This BBC video from 7 years ago details the growing problem of Rats in London. They are extremely common in the city! Unfortunately, more people concentrated in an area means more food and more food means more rats and other pests. As explained in my Rat Behaviours as Mechanics post, Rats can get in through the tiniest cracks: some are even known to get in through cracks as small as a coin! These particular rats got in through the sewers, a place which the player character of my game will be very familiar with.
The underlying causes of the rat problem in London are:
- Less rubbish being collected, or not being collected on time or at all
- Areas not been checked for rust/in need of maintenance
- General uncleanliness due to factors like poverty, where people cannot keep up with the cost of living and therefore cannot fix areas that rats are easily able to get through
- More concentration of people in general, rats go whether humans go
My area in South-East London is known for having a bit of a rat and mouse problem. Many of us are middle-working class, and often cannot afford to do up corners of our house that would cost 1000s of pounds to fix. Therefore, many of my family and friends around my area, including me, have had problems with rodents.
How I can enhance my game with this info. . .
As I know that Rats are a big problem in London, I can put most of the rat population of the game in the big city. This means that the big city (London-lite) will have a major hub for Rat activities as well as making other rat allies. You can trade, do side quests, buy customisation options and even make friends with other rats. There would be several underground clubs like Bars, Fighting rings, hideouts and clothing stores, similar to the little nooks and crannies that London (and cities in general) have scattered around. There will be more activities like Bars and Tattooing etc. to do in the city at night, as that’s the hours that Rats are most nocturnal, but more sidequests and trading during the day.
Sewers can also be the main transportation tool to different venues. You can also use human transportation like the Tube, just be careful not to get hit by a train.