"Escape From Castle Claymount" is a game developed by Studio L00K - an independent developer who creates escape room games.
The player takes on the role of a silent protagonist who wakes up as a prisoner in Castle Claymount. Not only do they have to escape their room, but they need to escape the castle! They're not alone - they also need to help the other prisoners who have been unjustly imprisoned.
The Beginning
I had worked with Studio L00k on licensing "TRACE" for Coolmath Games. Seeing how well "TRACE" did on the site, I contacted him about making an exclusive game for Coolmath Games!
When the project began, I gave Studio L00K the creative freedom to pitch what he would like to make. He came to me with a proposal for a claymation-themed escape room. Trapped in a castle, the player must escape! However, they also need to help the other imprisoned characters.
We agreed to this premise and established an 8-month timeline and budget. We created four milestones for this project:
Planning and Design: The developer will create puzzle concepts and provide art samples of the game's theme
Development: A beta build will be created for Coolmath to test and critique
Final art: The developer will create the final art renders for the game
Final build: The final build with all assets are final and playable, prepared for Coolmath Games
Development
I met with Studio L00K every two weeks to review progress. He would send me screenshots of the art and puzzle concepts which I would review and approve with him and the product team at Coolmath Games. We ensured clear communication with deadlines and if there would be any delays.
Every 1-2 months, I would receive a beta build from the developer to playtest. I would play through each build and write down all notes in a document. This would include bug reports, comments on puzzle difficulty, or typos. I would have our product team test the game as well and add feedback they had as well. After 1-2 days, I would send the feedback to the developer and we met to discuss the notes.
The developer took great care to fix the bugs and we would discuss the puzzle difficulty and what other edits can be done within the game's scope.
Reception
"Escape From Castle Claymount" was released in November 2023 and currently sits on the site with a 4.7-star rating and was nominated for Best Coolmath Original in the Coolmath Games' Awards 2023.
The game was also ranked #2 in developer Bart Bonte's Top 10 Games of 2023!
