Preview of ‘Two Point Campus’: An A* for Effort
Two Point Studios is back with Two Point Campus a management sim. This time, you will be swapping out hospital scrubs for students and teachers in exchange for patients and university students. The game was first announced in June 2021. It will be released in August 2022. To discuss all things Two Point Campus, I got to play the game and chatted with Gary Carr, its creative director, and Mark Smart, its art director.
The first build that I played had two levels: Freshleigh Meadows, a college in the country on the banks of a waterway, and Piazza Lanatra which featured culinary students trying to eat fine dining.
Two Point Hospital players will be familiar with Campus. The same UI is back, allowing easy navigation through the menus. The tutorial level Freshleigh Meadows will teach newcomers the basics of the series, so they don’t have to worry. Two Point Campus has a wealth of creative tools that will help you create the university of dreams. For the first time, players can customize outdoor areas by placing trees, benches, and fountains.
Not only in real life, but also in Two Point Campus, the academic year is vital. This fresh take on the calendar year sets Two Point Hospital and Campus apart. It also introduces new thinking processes to manage your campus. Gary Carr was kind enough to clarify this for me.
GB: What is the importance of the academic year at Two Point Campus? It’s not the same as having patients walk through the doors all year.
GC: The first year is their freshers year. They’re living in dorms and may join an odd society. Year two is when they graduate. You want them to socialize early and form friendship groups, so that they stay. You will need to make sure they pass their academic exams in the third year. Remember that you will be playing after three years of gameplay: first year (freshers), intermediate, and graduation year. Each year has a slightly different flavour.
You have the opportunity to make major improvements to your campus during the summer. You can make improvements all year, but it is worth waiting until the summer to make major changes. This will ensure that you have the right support system for your students.
Two Point Campus also believes that courses are essential! These are essential for university students! The game allows players to unlock courses in a linear manner. Once you unlock them, you can implement them on any campus.
Two Point Campus is all about finding the right balance between academic activities and social activities. If you offer too many social activities, your students will lose interest and eventually fail their studies.
GB What is the importance of finding the right balance between academic and social activities at Two Point Campus?
GC: Very important! It’s a 50/50 split, so there’s a balance. Sometimes, I just want them to be happy all the time. I want them to have gigs, to have silly parties in the rooms, and I want them to join societies and groups. You still have to keep track of the academic side. This ensures that you get the best of both, as you need them to stay. If you overburden them with education, they can become bored and may even start to lose their enthusiasm.
You get paid if they stay; if they go, that revenue is lost. If they have too much fun, their grades will suffer. This is what you do when you have too much fun. It’s not as hard as it sounds, but because you love both the learning and the labor, it is actually quite enjoyable. The game allows you to build huge robots and watch them grow into this enormous, skyscraper-sized thing. It’s great fun, but it also makes you want to have parties and form relationships.
