This is where dog toys come in! If the player has some extra time to spare, they can play with dogs who might be up for adoption soon to give them an extra boost to their adoptability. A dog who is healthy and happy is more likely to be adopted than one laying around in boredom.

Keep in mind, bonus happiness degrades over time until it returns to the average of their other needs. To play with a dog, the player just grabs a dog toy from the storeroom and uses it on any dog they want to play with. When they do, a random mini-game will start. Ideally, we want these mini-games to be under a minute. They should break up the regular gameplay loop with some variety, but not be a total diversion.

The first playing mini-game we designed is good ole fashioned Tug O’ War! The goal is to keep the middle of the rope in the circle until the Fun-O-Meter fills up. The higher the meter gets, the more happiness the dog will get from the game when you head back to the shelter. The Player mashes the ‘D’ key to try and keep the knot in the ring. We wanted to try and invoke the feeling of putting up a fight, but not overwhelming them, just like playing with a real dog. This is just one of several playing mini-games we have planned. If you think of one that sounds fun, we’d love to hear from you!