Behind the Scenes: Designing an Escape Room - Blog

Designing an escape room is a thrilling and creative process. It involves crafting a story, creating puzzles, and building a physical space that immerses players in a unique and challenging experience. In this blog post, we'll take a behind-the-scenes look at the design and build process at Unity Escape Rooms.

Storyline & Theme

The first step in designing an escape room is to come up with a story or theme. This is the foundation of the experience and will guide the creation of the puzzles and the physical space. The theme can be anything from a classic mystery, like a murder investigation, to a science fiction scenario, like a spaceship escape. Once a theme is chosen, our team of designers can begin to create a story that will be revealed to the players through clues, puzzles, and immersive decor.

Clues & Puzzles

Next, our designers begin creating and testing the puzzles. These can be a mix of physical and mental challenges that players must solve to progress through the story. For example, a physical puzzle might involve finding a key to open a locked door, while a mental puzzle might involve deciphering a code to unlock a safe. Our designers must make sure that the puzzles are challenging but not impossible, and that they fit the theme of the story.

Fabrication & Building

Once the story and puzzles are in place, our team of designers and fabricators can start to build the physical space. This includes creating the layout of the room, choosing the decorations and props, and installing any special effects. We work to ensure the space is immersive and that it supports the story and puzzles.

For example, if the story takes place in a laboratory, the designers might include lab equipment and chemical bottles to create a believable environment.

This step also includes selecting or producing ambient audio, sound effects, lighting effects, and other theatrical elements to immerse the participants.

Testing, Testing (and more Testing)

Finally, we test the escape room with a group of players to ensure everything is working as intended. This includes checking that the puzzles are solvable, that the story is clear, and that the physical space is immersive. Based on feedback, we might make changes to the puzzles, story, or physical space to make the experience more enjoyable for players. Once we are happy with the feedback we are receiving, we soft-launch the new room and schedule a go-live date for the general public.

Designing an escape room is a complex and challenging process that requires creativity, problem-solving skills, and attention to detail. But when it all comes together, the result is a thrilling and memorable experience for players.

At Unity Escape Rooms, we are very passionate about the escape rooms we build and hope to bring a truly immersive and engaging experience to all.