''Pico's School'' is a 1999
point-and-click
Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermedi ...
Flash game developed by
Tom Fulp for his website
Newgrounds. At the time of its release, it was "one of the most sophisticated" browser games, exhibiting "a complexity of design and polish in presentation that
asvirtually unseen in amateur Flash game development".
It has been widely credited with kickstarting the Flash games scene and helping launch Newgrounds "as a public force".
[
The game was inspired by the ]Columbine High School massacre
A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...
, and was released only three months after it. It centers around the titular Pico, who must fight a group of stereotypical goth kids who have killed his classmates.[
]
Plot
During a school lesson on apples and bananas, Pico's classmate Cassandra interrupts the class to denounce the American education system, which she believes to be "bullshit", before opening fire upon her fellow students. Pico blacks out during the chaos, managing to escape the classroom only to discover the majority of his classmates have been killed. As Pico fights the goth kids, he discovers they are being manipulated by Cassandra. Cassandra is then revealed to be a alien, and Pico must defeat her.
Gameplay
The game lets players choose multiple pathways through the school's halls, have conversations with surviving students, and engage in enemy fights, all driven by mouse clicks.[
]
Development
Tom Fulp stated in an interview that he was inspired to make the game following a variety of angry e-mails sent to his website Newgrounds following the Columbine massacre, many of which would blame internet websites for distributing offensive content.[
The game was developed in Macromedia Flash 3 prior to the advent of the scripting language ]ActionScript
ActionScript is an object-oriented programming language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. (later acquired by Adobe). It is influenced by HyperTalk, the scripting language for HyperCard. It is now an implementation of ECMAScript (mean ...
, which almost all subsequent Flash games would use. To simulate stored data, Fulp claims to have created a complex web of movie clips to simulate in-game variables, an innovative technique which created a considerable strain during highly interactive sequences, such as boss fights.
On April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...
2021, the original ''Pico's School'' was replaced by ''Pico's School: Love Conquers All'', a re-telling of the story in which the massacre never happens.
Reception and legacy
An article published by '' Spin'' referred to the game as the work of a "sick genius". Andrew Lerner of Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production company, production and film distributor, distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film ...
commented that when he first saw the game, he laughed so hard he almost wet his pants. Troma Entertainment were reportedly at one point in talks with Tom Fulp about making a movie based on the game. A contemporary write-up of Newgrounds on the Japanese tech site Impress Watch by Mie Aoki recommended the game and called it a good way to test how stuck your mind is in elementary school. In a 2020 article, ''Wired'' called the game "irreverent pulp".
Tom Fulp, the game's creator, has referred to ''Pico's School'' as a "real defining moment for Newgrounds".[ The game was "hailed by many as the pinnacle of Flash ... 'programming and is said to have "offered a first model for the type of point-and-click interactivity that would become a standard".]
The titular Pico would go on to become essential iconography for Newgrounds, being featured in a number of games and animations.
Sequel
A sequel with the working title ''Pico 2'' was under development for a number of years since 1999 as a collaboration with part-time animator Jose "MindChamber" Ortiz but was cancelled without an announcement sometime in the 2010s. Two prototype versions were made available to supporters of Newgrounds in 2016. The Kickstarter for popular rhythm game '' Friday Night Funkin''' (which features Pico as a recurring character) promised to finish and release ''Pico 2'' should its Kickstarter reach $5 million in funding, though this goal was ultimately not achieved.
Notes
References
External links
''Pico's School'' on Newgrounds
''Friday Night Funkin
{{Newgrounds, state=expanded
1990s in Internet culture
1999 video games
Browser games
Flash games
Indie games
Point-and-click adventure games
Single-player video games
Video games about school shootings
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in Philadelphia
Video games set in schools