RASMUS THE RAT

Rasmus the Rat is a short 2D exploration game in which the player's goal is to locate their stolen hat. It includes a rhyming story and dialogue reminiscent of childhood books, as well as a hidden alternate ending.

The game was developed during the Bitsy Game Jam with the theme 'Rat'.

Released: January 2020

Genre: Visual Novel

Engine: Bitsy

Team Size: 1

Duration: 7 days

Platform: Browser

Play: jessabellerina.itch.io/rasmus-the-rat

Awards & Recognition: Featured on Big Boss Battle's Jam Favourites, Featured on Jupiter Hadley's Jam playthrough

Details

This was my first time using Bitsy as well as the first time creating a game alone.

I really enjoyed working with pixel art within Bitsy, as I could only use 8x8 pixels for each tile. This meant using several tiles for some assets and working to ensure they fit together in the scene.

I wanted to add to the comforting feel of the rhyming story, so I used a pastel colour scheme of pinks and purples.

Technical

I was unable to use AI to cause the Spider to leave the room, so I created a new scene each time the player moved to mimic the spider animating and running away. (Shown by the GIF on the Right)

Bonus

I included a secret ending to the game: if the player gets onto the bed, the story ends with text explaining that Rasmus decided to go back to bed.

An image of a notebook with ideas for the game jam. It includes a section of rhymes for "rat".

A GIF showing the game scene changing each time the player moves, giving the illusion of the player moving while the a spider escapes with the hat.

An image of Rasmus the Rat's house. It contains all the essentials, as well as a top-hat which is displayed in an elegant case. A spider is closing in on the display case.

An image of Rasmus the Rat following a path through a park. It contains a football pitch, as well as a dog and rabbit.

An image of Rasmus the Rat walking through a farmstead. There is a barn as well as a field. There is a horse, chickens, and a chick popping out of an egg.

An image of Rasmus the rat crawling into a hole. On the wall, a web reads "Go away!" with an arrow pointing backwards.

An image of Rasmus the Rat in the Spider's den. The background is black instead of pink. The Spider is hanging from a large web, and the top-hat can be seen at the top of a ladder.

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