Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:02, 29 August 2025

Latest revision as of 15:14, 30 August 2025

(One intermediate revision by one other user not shown)

Line 6:

{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox video game

| image = Baldis Basics in Education and Learining cover art.webp

Line 20 ⟶ 19:

}}

'''''Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning'''''{{Efn|Also known as ''Baldi's Basics Classic''}} is a 2018 [[Puzzle video game|puzzle]] [[horror game|horror]] game developed and published by Micah McGonigal. Disguised as an [[educational game]], it [[Parody|parodies]] 1990s educational games by [[Deconstruction|deconstructing]] their elements into [[metafiction]]al horror. The game is set in a schoolhouse, where the objective is to locate and collect notebooks, escape the school to take them to the player's friend who lost them, and avoid being caught by Baldi. The game features many game modes that change gameplay subtly or drastically.

It was developed for the [[Metagame|Meta]]-[[Game Jam]] in 2018 and released on [[Itch.io]]. The game's main source of inspiration during its development was ''[[Sonic's Schoolhouse]]'' (1996). It was positively received upon release. Following its success, the game was expanded upon in the form of successors such as '''''Baldi's Basics Plus''''' in 2020 and '''''Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered''''' in 2022.

Line 35 ⟶ 34:

''Baldi's Basics'' was created by Micah McGonigal as an entry in the 2018 Meta-[[Game jam|GameJam]] released at March 31, on [[Itch.io]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Faribeault |first=Francois |date=2022-10-13 |title=Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, le jeu qui mélange éducation et horreur |trans-title=Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning, the game that mixes education and horror |url=https://www.konbini.com/techno/baldis-basics-in-education-and-learning-le-jeu-qui-melange-education-et-horreur/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830062323/https://www.konbini.com/techno/baldis-basics-in-education-and-learning-le-jeu-qui-melange-education-et-horreur/ |archive-date=2023-08-30 |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=Konbini |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="comedy">{{cite book |last=Zarzycka |first=Agata |editor-last1=Giappone |editor-first1=Krista Bonello Rutter |editor-last2=Majkowski |editor-first2=Tomasz Z. |editor-last3=Švelch |editor-first3=Jaroslav |title=Video Games and Comedy |chapter=Ridiculing the Player: Live-Action Visualisations of Game Experience in YouTube Parody Videos as an Ambivalent Strategy of Self-Fashioning |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy |date=2022 |pages=226–230 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-88338-6_11 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=978-3-030-88337-9 }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> where it placed in second.<ref name=":4" /> In interviews, McGonigal cited the 1996 video game ''Sonic's Schoolhouse'' as his main inspiration. While he never played it, he chose it due to unsettling [[Visual arts|visuals]] of the game, with its poor and inconsistent blend of [[3D computer graphics|3D]] and [[2D video game|2D]] elements.<ref>{{cite news |last=Couture |first=Joel |title=How ''Baldie's Basics'' taps into the real horror of '90s edutainment |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/324042/How_Baldis_Basics_taps_into_the_real_horror_of_90s_edutainment.php |date=August 13, 2018 |website=[[Gamasutra]] |access-date=April 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503073544/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/324042/How_Baldis_Basics_taps_into_the_real_horror_of_90s_edutainment.php |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Phill |date=2018-08-13 |title=How Baldi's Basics taps into the real horror of '90s edutainment |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/how-i-baldi-s-basics-i-taps-into-the-real-horror-of-90s-edutainment |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827113714/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/how-i-baldi-s-basics-i-taps-into-the-real-horror-of-90s-edutainment |archive-date=2021-08-27 |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=[[Game Developer (website)|Game Developer]]}}</ref> Music for the game was produced using [[MIDI]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |last=Kurosawa |first=Yuki |date=2020-06-13 |title=サイコ90年代教育ゲーム風ホラー『Baldi's Basics Plus』Steamなどで早期アクセス配信開始。インターネット老人会を恐怖させるローポリ教師との鬼ごっこ |trans-title=Psychological 90s educational horror game "Baldi's Basics Plus" now available on Steam and other platforms. A low-poly teacher terrorizes the internet senior citizens' club. |url=https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20200613-127215/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614155700/https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20200613-127215/ |archive-date=2020-06-14 |access-date=2025-08-02 |work=Automaton.com |language=Japanese}}</ref>

{{Video game timeline|2020="Baldi's Basics Plus" <br/> ([[Steam (service)]], [[Itch.io]], and [[Game Jolt]])|2022="Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered" <br/> (Steam, Itch.io, and Game Jolt)|2018a="Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning" <br/> ([[Windows]], [[macOS]], [[Linux]])|2018b="Baldi's Basics: Field Trip" (demo)|2019a="Baldi's Basics Birthday Bash"|2019b="Baldi's Basics Classic" ([[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]])}}Following the game's popularity online and now that McGonigal was considering a job as a [[video game developer]] viable,<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Truong |first=Momoka |date=2018-07-25 |title=Baldi's Basics becoming a larger, more complete game through Kickstarter campaign |url=https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/baldis-basics-developer-launches-kickstarter-to-crowdfund-a-larger-version-of-the-game/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109023936/https://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/baldis-basics-developer-launches-kickstarter-to-crowdfund-a-larger-version-of-the-game/ |archive-date=2020-11-09 |access-date=2025-08-03 |work=Rely on Horror}}</ref> he launched a [[Kickstarter]] campaign on July 24, 2018, where he announced that a "full game," titled ''Baldi's Basics Plus'', would be released by August 23 with a funding goal of {{USD|50,000|link=y}}.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Deogracias |first=Elisha |date=2018-07-26 |title=No running in the halls! Baldi's Basics gets a Kickstarter campaign, aims for full release next year |url=https://gamingtrend.com/news/no-running-in-the-halls-baldis-basics-gets-a-kickstarter-campaign-aims-for-full-release-next-year/ |website=Gaming Trend |access-date=2025-07-30}}</ref> Alongside a demo titled ''Baldi's Basics: Field Trip'',<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Keoni |date=2018-07-25 |title=Baldi's Basics is becoming a full game and a brand new demo for it is out now. |url=https://kotaku.com/baldi-s-basics-is-becoming-a-full-game-and-a-brand-new-1827862293 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726115125/https://kotaku.com/baldi-s-basics-is-becoming-a-full-game-and-a-brand-new-1827862293 |archive-date=2018-07-26 |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=AFP Relaxnews |date=2018-08-08 |title=Weekly PC download charts: 'No Man's Sky', 'Monster Hunter: World' depose 'PUBG' |url=https://technology.inquirer.net/78305/weekly-pc-download-charts-no-mans-sky-monster-hunter-world-depose-pubg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250729182810/https://technology.inquirer.net/78305/weekly-pc-download-charts-no-mans-sky-monster-hunter-world-depose-pubg |archive-date=2025-07-29 |access-date=2025-07-31 |work=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref> which is set in a [[field trip]] in the middle of a forest; Baldi tasks the player with keeping a campfire going by searching for firewood before a timer runs out. Failing results in Baldi chasing the player; a [[game over]] follows suit.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Keoni |date=2018-07-25 |title=Baldi's Basics is Becoming a Full Game |url=https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/07/25/baldis-basics-is-becoming-a-full-game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503073555/https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2018/07/25/baldis-basics-is-becoming-a-full-game |archive-date=2019-05-03 |access-date=2025-08-02 |website=[[Kotaku]] UK |language=en-US}}</ref> The campaign succeeded, surpassing over half of its initial goal, by August 3.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deogracias |first=Elisha |date=2018-08-03 |title=You call hamburgers steamed hams — Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning creator on development, burgers |url=https://gamingtrend.com/interviews/you-call-hamburgers-steamed-hams-baldis-basics-in-education-and-learning-creator-on-development-burgers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250709055159/https://gamingtrend.com/interviews/you-call-hamburgers-steamed-hams-baldis-basics-in-education-and-learning-creator-on-development-burgers/ |archive-date=2025-07-09 |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=Gaming Trend |language=en}}</ref>

On April 1, 2019, for the first anniversary of the game, a birthday-themed version titled ''Baldi's Basics Birthday Bash'' was released. It added randomly-chosen items, two of which introduced in this version, as well as birthday decorations and costumes for the characters.<ref name="inquirer" /> Later that same year, the original game was ported to [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] under the name ''Baldi's Basics Classic''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Andre |date=2019-12-30 |title=Basically Games veröffentlicht Baldi's Basics Classic |trans-title=Basically Games publishes Baldi's Basics Classic |url=https://www.pixel-magazin.de/basically-games-veroeffentlicht-baldis-basics-classic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830062338/https://www.pixel-magazin.de/basically-games-veroeffentlicht-baldis-basics-classic/ |archive-date=2023-08-30 |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=[[Pixel (magazine)|Pixel]] |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref name="pocket" /> With a planned release date of December 2019,<ref name=":2" /> which later became early 2020,<ref name="pocket" /> ''Baldi's Basics Plus'' was eventually released as an [[early access]] title in June 12 2020 on [[Steam (service)|Steam]], Itch.io, and [[Game Jolt]].<ref name=":7" /> [[Teaser trailer|Teased]] in April 2021, ''Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered'' was released in October 21, 2022, also for [[Steam (service)|Steam]], Itch.io, and [[Game Jolt]]. The game [[Remaster|remakes]] both the original and the ''Birthday Bash'', and adds a mode that blends elements from the original with ''Baldi's Basics Plus''.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-24 |title="Basically Games Announces Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered is Available now, October 21, With a New Trailer" |url=https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Basically-Games-Announces-Baldis-Basics-Classic-Remastered-is-Availabl |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028005244/https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Basically-Games-Announces-Baldis-Basics-Classic-Remastered-is-Availabl |archive-date=2022-10-28 |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Games Press}}</ref>