Project Introduction

Get out of the house, explore the desolate yet beautiful surroundings of the San Pedro village using your dog’s senses, solve problems, and puzzles the doggo-way. Search for hidden passages around obstacles and enemies, find long-lost balls that will remind you of precious moments, discover ancient dog lore, and finally go through the mysterious Tailgate to find and save your Human.

Tailgate is a third-person narrative adventure about a dog.
* Up to 9 different locations including village streets, an abandoned warehouse, stray dog grounds, rural wilderness, and a mystical canine parallel world;
* Think and see like a dog — sniff around for smell traces that will lead you to your objectives, important places, and items.
* Talk to other animals that will help you on your journey with their unique abilities. A cat that can read (at least that's what she says), a diplomatic pug, a stray dog that will teach you survival skills, and others.
* Collect memory balls to discover the story of Hyde’s life and some doggo wisdom.
* Replenish your stamina and gain temporary power-ups.
* Fool around like a dog would — play with balls, sticks, and stones, try to catch a cat, eat weird food.

Find out what a dog is ready to do to to save the Human!

About Developer

I'm 38 y.o. Was a graphic designer for almost two decades. It's not my first attempt to work in gamdev, first was with SignSine team and our VR adventure Proze. But Tailgate is my first solo experience. It has been in the works since Jan 2024, although I had some ideas and rough sketches prior to the start. I live in Kyiv oblast with my family.

Talking about connections between my game and Ukraine, i'd like to highlight these:
1. It's about animals that were left behind. A friend of mine who's now serving in AFU, was in the team that was opening up apartments and houses where animals were left alone during Feb/March 2022. He's one of the kindest people I know, but damn he was angry at humans. That was when I thought, what if animals weren't so helpless and not only could get out but also fix the mess humans created. Yeah, that's why it's a fantasy game, right?

2. I also happen to have a four-legged friend named Obi. We've been through thick and thin during the russian invasion. Having him around saved me from going crazy living alone (my wife and son lived in Germany for two years). So this game is a kind of a tribute to all animals that are here for us, from fluffy couch potatoes to service dogs sniffing out mines, survivors under the rubble and therapy dogs.

3. I've been walking around the village a lot while living alone. In all seasons just looking at gardens, fences, fields was very invigorating and kept me going. So I wanted to picture this feeling, especially during fall, and pass it on for others to feel what i fell. In other words, Tailgate is a love song to Ukrainian villages and country side.