Yesterday I went in a group to the History Mystery for an escape room experience. I had quite a lot of fun and learnt more about the meaning of adventure.
By trying to figure out a scenario with my peers, I realised how important teamwork can be to make an experience more adventurous. With this in mind I may add some multiplayer features in the game in late development. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a companion in the game, it could be making the player have to focus on multiple things at once, example: 2 guards are on patrol that have complicated paths to follow. The player could memories both guard’s paths, but it would be much easier for someone else to remember one of the paths for you.
I gathered some ideas while playing the puzzles presented in the game.
For one of the puzzles there was a weight requirement to continue onward. This type of mechanic can be seen in some puzzle games. It is typically used for something like, lowering a bridge or opening a door. I am considering to add a weight mechanic in my self.
In most of the puzzles a blue UV light was needed to reveal hidden codes. I could use this in my work to show hidden message, codes or Easter eggs.
There were more puzzle mechanics in the game, but I want to keep the others a secret, in case you do go to the same escape room that me and my peers went too.
The one thing I will mentioned is that the puzzles started off easy and very linear, but as the game went on, more paths opened up and the game became much more difficult. The game also felt less linear later on, mainly because more puzzle elements were introduced and old puzzles became relevant again. I enjoyed the difficulty curve, but I think it may have been too slow at the start and too fast at the beginning, but that could just be the way we solved it.
From experiencing the difficulty curve, I am considering of starting the difficulty curve fast at the start of the level, gradually reducing it throughout most of the level, then pushing the difficulty curve speed up again near the end.
Is there a crossover audience?
Comparing the History Mystery to my project, there are some cross overs.
My game is fictional based and the History Mystery is history base, but both are dungeon/prison themed. Both are about escaping and both make you a prisoner. With all this in mind, by playing the game, I got the experience of being in a prison environment, which can help me develop a story better, so I can get the same feeling of how a prison feels.
From using the same theme, I can drag in a new audience that likes to experience being a detective, without all the written work. I can add in evidence and clues through items instead of dialogue, so I can get some detective lovers as customers.
Game Growth 