What is an escape room?

What is an Escape Room?

Live Escape Rooms is a relatively new concept that originated from video games. The first Escape Room video game was released in 2004, and three years later, the concept was revamped and redesigned as a live version, allowing groups to experience the concept in a physical room. Live Escape Rooms spread rapidly across Asia, and between 2011 and 2013, the concept expanded to major cities in Europe and the United States. Today, Live Escape Rooms can be found almost everywhere in the world.

Escape Rooms is a team-based game where the goal is to solve puzzles and mysteries in order to escape the room you are trapped in.

This concept is ideal for group activities, whether with family or friends. It reimagines team building and offers families or groups a whole new way to interact with one another.

Below is a brief overview of some of the elements that escape rooms may include. Please note, however, that each escape room is uniquely designed.

Escape Room Herning stands out from its competitors, for example, because our escape rooms consist of multiple rooms—so perhaps we should call it “Escape Apartment” instead.

• Team-based–Collaboration is at the heart of the entire concept. Groups typically consist of 2 to 8 people who must search the room for clues that will help them unlock it.
• A clear goal–Often, the goal is to escape the room. However, it could also be to solve a murder mystery or something else entirely.
• A Backstory–Escape Rooms are based on a story, such as “Escape from Prison.”
• Atmosphere–Each Escape Room will be furnished and decorated to match the backstory. For example, the room might be set up to look like a prison cell.
• Puzzles–The puzzles or challenges in the room may involve, for example, 1) finding hidden objects scattered around the room, 2) solving math problems, or 3) finding hidden code words in books. What these challenges have in common is that they are interconnected, so that together they provide the solutions needed for the group to escape the room.
• Time-limited–Typically, the group will have only 60 minutes to solve all the puzzles so they can escape the room and complete the game.

Typical target groups:

Dr. Scott Nicholson has gathered data from escape rooms around the world, and according to this report, escape room players break down as follows:

Dr. Scott Nicholson’s report concludes that escape rooms have broad appeal, as a wide variety of groups are represented among the visitors. Furthermore, the report concludes that escape rooms appeal to men and women in roughly equal measure.

Pricing:

Prices for escape rooms generally vary widely depending on geographic location.

Converted to Danish kroner, Dr. Scott Nicholson has calculated the average price to be 140 DKK per person. Prices vary widely, however, as escape rooms can cost as little as approximately 30 DKK per person in Asia.

When prices are compared with the average income per capita in the respective regions of the world, they appear to be more evenly distributed:

If we apply this to the average Danish income (approx. 320,000 DKK), based on a cost per person of 0.06% of the average income, the result is as follows: approx. 192 DKK per person.

At Locked Escape Room, we strive to give all our guests the best possible experience. That is why we evaluate each group’s experience and, based on that feedback, constantly work to optimize the puzzles and challenges as well as the layout of each room.

We look forward to giving you an experience filled with excitement, surprises, and teamwork.

The process of building an escape room:

Yu-kai Chou, a researcher in game development and gamification, developed Octalysis, the most widely used framework in gamification. Broadly speaking, the framework consists of eight factors that ensure engagement, motivation, and inspiration. It is important for Locked to take these factors into account when developing escape rooms.

The factors are as follows:

Meaning:

The player feels chosen and can see themselves reflected in the game through the story.

Achievement:

Progress is what keeps people interested.

Empowerment:

The user is engaged in a creative process in which they are repeatedly challenged and see the results of their efforts, which is essential for striking a balance between the game and the user. It is therefore important that problems can be solved in multiple ways, precisely to foster this creativity.

Ownership:

Participants should feel a sense of ownership over the game, which is a major motivator. This is reflected in features such as personalization, etc.

Social influence:

For a game to gain widespread popularity, it is essential that the social aspect be a key focus. For example, the focus here is on sharing on social media, playing together as a team, or forming new relationships with others through the game.

Scarcity:

This aspect is based on the fact that, as humans, we are motivated by things we cannot have. This leads the player to remain interested in gaining access to and achieving the unattainable.

Unpredictability:

As humans, we are curious and interested in discovering what the unknown holds. That is why our interest is piqued when something unexpected happens. Users seek out these elements to be stimulated and surprised.

Avoidance:

This point stems from the fear of feeling left out and has become increasingly significant, as people are afraid of missing out on what their friends are experiencing; this is also known as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Several of the points mentioned above are already being used at Locked. For example, empowerment, where the user is challenged. Locked has created several puzzles that require guests to use their creativity and intellect and, in general, to think differently than they normally would. Unpredictability is also used, as people enjoy seeing progression and being surprised in unexpected ways.

The above should not be interpreted to mean that it is necessary to implement all of Yu-kai Chou’s points. Rather, it provides an overview of all the factors that can be incorporated into a good game. Locked Escape Room focuses specifically on one point—namely, the element of Accomplishment.

Locked has also drawn inspiration from the narrative model to design the rooms with the aim of allowing them to evolve, precisely to maintain motivation and foster development. In the narrative model, there is a rapid rise in tension, followed by a brief lull that allows for deeper immersion, interrupted by a “point of no return,” after which the story builds toward its climax. In Locked’s case, for example, all the rooms start “easy” and give the group a sense of success, after which the group will encounter more and more in-depth puzzles interrupted by something unexpected that surprises the guests. Furthermore, the music intensifies as the game progresses and, in the final 10 minutes, is dominated by stressful effects such as a ticking clock.

In addition to Accomplishment, there is also a particular focus on Unpredictability and Scarcity. For example, guests do not know the number of locks or what lies behind the closed doors. Furthermore, Locked has deliberately placed items in plain sight but out of reach—such as a key locked inside a glass cabinet—or by placing the keys to the handcuffs out of reach.