148 Talented Students. 10 Incredible Games. 1 Unforgettable Senior Show.
Every year, Champlain students prove that passion makes a real difference, and this year is no exception.
For two decades, Champlain’s Game Studio students have proven what creativity and drive can build from scratch. Student developers, designers, and storytellers poured their skills and creativity into crafting 10 different games that are each worth playing, talking about, and celebrating — so much so that one team even received two informal publishing offers at this year’s Game Developers Conference.
From cozy VR sims and puzzle platformers, to nostalgic arcade racers and psychological horror stories, students brought their ideas to life with the kind of craft and care that makes you forget these are made by students.
The Game Studio Experience
Champlain’s Game Studio Experience has brought together students across seven different game majors — Game Art, Game Business & Publishing, Game Design, Game Production Management, Game Programming, Game Sound Design, and Interactive Narrative for Games & Digital Media — to build real games the same way actual studios operate. Think artists, programmers, designers, and sound folks all on one team, guided by faculty who’ve actually worked in the industry. The results? Read (and play) on to find out!
Step Inside These Student-Made Games
Choo Choo Boom Boom
Choo Choo Boom Boom is an on-rails shooter with arcade energy and a whole lot of personality. Produced by In Scope Studios, it’s up to the player to take down an alien entity before it destroys the city. You’re the last line of defense — and you can get in on the action for free on Steam!
Check out Choo Choo Boom Boom and the Team
Chyma and the Toll of Time
Chyma and the Toll of Time is a 3D puzzle-platformer about a little bell named Chyma trying to save the world. Created by Sand Storm Studios, players use Chyma’s unique abilities to solve puzzles to reach the top of the temple. With 30+ levels, hidden lore, and dynamic sound that changes depending on your interactions, will you discover the secrets and reach the top? Try it for yourself on Steam!
Check out Chyma and the Toll of Time and the Team
BreakaBull
BreakaBull takes the saying “like a bull in a china shop” to the next level. Brought to you by Oversteeped Studios — the team that turned heads at GDC with two informal publishing offers — this charming Virtual Reality (VR) game puts a wild spin on running a tea cafe: what if you were a bull, with hooves for hands, who had to mix drinks? Interact with customers, craft their orders, and make it to the end of your shift for free on Steam.
Check out BreakaBull and the Team
Dread Rally
If retro arcade racing is your thing, Dread Rally was made for you. Creators from Crashaholic Studios drop you on Mars in the aftermath of a corporate war, where racing fast isn’t enough — the crowd wants tricks, flips, and opponent destruction, too. With four tracks to race on and up to 4-player split-screen support, you can grab your friends (or play solo!) and try it out on itch.io today.
Check out Dread Rally and the TeamWe were heavily inspired by games such as Post Void, F-Zero, and Motorstorm and wanted to bring our own twist to the arcade racing genre.
FinCrementalOS
What if your desktop window was a literal window into the ocean? Calamafia Studios asked just that when making FinCrementalOS, an active management and shooter hybrid built on a unique idea. Shoot fish, sell your cash, and upgrade your operation — but be careful! Every window you open on your OS blocks a part of your view, so managing your desktop is just as important as managing your business. Try FinCrementalOS for yourself on itch.io.
Check out FinCrementalOS and the Team
Pick Some Axe
Chopping Block Studios’ Pick Some Axe is a 3D platformer with a lot of heart. This action-adventure game brings it all: puzzles, fights, story, and above all, romance. Using your trusty pickaxe, it’s up to you to dig through caves, traverse unique environments, battle monsters, and find keepsakes left behind by your kidnapped spouse, and save them from the evil rock monsters. Get in there and “pick some axe” on Steam.
Check out Pick Some Axe and the Team
Prehistoric Pack
Bonepile Studios presents Prehistoric Pack, an auto battler that packs a punch with over 40 unique dinosaurs to add to your roster. Draft your perfect team from card packs, buff your fighters, and watch them secure your victory while you focus on filling the Apex Meter for a devastating finishing move. Place your dinos in the grid-based arena and watch your strategies pay off, free on Steam.
Check out Prehistoric Pack and the Team
Red: Flame & Fable
Red: Flame & Fable is a handcrafted 2D action-adventure from Platonic Murder Party that puts a dark spin on a familiar tale. This story-rich game follows Red as she navigates six levels of a cursed forest with her lantern — the only thing standing between her, the darkness, and what lurks beyond it. With multiple endings, collectibles, secrets, and 24 Steam achievements, it’s clear no detail was overlooked. Try it for yourself on Steam.
Check out Red: Flame & Fable and the TeamBlending together passion for philosophy with cartoonish, animalistic sparring has made a recipe for success.
Socratic Smackdown
Settle your philosophical debates with fists in Socratic Smackdown, a 2.5D platform fighter from Good Enouf Studios that lets history’s greatest philosophers — reimagined as animals — duke it out for the next big idea. Choose from three unique characters, each with strengths and weaknesses, and compete in King of the Hill matches that reward mechanical skill and big-brain plays. If the animated cinematic doesn’t sell you, the gameplay will. Check it out for yourself on itch.io.
Check out Socratic Smackdown and the Team
With It We Leave
With It We Leave is a first-person psychological horror game in which your survival depends on outsmarting a creature, not outrunning it. Playing as Christina Lyon, a death row inmate and the sole survivor of a facility massacre, you’ll use noise to lure the monster and hide when it gets too close, all the while keeping your sanity in check. The creators from No Pulse Games built this narrative to let you uncover the truth organically, complete with unsettling scares and an atmosphere that sticks with you well after you’re done playing. Give it a try yourself on Steam.
Check out With It We Leave and the TeamGet right into the nitty-gritty of making games with our Upside-Down Curriculum, where you’ll start learning industry-standard processes during your first semester.
Career-Focused Majors Get You Ready From Day One
So, What Would You Make?
From dinosaur auto battlers to arcade racing sims to psychological horror games, no two projects looked the same — and that variety says everything about what this program brings out in students. Champlain’s Game Studio Experience is designed to give students the space to make something that’s genuinely theirs. If you’re the kind of person who looks at these games and starts thinking about what you’d build, Champlain could be the perfect fit for you.
Curious about what you can create? Check out our Game Studio Experience, schedule a tour, or fill out this form to learn more about our career-focused majors and one-of-a-kind curriculum. Your future studio colleagues will thank you for it!
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