Rat Rumble

Cinevva's analyzer read this game's design doc and its source, then wrote the brief below. "Make your own" hands it to the game creator as your opening message, so you start from a real spec rather than a one-line idea.

Create a responsive browser game titled “Rat Rumble,” a 2D side-view sewer-rat fighting game with a betting and light progression loop. Use an HTML canvas game area with a hand-drawn cartoon style: two stylized anthropomorphic rats face one another in a dark, warm brown sewer arena. The background should be a brown-to-black vertical gradient with subtle vertical wall bands, a dark tiled floor, and a soft orange glow around the center of the arena. Draw the rats from simple canvas shapes: oval bodies and heads, large pink ears, small black eyes, pale snouts and visible front teeth, curved tails, simple arms and legs, and colored scarves. Give each fighter a distinctive color and accent: Scrapclaw is tan with a red scarf and scar detail; Gnawfang is gray with a mint scarf and patch detail; Velvet Fang is cream with a pink scarf/bow; Bricktail is brown with a blue scarf and stitched detail; Pipsqueak is pale with a green scarf and tuft detail. The player rat starts on the left and faces right; the AI rat starts on the right and faces left. Allow movement on both horizontal and vertical axes within the arena, constrained to the playfield. Use smooth acceleration/friction, running bob animation, attack poses, hit flashes, sparks, knockback, and brief camera shake on impact.

The game begins with a large centered setup overlay over the canvas. Style the page in a dark near-black/brown palette with warm cream text, thin muted-gold borders, rounded panels, orange/yellow gradients for health bars and buttons, and a bold centered title. The overlay should say “Rat Rumble” and explain: “Pick your sewer bruisers, place a bet, check their specials, then throw paws.” Include a FIGHT SETUP section with controls for “Your rat” and “Opponent” dropdowns, a “Bet on” dropdown whose choices are the selected player and enemy names, and a numeric “Wager” field. Prevent choosing the same rat on both sides by automatically switching the other selection to a different roster entry. Show a RAT STATS & SPECIALS section with two side-by-side stat cards. Each card displays the rat name, title, special name and description, Speed/Power/Grit/Special horizontal stat bars, and numeric Jab, Heavy, Special damage plus special cooldown; the player card indicates when shop buffs are active. Include a SHOP section listing purchasable, one-time persistent upgrades with descriptions and buttons: Iron Wraps ($45, +2 jab and heavy damage), Sewer Boots ($40, +18 speed), Thick Hide Vest ($55, +16 max health), Lucky Tooth ($60, +8 cash on winning bets), Spark Tonic ($50, +4 special damage and 1.2 seconds faster recharge), Longtail Wrap ($65, +0.12 attack reach), Quick Claws ($70, faster jab/heavy timing and recovery), Cheese Stash ($90, +12 cash when the player rat wins a round), Adrenal Shot ($85, farther/longer-reaching specials), and Second Wind ($95, once-per-round low-health heal of 12 HP). Disable owned or unaffordable shop buttons and deduct costs from the bankroll immediately. Display setup instructions “J = Jab, K = Heavy, L = Special. Specials recharge over time.” and a prominent “Start Fight” button.

At the top of the screen, keep a HUD visible above the overlay and during fights. It has a left fighter panel and right fighter panel with names, wide horizontal health bars, and special status text such as “Special: Ready” or a seconds countdown. Center the top HUD with a wallet/bankroll panel showing “SEWER BANKROLL,” the dollar amount, and the current bet. Start the bankroll at 
20. Include a small audio toggle in the wallet/HUD area, with synthesized arcade sound effects and looping background music that begin after the first user interaction; support muting. On mobile, keep the HUD and controls tap-safe and responsive.

When the fight starts, hide the setup overlay and show the canvas arena. The player controls the selected left rat using WASD or arrow keys, and provide a bottom mobile D-pad with left, down, and right buttons plus an up direction as implemented by the touch controls. Provide large circular mobile action buttons labeled JAB, HEAVY, and SPECIAL at the bottom right. Keyboard J performs a quick jab, K performs a slower but stronger heavy, and L performs the selected rat’s special. Attacks should only begin when the fighter is not attacking, hurt, or on cooldown. Jabs have short timing, moderate reach and damage; heavies have longer timing, a forward dash, greater reach/damage and knockback; specials have a visible colored arc/effect, a dash, unique reach/damage/knockback and a long individual recharge timer. Only allow a hit during each attack’s active timing window and only once per attack, when the opponent is close on the vertical axis, within range, and in front of the attacker. On hit, lower health, briefly flash the target, add directional knockback, emit colored radial sparks, shake the camera, and play an impact sound. The AI opponent should automatically face the player, pursue on both axes, maintain a preferred range, and choose jabs/heavies based on its heavy bias; it can also use its special when in range, with a small chance that increases when losing.

Implement the five distinct fighters and their exact special identities: Scrapclaw, “Back-Alley Boxer,” special “Scrap Dash,” a fast rushing shoulder smash; Gnawfang, “Pit Enforcer,” special “Bone Breaker,” a powerful bite-lunge with strong knockback; Velvet Fang, “Graceful Menace,” special “Ribbon Cyclone,” a spinning slash with extra reach; Bricktail, “Sewer Tank,” special “Manhole Mauler,” a slower heavy body slam; and Pipsqueak, “Tiny Blur,” special “Needle Zip,” an ultra-fast dart attack with short recharge. Give them visibly different base speed, jab/heavy damage, reach, heavy tendency, and Speed/Power/Grit/Special ratings so the stat cards meaningfully compare them. The player’s chosen rat receives shop upgrades; the AI opponent does not. Base health is 100 before Thick Hide Vest. Apply Second Wind the first time that fighter drops to 35% health or below, healing 12 HP once per round if owned.

When either health bar reaches zero, end the single round, stop active fighting, and show a centered result/setup overlay such as “[Name] Wins!” with text saying the winner took the alley brawl and inviting the player to choose the next matchup or buy upgrades. Settle the wager once: if the bet is on the winner, add the wager to the bankroll plus Lucky Tooth’s bonus if owned; if the bet loses, subtract the wager; if wager is zero, report that no cash was on the line. If the player rat wins and Cheese Stash is owned, add its separate round-win bonus. Show a clear bet result summary and update the bankroll. Replace Start Fight with a restart/start-next-round action while retaining selections, persistent shop ownership, bankroll, and the setup/shop interface. Make the overall experience feel like a quick arcade brawl with readable attacks, visible hit reactions, strategic special cooldowns, and a compelling pick-bet-fight-upgrade-repeat loop. Support desktop keyboard play and mobile touch play throughout.