Guide a lost dog back home in Doggone

Dogs and humans have developed such a close kinship over the course of the last several millennia that, once you've owned a dog, it's hard to imagine the one without the other. A team of indie developers is creating a game about a lost dog trying to find its way back to its people, and they've launched a Kickstarter to help make it happen.

Doggone is inspired by the animal movies we grew up with, which for me include films like The Incredible Journey and the Adventures of Milo & Otis. Mechanically, it takes cues from Playdead's Inside and Limbo, although it's clear just from taking one look at it that Doggone is as cheerful and bright as those games are dark and ominous. In the Kickstarter video, lead producer Nicholas Laborde explains that Doggone's art style is heavily influenced by the abstract, colorful backgrounds of Disney's classic Sleeping Beauty.

The team of nine seasoned indie developers is hoping to raise $100,000 over the course of the Kickstarter, and they've put together a detailed budget breakdown. The bulk of the money raised will be used to pay their artists, programmers, and designers, with the remainder split between software licensing, marketing, and stretch goals.

Raconteur Games says Doggone will be a "fully-fledged dog experience," and they're planning on having the first episode ready next summer, with two more episodes following that year. The Kickstarter is meant to fund development of the first, with sales from that supporting the next two episodes.

And, I cannot stress this enough, it is a game about a dog. That automatically means it's worth a look.