Want to Scratch, Sniff and Growl Your Way Through Life?  “Dog’s Life” Shows You How

by Louis Bedigian

“Dog's seeing in black and white we initially saw as a negative, but the idea of 'seeing' smells brought in a load of new gameplay ideas.”

It ain’t easy being a dog.  You have to get up when they want you to get up.  You have to go for a walk when they feel like walking.  You can’t just sit around and play video games all day.  No, that’s for the so-called “human beings” who claim to love you.  Oh yeah, sure, they love you.  That’s why they put a leash on you.  And a collar with your name!  What’s that about?  I don’t see little Timmy running around with a collar sporting his name.  Your darling Jessica isn’t wearing one either.  She does have a lot of expensive necklaces though.

What if you could change all that?  What if you could break free and live the life you’ve always wanted to live?  If you could, chances are you’d visit the country and say a hello to some old friends.

Dog: “That moon sure is beautiful.”

Wolf: “Yeah.  It makes me want to howl.”

You’d probably fly to Orlando to have breakfast with a few celebrities.  “Pluto, Goofy!  I can’t believe it’s really you!”

And you’d probably take some time to explore a few famous museums, primarily ones with dinosaur fossils.  “That T-Rex is incredible!  Just one problem – where in the world am I going to bury it?”

Those fantasies will forever stay in the minds of many canines.  They’ll never know the life they could be living.  Or the joy of Halo and Metal Gear Solid.

But you could know more about what it’s like to be a dog when Hip Interactive releases Dog’s Life.  The title says it all – this is not about average Joes, international spies or – gasp – felines!  It’s about the animal that’s always there for us, earning the title Man’s Best Friend.  It’s about dogs.

Dog's Life is a very unique game concept.  How did it come to be?  Whose idea was it to make a game about the life of a dog?

David Braben, Director: We'd been working on getting in-game animation to a high quality, with the goal of showing human body language on the fly. This sparked a wide-ranging discussion about use of body language in games, and very quickly the idea of a dog character seemed like a good idea. It was one of those ideas that mushroomed as other ideas were piled in. Dog's seeing in black and white we initially saw as a negative, but the idea of 'seeing' smells brought in a load of new gameplay ideas.

“My owners love it when I sit.”

“Really?  My owners said they’d love it if I cleaned up after myself.

I just scratch and growl every time.”

Where did you and the other developers draw inspiration for Dog's Life?

DB: The way a dog behaves in real life was a big inspiration. The way when entering a strange room it goes and sniffs all around the edges - why would it do this? The way when meeting a strange dog - why does it go and sniff it? The way one dog will defer to another (or not) immediately after this.

This is how things like collecting the scents came about, and the concept of dog status.

Do you have any dogs?

DB: Yes, I have a dog and she's featured in Dog's Life... She is also the source of much of the inspiration.

Did the development team study real dogs or conduct any research to ensure that everything was accurate?

DB: Yes.  We took a great deal of video of how dogs behaved in real life.

“Hey pops, got any spaghetti?”

How many dogs will players encounter in the game?  Which ones are playable?

DB: There are 18 dogs in the game, which you can control as you progress through the game.

Were any motion-capture techniques used to design the dog animations?

DB: Motion capture has some big problems with quadrupeds – it's all very well capturing a particular sequence on a flat studio floor, but when the floor isn't flat it is really obvious the sequence is wrong – think of a rickety stool – in real life (and in Dog's Life) the body has to adjust to the slope.

For this reason we have used a form of motion capture – using carefully prepared video sequences – but not traditional studio-based motion capture. (Just imagine trying to get a dog into a motion capture studio, and not scratch off the little beads that are used to track the motion!)

I'm dying to know all about the Smellovision game mode.

DB: We all know the story that dog's see in black and white - but watching a dog it is clear that scents mean at least as much to the way it behaves as does the visual image. This is how the "Smellovision" came about - the logical combination of the two, where colors are used to represent different smells.

It enables Jake, the player's dog, to do things like follow footprint trails, find hidden things, and see the world in a very different way.

Crouching dog, running sheep.

Are there any vicious felines in this game?  Any catty enemies that stand in your way?

DB: There are cats in the game (and you can chase them!) The main bad guy is a lady called Miss Peaches - and she's a huge cat fan and hates dogs.

What is the gameplay like?  What kinds of things do you have to accomplish?

DB: The gameplay revolves around getting other people and animals to help in your quest. To do this, there are many different things you can do, from chasing chickens to rounding up sheep, from chasing convicts to skiing downhill.

Are there any mini-games in Dog's Life?

DB: Yes. This is a big part of the game. Jake can challenge a 'local dog' to various different contests. These include peeing contests (yes, peeing!), digging races, running races, tug-of-war.

Sniff, sniff.  “What’s that I smell on your breath?

Have you been eating Beggin’ Strips?”

What about the target audience – a "living room family" – does that mean there are some multiplayer features?

DB: There are no multi-player features in Dog's Life, but there is plenty for everyone to do. The game works well as a 'toy' where a young kid can simply enjoy being in the world, experimenting with everything around, and looking after their dog. They can also take the dog to a 'Poodle Parlor' cleaning him up, and even changing his collar.

Thank you for your time.