Free Games I Like: Virtua School
Posted on 11th Dec 2010 at 12:24 by Joe Martin with 5 comments
Virtua School is a text-based game which casts you as a kid starting his first day of school, forced to deal with the usual array of problems ? girls, bullies, exams and extra-curricular activities. Using multiple choice options you weave your way through these scenarios, with a single playthrough lasting around ten minutes.
What I like most about Virtua School though is the random events which are woven into each game to help make things a bit different. The changes range from big things, like bomb scares or after-school parties, to smaller alterations, like characters changing their opinions or reactions. Popular girl Liz might like you one day and hate you another.
Virtua School isn?t a revolutionarily complex game, nor is it particularly unique in any identifiable way. It?s just something simple, done really well ? and I?ve always had a soft-spot for things like that. It?s why I like beans on toast so much; it may just be beans on toast, but I cook it really well.
Virtua School was so popular when it was first released that the creators, Dana Lodico and Josh Noe, even planned on making a sequel. Unfortunately, nine years after that fact the official website still hasn?t been updated ? so it?s probably off the cards. Still, at least the original still holds up well.