<s>
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Canadian	O
indie	O
developer	O
Daniel	O
Mullins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
metafictional	O
game	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
has	O
the	O
player	O
interact	O
with	O
what	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
old	O
arcade	O
cabinet	O
game	O
called	O
"	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
is	O
aided	O
by	O
the	O
soul	O
of	O
a	O
previous	O
player	O
who	O
helps	O
the	O
player	O
access	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
internal	O
programming	O
to	O
get	O
around	O
the	O
traps	O
left	O
by	O
Lucifer	O
and	O
save	O
not	O
only	O
his	O
soul	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
many	O
tormented	O
souls	O
that	O
are	O
trapped	O
within	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
is	O
presented	O
as	O
a	O
crude	O
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
must	O
explore	O
the	O
internal	O
programming	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
"	O
arcade	O
game	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
progress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
times	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
play	O
"	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
"	O
,	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
endless	B-Application
runner	I-Application
game	I-Application
with	O
shoot	O
'	O
em	O
up	O
elements	O
,	O
guiding	O
a	O
pony	O
character	O
through	O
a	O
grassy	O
valley	O
,	O
avoiding	O
obstacles	O
and	O
shooting	O
enemies	O
that	O
might	O
attack	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
programming	O
"	O
of	O
"	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
"	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
may	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
clicking	O
on	O
"	O
portals	O
"	O
that	O
appear	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
presenting	O
the	O
player	O
with	O
simplified	O
pseudocode	O
along	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
boxes	O
and	O
visual	O
instruction	O
commands	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
move	O
down	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
move	O
left	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
repeat	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
working	O
on	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
,	O
Daniel	O
Mullins	O
had	O
just	O
graduated	O
from	O
college	O
and	O
attempted	O
to	O
launch	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
Catch	O
Monsters	O
through	O
Kickstarter	O
during	O
November	O
2014	O
,	O
but	O
failed	O
to	O
raise	O
sufficient	O
funds	O
,	O
and	O
instead	O
found	O
a	O
programming	O
job	O
though	O
still	O
wanted	O
to	O
develop	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
was	O
primarily	O
developed	O
during	O
the	O
48-hour	O
Ludum	O
Dare	O
game	O
jam	O
in	O
December	O
2014	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
theme	O
was	O
"	O
Entire	O
Game	O
On	O
One	O
Screen	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
positive	O
reception	O
,	O
Mullins	O
prepared	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
his	O
off	O
time	O
from	O
his	O
job	O
for	O
release	O
through	O
Steam	B-Application
Greenlight	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
published	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
January	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mullins	O
also	O
built	O
in	O
fake	O
error	B-Error_Name
screens	I-Error_Name
and	O
messages	O
through	O
the	O
Steam	B-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
appeared	O
to	O
come	O
from	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
friends	O
,	O
to	O
further	O
the	O
unease	O
that	O
he	O
wanted	O
the	O
players	O
to	O
feel	O
while	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mullins	O
attributed	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
success	O
to	O
popular	O
streamer	O
PewDiePie	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
early	O
on	O
asked	O
Mullins	O
if	O
he	O
could	O
post	O
a	O
Let	O
's	O
Play	O
of	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mullins	O
believed	O
this	O
helped	O
him	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
game	O
voted	O
on	O
by	O
players	O
for	O
Steam	B-Application
Greenlight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
has	O
generally	O
been	O
well	O
received	O
by	O
critics	O
,	O
praising	O
it	O
for	O
being	O
a	O
metafiction	O
on	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
awarded	O
it	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
9.0	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
saying	O
"	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
is	O
a	O
punk	O
rock	O
experiment	O
in	O
storytelling	O
and	O
game	O
design	O
that	O
delights	O
in	O
toying	O
with	O
the	O
player.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Lizzy	O
Finnegan	O
of	O
The	O
Escapist	O
compared	O
the	O
experience	O
of	O
playing	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
as	O
what	O
it	O
might	O
have	O
been	O
like	O
playing	O
Polybius	B-Application
,	O
an	O
urban	O
legend	O
of	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
cabinet	O
used	O
for	O
mind	O
control	O
experiments	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
"	O
psychological	O
horror	O
done	O
so	O
incredibly	O
right	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
,	O
Mullins	O
announced	O
his	O
next	O
game	O
The	O
Hex	O
for	O
a	O
planned	O
early	O
2017	O
release	O
,	O
but	O
since	O
was	O
pushed	O
to	O
release	O
on	O
October	O
16	O
,	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Hex	O
,	O
like	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
meta-fictional	O
game	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
takes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
an	O
innkeeper	O
to	O
solve	O
a	O
murder	O
mystery	O
where	O
the	O
suspects	O
are	O
characters	O
that	O
represent	O
specific	O
video	O
game	O
genres	O
.	O
</s>
