Skool Daze is an action-adventure game released by Microsphere in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum and ported to the Commodore 64 the following year. It was written by David Reidy (whose wife, Helen, was a school teacher at the time sandbox game genre.

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of a schoolboy named Eric whose objective is to steal his report card out of the staff room safe by accomplishing various tasks around the school. The computer controls all the other characters, including the headmaster, the teachers, and the pupils. The player has the option of renaming the characters before the game begins. When 10,000 lines or more are accumulated, the game ends with Eric's expulsion. However, Eric can also receive lines when something is not his fault, such as getting knocked to the floor or being nearest a teacher who has just been hit by a projectile fired by one of the other pupils. Part of the challenge in this game is to prevent other pupils from getting Eric into trouble.

Background

Helen Reidy had a background in teaching, while David had fond memories of activities between lessons and designed the game around this. The pupils were based on schoolboy characters he read about as a child, including Just William and The Beano's The Bash Street Kids. He later clarified that "each of the rooms would look like a frame in a comic".

David Reidy considered himself to be more proficient as a programmer and engineer, and decided the game's graphics would benefit from a separate designer. He recruited a family friend, Keith Warrington,

| CRASH = 93%

| SUser =

| rev1 = ZX Computing

| rev1Score = 8/10

| rev2 = Sinclair Programs

| rev2Score = 75%

| rev3 = Your Spectrum

| rev3Score =

| award1Pub = Crash

| award1 = Crash Smash

Skool Daze was a commercial success when first released, selling 50,000 copies despite very little marketing or promotion. Reidy later realised he could have made more money with an appropriate campaign, and regretted the loss of income due to software piracy, but was still happy that the game was profitable and covered costs.

In 1985, Zzap!64 reviewed the Commodore 64 version which they found to be graphically and sonically weak, but enjoyable to play due to the innovative gameplay. It was given an overall rating of 78%.

Legacy

The game was followed by Back to Skool, which expanded the gameplay to include a neighbouring girls' school and a love interest (with the benefit of being able to reduce one's lines), in addition to stink bombs, mice, water pistols, frogs, sherry and a long-suffering caretaker.

References

  • Skool Daze at Flatbatteries
  • Skoolkit disassembly with comments