{"id":1106,"date":"2021-08-20T14:21:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T19:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immersology.com\/?p=1106"},"modified":"2026-01-18T10:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:16:47","slug":"bookends-bottlenecks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immersology.com\/bookends-bottlenecks\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookends & Bottlenecks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Time to publish Strange Bird Immersive<\/a>‘s secret sauce. Because I don’t want it to be a secret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Man From Beyond: Houdini S\u00e9ance Escape Room<\/a><\/em> has a reputation as perhaps the most story-driven escape room out there\u2014an escape room with a narrative so powerful that it can move you to tears. That was our goal as designers: to craft a game so grounded in a narrative reality, that it felt more like you were inside a movie than playing a game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you run into J. Cameron Cooper or myself\u2014or more likely both of us\u2014behind a conference podium, we’re probably advocating for integrating story into game play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our “Make It Immersive”<\/a> talk from last year’s Reality Escape Convention was a stealth story talk. Although maybe it wasn’t that stealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Story is what elevates a fun evening into a life-long memory. It’s the game-changer, if you will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet story is controversial in the escape room industry. Some escape room designers report frustration\u2014”I’ve added story, but the players never pay attention to it!” Others are convinced their players just don’t want it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the problem isn’t a player hatred of story-telling\u2014who hates stories? Seriously! The problem is in the stakes of escape rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Actor vs. The Padlock: and The Padlock wins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People go a little mad in escape rooms. We call it “escape room brain.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the typical escape room, the adventure is… <\/p>\n\n\n\n