Position

Director, Game Designer, Producer

Contribution

I lead a team of students with different backgrounds (film, concept, marketing) to build a full escape room experience with a 8 ft (2.4m) cubed space.

Duration

Fall 2023

Genre

Escape Room

Do You Have What It Takes to Rock?

Concepting an Experience

"Battle of the Band" was developed around the goal of delivering a fun and memorable experience to the player. We started by envision a strong ending, where the players will jump out of the room, fully transformed into rockstars, ready to perform on stage while the crowd cheers and the spotlights shines bright on them.

Design Process

Research and Inspiration

Once we settled on a theme, we started to research multiple sources and experiences as references. We visited multiple escape rooms and researched about the 90s rock band aesthetics and culture to ensure that the experience captured the theme and moment that we wanted to deliver and immerse our players.

The Ministry of Peculiarities

The Ministry of Peculiarities stood out with their strongest narrative and live-action actresses. It gave us inspiration for how an escape room can have strong narratives and immersive experiences via the usage of life actors who can give more life to the already immersive space, and ensure a personalized experience.

Narrative Depth: We wanted the narrative to have meaning and backstory that would be reflected throughout the entire experience. Inspired by The Ministry of Peculiarities, we ensured that everything in the room had a clear reason for its existence and effects that made sense within the story. We aimed to keep the narrative focused and straightforward, avoiding convoluted or complicated elements, while ensuring that every prop, puzzle, and interaction contributed to the overall story of a band preparing for a high-stakes competition.

Photo of the live-actied NPC character Dolores, and the restor the Wright family.

(Source: The Ministry of Peculiarities)

Treasure Island

Another game that provided significant inspiration was Treasure Island by Brain Games. The following aspects influenced our design:

Thematic Puzzles: Treasure Island excelled in integrating puzzles within the theme of a tropical island vacation that gradually transitioned into a pirate adventure. This progression inspired us to ensure our puzzles were thematically consistent and contributed to the narrative. Each puzzle was designed to fit the theme around the 90s rock band, and the characteristics of the leader of the opposite band leader.

Tresure Island Promotional image

(Source: Brain Games)

Cohesive Conclusion: The climax of Treasure Island involves driving a boat and blowing up a cave, providing a sense of culmination to the adventure. This taught us the importance of tying the entire experience together with a satisfying conclusion. While we noted that Treasure Island’s ending felt slightly weak due to the DM simply opening the door, we aimed to avoid this by creating a more immersive and dramatic finale in our escape room. Players in our room are treated to a theatrical conclusion with spotlights, mist effects, and cheering crowds as they prepare to take the stage.

Photo of me and my friends completing the Room

90s Rock Band Aesthetics and Cultures

To ensure authenticity, we researched the aesthetics and culture of 90s rock bands, drawing inspiration from iconic bands like Nirvana and the satirical rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. This included:

Visuals: We studied iconic band posters, album covers, and concert setups to replicate the look and feel of a 90s rock band’s dressing room. This research helped us design realistic and period-accurate props and decorations.

Cultural References: Understanding the cultural nuances of the 90s rock scene, such as backstage riders popularized by bands like Van Halen, allowed us to incorporate relevant references and language into our puzzles and storyline, making the experience more relatable and engaging for players familiar with that era.

Prototyping & Playtesting

Collaborative Sessions: Our team started with a clean and strong vision, and to ensure that our intended experience was fully delivered effectively we initially went through multiple brainstorming sessions, and also individually assigned ourselves to come up with puzzles. From the two different batches of puzzles, Our group went through a finalizing session for the puzzles that would fit into the theme and were strong. After that, we layered them by difficulty and the narrative, altering the puzzles if needed.

Paper Prototyping Phase

Mechanical Wireings

Paper Prototypes: We tested the game by creating paper prototypes. After around eight paper prototype playtests, we found that some puzzles were too difficult or had drifted from the main plot. For example, a puzzle designed to be right before the finale involved a three-part simple code-finding puzzle. However, the hints were too subtle, and players did not enjoy solving a multi-step puzzle involving three different types of documents.

Iterative Testing: Through multiple trials and errors, we finalized the overall flow and began building the room.

First Build Playtests: After our first build, we playtested the game with a closed audience of six groups. These tests revealed areas for improvement, as players struggled to link the connection between information and would get lost when it came to moving on to their next objective.
Adjustments: Throughout the room, we increased the number of indicators that lead the player's eyes and improved the association between the props and the puzzles that were necessary to solve the puzzle. For example, we noticed that players struggled to find the right parts of the lyrics for the recording puzzle. To address this, we marked the lyrics with specific colors associated with the puzzles, guiding players more effectively and enhancing their experience, along with showing which records go with which headphones, increasing convenience and decreasing unnecessary confusion and frustration.

By combining thorough brainstorming, ideation, prototyping, and playtesting, we developed an escape room experience that is challenging, fun, and deeply immersive, capturing the essence of a high-stakes rock band competition.

Final Design

Room Layout

The Finished Room

(Lit)

The Finished Room

(UnLit)

We were given an 8 by 8 space, which barely fit four people comfortably without any furniture or props. Each team was given a budget of $300, which was later cut to $200 with one month left to finish the project. Despite these limitations, we worked diligently to gather everything we could while maintaining the structure and atmosphere we aimed to deliver.

Space Management: The space was thoughtfully plotted out to ensure that 3-4 people could move around without struggling too much. We placed hints at eye level to minimize the need for players to sit unless necessary, for which we provided a single chair.
Budgeting: We borrowed many props from the film department and made our own furniture. Although we had initially planned to include more couches and props, we adapted our design to fit within the budget while still delivering a high-quality experience

Game Flow

Set Up

While the GM leads the players to the room, the players are handed an ID card as the member of The Creature Within. The GM introduces herself as their new manager, and that The Hunting Dogs are their opponents for the Battle of the Band stage today. The GM emphasizes that they must be fully clothed and ready in 15 min, ensuring that the players understand the main goal, and also that they can ask for help by calling the manager with their own phones.

Player ID Card

Player ID Card Photo

The Band Name Puzzle

Description: Players decipher a code from band posters.
This puzzle was designed to be eye-catching, as it was the first puzzle that the players had to solve. It was placed on the wall that the players will face and a hand print on the locker to signify that they have to use the answers for this puzzle to solve the locker's combination. It was also made to settle the feel of the 90's rockband concept while ensuring that the players don't necessarily need the knowledge of the culture.

T-Shirt Puzzle & Ticket Puzzle

Description: Unlock a box with the band's information and make a phone call by solving a puzzle related to the concert tickets.
The puzzle was designed mostly around building the narrative, to give the players information about the band that they are a part of, and to introduce the villain or rival of the story, the leader of The Hunting Dogs

Music Puzzles

Description: Music-based puzzles involving playing, or identifying cords and tunes.

Both puzzles were designed to give players a feeling of 'playing' or 'analyzing' music while requiring no prior musical knowledge. They utilize musical elements like chords and sheet music, but the patterns and hints allow players to logically deduce the answers. The structure of the puzzles engages players with music to reinforce the theme of the game. For example, in the piano puzzle, players need to figure out that they must press the keyboard keys to play the notes ACE after identifying the song "Ace of Spades." For the guitar, players have to understand the pattern in the chords to find the correct code rather than needing to understand how chords actually work. The music station also requires the players to analyze the lyrics of timeless classics from the 90s. While players can benefit if they are familiar with the song, it's solvable by paying attention to the lyrics themselves.

Back-Stage Rider

Description: Separate brown M&Ms as per the backstage rider.
The puzzle is a call back to the backstage cultures of rock bands, specifically referencing Van Halen’s famous no-brown M&M Rider. It also reveals the deeper intention of the rival band leader narratively by showing appreciation towards the players following 'tradition'

Finale

Description: Final puzzle that delivers the highlight

Once the players solve all the musical puzzles and retrieve their instruments, the box with the light switch pops open. when the players turn off the light, the UV lamps illuminate the hidden drawings that were painted on the wall with a message to hint that they must dress up and get on stage. Once the players are ready and strike the required poses with their instruments, the curtains roll and the spotlights and music turn on with the crowd cheering.

Conclusion

Reflection

This project was a valuable learning experience in balancing creative design with practical constraints.
The project was a great opportunity to get an insight into player behavior and level design.
Playtesting and identifying what the core issue is via feedback was a skill crucial to make the room cohesive.
A strong vision helps the development process by allowing every detail and element to be coordinated around the desired experience.
It was an opportunity to link a simple, strong narrative to the overall elements of the game focusing on delivering an immersive game experience.