The Escape Game needed an experience that could be installed in undersized spaces in their new stores, on a reduced budget, while maintaining their signature style of an expanding playspace with multiple rooms.
I led initial brainstorms and pitched a narrative structure built around a submarine that docks at an undersea base, which players can disembark and explore.
To prove multiple rooms would work in the reduced space, I designed a modular prototyping system, working alongside our in-house installation team — standardized door frames, puzzle-height blocks, and rollable walls — inspired by whiteboxing tools from 3D game engines. We assembled and reconfigured prototype rooms at scale, playtesting various formations before committing to construction.
The final design used a three-act structure: players solve Room 1, unlock Room 2 via the submarine docking sequence, then complete an escape that spans both spaces. This preserved the “expanding playspace + wow moments” house style while reducing footprint by roughly 40% compared to other titles.
