First student showcase for Escape Room Design and Immersive Theatre
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The first public showcase of students’ work from the Escape Room Design and Immersive Theatre module took place on campus.
A set from the escape room 'Love.exe' by Lin Cuiyi, Ruyin Zhang, Karin Kiho, Zijing Chen
The experiences on offer included three escape rooms ‘The Mystery of Astrology’, ‘Proclaims: Lost Cat’, and the ‘The Golden Cheese’. An immersive theatre performance centred around the theme of dementia and memory loss titled ‘What We Leave Behind’ also featured, along with ‘Love.exe,’ a two-player co-op escape room blending virtual reality (VR) and real-world puzzles.
Computing students’ work from the module in Escape Room Design and Immersive Theatre was showcased for the first time on campus. Showcase visitors had the opportunity to play through the student-built and designed escape rooms and experiences.
'What We Leave Behind’ by Chris Warner, Linyun Song, Marcus Round, Michael Doyle, Mikey Damager
Since the Covid-19 lockdown, immersive entertainment experiences have grown in popularity. Students taking the module explore all kinds of immersive and interactive games where there is a sense of play, audience agency and storytelling. This can include escape rooms, VR experiences, immersive theatre, live action role-playing games (LARPing), and pervasive games.
A partnership with Clockwork Dog, which provides show control and tech solutions for immersive attractions, gives students access to industry standard resources. Clockwork Dog has worked on major experiences including Monopoly Lifesized, The Paddington Bear Experience, Saw Escape Experience (London) and Peaky Blinders: The Rise.
Props for ‘The Golden Cheese’ by Yuhan Chen, Winni Xiong, Lele Li, Xinwei Li, Yuchen Chan
Clémence Debaig, Lecturer in the Department of Computing who leads the module, said, “This module allows students to gain an understanding of how to design games and interactions at the larger scale, and how to build complex systems. From a design and technical perspective, we look at how to build bigger architectures. The students need to consider the logic of the puzzles and the scenes, the audience journey, as well as the tech and the props needed. It’s a team project, so it’s also all about collaboration, which is a key soft skill in the industry.”
She added, “The showcase gives the students the opportunity to see how their game is experienced by real audiences and learn how to manage different player types.”