Look At This Shiba Inu Game

Year of the Dog is a slice-of-life game about owning a Shiba Inu in San Francisco, and it looks wonderful.

Seriously, look at these GIFs showcasing moments and gameplay, courtesy of developer @keanerie:

the dogs of summer are here #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/qAWwDuD8fv

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) June 25, 2016

learning new tricks for #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/iKc737j5Om

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) June 4, 2016

bum dog bein a bum #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/DmfyVEKtrC

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) May 22, 2016

i added a button to the game that lets you get a closeup of the dog any time you want #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/tDheAjEqZE

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) April 30, 2016

added a critical feature into Year of the Dog: camera mode! you can save pics locally + they have a function in-game too #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/WHkq958Udl

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) September 24, 2016

the neighborhood pic.twitter.com/xs2RHF8E7Q

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) September 22, 2016

So idyllic~

Even the glitches look hilarious:

every dog owner's worst nightmare pic.twitter.com/UMhXmB0rkJ

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) April 8, 2016

core strength is an absolute prerequisite for walking a shiba pic.twitter.com/ULcEqVZHGC

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) August 19, 2016

showed Year of the Dog to someone and his feedback was "add conflict", so here's an enemy NPC #screenshotsaturday pic.twitter.com/ZmjeWXyRu5

— Keane Ng (@keanerie) July 30, 2016

Some features listed on the Year of the Dog’s official website:

-12 interactive vignettes of dog ownership: Meet a furry friend, learn how to take care of him , and learn something about yourself

-Camera mode and photo album to capture and store all your memories

-Explore recreations of sections of San Francisco’s Outer Richmond district with your pal: locales like Sutro Baths, Land’s End, and more

-Encounter and get to know a neighborhood’s local characters: other dogs, other dog owners, and the local weirdos

-Minigame interludes between chapters provide fun asides and may even put you in the shoes (paws?) of the dog himself

-The story is structured an epistolary novel, following the emails between you and your partner overseas (who’s very concerned about how well you’re taking care of their dog)

-As you play, the emails to your partner are dynamically generated based on choices you made, leaving a unique record for each playthrough recounting details both banal (where the dog peed or pooped) and meaningful