Top Dog
Development Log
Overview Sparky the office worker pup has had enough with his boss, the Fat Cat. He now climbs buildings as well as the corporate ladder to become Top Dog at the company.
Top Dog is a 2D runner game where players control a dog named Sparky as he travels through a variety of office buildings in an attempt to get to the top.
Gameplay Sparky moves on his own and reverses direction when he encounters a solid surface. The player’s main way of controlling Sparky is by jumping. Players have an additional double-jump in the air, and can also perform a dash to clear larger horizontal gaps. The jump is also refreshed upon hitting a wall and reversing direction, allowing the player to wall-jump.
The game is divided into levels, called Buildings. There are seven buildings in total (plus a secret, optional eighth), and they increase in both length and difficulty as the game progresses. Each building is subsequently divided into single-screen rooms called Floors (they may also scroll in the later levels). The goal of each floor is to reach the elevator, which will take the player to the next floor.
As players traverse the building, they encounter a variety of obstacles to avoid. If they hit an obstacle they take damage to their health. Players can take three hits of damage before being defeated. Once defeated, they are sent back to the start of the current floor. For advanced players, there’s an additional mode where players are instead sent back to the start of the current building. Clearing all the buildings in this way unlocks the final secret eighth building.