Chump Squad is a scrappy, fully remote game development studio founded by industry veteran Gwen Frey. Since its creation in 2018, Chump Squad has operated using the “Hollywood Model” of game development. Each game starts with a small incubation team, and collaborators are brought on as project hires specifically to realize the vision of a single game. This enables Chump Squad to leverage the expertise of specialists during development while maintaining a small core team during a project’s incubation period.
These days, everyone seems to be pondering the impact that AI will have on the design and development of interactive entertainment. Although this is a hot topic, indie developer Chump Squad’s President and Primary Developer Gwen Frey has been exploring this concept for quite some time. In fact, her exploration of these ideas dates back to her loneliest days in isolation during the pandemic.
However, rather than wrestling with the unknown, Gwen gave herself an outlet by creating the unique and satirical Lab Rat, which presents itself as a puzzle game developed using machine-learning technology and showcases the hilarious flaws that result from such methods.
So, what is the game really all about and why did Gwen and the small team at Chump Squad choose Unreal Engine 5 to achieve their goals? We tested Gwen with a few questions to find out.
However, rather than wrestling with the unknown, Gwen gave herself an outlet by creating the unique and satirical Lab Rat, which presents itself as a puzzle game developed using machine-learning technology and showcases the hilarious flaws that result from such methods.
So, what is the game really all about and why did Gwen and the small team at Chump Squad choose Unreal Engine 5 to achieve their goals? We tested Gwen with a few questions to find out.
Thanks for taking the time to join us! Lab Rat is interestingly described as a hand-crafted narrative puzzler masquerading as a machine-generated video game. Can you tell our community how this rather unique concept came about?
Gwen Frey, President and Primary Developer at Chump Squad: There is a lot of buzz in the industry right now around AI and its potential to flood the market with machine-generated game content. That said, AI bots have been confidently asserting incorrect information—which has resulted in a lot of memes and ridicule. It seemed natural to combine these two concepts and imagine what silly experiences may result.
Gwen Frey, President and Primary Developer at Chump Squad: There is a lot of buzz in the industry right now around AI and its potential to flood the market with machine-generated game content. That said, AI bots have been confidently asserting incorrect information—which has resulted in a lot of memes and ridicule. It seemed natural to combine these two concepts and imagine what silly experiences may result.
While at its core Lab Rat is a satirical sci-fi puzzle game, it also introduces some distinct (and somewhat dark) narrative themes such as living in a constant state of surveillance and humanity’s ever-evolving relationship with machines. Were these themes at the core of the project for the onset or did they evolve over time?
Frey: This theme existed from the very beginning. This project began during COVID while I was in lockdown, and at the time the only human interaction I had was online—typically filtered through social media platforms. I wanted to express how absurd and frustrating that experience was.
Frey: This theme existed from the very beginning. This project began during COVID while I was in lockdown, and at the time the only human interaction I had was online—typically filtered through social media platforms. I wanted to express how absurd and frustrating that experience was.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
Could you please explain who S.A.R.A. is in the game and how living through lockdown brought the concept (and character) about?
Frey: Sure! S.A.R.A is a program designed to develop video games using machine learning algorithms and tester feedback. She is friendly and upbeat because she was programmed with a warm female voice and designed to periodically speak friendly platitudes. At the core she isn’t a thinking creature, and she has no emotions. I spent a lot of time listening to automated customer service bots for inspiration while developing her.
Frey: Sure! S.A.R.A is a program designed to develop video games using machine learning algorithms and tester feedback. She is friendly and upbeat because she was programmed with a warm female voice and designed to periodically speak friendly platitudes. At the core she isn’t a thinking creature, and she has no emotions. I spent a lot of time listening to automated customer service bots for inspiration while developing her.
Lab Rat seems to lean into humor to offset its darker themes. Was this a challenging balance to achieve?
Frey: I decided not to tackle the darker themes or genuine problems with AI. The world is dire enough these days. I decided I would rather focus on the absurd shared experience we are all living through. As a result, Lab Rat ended up a much more light-hearted game that uses a blunt and ignorant AI character to poke fun at game development and game testing generally.
Frey: I decided not to tackle the darker themes or genuine problems with AI. The world is dire enough these days. I decided I would rather focus on the absurd shared experience we are all living through. As a result, Lab Rat ended up a much more light-hearted game that uses a blunt and ignorant AI character to poke fun at game development and game testing generally.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
How did the concept of gathering satirical in-game analytics that are updated in real time with real player data come about?
Frey: Many online games are designed largely by watching analytics and tweaking numbers accordingly. This is particularly true at larger mobile studios. I know of places where a designer must have data validating any tuning changes they request, and it always felt very robotic to me. It made sense that S.A.R.A. would use this strategy, since it is such a machine-like approach to “finding the fun.”
Frey: Many online games are designed largely by watching analytics and tweaking numbers accordingly. This is particularly true at larger mobile studios. I know of places where a designer must have data validating any tuning changes they request, and it always felt very robotic to me. It made sense that S.A.R.A. would use this strategy, since it is such a machine-like approach to “finding the fun.”
How much of a part did player psychology—like frustration thresholds or learning curves—come into your thought process when designing the puzzles?
Frey: The hardest and most important part of puzzle game design is finding a good difficulty curve—one that feels challenging without being demotivating. With traditional block-pushing puzzle games, there is an added difficulty since it is easy for a player to end up in an unwinnable state without realizing it, which totally kills motivation. So in Lab Rat, we let you pull blocks off walls, climb over blocks, and basically give you room to experiment without fear of getting stuck. This approach makes the puzzles more accessible—especially for players new to the genre—without making it any less satisfying. I also introduce something new mechanically every few puzzles to keep things fresh and interesting. That way, if you are not enjoying one set of puzzles, you still have something new to look forward to in the very near future.
Frey: The hardest and most important part of puzzle game design is finding a good difficulty curve—one that feels challenging without being demotivating. With traditional block-pushing puzzle games, there is an added difficulty since it is easy for a player to end up in an unwinnable state without realizing it, which totally kills motivation. So in Lab Rat, we let you pull blocks off walls, climb over blocks, and basically give you room to experiment without fear of getting stuck. This approach makes the puzzles more accessible—especially for players new to the genre—without making it any less satisfying. I also introduce something new mechanically every few puzzles to keep things fresh and interesting. That way, if you are not enjoying one set of puzzles, you still have something new to look forward to in the very near future.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
You’ve previously worked in Unreal Engine 4 as a solo dev on the fan favorite (and charming) Kine. Coming off of that, what was the process like upgrading to UE5 and how was that experience for the small team at Chump Squad?
Frey: As I developed Lab Rat, I typically upgraded the engine to Epic’s latest revision every year or so. This is important to ensure we can launch on all available platforms, and it typically takes one to five days of effort. When we moved from UE4 to UE5, there were a handful of Blueprint changes and I think we had some lighting changes to make, but it took less than a week of effort. This upgrade wasn’t any different from a typical engine update for us, and it gave us access to new rendering pipelines and features.
Frey: As I developed Lab Rat, I typically upgraded the engine to Epic’s latest revision every year or so. This is important to ensure we can launch on all available platforms, and it typically takes one to five days of effort. When we moved from UE4 to UE5, there were a handful of Blueprint changes and I think we had some lighting changes to make, but it took less than a week of effort. This upgrade wasn’t any different from a typical engine update for us, and it gave us access to new rendering pipelines and features.
How many people worked on the game?
Frey: At any given moment, there were two full-time developers and between zero to three contractors. At first I was working full time with a puzzle designer, Lucas Le Slo, then he rolled off the project and I worked full time with my programmer/writing collaborator Ian Frey. I also temporarily contracted individuals as needed for additional writing, art, sound effects, and so on. We’re a pretty small operation, and I’m the only person who worked on Lab Rat as a full-time job.
Frey: At any given moment, there were two full-time developers and between zero to three contractors. At first I was working full time with a puzzle designer, Lucas Le Slo, then he rolled off the project and I worked full time with my programmer/writing collaborator Ian Frey. I also temporarily contracted individuals as needed for additional writing, art, sound effects, and so on. We’re a pretty small operation, and I’m the only person who worked on Lab Rat as a full-time job.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
Having worked on projects varying in scope via titles such as BioShock Infinite and The Flame in the Flood, how would you describe Unreal Engine’s ability to facilitate development for teams of all sizes?
Frey: Unreal is amazing for any team size. Powerful and intuitive art tools are a benefit no matter what scale you are working at. Onboarding a specialist into your studio and having them instantly capable of impacting your game is amazing—there is no need to ramp someone up on your tools and engine. Everyone you bring on already knows your tools! Also, porting is cheaper and easier: there are co-development studios that specialize in porting Unreal Engine games. These things are useful at every team size.
Frey: Unreal is amazing for any team size. Powerful and intuitive art tools are a benefit no matter what scale you are working at. Onboarding a specialist into your studio and having them instantly capable of impacting your game is amazing—there is no need to ramp someone up on your tools and engine. Everyone you bring on already knows your tools! Also, porting is cheaper and easier: there are co-development studios that specialize in porting Unreal Engine games. These things are useful at every team size.
Were there any particular features of UE5 that stood out to you during development?
Frey: I use Unreal because I love visual scripting. Prototyping games in Blueprint is my favorite hobby, and I don’t want to develop any other way. As UE5 adds new features, the first thing I do is see what is scriptable using Bluetilities, and how extensible the new features are. I am always pleasantly surprised by what I find!
Frey: I use Unreal because I love visual scripting. Prototyping games in Blueprint is my favorite hobby, and I don’t want to develop any other way. As UE5 adds new features, the first thing I do is see what is scriptable using Bluetilities, and how extensible the new features are. I am always pleasantly surprised by what I find!
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
Is it true that you voiced (nearly) every character in the game? If so, how did Unreal Engine help you make them distinct?
Frey: It is true! Each character has a unique audio source effect chain assigned to them. This effect chain alters my voice in real time to make each character sound distinct. This has allowed me to make Lab Rat on a shoestring budget—I never could have afforded professional voice actors.
Frey: It is true! Each character has a unique audio source effect chain assigned to them. This effect chain alters my voice in real time to make each character sound distinct. This has allowed me to make Lab Rat on a shoestring budget—I never could have afforded professional voice actors.
Image courtesy of Chump Squad
Although you’re a veteran of Unreal Engine development, do you still lean into the community and available engine resources for insights when working on projects?
Frey: Of course! It is impossible to have a deep knowledge of every part of the Unreal Engine, just as it is impossible to be an expert at every part of game development. For example, an animator will become an expert on the Animation Blueprints, the animation import pipeline, and the various systems that interact with their work. However, that animator probably won’t also have a deep understanding of how to make sophisticated and optimized effects in Niagara, or they may not understand how latest actions are handled under the hood, or the intricacies of the sound mixing systems. I find that using the Fab marketplace and working with UE5 subject-matter experts allows me to achieve a lot more than I could achieve on my own as a generalist.
Thank you for your time! Where can people find out more about Lab Rat?
Frey: Please check out our game on the Epic Games Store, Steam, and Xbox!
Frey: Of course! It is impossible to have a deep knowledge of every part of the Unreal Engine, just as it is impossible to be an expert at every part of game development. For example, an animator will become an expert on the Animation Blueprints, the animation import pipeline, and the various systems that interact with their work. However, that animator probably won’t also have a deep understanding of how to make sophisticated and optimized effects in Niagara, or they may not understand how latest actions are handled under the hood, or the intricacies of the sound mixing systems. I find that using the Fab marketplace and working with UE5 subject-matter experts allows me to achieve a lot more than I could achieve on my own as a generalist.
Thank you for your time! Where can people find out more about Lab Rat?
Frey: Please check out our game on the Epic Games Store, Steam, and Xbox!
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