Building Lab Rat: Gwen Frey on Logic, Laughter, and Laser Grids

Gwen Frey isn’t any stranger to large concepts—or large video games. After working on titles like BioShock Infinite and The Flame within the Flood, she’s again with a brand new recreation! Lab Rat, a satirical Sci-Fi puzzle recreation launching on Xbox that pits gamers towards an excessively assured AI named S.A.R.A.

With over 100 handcrafted puzzles, sharp writing, and a stunning quantity of coronary heart, Lab Rat is as a lot about logic as it’s about being noticed. I sat down with Gwen to speak puzzle design, working solo (and not-so-solo), and what it’s prefer to voice almost each character in your individual recreation.

Corey: S.A.R.A. performs a central function in Lab Rat—a hyper-intelligent, metrics-obsessed AI who observes and reacts to every little thing the participant does. Impressed partly by your expertise working alone throughout lockdown, she brings humor, stress, and a way of being always evaluated.

Did the idea for S.A.R.A. form the gameplay, or did the puzzles come first?

Gwen: The thought for S.A.R.A. developed naturally alongside the sport’s core mechanics. Early on, my puzzle designer and I have been exploring a brand new system, however thematically we each felt like rats in a cage—trapped inside, remoted. We constructed that feeling into every little thing: puzzles that evoke confinement, jittery character animations, and even blocks that electrocute you when misused, like a science experiment gone mistaken.

Visually, I used to be impressed by my very own dual-monitor setup throughout lockdown, when most of my interplay was by screens. That advanced into the idea of S.A.R.A.—an overbearing algorithm watching your each transfer, constructed to mirror the eerie, disconnected temper we have been residing by. As soon as I noticed the sport world by that lens, every little thing began to click on.

Corey: You’ve described Lab Rat as a recreation that “makes individuals suppose and chuckle.” Which of these two was more durable to design for?

Gwen: Undoubtedly making individuals chuckle! When an individual sits down to finish a puzzle recreation they’re ready to suppose deeply and clear up issues – they’re within the right mindset for that. Thought-provoking commentary is usually a welcome addition to that have. Nevertheless, comedy is surprising, very troublesome to do properly, and totally different sorts of humor attraction to totally different individuals. Critically – comedy is tough.

Corey: There’s a very intelligent rhythm to how puzzles unfold in Lab Rat. What was your method to pacing the issue curve?

Gwen: There are two methods I prefer to preserve puzzle gamers engaged: discovery and mastery. Discovery is whenever you encounter one thing new and determine the way it works; mastery is utilizing that understanding to unravel a harder problem. I attempt to introduce one thing new each few puzzles to maintain issues contemporary, and I goal for options that really feel earned—clear sufficient to understand with some thought, however by no means apparent.

Block-pushing video games include a novel downside: it’s simple to finish up in an unwinnable state with out realizing it. That sort of factor kills motivation. So in Lab Rat, we allow you to undo strikes, pull blocks off partitions—mainly provide you with room to experiment with out concern of getting caught. It makes the sport extra accessible, particularly for gamers new to the style, with out making it any much less satisfying.

Corey: Working on a recreation in a small workforce means sporting a number of hats—designer, author, programmer. Which a part of that course of felt most pure to you, and which one shocked you essentially the most?

Gwen: Programming, artwork, and animation all got here very naturally to me. These are issues I’ve accomplished for years, and I’m working within the Unreal engine, which I’ve used my whole profession, so there was nothing new to study. By far essentially the most stunning factor I needed to study for this mission was voice appearing. I’m not a performer and I’ve by no means accomplished voice work earlier than Lab Rat. It was fairly difficult.

Corey:  We’ve been lucky sufficient to have performed by the sport, so we’ve seen the tip credit.  Precisely what number of characters did you personally voice within the recreation? Have you ever counted?

Gwen: This query made me chuckle. My programmer put my title within the credit about 100 occasions as a form of joke. I would change that earlier than launch… however it’s true that I voiced each character in Lab Rat. There was one line the place we completely wanted a male voice and my husband stepped as much as the mic for it, however apart from that every one the characters have been voiced by me personally. I spent a number of time recording arguments with myself, and then made intensive use of sound results within the engine to make every character sound distinctive.

Corey: For those who might sit subsequent to somebody taking part in Lab Rat on Xbox for the primary time— with out spoiling it, is there a specific second you’d be ready for them to succeed in?

Gwen: There are lots of, many moments I hope they attain! I needed each half-hour of Lab Rat to really feel extra attention-grabbing and surprising than the earlier half-hour. I’m excited to see if we achieved this.

Corey: Enormous due to you, Gwen, for taking the time to speak about Lab Rat, indie recreation improvement, and what it’s prefer to argue with your self in a recording sales space!

Lab Rat is out there now on Xbox One optimized for Xbox Collection X|S.