Rover's Tale News

[p]Hey Rovers! 👋🤖[/p][p]Our new trailer for our creature-collecting metroidvania game was just played in Future Games Show's Spring Showcase with exciting news... as we just launched our demo for Rover's Tale![/p][p][/p][h2]🎮 Rover's Tale Demo - OUT NOW! 🎮[/h2][p]We're excited that our Demo is now live for you to play! This is the first time you've been able to get your hands on with Rover's Tale and explore our alien world. Here's what to expect from our Demo:[/p]

• [p]🤖 Play as a Rover with your Human companion[/p]
• [p]🪐 Explore the first biome of Terra II [/p]
• [p]🐛 Collect creatures & utilise their unique abilities to progress[/p]
• [p]✨ Experience 1-2 hours of Rover's Tale gameplay[/p]

[p]We'd love to hear your feedback on our Demo in our General Discussions and if you play, consider leaving a review on the Steam page below:

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p][h3]📺 Watch our new Trailer from Future Games Show's Showcase![/h3][p]Want to see more of our creature-collector game before jumping into the Demo? Watch our new trailer below![/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Watch our Narrative Trailer to learn more about the LAIKA Program, which gives old dogs a new lease on life by transferring their consciousness into LAIKA Rovers, allowing them to live forever as brave space explorers! [/p][p]You'll also see new creatures, cave systems, and footage of the biomes you’ll explore deeper into the game, past Pastoral Prairie (the biome you can now explore in our Steam Demo!).[/p][p][/p][h3]🐶 From 'Good Boy' to 'Rover's Tale'[/h3][p]In case you missed it, we recently changed the name of our indie game from 'Good Boy' to 'Rover's Tale'.

At its heart, our game is a love letter to dogs. Its story pays homage to the special relationships we build with our best friends, and how much they mean to us. In our game, we don’t want you to play as any Rover, we want you to play as your Rover. Be that a best friend who has already gone on to explore the stars, or your current canine companion. We added the ability to name your Rover, so you can go on this adventure together ❤️[/p][p]With that in mind, we felt Rover’s Tale was a more fitting title for our canine love letter / creature collecting metroidvania.[/p][h3]You can read more about the game name change below! 👇

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✅ Join our Discord server![/h3][p]Stay updated with Rover's Tale by joining our Official Discord server or through our social media channels.[/p][p][/p][p]Stay up to date with our Rovers! 🤖[/p][p]Follow on Instagram[/p][p]Follow on TikTok[/p][p]Join our Discord[/p][p]Follow on X[/p][p]Follow on Bluesky[/p][p]
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[p]Hey Rovers! 👋🤖[/p][p]Today, we wanted to give you a quick update about the name of our indie creature-collecting metroidvania game![/p][p]Long story short… we're changing the name of our game to Rover’s Tale![/p][p]Before we get into the reasons why, we’ve been dying to show you something... 👀 Our name change is supported by new key art created by Arthur Bates, the talented artist behind PEAK's key art![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]❓Why change the name to Rover’s Tale?[/h3][p]At its heart, our game is a love letter to dogs. Its story pays homage to the special relationships we build with our best friends, and how much they mean to us. In Rover’s Tale, when a dog reaches the end of its natural life, its consciousness can be uploaded to a LAIKA Rover, where it will live on forever among the stars as a brave space explorer.[/p][p]In our game, we don’t want you to play as any Rover, we want you to play as your Rover. Be that a best friend who has already gone on to explore the stars, or your current canine companion. We added the ability to name your Rover, so you can go on this adventure together ❤️[/p][p]With that in mind, we felt Rover’s Tale was a more fitting title for our canine love letter / creature collecting metroidvania.[/p][p]Another motivator for changing the name of our game was discoverability. Since our partnership announcement, other media has released which shares the previous name for our game, “Good Boy”, including a Horror film! (we're quite the trendsetters, I know). [/p][p]Renaming the game to Rover's Tale keeps the title of our game unique and memorable, whilst benefiting our discoverability across social media platforms, Google, and also on this fairly important platform called... Steam.[/p][p][/p][h3]👀 What's next for Rover’s Tale?[/h3][p]We recommend tuning into the Future Games Show on 12th March, where we’ll have some exciting news to share, along with a brand new trailer! You'll be able to watch the showcase here on 12th at 1pm PT / 8pm GMT / 9pm CEST.[/p][p]Until then, we’re gonna have to keep quiet for now. But we’re thrilled to have you join us on our journey toward release. If you want to keep up to date with the game, or just share pictures of your dogs with us, then join our discord![/p][p]
Stay up to date with our Rovers! 🤖[/p][p]Follow on Instagram[/p][p]Follow on TikTok[/p][p]Join our Discord[/p][p]Follow on X[/p][p]Follow on Bluesky[/p]

[p]Hey Rovers! 👋 [/p][p]Today, we're steering, wheeling, and rolling in with an in-depth look at our creature capture metroidvania game, as we have just released a new Gameplay Trailer for Good Boy![/p][p]In this Gameplay Trailer, you'll hear from Matty, our Design Director, about the key features of Good Boy and see unseen gameplay footage from Good Boy... 👀[/p][p][/p][h2]Watch the new Trailer below! 👇[/h2][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h3]🤖 This little Rover... is Good Boy![/h3][p]You'll play as Good Boy, joining him for a cosy pet-roidavnia journey through the expansive alien planet of Terra II![/p][p][/p][h3]🪐 Explore Terra II[/h3][p]In a world where dogs live on forever amongst the stars as LAIKA Space Rovers, you pilot an energetic canine rover with a new lease on life! Traverse the planet of Terra II, with its familiar yet alien atmosphere. Adapt to the diverse biomes, ranging from lush forests to swamps and snowy mountain tops.[/p][p][/p][h3]🐞 Collect and research creatures[/h3][p]Capture and research creatures, harnessing their abilities to explore the lush world of Terra II! As you explore the alien planet, you'll discover varied exotic creatures. Collect them across each of our four biomes, harness their abilities to overcome obstacles, or scan them for Research Credits to upgrade and customise your Rover and your tools![/p][p][/p][h3]⚡ Reboot LAIKA Rovers[/h3][p]The LAIKA Program gave old dogs a new lease on life by transferring their consciousness into LAIKA Rovers, allowing them to live on forever as brave space explorers! Find and reboot your sleeping canine companions, become best friends, and help them remember their past by unlocking their hidden memory tapes.[/p][p]Oh and all the Rovers you'll meet in Good Boy are based of our development teams dogs![/p][p][/p][h3]❓ Discover lost secrets[/h3][p]Delve deep into the hidden secrets of this mysterious and expansive planet. Explore the sprawling caves and ancient temples as you discover the history of this planet and its previous inhabitants. Who were they and where did they go?[/p][p][/p][h3]Wishlist Good Boy today! 👇 [/h3][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Stay up to date with our Rovers! 🤖[/h3][p]Follow on Instagram[/p][p]Follow on TikTok[/p][p]Join our Discord[/p][p]Follow on X[/p][p]Follow on Bluesky[/p]

[p]Hey Rovers! 👋 [/p][p]Today we're excited to be back for our third instalment of our Dev Dog Diaries series for Good Boy![/p][p]In this series of posts and videos, Team17 sat down with the team working on Good Boy, Observer Interactive, and their gorgeous canine pets (who are in the game 👀) to discuss their upcoming Creature Collector PET-roidvania! 🐶 [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Design Director - Observer Interactive[/h2][p]In our third interview, we meet Giles the dog and Matty, to discuss the game's development, how it feels to have Matty's pets immortalised in his own video game, the relationship between brothers Newt & Giles both in Good Boy and IRL, and much more![/p][h3]Introduce yourself, introduce your dog, and let us know what you do![/h3][p]"I'm Matty and I'm the Design Director at Observer Interactive, and I'm one of the Lead Designers on Good Boy. This is Giles! They identified he's part white shepherd and Azawakh, and then the rest was, like a shopping list of breeds. He was classed as a mega mutt and he is five years old! [/p][p]So we adopted Giles- he's a rescue from Romania, so he was found on the streets with his brother. He had a different name before we got him and then he arrived, I want to say is like 6AM in the morning. Before we rescued him, they weren't sure what breed he was.[/p][p]The adoption charity knew that we had Newt (Matty's other dog), who's a little terrier, so they thought he was going to be a terrier too. Then he arrived and he was like three times the size of a terrier. So I was like "well, I guess we own a big dog now!"[/p][p][/p][h3]How does it feel to see Giles as a Rover in the game?[/h3][p]"It's really cool to have him in the game, because his quests and his story are kind of about him as a dog, and he's quite anxious.[/p][p]So I think it's really cool to take the stuff that he's taught me about people with anxiety and people with social issues and try and put it into a video game character. Hopefully someone can play it and be like, "Oh, that's me", or "That's my friend", or "That's my dog". So I think that's why it's extra special![/p][p]But also he's very handsome. So it's nice to see the big handsome boy in the game as well!"[/p][p][/p][p]"Because Giles and Newt are so close and they're brothers in real life, Giles works on Newt's farm. Giles, because he's a lot bigger than Newt as well, he's got a big water tank on his back. He helps water the crops and he also helps Newt dig as well. Newt's got some little digging paws in the game!"[/p][p][/p][p]"Having that story of the brothers being told and (it's nice) touching on some of the stuff, like their differences in their personalities- so Giles is a little bit anxious. When you find out about his anxiety in the game, you find out about how he copes with it, and then you help them cope together a little bit!"[/p][p][/p][h3]What's it been like seeing Good Boy coming to life?[/h3][p]"When we were developing it, we always wanted to have like a human essence in the game and heart and soul. I think I'm really surprised about how much of that we've actually got, but also how much of it resonates with other people and players, because we knew that we would love it because it stars all our dogs![/p][p]I think when we see other people play it and we see other people get excited by it, I think that's been super cool. People like to see us develop as a studio as well, like how how good the game looks and how good it feels to play as well."[/p][h3][/h3][h3]What personality traits does Giles share with his Rover?[/h3][p]"I think in the game, Giles is really loyal to his brother. Family's super important to him because he didn't have family and he got a found family. So I think that's something I'm super proud, that not just me, but probably the team are as well.[/p][p]Also, I'm very close to my brother, so it's nice to see the relationship of two brothers in a game, two brothers that are very different and do different things.[/p][p]I always say to people, I think Giles taught me more about the world and anxiety than a book or anyone could. I think having that in the game is super cool."[/p][h3][/h3][p]If you want to hear more from Matty about Good Boy, the full episode is now live on YouTube here![/p][p][/p][h3]We have a community hub! Join our Discord server for...[/h3][p]👀 Exclusive Discord-only game news
👋 Meet the Rovers channel
💬 Community discussion channels
➕ And more!
🥳 Join today[/p][p][/p][p]Good Boy is coming soon to Steam! Wishlist our Creature Collecting Pet-roidvania game now 👇[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Stay up to date with our Rovers! 🤖[/h3][p]Follow on Instagram[/p][p]Follow on TikTok[/p][p]Join our Discord[/p][p]Follow on X[/p][p]Follow on Bluesky[/p]

[p]Hey Rovers! 👋 [/p][p]We're back today for the second instalment in our Dev Dog Diaries series for Good Boy![/p][p]In case you missed the first episode, Team17 & Observer Interactive sat down together to film several Developer Interviews with the team from Observer Interactive working on Good Boy! We also filmed with lots of furry friends... some of which are the dogs that you'll meet as Rovers in our indie game. 🐶 [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Environment Artist - Observer Interactive[/h2][p]In our second interview of the series, we get cosy with Nellie the dog and Joe, Environment Artist at Observer Interactive, to chat about Nellie in the game as a doggo space Rover, the games serene art style, and the inspirations behind the art style of the familiar, yet alien planet of Terra II.[/p][h3]Introduce yourself, introduce your dog, and let us know what you do![/h3][p]"I'm Joe and I'm an Environment Artist on Good Boy, mainly painting little rocks, trees, flowers and stuff all over the game and making it look nice - that's the general gist.[/p][p]And this is Nellie. She's my three year old lab. My little girl, god bless her."[/p][p][/p][h3]What was it like the first day you met Nellie?[/h3][p]"We went to the breeders, and there was like thirteen pups or something, and we had a little look at them all and a little play with them all. Nellie was chewing my shoelaces and biting my fingers. She wouldn't get away from us! So we just knew, she was the one![/p][p]She's very cuddly normally- always been a needy dog"[/p][p][/p][h3]How does Nellie's in game Rover reflect Nellie in real life?[/h3][p]"So Nellie's whole design, her whole vibe in the game is based on what she's like in real life. [/p][p]In game, she's the mining Rover. She digs everything up and she's got a big macerator on her back, where she just chews everything up and swallows it. It's exactly what she's like at home as well!"[/p][p][/p][p]"We were lucky really- the concept artist for Good Boy is amazing and also very attentive. I got input on every part of Nellie's design. [/p][p]There's a photo of her that I sent to the concept artist with my baseball cap on, and he put the baseball cap on her (on her concept art). He did everything we asked, it was really, really good!"[/p][p][/p][h3]What's it been like working on Good Boy so far?[/h3][p]"It's been a rollercoaster- it's amazing, a bit of a dream project to work with the people I'm working with on it. I took a long time out from game dev and came back for this project specifically! So it's been a steep learning curve back here, and it's just been a dream really.[/p][p]We're a really small team. I've had a lot more responsibility than I typically would have over the art. So it's just been a wonderful, wonderful project to work on."[/p][h3][/h3][h3]What's your favourite creature in Good Boy?[/h3][p]"We've got some tertiary creatures that just hang around and do cool stuff. [/p][p]We've got this guy, who we don't have really got a name for yet, but he's working name is Gordon. He's like a little flying squirrel guy, and I absolutely love it - he's my favourite."[/p][p][/p][h3]Can you talk about the art styles and inspirations behind Terra II?[/h3][p]"We looked at a lot of miniature photography. We had this toys in the garden idea for it all. Imagine people talking photos of Lego in grass and stuff like Happy Meal toys in the garden, and that was a really big influence.[/p][p]We wanted to give a lot of it this alien but familiar feel to it. All of the friendly stuff, like all of the human things in the game, should feel like a plastic toy in a way, in a world that feels slightly different, but still nice and safe."[/p][p][/p][p]"We looked at tons of games. Obviously the game is pretty stylised, so we're looking at games like Outer Wilds and Animal Crossing! [/p][p]I use a lot of Diablo in my set dressing when I'm building a level out. I'm always looking at Diablo because they do such a good job of that isometric camera. We're not quite like an isometric camera, but it's you know, that top right down thing. But yeah, anything stylised and pretty really!"[/p][p][/p][p]If you want to hear more from Joe about Good Boy, the full episode is now live on YouTube here![/p][p][/p][h3]We have a community hub! Join our Discord server for...[/h3][p]👀 Exclusive Discord-only game news
👋 Meet the Rovers channel
💬 Community discussion channels
➕ And more!
🥳 Join today[/p][p][/p][p]Good Boy is coming soon to Steam! Wishlist our heartwarming Pet-roidvania game now 👇[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Stay up to date with our Rovers! 🤖[/h3][p]Follow on Instagram[/p][p]Follow on TikTok[/p][p]Join our Discord[/p][p]Follow on X[/p][p]Follow on Bluesky[/p]