Redlies:

In development:

Game Design Document: Rat Race: Redlined

Game Overview

You play as a city rat fighting against systemic exclusion in an arcade race environment. A ruthless corporate Cashcow hunts you to seize your assets. You must gather cheese and money to pay the exit toll and escape through the door to the next stage.

Core Mechanics

• Player Modes: Playable as 1-Player (solo survival) or 2-Player (head-to-head competitive racing).
• Multiplayer Scaling: If playing in 2-Player mode, more Cashcows spawn on the map.
• The Pace: Both players can advance through the door; the fastest rat simply gets through first.
• Hidden Attributes: Each rat spawns with hidden, randomized stats for movement speed and damage vulnerability.
• Hazardous Environment: Obstacles are active hazards that inflict direct health damage upon contact.

 Level Breakdown

🏙️ Level 1: The Outskirts

• Setting: Ground level city streets framed by 3 building window base layers.
• Objective: Collect cheese and cash, then race to get through the exit door first.
• Threats: 1 Cashcow patrols in solo mode; multiple Cashcows patrol in multiplayer.
• Obstacles (Deals Damage): Redlines slice through the grid. Crossing these boundaries drains your health.

🚧 Level 2: The Inner City

• Setting: The same city street environment, but you lose a layer, leaving only 2 building window bases.
• Objective: Reach an increased resource toll threshold and push through the door ahead of the other rat.
• Threats: The Cashcows track players with faster, more aggressive pathfinding (more cows spawn in multiplayer).
• Obstacles (Deals Damage): Denser redlines spread across the floor, accompanied by heavy corporate traffic cones.

🧱 Level 3: Downtown Lockdown

• Setting: The final street stretch, maintaining exactly 2 building window bases on the backdrop.
• Objective: Gather a massive sum of cash and cheese to unlock the door and cross into the household first.
• Threats: Overlapping Cashcow patrol paths (extra cows spawn in multiplayer).
• Obstacles (Deals Damage): The screen is flooded with redlines, cones, jagged restriction fences, and pavement cracks.

🏠 Level 4: The Final Break-In (Inside the Home)

• Setting: The backdrop shifts entirely away from the window bases into a messy, hostile household interior.
• Objective: Find the hidden key and unlock the final exit to win. The Cashcows are locked outside.
• Threats & Obstacles (Deals Damage):
  • Spiders: Spiders dangle directly from the roof, dealing health damage if your rat collides with them.
  • Moving Cart: A heavy rolling cart paths back and forth, dealing massive crushing damage.
  • Wall Cracks: Structural cracks on the walls that inflict health damage if your rat touches them.
  • Footprints: Giant human footprints trample the ground, acting as dangerous damage zones.

Player Controls

• Arrow Keys (Up, Down, Left, Right): Controls player movement across the map.
• Z Key: Activates a temporary speed boost (Available only in Levels 1, 2, and 3; disabled in Level 4).
• X Key: Collects cheese and cash from the environment.
• Spacebar: Continues to the next level once the objective is complete.