Game Concept Proposal:

In this game, you will play as a rat who performs as a clown at the circus, set in the first half of the 20^th century. Think P.T. Barnum, but without the human rights violations or animal abuse and other atrocities. So not him at all, but someone *like* him in an alternate timeline who is a nice person who runs a circus. Suspend your disbelief. In any case, this story isn’t about him.

So, you’re a little clown rat — the business day is done, all the people have left, and you’ve got the whole place to yourself! The boundaries of your world are essentially the main tent, as well as your nest which you’ve made somewhere inside the tent (location to be determined). You just recently started this job and you’ve been having a lot of fun, but you still need a lot of practice! And hey, while you’re out of your nest — no one’s going to miss those peanuts on the ground, right? Might as well bring those back home with you. And that dropped handkerchief sure would make a nice blanket…

As with many sandbox-type games, the restrictions in this game will be very minimal; you are mainly limited to what would be within the realm of possibility for a highly intelligent rat. For example, you can definitely grab a peanut to bring back to your nest, but two peanuts? Slow your roll there, pal. Those grubby little hands of yours aren’t big enough for that. One at a time, please! Naturally, ropes are no problem for you to climb ­– but smooth, slippery surfaces? You’re going to need to find another route. Besides these sorts of limitations, you’re free to do as you please! One tent is awfully big for a rat; the world is your oyster. Have fun practicing tricks (or making up new ones), collecting trinkets for your nest, and finding stray snacks to nibble on along the way.

Currently, the only character I have planned for the game is the clown rat (who I am currently accepting name suggestions for… if you have an idea, please suggest it). However, since rats are social animals, I do want to include appropriately-sized friends for the rat (i.e., no elephants walking around — I don’t want anyone thinking they might get squished since this is supposed to be a peaceful game). I would love to get feedback on other ideas for characters. Maybe there’s a mouse, or a ladybug, or some more rats — maybe the clown rat has a family!

Key objects will be grouped into one of three use categories: eat, collect, or play with. The first are snacks that can be eaten or stored in your nest such as peanuts or popcorn. The second are objects to collect such as fabric scraps, hay, coins, and other random bits and bobs left by circus-goers that you can decorate your nest with. The final are larger structures that are intended for you to play with as you practice your tricks for the circus; these include things like high-wires, juggling pins (or whatever would be used as rat-sized juggling pins), hoops to jump through, balls to balance on, trapezes to swing from, etc. Most of these you can’t take into your nest, and they may or may not be stationary.

The intended audience for this game would be those who enjoy sandbox games, stress-free platformers, or quaint little exploration games — or those who always want a “peaceful mode” option that’s less intense than the original (*cough cough* definitely not referring to myself here). It will hopefully also appeal to those who liked movies such as Ratatouille, Stuart Little, or anyone who just wants to forget about being an adult with bills to pay for an hour or so while they run around the circus as a little creature. Lastly, my fellow Nintendogs agility trial champs will hopefully particularly enjoy the trick aspect as well. Shoutout to my German shepherd in that game who was my agility MVP. I’m sorry for spelling your name wrong, “Sargent.” I was 8.

My goal for the art style is to somewhat resemble the circus posters we see today from the 1920s – lots of reds and yellows; everything is brightly colored, but also quite weathered looking. Everything that was white is now a tan/yellow color. The photos in the reference section should give you an idea. I’m aiming for a middle ground between realism and stylized, but I’ve only taken one 3D modeling class where we did environments, so honestly this is going to be determined by my abilities. The space is going to look enormous since it will be viewed from the perspective of a rat, though I will have to adjust the scale to be less realistic since I have a feeling using exact proportions will not allow you to see literally any of the surrounding area on a computer screen. Circus tents are giant, and domestic rats are…not. The game will take place on a summer evening before the sun sets, so the lighting will be warm but not overly bright. Items that are low to the ground will be textured, but anything higher than perhaps a foot or two will likely not — rats can’t see very far. The actual player view will be 3^rd person, following the rat from behind. While you are playing as the rat, I don’t want it to be 1^st person because I still want the rat to be seen. He’s going to have a cute little costume! I’m hoping to be able to make him a normal quadrupedal rat, but that depends on how quickly I can learn to rig a non-humanoid character. I will stress that I know absolutely nothing about character rigging. So, if/when that blows up in my face, I plan on switching him to being bipedal (think Ratatouille — still relatively rat shaped, just walking upright).

Concept Sketches:

Reference Images:

I can also use my own 3 rats as live models if needed — they will be compensated for their participation in treats.