make or break your chance of becoming a writer, if that's what you're going for. Now, without further ado, the character application: [b]Name:[/b] (I won't blame you if you can't come up with anything. It took me a while to come up with mine. If you can't, we can decide on the name later, provided that the rest of the application makes the cut.) [b]Kind:[/b] (Earth pony, Pegasus pony, or unicorn) [b]Appearance:[/b] (This includes the coat, hair, eyes, and general build of the pony. Cutie marks go here too. If you don't have a complete idea of what the character should look like, that's fine. A general idea will be fine. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Do NOT use any Pony creator for this section. These characters are meant to be unique and will probably obtain their own semi-official artwork once they have been accepted.) [b]Personality:[/b] (This will be the bread and butter of the application. Talk about as much of the pony's personality as you can, and make sure it remains consistent. Don't worry about making this section too long.) [b]Dreams/Goals:[/b] (Not necessary, but knowing something that your character is striving to achieve can help us to better understand your character--and come up with potential plots for him.) [b]At the present:[/b] (This will state what occupation or situation the pony has at the time of the series. This will be used to establish his position in-universe. It could be something as simple as being a simple resident of Fillydelphia, or it could be a little more complex. A word of warning, though: the more complex a pony's background is, the more likely it is to be rejected. We're not focusing on history here; that will more or less work itself out in the project when it becomes necessary.) Now accepting: characters relating to the Swashbuckler archetype (see Hero archetypes). Please PM me, do not post, your character applications. Also, if you have any experience or considerable knowledge in screenplaying, storyboarding, Flash animating, etc. let me know. If your character is decent, I'll probably ask to see some examples of your work. THE SETTING: This is something I've already decided on. Believe it or not, this series will not take place in Ponyville. Instead, Fillydelphia will be the main setting where the cast of characters lives. This is based on a number of reasons: It's uncharted territory and likely to remain that way as far as the show is concerned. We know that Lauren Faust at first wanted the show's setting to be called Fillydelphia, but it was of course changed to Ponyville. As far as concepts go, Fillydelphia probably IS Ponyville, and we all know that Fillydelphia never made it past the conceptual stage. The fact that it's frequently mentioned in the show is likely as an homage to Lauren Faust's original idea, but to actually show up in FiM would mean that the crew would have develop it past being a copy of Ponyville, which I don't think they'll do out of respect of Faust's original vision. However, I think that bringing Fillydelphia to light would be an homage in of itself, and after being established as what would have been the "main" location in Equestria, it would fit perfectly for an alternate series branching off from FiM. Now, I could be totally wrong about the crew not ever touching Fillydelphia, but I maintain that Fillydelphia is less vulnerable than any other location in Equestria. Which brings us to point 2... It reduces the chances of anything we come up with being conflicted or destroyed by the show. Because we're essentially ostracizing ourselves from Ponyville or anywhere that the Mane 6 is likely to explore, we're free to come up with what we want without fear of being shot down. Confliction with the show is often what most fan works have going against them, and by eliminating that factor, our project is unlikely to be bogged down by such a thing. It would discourage shipping between our characters and the cast of FiM. Now, this may sound petty, but I think this would actually be a serious issue if the series were to take place in Ponyville. It would be far too easy to make our characters interact with the Mane 6 and possibly form relationships that would not only potentially conflict with the show, but also make the majority of fans out there scream in protest. Heck, I don't even think I would be able to resist the temptation of pairing up my character with one of the ponies. So, to be on the safe side, I'm not allowing interaction with the Mane 6 at all. (Maybe only with a very rare exception.) It allows us to revisit special events from the show, such as Winter Wrap Up, Night Mare Night, etc. These events aren't all that likely to show up again in FiM, as story potential involving them probably ran dry after the first run, but take a new setting with new characters, and you've got new possibilities! Of course, I could be wrong about the show using the events again, but come on, as if we would let this project go by without visiting those events ourselves! THE STORIES: Obviously, the stories are going to resemble Friendship is Magic's stories in a lot of ways. There will be relationship stories and adventure stories, or a mix of them both. However, since this is the male side of things, perhaps there will be more adventure stories than FiM has had. I don't know exactly what they would consist of, but that's where the beauty of multiple writers come in--to keep the ideas coming. Of course, that doesn't mean we'll be shying away from relationship stories at all. But in keeping with the title I've come up with for the series, the stories may not revolve around lessons about friendship so much as lessons about simply working together. Once the main cast has been decided, I'm planning to have all of the appointed writers, myself included, collaborate on a pilot episode. Everything else at this point is up in the air due to a lack of established characters. Who's interested in participating?

I played both games. In fact, that's where my username comes from. Only the most hardcore of Pikmin players will be able to retrieve the Geiger Counter on Day 2.

Hm... ButterBall... By any chance, would you have gotten your username from the Norwegian story with the troll hag in it? Oh, and welcome.

I am now in Canterlot, and I feel welcomed.

Hopefully. :nervous:

Thanks. I should warn you, though, being a stickler for show-canon as I am, I'm likely to disagree with a lot of folks here. Thank you. This isn't the first forum dedicated to ponies that I've been on, though. The other one I go to (that ended up referring me to this one) is Equestrian Dreamers, the site dedicated to My Little Investigations. Thanks.

So, I'm not actually here to roleplay or anything like that. I'm actually searching for potential. That's the main reason I'm here. I hope to have fun regardless. EDIT: Wait, you can vote for more than one pony as your favorite? Darn. I would've voted for all of them if I had known that. EDIT2: Okay, what the hey? All of that information got deleted with my first edit. Why is this so frustrating?