I have tied all of the mechanics into Rats’ usual behaviours. This research is really important as I want to accurately portray the experiences and nature of a rat accurately. I want to make 5 rat behaviour mechanics, and I will go into their relevance to the Rat player character.
. . .
Jump
Rats have shown time and time again that they can jump pretty far! If they’re hungry, stressed or determined to get out of an area, they will jump if they have to! In Shawn Woods or (Mousetrap Monday)’s video titled How High Can A Rat Jump? Rat High Jump Test. Mousetrap Monday, a Rat demonstrates that it can jump more than “25 and a half inches” out of a trashcan, that is extremely impressive! For scale, the size of an average 2-year-old child is 25 inches, which for a rat would be a high and possibly dangerous jump.
Concluding the video, Woods evaluates that the Rats could not jump out at 27 inches, but they could at 26. He does take note that it also depends on the biology and build of the rat, some rats can jump high, and some cannot, but an average measure of 25-26 inches is the maximum height that most Rats could clear.
Applying this to my game, it would be interesting to utilise this information to balance out this mechanic. Jumping is an important part of the game, so I was surprised to see how high they can jump!
Some ideas I have from this mechanic:
- 26 inches is the max height a rat can jump
- 2 Jump paths: High Jumper (Vertical) and Long Jumper (Horizontal)
- In immediate danger, you can get up to 3 “Jump Bursts” (power-boosted jumps in either direction” in each level
Swim
Rats are great swimmers! Researching this presented me with a horrifying fact that I wish I did not know (and you wish the same after reading this). Rats CAN swim up toilets. According to National Geographic, it is easy for Rats to swim up a three-inch toilet system. In D.C. (where the author lives), Rats can even swim up combined sewer. Needless to say, that type of system is Rat Haven. London also has this type of combined sewer.
Rats can swim for up to three days! Another source (the video above) states 3 minutes which I think is a more appropriate time for a video game. However, for game-balancing purposes, I will need to set a limit to this mechanic so players can’t abuse it. I think there should be two pathways: Treader and Diver. Treaders can swim up to great distances and Divers can dive up to a certain depth. When you choose a pathway, the other action is not locked, but you won’t receive the unique perks of choosing the other path.
Climb
Rats are naturally good climbers. They prefer rough textures, so climbing trees, walls, drain pipes and wires is extremely easy for them. Different species of rats have different climbing abilities. I’m basing my game character on the most common type of Rat species in London: Brown Rat. They demonstrate amazing survival abilities. If they have enough grip, they can scale walls and fences easily.
Rats cannot climb: Smooth surfaces (glass, metal, and polished wood), Vertical surfaces (without ledges), and Wet or slippery surfaces. These are surfaces that would be hard to climb without the player in one of the pathways that make it easier to do. (Explained below)
In the game, scaling walls and climbing counters will be essential to your character. I want climbing to be split into two paths: The Scaler (High climber) and The Tougher (Able to climb tough surfaces). The players will get advantages depending on which one they choose and either is an interesting option.
Chew
Chewing is heavily important to rats. Rats’ teeth are continuously growing, so if they stop chewing, their teeth will eventually hurt them and dig into their mouth (and eventually kill them). This is of course a less-than-ideal future for Rats so you’ll find that they’ll chew on nearly EVERYTHING they can find. The muscles in Rats’ jaws are very powerful, which is why they can chew through materials such as:
| Hard Materials | Soft Materials |
| Wood | Plastic |
| Brick | Soft metals (lead, copper, iron, and gold) |
| Lead | Aluminum |
| Asbestos | Electrical wires |
| Cement | |
| Concrete blocks | |
| Drywall |
As you can see from above, Rats are determined creatures who will chew through anything to get to their destination!
Reflecting on this fact in my game, I think you should be able to chew through the materials stated, but the harder they are, the more you have to do a button-mashing mini-game (similar to Bully‘s school lesson mechanics). I’d imagine that if you fail the button mash, you’ll make a lot of noise and alert the humans to your presence.
You cannot chew through: Solid Concrete, Stone and Hard Metals such as Steel (unless rusted, then they can), and doing so may make your character take damage. The game will have cues to let you figure out when a material is not chewable.
Therefore, chewing will be a very important mechanic and something you have to be careful doing around predators (animals + humans) and general sneaking around.
Waste (Lesser Mechanic)
Waste is essentially a poop/defecating mechanic. I thought that “Poop” sounded gross and too silly so I changed it to Waste. Rats poop a LOT! The biggest telltale sign of a Rat infestation in your house is their droppings. Rat droppings look like pellets up to 2cm long (similar in shape to grains of rice) and they are brown or black. Mice droppings are similar but way smaller.
Leaving pellets is essential to your character in the game and you WILL have to get rid of them one way or another. There would be a meter for waste. If this gets too full, you will drop a lot of pellets at once. If humans (during levels) discover this, they will be alerted to your presence and know you are hanging around. Therefore, you need to find places to strategically leave pellets like corners, unused areas and unfrequented areas.
The average rat-dropping quantity is up to 40 times a day – outside of levels, this doesn’t matter unless you are trying to avoid enemies (who will notice your droppings). For humans in levels, this will surely let them know that you are invading their house.
Sneaking (Embedded Mechanic)
As a rat, you’ll be constantly crawling into holes, crevices and small cracks. It’s been proven that this is one of Rats’ greatest strengths. Rats are known to squeeze through really tiny holes! Shawn Woods proves this in his rat testing video, How Small Of Hole Can A Rat Squeeze Through ? Smaller Than I Thought. Mousetrap Monday, that an adult rat can squeeze through a 2″ hole with no problem. However, 1 5/8″ hole made the Rat reluctant and the rat did not make it through. His study also found that baby rats can fit from 2″ up to 1 1/4″ holes with no problem. (Also found that rats don’t like chewing through plastic, at least the particular type that Woods used).
Rentokil.co.uk tells us other ways Rats sneak into properties:
“Cracks and crevices: These include gaps around pipes, expansion joints, cables, or doors and windows.
Ventilation ducts: Unsecured vents can provide direct entry points.
Foundation gaps: Holes or spaces in foundations can allow rodents to burrow inside.
Openings around utility lines: Pipes and wiring can create unseen pathways for rodents.
Dock levellers and loading bays: Where constant traffic and movement creates rodent-sized opportunities.
Doors, pedestrian, insulated and roller loading: Especially doors with worn seals, can also become a favourite entry point for a clever rodent.”
Expanding on this. . .
With my game, I think these would be one of the best places for the player character to sneak in. Above, I highlighted the 3 key points in which the player would most likely sneak into the house. I feel like there should be a noise meter too. When sneaking into the house, the noise meter will go up and down. If the noise meter is consistently above the accepted level, the humans will hear “noises in their walls” and be aware of your presence. I think this can be shown through cutscenes when you first see the character. Cutscenes will be different in two varying ways: 1) Heard – the characters will express their reaction to the noises and afterwards continue with their routine, 2) Unheard – the characters will be introduced normally and will give the player some background info about them.
With characters alerted, and depending on their personality, you’ll have to avoid traps, both humane and deadly. Humane traps will stun you for a little, or the owners will throw you outside. While deadly traps will kill you instantly.
This shows that sneaking has a very important and fundamental role in the game itself, therefore it is a meta-system and not a main game system.
Lesser Features
Fall Damage
- Rats can fall up to 50 feet in real life, so this will be reflected in the game! In real life, this would be just above 5 stories. However, to balance out the game and not make players exploit this, your character will be able to fall from around a 3-foot story building. Any higher would be instant death.
Grease Trail
- In addition to faeces, Rats also leave dark greasy trails on walls that they frequent due to the oil coating on their skin that rubs off. If you have clean freak humans who leave their homes spotless, try not to leave any trails!
Washing
- Rats wash themselves by licking their fur (similar to cats). They even comb it with their teeth! If you want to reduce the grease trails you produce, try ‘washing’ yourself when you have the chance.
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