Rats

Description:
Rats is a small Unreal Engine prototype about escaping a dark tomb while using light to keep swarming rats away. Your torch protects you, but it burns out over time, forcing you to plan your movements and dash between safe, lit areas.

Why I Made It:
This was the first game I ever made in Unreal — and my first computer game ever. My goal was simply to learn how to build mechanics from scratch and recreate a light-based tension system inspired by A Plague Tale.

What Went Right / Wrong:

• I successfully built a working light mechanic and rat AI that react to the player.

• I made mistakes with torch logic (turning it off when picking up a new one) and the level ended up too dark, but both taught me valuable lessons about blueprint states and visibility.

What I Learned:
This project taught me the fundamentals — blueprints, UI setup, timers, AI behaviour, and how light affects gameplay. It was a huge first step in understanding how games are actually built.

If I Revisited It:
I’d improve the lighting, refine how rats react to light, add more interesting rooms to explore, and give players small non-combat ways to push the rats back.