Immersion is "deep mental involvement," and that's exactly our goal at ESCAPE! Alaska. Putting you not just in a game, but in another place, another time... putting you in an adventure and getting your brain to buy in as much as possible. Escape rooms lacking immersion is one of the reasons we became interested in the industry. Of all the places we had played, in big cities and small, there seemed to be a gap between what we hoped a room would be like (based on its online description) and the actual experience of it. 

So, in 2016 when we set out to develop our first room, THE TOMB, it wasn't enough to simply put some hieroglyphs on an office wall, we wanted every bit of the room, every puzzle, and the hint delivery to all fit the story. To that end, we engaged in months of researching ancient Egyptian lore, gods, their culture, their language, and present-day archaeology. We wanted our version of a long-hidden tomb to be as historically accurate as possible, while first and foremost being a fun and engaging game. Once those requirements were satisfied, we then set about introducing a bit more Hollywood - what would be really cool in the room that would make it feel like you were in an adventure film? The end result: an escape room experience some players have called "the most immersive" they've seen anywhere.

Fast forward two years and we were jumping into development for our second room, NOIR, an escape game set in a 1935 Chicago detective's office. More research. What did the furniture of the time look like? Light switches? Office equipment? Which technologies were available during that era? We can't have a flat screen monitor in the room with your game timer, and you won't find an ipad to deliver your hints. Again, we are first committed to creating the best game we can, followed only slightly by an accurate environment. 

This room, however, wouldn't feel like you're just in a building in the 30s... this escape room would immerse you in a detective noir murder mystery MOVIE from the post-depression years. 

Which means it's entirely in black and white. Grayscale, to be precise.

Now, in addition to building a set and populating it with period appropriate props and furnishings, there also can't be a drop of color in anything. And most tech has to be disguised or completely hidden, because it didn't exist. It may sound daunting, but we live for this stuff! Since we don't ever get to play the games, the puzzles we get to solve are... designing the puzzles. Deciding how to build, furnish, and light the set, picking just the right music, and designing sound effects that all add to your immersion and the fun of the game, that's all part of the puzzle we get to put together.

 Our first piece of set decoration for NOIR is a plant, and it looks amazing in varying shades of gray. We can’t wait to put it in the room, and we can’t wait to put you in there with it.