Characters in Glitch Escape grapple with crumbling realities, trapped in an astral realm by an antagonist who refuses to awaken. The protagonist confronts this foe-a twisted version of themselves-to rescue others from parallel world lines. Inspired by sleep paralysis and astral projection theories, the indie adventure explores struggles against metaphysical fears.
Crafted by 16 UCSC games students, this free-to-play PC title draws players into a narrative of facing inner demons to break free. It suits adventure fans drawn to psychological themes and reality-bending confrontations.
This game was originally inspired by sleep paralysis and the metaphysical theories surrounding astral projection being one of the gateways to high dimensions. The game tells a story about characters who struggle with their reality and falls victim to an antagonist who wants to keep them forever in the "astral realm". The protagonist must face their fear, the antagonist: a version of themself that does not want to wake up, in order to save the others (who are also versions of them from other world lines).
The game was made by 16 UCSC students from the games department.
Credits
Creative Director: Tiffany Phan
Art Producer: Tiffany Phan
Technical Producer: David Monroe
Technical Lead: Seiji Emery, Rachel Haub
Music + Sound Design: Coy Youngblood
Lead Character Artist: Erica Li
Lead Environmental Artist: Sam Feng
3D Artists: Sam Feng, Erica Li, Eizi Yu
Visual Effects + Shaders: Sam Feng, Seiji Emery, Rachel Haub
Lead Programmer: Seiji Emery
Gameplay Programmers: Seiji Emery, Vladislav Kardash, Rachel Haub
Additional Programming: Hardwin Bui, Lubin Tu, Brennen Mcculloch
Level Design: Benjamin Chen
Narrative Director: Kris Torres
Cutscene Design: Tiffany Phan, Kris Torres, Hardwin Bui
Concept Art: Tiffany Phan, Erica Li, Sam Feng, Manon Lefebvre, Kris Torres
User interface + 2d Art: Tiffany Phan, Kris Torres
User interface Programming: Lubin Tu, Rachel Haub
Rigging + Animation: Sam Feng, Eizi Yu, Erica Li, Sam Wolfe
Trailer + Marketing: Tiffany Phan, Brennen Mcculloch
Many Thanks To: Eddie Melcer
Robin Hunicke
Marcelo Viana Neto
Elin Carstendottir
Tad Leckman
Max Kreminski
Sean Douglas
All the folks at the CMPM + AGPM games depts at UCSC
(and in particular, all of the fellow 17X students that we weathered together with under a global pandemic + everything else 2020 decided to throw at us, and still made some kick-ass games with regardless :) )
And last but not least, all of our supportive friends + family, both in and outside of the UCSC games program
Copyright 2020 The Glitch Escape Team
Thanks for playing!
