“Be a Good Dog, Obey the Master, Bite Only Those Who Endanger You, Defend Your Home, Stay Loyal to Those That Are True, Protect all from the Unseen, Fetch What Has Been Left Behind” This is the Code of Man from one of my favorite Pen and Paper RPGs of the last few years, a game called Pugmire, a game where you play as dogs who have been uplifted to live in a world left behind by man after some catastrophic event. So when I heard that Eddy Webb had created an interactive fiction story that would allow me to play Pugmire while waiting in line at the store or sitting on the toilet, I owned it in 2 wags of a dog’s tail.

So first, let me get this out of the way, yes, I know this is not a novel, or even novella, like I usually review here, but I feel like interactive fiction counts, and if you disagree, well, tough puppies, it’s my blog, so there. Interactive fiction is a surprisingly engaging form of the written word, one that can draw in the reader in ways that traditional writing sometimes can’t. By making us the main character, by basing the story around our choices, by allowing us to take real ownership of the story, interactive fiction creates a uniquely immersive experience, one that is a true partnership between the reader and the author, not entirely unlike the partnership between Pen and paper RPG players and the game master.

In Treasure of the Sea Dogs, you take on the role of one of the Kingdom of Pugmire’s pioneers, something of a state sanctioned group of adventurers, who is tasked with tracking down the murderer of your mentor and retrieving a family treasure left over from the time of man and returning it. On your adventure you will encounter danger, monsters, romance, and cats. How you deal with all these is entirely up to you, but success is by no means guaranteed. For the record, my Pioneer was a golden retriever named Bear, in honor of a real life golden who I still miss very much. Bear was noble and loyal and was a very very good dog indeed. I like to think that game bear and real life bear would have gotten along, probably would have played tug of war, and game bear would have thrown the ball and given real bear all the scritches he wanted.

Honestly, the plot is fairly basic, mostly just a chase through several towns and then eventually over the sea, along the way you’ll meet characters who will help you, others who will try to kill you, and a few who really only exist to hint at a wider world, or perhaps they play larger roles if you make different choices, I can’t say for certain. The plot is however not why you will decide to play Treasure of the Sea Dogs. You’ll do that, because it’s an endearing adventure where you get to play as a dog and go on an adventure. That the side characters are reasonably entertaining, the writing punchy and engaging, and the world well thought out and full of puns, is something of a bonus, though a rather nice one.

I’d recommend Pugmire: Treasure of the Sea Dogs to anyone who has ever had a very good dog in their life, anyone who enjoys good solid adventure, and furies, obviously furies.