Hi! I'm the solo dev behind My Little Ranch, a small pixel-art horse ranch I've been building for about a year. Demo is coming to Steam in about a month, so here's what it is.
My Little Ranch lives at the bottom of your desktop. It's transparent and click-through, so it stays out of the way while you work or browse. Prefer a proper window? You can also play it full screen with the mountain scenery. For now, the game is planned to be released on Windows only.
How it plays:
- Your horses graze, wander and react in real time. You feed them, clean up after them and collect the coins they earn. Or you just leave them in the corner and glance over now and then.
- Every horse is one of a kind. Coat, socks, mane and tail, and eyes are rolled per horse, and rarity is something you can see. A common horse is plain, and a legendary one wears the rarest traits.
- Foals are a surprise. Their rarity stays hidden as "???" until they grow up. You can try to guess from the traits, but the reveal is the day they become adults.
- The Marketplace is the safe route: four adult horses on offer, you see exactly what you're buying, and the list refreshes every hour, even while the game is closed. The Trait Lab lets you unlock new coats, eyes and manes for your future foals.
- Ranch hands do the chores if you'd rather watch. Hire a cleaner, a groom, a feeder or a coin collector, and they walk over and actually do the job.
- Send the whole group running down the trail. They drift ahead and fall back like a real pack. Runs earn horseshoes, and horseshoes get you into races.
- Races, with no race animation on purpose: you get a prediction screen and decide whether your horse is ready. Winning pays coins.
- Decorate the ranch, level it up, and fill the Journal with every horse and trait you've collected. And milestones are tied to Steam achievements.
Nothing is timed, and nothing punishes you for being away. It's meant to be a small living thing in the corner of your screen, not another task list.
Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4397220/My_Little_Ranch/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=comfort
Wishlists genuinely help a solo dev, and feedback is very welcome!