Escaped Chasm
Escaped Chasm is a American single-player adventure game developed by Temmie Chang, the same person who worked on the art design for the popular video game Undertale. The music was also composed by Toby Fox. As a test project, it was released on April 2, 2019 at no cost via Itch.io. The game is set in an abandoned house and follows an unnamed girl whose parents never come back. Chang used the game as a way to practice using the RPG Maker MV engine.
| Escaped Chasm | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Temmie Chang |
| Composer(s) | Toby Fox |
| Engine | RPG Maker MV |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | April 2, 2019 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay and plot
changeThe player controls an unnamed girl who lives alone in her parents' house. Without her parents, she can freely roam the house and advance through the game by writing down events in a diary. Sleeping lets the player watch a dream and continue to the next day.[1][2][additional citation(s) needed] On the second day, the unnamed girl meets a man with a demonic look named Zera, who warns her that the house is slowly falling into chaos. As time continues, the house falls apart. Zera tells the girl that her parents are gone and offers the opportunity to save them by taking the girl to another world. Despite knowing she will lose memories of her parents, the girl accepts Zera’s offer.
Development and release
changeEscaped Chasm was Chang's first attempt at using the RPG Maker MV engine.[3][4][2] Chang also had some other people help with additional music and sound design, with James Roach providing the supporting music.[5][6][1] Her first goal was to build a story-line and practice game development to make better projects in the future.[1][4] Escaped Chasm was then released on April 2, 2019 for free on Itch.io.[1] On July 10, 2020, Chang released Dweller's Empty Path, an RPG Maker game that takes place within Escaped Chasm's universe.[7][8][9]
Reception
changePeople liked Escaped Chasm for its animation, visuals, music, and themes. Fraser Brown of PC Gamer called the game "short but striking" and noted the graphics as "lonely and often unsettling". Rock Paper Shotgun's Dominic Tarason called it as heartfelt and liked the odd mixture of red and blue color schemes in one of the game's cutscenes. Tarason said that it made the story feel "too real and harsh" and didn't go well with the game's pixel art.[1] Reviewers commended Fox's music[3][1] and compared the game to Undertale from its similar themes and writing.[2][10]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Tarason, Dominic (April 2, 2019). "Escaped Chasm is a short, sad, free story by Undertale's artist". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shigeta, Yūichi (April 4, 2019). 『UNDERTALE』のアートで知られるテミーが制作したADV『Escaped Chasm』がPCで配信開始！孤独でネガティブな少女が奇妙な夢を見る [The adventure game “Escaped Chasm” created by Temmie, who is known for the art of “UNDERTALE”, is now available on PC! A lonely and sad girl has a strange dream]. IGN Japan. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brown, Fraser (April 3, 2019). "Escaped Chasm is a free game about loneliness from Undertale's artist". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dale, Laura (April 9, 2019). "Escaped Chasm is a Free Game By Undertale Artist Temmie Chang". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ Bailey, Dustin (April 3, 2019). "Free games: Undertale artist Temmie Chang has released her own RPG". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ Khan, Imran (April 3, 2019). "Escaped Chasm Is A New, Small Game From Undertale's Lead Artist". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ Lada, Jenni (July 11, 2020). "Undertale Artist Temmie Chang Releases Dweller's Empty Path". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ↑ Chang, Temmie [@tuyoki] (July 10, 2020). "Hooray!! It's all finished! You can play my newest RPGMaker game here: 🐕 tuyoki.itch.io/dwellers-empty-path… 🐕 -- ☆Story/Art/Animation by me ☆Music (arrangement & Production): @cametek ☆Music (melody & chords): me, @tobyfox, @cametek" (Tweet). Retrieved January 3, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Young, Rory (July 10, 2020). "Undertale Artist Temmie Launches Name-Your-Price Game". Game Rant. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ↑ Glagowski, Peter (April 3, 2019). "Undertale artist releases free game Escaped Chasm". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2024.