Doggy Don’t Care Developer Interview — Crafting Chaos In A Pug’s Life

It’s been a busy few weeks for ANZ, from PAX AUS to SXSW! Developers from all over the region were in attendance at these events, showcasing their games to our bustling gaming community. One of the games attending was Doggy Don’t Care from Rotub Games.

 

We spoke to Rohan, the founder and sole member of Rotub Games, about the upcoming game, their development journey, and what’s next for this adorable title in 2025!

 

I had such a great couple of weeks catching up with new and familiar faces. This was my first time ever attending PAX in Melbourne in anticipation of showcasing Doggy Don’t Care next year, and at SXSW Sydney, I showed a new level of Doggy Don’t Care for the first time which was well received! I’m excited to start showing more of the game over the coming months.

I was a web developer for about 10 years before I burned out and quit in 2018 to take on part-time work (2-3 days per week) in a non-tech/office environment and focus on making games the other days.

 

Releasing my first game, Swoopy Boi, gave me such a high. I conceptualized, built, and released it in 6 months. It was quickly downloaded over 30,000 times and hit the Top 30 charts on both iOS and Android. All things considered, though, I am most proud of simply releasing the game because it seems like few people cross that line.

 

It’s difficult to decide “the game is done to the point I’m proud to show the world”. Swoopy Boi didn’t feel finished or like my best work and yet it’s the best thing I’ve ever made. Its purpose was to prove to myself I can indeed make and release a game as well as grow a thick skin for showing the world something I’ve put everything into. It did exactly that.

 

Unleash adorable chaos! You’re a dog left at home alone getting up mischief. Explore, collect, and smash your way around the house & beyond on a cheeky adventure. Fetch the approval of your feathered friends by digging into a list of fun-filled tasks and earn all the mischievous badges.

Before Doggy Don’t Care I was making a very personal game about grief which became too depressing and heavy for me. So I pivoted to working on something fun, silly, and colourful which turned into Doggy Don’t Care. I’m pulling on inspiration from Untitled Goose Game for its mischief-focused tasks, Banjo Kazooie for its humorous characters and dialogue, and Journey for its minimal approach and intuitive gameplay.

 

There will be about 5 levels, each with a different host bird, new mechanics, puzzles, and areas to explore. You start at the home but soon escape to a farm, museum, office, and carnival! So there is lots to explore and experience with variety between each level.

That’s part of the Banjo-Kazooie inspiration shining through! Rocko is the host bird of level one while his buddies will host the other levels. For example, level 2 is on a farm hosted by a Kookaburra. The feathered friends love encouraging Charlie to cause chaos and reward him with mischievous badges. The birds are the masterminds behind the chaos while Charlie is the hoon that gets mischief done! They’re a perfect match.

They sure aren’t but at the same time how could you stay upset or angry at something so cute? There will be a subtle story to the game tying everything together which I’m looking forward to fleshing out as more levels are introduced during development.

In all honesty, I’ve been learning 3D modeling and unity3D from scratch while making Doggy Don’t Care. When starting, I needed to keep things simple and not too overwhelming. With that in mind I found a pug the easiest breed to communicate across to the player without adding too much detail. It also suited the derpy face I was going for and once I dropped big fat eyebrows on that bad boy I knew I had found my little trouble maker.

Keep things small and keep things simple. It’s so easy to bite off more than you can chew so it’s incredibly important to start small and realistic or you will never finish your game. I had this in mind for Swoopy Boi and I was still nearly too ambitious with that game. Coming into Doggy Don’t Care I’ve had huge ideas and plans but the most important thing for me is to release a fun game that people will play and finish. It’s a tough balance but I think I have a good approach to Doggy Don’t Care.

 

Also marketing is more than half the battle. I did zero marketing for Swoopy Boi. I’m stuck with the thoughts of how well it might have done if I actually had a marketing plan. This time around I’m all in on getting Doggy Don’t Care out there through festivals, showcases, and content creators on Twitch/YouTube. I’m still learning how to do this effectively and I have definitely missed out on some opportunities but at the very least I’m focused on building a lovable character that is instantly recognizable. It’s paying off so far as people really seem to love the game and all coverage of the game has been from people finding me through meme posts or other creators’ content/streams of Doggy Don’t Care.

I love working for myself and doing everything, although I definitely shouldn’t. I consider myself OK at everything I do. I’m not excellent or amazing at one thing. I’m an OK artist, an OK programmer, an OK marketer, etc. Indie game development has been the first time this characteristic of mine has worked for me instead of against me.

 

Each part of me inspires the others too. For example, the artist in me illustrated the dog which inspired me to make memes from it. This inspired me to start focusing on marketing, and then the marketing inside me inspired game elements that would be more marketable (dog riding a roomba). Every aspect of making a game leans into the next and actually helps me improve overall.

 

It’s also nice having a wide variety of work to do so I can pivot and choose different types based on how I am feeling. One day I might be a marketer, the next a programmer and sound designer, and the following an illustrator and game designer. It’s always different and keeps things interesting.

 

My dream is to publish on a console, specifically a Nintendo console. I also believe and am constantly told that Doggy Don’t care looks like a Nintendo Switch game. We will see what happens.

My first ever physical showcase was SXSW Sydney 2023 and it was so much fun that I got hooked on the idea of showing my game. So I started applying for every festival and showcase as possible. I set myself a rule – apply first, overthink later. Because otherwise I would think my way out of applying every time. My game never feels ready or good enough but I’ve been so grateful to the event organizers for seeing Doggy Don’t Care’s potential and believing in me. It’s also a great kick in the butt to get stuff finished and polished by the set deadline.

Thank you! It has been quite overwhelming securing the support from Screen NSW and Screen Australia. I’m incredibly grateful and am so excited to see the game continue to evolve with their support. I’m proud of what I have achieved alone but there is so much potential which I believe the funding has now unlocked.

 

Thanks to Screen’s funding I have hired help from two local contractors – Carlo Delos Santos and Dom Parker. Specifically we are in the process of overhauling the UI, SFX, and music! I can see/feel the game finished in my mind so now it’s just a matter of locking down ideas, keeping goals realistic, and staying focused on the end product. There is a lot to do but I’m definitely having a lot of fun making this game!