When it comes to marketing indie games, it can often feel like an uphill battle filled with shouting into the endless void that is social media while trying to attract attention. Marketing anything is hard work, but one indie developer is proving that if you enjoy what you do, it hardly feels like work. 

Rohan Nowell, better known as his online handle Rotub, is the solo developer behind the chaotic and lovable Doggy Don’t Care, and if you frequent the indie games space on Twitter or BlueSky, I can guarantee you’ve seen his marketing efforts first hand. He’s having a blast, and he might just be a meme-making genius when it comes to marketing the game. 

Energies are alligned

Doggy Don’t Care is described as a game in which you can ‘unleash adorable chaos’, solve puzzles, and pee on everything. It’s one of those games that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but clearly displays the love and care that has gone into creating it. In a way, the daily memes shared by Rotub are absolutely on point in terms of the energy on offer. 

While many indie developers are marketing their game with lengthy descriptions, which is a reasonable and effective method for the most part, Rotub prefers a more visual and light-hearted approach to his marketing campaign. 

They’re the kind of memes that cover the entire spectrum, from those that pull out one of those loud barks of laughter that leave you looking possessed, to those that have you grimacing while trying to avoid smiling because you feel guilty for finding something funny.

Moreover, they are effective. They get attention, and they perfectly display what Doggy Don’t Care is all about:

Pure, unadulterated chaos. 

Always on trend

Thanks to the many outfits of the dog in Doggy Don’t Care, there isn’t a situation that he cannot be memed into. He has replaced Donkey Kong in promotional art for Bananza, he’s appeared in countless Disney screenshots, and he’s even joined in on the ‘Coldplay couple’ trend that’s currently doing the rounds. He is everywhere, right when he needs to be, and it’s hilarious every time he pops up on your timeline. 

He has been frequently dropped into moments from The Simpsons, become a part of scenes from Breaking Bad and Wednesday, and at one point blended so seamlessly into the poster for Date Everything that I couldn’t even find him at first glance.

At times, you can be scrolling through the timeline and not even realize that what you’re seeing isn’t quite right, then you double back and realize how effortlessly this little dog could fit in anywhere. 

And therein lies the genius, because you can’t avoid Doggy Don’t Care, and you end up waiting for the next meme to see where he’s going to end up next. According to SteamDB, the number of followers of Doggy Don’t Care on Steam increased quite suddenly between May 26 and June 3, so Rotub is obviously onto something here. 

Doggy Don’t Care does not have a set release date just yet, so we’re all going to be waiting a little longer before we can embody the same chaotic energy that appears daily on our social media feeds. If you want to follow along with development, you should wishlist/follow the game over on Steam, and I’d highly recommend following Rotub on Twitter or BlueSky for your daily dose of light-hearted goodness.