HEIST
GAME OVERVIEW
Heist is a 2 players escape game. The goal is to turn the security system back on. At first, the players are “thrown” into the security room. They’re told to not move until the end of the heist. Luckily one of the guards is alive. He needs the player’s cooperation in order to stop the thieves. But, the robber can sometimes check the room to see if something is wrong.
DEVELOPMENT INFOS
Role - Game Designer and Actor
Time - 5 days (2018)
Team size - 5
Genre - Escape Game
Type of project - School project
Tech - Cardboard and fournitures
Platform - Real world (2 players)
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
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Designing and realizing some of the puzzles in the room.
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Acting like the robber who checks the hostage's status.
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Writing some elements of narration (for the robber and for the room ambiance).
DESIGN OVERVIEW
It was our first time designing an escape room and we had some restrictions about size and time. Our first goal was to integrate story bits into the game, and also moments of tension and panic thrown at the players when they don’t expect it.
Our second goal was to hide an entire section of the game at the beginning, so that the player could experience a great discovery.
The first goal was achieved through the presence of the robber actor and the second goal was achieved thanks to the second part of the room hidden behind two locks.
One of the problems we encountered was the monitoring of the players because nobody was in the room and it was important to see their progress in order to dispense clues or indications. To prevent it, we installed a camera, with which we were able to see the progress of the players.
Lastly, we had to balance all the puzzles and the clues to fit the experience in a 50 minutes time frame. It was a lot of guesses mixed with trials and errors but little by little, we designed something sustainable.
POST MORTEM
WHAT WENT WELL :
The construction of the room and the puzzles.
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During the playtests, it was heartwarming to see people play along with the scenario and the puzzles.
WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL :
The budget was tight, we had to abandon some of our puzzles in favor of others, less expensive to build.
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The playtests took place during an open day, so we had to make flyers to inform people that a replica of a gun was held by someone on the second floor.
FINAL THOUGHTS :
Overall it was a fun experience. 5 days to make an escape game with only a little budget was really challenging and fun. When we playtested with people who weren’t aware of all the parts, it was very successful and they enjoyed it even if they rarely finished it.