OVERVIEW

'Kibble' is a short, narrative-driven pixel art game about memory, companionship, and the small gestures that build lifelong bonds. Set on the first day a person meets their adopted dog, the game invites players into a deeply personal moment: feeding their new friend for the first time. As the player progresses through the simple act of pouring kibble into a bowl, a cascade of memories begins to unfold.

Structured as a playable memory, 'Kibble' explores how initial acts of care become emotional anchors that shape a relationship. As the bowl is filled with food, Polaroid-like snapshots appear across the screen, each revealing playful, quiet, or tender moments from the future shared by the two companions.

'Kibble' is a short-form game, lasting around 5 minutes, but aims to evoke a lasting emotional resonance through its layered storytelling and minimalist interactivity. It can also be defined as a game poem, a term created by Jordan Magnuson.

MECHANICS

'Kibble' is structured around two short gameplay sequences:

• Exploration Segment: In a top-down map, the player walks around a small room, interacts with the dog, finds a box of food, and brings it to the bowl. These interactions are designed to feel small and grounded.

• Falling Objects Minigame: The second segment transforms the bowl into a movable object that must catch falling kibble pieces. As the bowl catches more pieces, snapshots of future memories appear across the screen, building a picture of a deepening bond. This mechanic ties the physical act of feeding with emotional memory, with each bit of food unlocking another piece of the shared story.

Gameplay is deliberately simple, encouraging players to reflect, slow down, and feel. It foregrounds narrative and emotional tone over complexity, mirroring the quiet, formative quality of the day being remembered.

DESIGN

'Kibble' embraces a pixel art style with a limited colour palette and hand-drawn sprites to convey nostalgia and intimacy. Designed and animated in Aseprite, each element reflects the imperfect, emotive nature of memory.

The dog is animated with care to feel warm and reactive, while the static Polaroid snapshots add a tactile contrast to the otherwise soft-flowing environment. These memory images are never fully animated, enhancing their “archived” quality as glimpses into moments already lived.

The audio landscape complements this visual style with low-fidelity, emotionally resonant sound effects and a simple chiptune theme. All sound was recorded on a phone and treated in Audacity to feel raw but intentional. The music, composed in BeepBox, has a bittersweet, lullaby-like quality that lingers after the game ends.

ROLES

'Kibble' was created as a solo project, with all development roles handled by me:

• Game Creator & Designer: Designed the concept, mechanics, and narrative flow to explore themes of memory, first moves, and emotional connection through interactivity.

• Art Director & Illustrator: Illustrated all in-game assets in Aseprite, including character sprites, environment tiles, and Polaroid snapshots.

• Programmer: Coded the entire game using GameMaker (GML), implementing character movement, object interactions, memory triggers, and the falling objects mechanic.

• Writer: Wrote all narrative elements and oversaw the integration of visual storytelling with game mechanics.

• Sound Designer & Composer: Recorded sound effects using a smartphone, later edited and treated in Audacity; composed the game’s theme in BeepBox to match the nostalgic tone.

• Game Tester: Personally tested and refined gameplay to ensure clarity, emotional pacing, and consistency in tone.