Hey there, Escapists!

7 months ago, we gave you a fairly early look of what Humanities Campus looked like, in the form of a devlog going over an entire YEAR of progress.

In all of our previous devlogs, we’ve mostly focused on the backend side of things. Puzzle design, implementation, and early versions of levels as they come together. However, we haven’t had a good opportunity to really let the art team shine until now. Please keep in mind that every picture shown off here is a work-in-progress, and there’s plenty more polish on the way!

Campus design has been an ongoing conversation since we started prototyping for Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, and it certainly didn’t stop at the time of that video we mentioned earlier. So, without further ado, CCG is proud to present a sneak peek at…

Is that Science Campus I see in the distance? We’ll use the honor system and ask that you don’t look over there - you’re not supposed to know what it looks like yet!

Jokes aside, the Humanities Campus has gotten some BIG updates since you all saw it last. The layout was changed from the locks up to better fit within the EA2 playstyle (and by that, we mean running around opening doors like a maniac.)

Humanities Campus now has distinct buildings with their own history - this includes the new library that was built after Quanty so kindly decided to pave the way for a new one last year!

Here’s a beautiful before-and-after of the library concept and where it currently stands in Escape Academy 2 - instead of being tucked away at the back of campus, it’s now the very first building you’ll need to pass through to make it to the rest of campus, maybe even allowing for some super fun quests inside! 😉

We can’t show off the interiors just yet, as we’ve gotta leave SOME surprise for the fans, but we invite you to imagine all the wild possibilities inside. A mildly-trustworthy companion? Banned books? An angry professor? You’ll have to wait and see.

Next, we wanted to have the ability to have some buildings that you would actually expect to be on an “Escape” humanities campus. There’s obviously a lot of history at the Academy we’re more than excited to see players dive into on release, but how does the Academy honor it?

The Cipher Center is one of the many ways we’re injecting school identity into the various campuses throughout the game. Not only do we get to have campus-like buildings with a touch of Escape, but you’ll actually get to walk inside, talk to other students, professors, and truly get the opportunity to feel like a student at the Academy. The Cipher Center is just one of the many doors (ha) that have been opened thanks to our new open-world systems.

Of course, no good campus is without a state-of-the-art lecture hall, fit with the latest and greatest seating technology. Here, students will learn all about the history of the Academy’s founders - just make sure to brush up on your decryption skills over at the Cipher Center first so you don’t fail that exam!

Additionally, something we haven’t had a lot of chances to talk about yet is the location of the Academy. It’s known that the Academy is a secret to those who aren’t enthusiastic about Escape, so it must be secluded - Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School makes sure that your immersion remains unbroken with beautiful landscapes and nature littering the Academy and its surrounding areas. I truly can’t understate how well-immersed all of these trees, patches of grass, and little trails throughout the Humanities Campus makes me feel as a player.

What could that be?

Before we wrap up our section on the campus updates, enjoy this sneak peek. If you’ve kept a keen eye since we dropped our trailer, something in this image might seem a little familiar…

We hope that you’ll enjoy the Humanities campus as much as we enjoyed making it! As a player and devout fan of Escape Academy 1, all of the little touches in here make it feel absolutely perfect. Even then, there’s still tons of work to be done! Speaking of…

We’re proud to announce that localization is actively underway for the following languages:

• French

• Italian

• German

• Spanish

• Japanese

• Simplified Chinese

These languages are also currently available in the demo! We can’t say much else at this time, but if you speak any of these languages, please check out our demo and consider leaving a review so we can get some feedback from non-English speaking players.

Stay safe, Escapists! There’s been rumor of a Brain Storm headed this way - so make sure you’re prepared!

Don’t forget to…

…and we’ll see you in the next one. Let us know what you thought of this blog post, and what you’d like to see in the next one - that’s all from us.

With much love,

Coin Crew Games 💛💜

HEY there Escapist!

Today’s blog is about HEY - or, if you’re not one of the developers of Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, then it’ll be known as A Clued Awakening to you!

This blog will be a little bit different, mainly because we’re not showing off a level you haven’t seen. If you’ve played the demo (and we hope you have!), then you’ll be familiar with this level as the very first thing you see when you start a new game.

A Clued Awakening was one of our first chances to begin playtesting Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School, and it was the first time we committed to scrutinously playtesting a section of the game with the community.

HEY was first seen en masse at Summer Games Fest, the same place that we announced Escape Academy 2!

With our announcement and rise in playtests, Escape Academy 2 truly felt like it was put to the test at this point. This was when we really started cracking down on tidying up the narrative, as well as making sure that the way the early game was flowing was solid.

While the entire game is very important to us, as developers (and players!) the first moments of the game are extremely important. It’s where you’ll find a brand new initial look of the updated Academy, and make an impression on all the returning players coming in on that iconic tram (that’s you!). More on that later.

The Founders of the Academy are a very important part of Escape Academy 2’s story. We can’t give away too many details as that’d lead to spoilers, but including the Founders at the very start of HEY was a good way for us to set up for that facet of the story, while also giving players a very familiar environment (A classroom!) to explore.

There’s so much more I’d love to gush about on the topic of the Founders - but you’ll have to wait to get the full story 🤫

Something about waking up to the spikes in the ceiling falling while you’re still recovering from the memory-gas-grogginess felt magical to us. However, as great as this intro was, that doesn’t mean it was completely without problems.

Starting with something as dramatic as this does a very good job of conveying tense emotions to the player; there’s this sense of urgency, needing to quickly find a solution, especially when the timer starts ticking down! Having 15 minutes to figure out all of the controls isn’t optimal for most players/ Intensity is very good - but panic from the player is bad. We didn’t want to compromise and lose any intensity in this level, so over time, we made a plan.

Say hello to TIC - that’s short for Ticket! While not an “escape room” in the traditional sense, this level functions as a tutorial for the player, while also setting up the narrative as you prepare to travel to the Academy for your second year.

Here, you’ll be expected to get on the tram in an ORDERLY fashion. Absolutely no running, jumping, or funny business (😉). In here, you’ll get familiar with the control scheme, puzzle interaction, and more!

However, getting the ticket won’t be your only challenge. You’ve also got to get the tram ready to go, which will require you to solve a quick puzzle! It’s not too challenging, but we think that’s perfect for something like a first level. It gets you familiar with the interaction system, and allows for an opportunity for us (the developers) to catch the player off-guard with the sudden intensity immediately followed.

And if you can’t figure out how to get a ticket to the Academy, well...maybe you should’ve stuck with community college.

HEY was a truly excellent way for us to move along the story without a lot of dialogue and without needing a ton of player-NPC interaction. Being able to interact with the story while playing the game reduces the amount that we’re breaking immersion, and prevents dialogue from taking up too much of the player’s time. Lastly, it also means that there’s more than one facet for the story to be comprehended through - so all you dialogue skippers (not) reading this won’t miss out!

Hopefully, this look behind that scenes at a very familiar level was something you enjoyed! Making HEY was a ton of fun for the team, and it was our introduction to what a vertical slice of the Escape Academy 2 experience would truly feel like. Ever since that moment, we’ve been dedicating to recapturing that magic in every other section of the game (while making our own new magic, of course!)

Let us know what you thought of this one, don’t forget to say hi to us in Discord, and as always, we’ll see you in the next.

With Love,

Coin Crew Games 💛💜