Pilot Bulldog
"You thought you were top dog, but you never had a sniff."
—Pilot Bulldog, Death Screen
The Pilot Bulldog (whose true name is currently unknown) is a pilot for the Howling Aces, and the first mini-boss faced by the player in Doggone Dogfight.
Appearance
The Fighter Pilot Bulldog wears a sleeveless top, brown open finger gloves, trousers and a red beret, and his arms have two bone tattoos on his left arm that creates a cross. He has a bandage on his chin.
Intro
In the background, Pilot Bulldog flies up from behind in a fighter, flying over the player(s) and then flies up. Pilot Bulldog comes back down above the screen and the fight begins.
Battle
Pilot Bulldog has two attacks that he performs by first jumping off the fighter:
- Pilot Bulldog dons a jetpack, and holds a cat in one arm like a rocket launcher. He squeezes the cat in his arm to make them fire three yarn balls that can be dashed over, or ducked under. In Simple Mode, the yarn balls are slower. In Expert Mode, they are faster.
- Pilot Bulldog slowly descends with his hat acting as a parachute. He flexes three times, shooting the bone tattoo on his arm each time, and then flies back up through a sudden updraft. The bones fly towards the player, wait on the other side, and then back in reverse order. The tattoos have a chance to be pink. In Simple Mode, they almost immediate returns. In Expert Mode, the middle tattoo flies back first, and then bottom and top one in quick succession.
On the fighter itself, the Yankee Yippers inside the four hatches can come up and throw three tennis balls up, and they fall down on the player. In Simple Mode, they attack less often. In Expert Mode, they attack much quicker.
After a certain amount of health is depleted, the Dog Chinook flies in the background on the left, and starts firing fire hydrant missiles from random locations to support Pilot Bulldog. The fire hydrants are basic projectiles that follow the player, and can be destroyed. In Expert Mode, they are fired more often and reaches the threshold quicker.
After Pilot Bulldog is defeated, the fighter he is in sputters and shakes as Pilot Bulldog is frightened. The four Yankee Yippers inside the plane fly out with jetpacks, as the fighter explodes, and Pilot Bulldog rolls off into the background. Hitpoints = 660/532/608
Gallery
Phase 1
Bulldog intro in bg
Bulldog intro
Bulldog is looking left
Bulldog is looking right
Bulldog is flying to the sky
Bulldog first round bone attack
Bulldog second round bone attack
Bulldog third round bone attack
Bulldog observe before yarn attack
Bulldog holding a cat
Bulldog yarn attack
Yarns
Bulldog fly to the plane with a jet pack
Plane is going to crash
Plane explosion
Bulldog is flying
Bulldog is rolling
Doggone Dogfighter is Dog-Gone
Pilot Bulldog bringing a broken part of his fighter.
Concept art
Pilot Bulldog shown in the Edge magazine
Pilot Bulldog's intro (pencil test)
Intro (pencil test)
Chinook flyby attack (pencil test)
Trivia
- The cat that Pilot Bulldog pulls out in the first phase greatly resembles Katzenwagen. It's unknown if it is Katzenwagen, or said cat was Katzenwagen's inspiration.
Inspirations and Similarities
- The usage of bulldogs may be inspired by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who lead Great Britain during World War II and came to have the nickname of the "British Bulldog" due to his appearance similar to the canine, thus becoming a symbol for the nation during this time of crisis.
- Pilot Bulldog's attire was based on Rolento. His death screen poses are also inspired by him, Pilot Bulldog holding both arms up and looking back.
- Pliot Bulldog's design seems to be inspired from Spike from Tom and Jerry.
- The cat that Pilot Bulldog pulls out is similar to Tom.
- Due to his usage to shoot projectiles, it may be a pun on the Tommy Gun.
- The cat that Pilot Bulldog pulls out is similar to Tom.
- Pilot Bulldog may be influenced by Butch, Pluto's bulldog rival in several shorts.
- Characters
- Bosses
- Inkwell Isle 4 bosses
- Male
- The Howling Aces