Play game
Scholastic Escape's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Music and sound effects supported the mood and gameplay. | #2 | 4.154 | 4.154 |
| Interface feedback helped players understand game outcomes. | #4 | 3.462 | 3.462 |
| Outcomes were uncertain enough to support strategy and choice. | #4 | 3.308 | 3.308 |
| The game balanced challenge and reward effectively. | #5 | 3.231 | 3.231 |
| The game showed clear, thoughtful design and iteration. | #5 | 4.154 | 4.154 |
| I would choose to play this game again. | #5 | 2.962 | 2.962 |
| The game’s difficulty felt appropriate for its intended players. | #5 | 3.423 | 3.423 |
| The core gameplay loop ran smoothly and consistently. | #5 | 3.885 | 3.885 |
| The art style and visuals fit the game’s intended tone or theme. | #5 | 4.538 | 4.538 |
| Player interactions worked as intended in play. | #6 | 3.577 | 3.577 |
| Gameplay pacing kept the experience engaging throughout. | #7 | 2.923 | 2.923 |
| The game had no bugs, glitches, broken systems, or unclear results. | #7 | 2.923 | 2.923 |
Ranked from 26 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Judge feedback
Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.
- I was fighting with the camera the entire time I was playing. That might be an itch problem, though (plus my monitor size), so I won't count it against you. The gameplay was fine up until the end, where the camera started freaking out. It zoomed in to where most of my screen was my character. My shots started going above bullies' heads and the bullies also started floating. I'm lucky I didn't get hit as I ran to the door. I did love the ally system, though they kept getting stuck inside each other. It didn't seem to hurt them, so I wasn't too upset. Their dialogue was the highlight of the entire game, and I honestly wish I could've heard more from them. My biggest gripe, however, is the UI. I had no clue how far my shots would go and no clue how long until I could make my next shot. Without any UI to show me, 80% of the time my shots felt too short and the reload felt too long. All in all, it was a great game.
- I had some difficulty getting started, ended up with the random text strings others have mentioned in the comments. I enjoyed the fact that it got easier as you gained allies, but not to the point of the gameplay loop becoming trivial. Art style was fun and appropriate for the content. 360 camera panning would have removed some of my frustrations with the movement system, especially in the later portions where there was more to lose at stake.
Game Description
"Honey, I shrunk the ... students???" Work to rescue your pocket-sized classmates and navigate a larger-than-life science department in this new wacky action-adventure game! Recruit students and fight off the bullies, making your way to the exit!
Gameplay Dynamics
The gameplay challenges is a player's ability to access risk. If they lack the power to adequately take down a crowd of enemies, they must re-strategize and recruit more allies before they can take on a larger hoard.
Game Atmosphere
Game atmosphere is light-hearted, educational, and family-friendly.
Technical Details
The main special feature of the gameplay is the recruitable ally system.
Names of team members
Ivani Masden, Michael Davis, Oliver Johnson, Seth Baardson, Phong Lee
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
This game is a simple action-adventure. It falls short due to the map size being too large for the gameplay loop, leading to lots of time spent just holding forward.
Pros:
- Good music
- Engaging premise
- interesting recruitment and projectile mechanics
Cons:
- Poor desk model construction leads to very easy softlocks, as you can get trapped inside the legs.
- Map is too large for the simple gameplay loop.
- Too easy to ignore recruiting.
I enjoyed the music, but the fact that the game didn't go into Fullscreen or lock the cursor made it really hard to play. I also ran into an issue where my followers clipped inside each other and so their shots didn't actually go anywhere. Once those two things are fixed I think the game will be a lot more enjoyable game.
The visuals and sounds for this game were well thought out and added a lot to the experience. I did find a bit of trouble in understanding where to go or what to do, and at times it was difficult to deal with the obstacles like the bullies because there was little feedback on what was happening in a fight. Despite this there's still a good core of a game here.
The game has pretty good visuals and some really good music and sound design, but a myriad of technical and design issues made it frustrating to play. Firstly, since the camera didn't lock to the screen, it was impossible to fully rotate the camera to see all around the player. In addition, your projectiles are extremely inaccurate to the point of uselessness. Finally, the dialogue system completely breaks down if you happen to press F more than once. In terms of design, the size of the room makes simple traversal frustrating, while the uselessness and long recharge time on your projectiles, combined with the player only having one health, mean that combat mostly consists of running away and waiting for your allies to kill the enemies, which is very boring.