Escape Room Project
IDS 101 Fall 24, Sections 25 & 28
Professors McNicholas & Nyman
Professors McNicholas & Nyman
This project is all about creativity in the face of constraint. Collaborating in groups of 2-4, you will design and implement an online escape room/puzzle hunt experience of your own. Your escape room should
have a cohesive and engaging storyline
incorporate research about a particular place and time
consist of 5-10 puzzles, at least 4 of which integrate mathematical concepts covered in class
involve a metapuzzle and extraction techniques
include multiple hints for each puzzle, the final hint including the solution
include a feedback page
and have a fun and effective user interface
practice effective collaboration and listening, as well as creative and analytic problem solving,
strengthen project implementation and development skills,
conduct independent place-based research,
hone writing and story telling talents
apply mathematical concepts in a fun and creative way.
develop and polish your project through an iterative process.
9/20 Annotated bibliography of place research due
Purpose: To conduct background research that will help inspire and inform your escape room narrative. The resulting annotated bibliography will organize your research and findings and provide a valuable resource as you develop your narrative. Annotated bibliographies are often assigned as a first step in a larger research paper assignment.
Details: Read the description (including example annotated bibliographies) here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1voHsRpjjr_l3gtL61YIa1cSjCX6EcPbBVDnEySh8iT8/edit?usp=sharing, and write an annotated bibliography of 3 sources that relate to a place (or event) centered in Salem (or the Willamette Valley). This can be an extension of your previous walking tour assignment, or you may choose a new place you are excited by. Your annotated bibliography should do all of the above (summarize, assess, reflect) in one paragraph per source (around 100 words per source not counting citation).
9/27 Story idea/outline pitched in class
Purpose: To refine your narrative ideas with feedback from your peers.
Details: As a group, make a 5 minute presentation to the class pitching your story/narrative idea (you're welcome to make two pitches if you're deciding between two different directions). You should prepare 1-5 Google slides to aid in your pitch. Each person in your group should present something.
Include in your presentation
A description of the setting and background for your narrative (Where is it located? When is it located? Does it tie into real historical events? etc)
Who are the players - what is their goal? How do they interact with the setting?
A little bit about the structure of your digital adventure. Will it be linear, non-linear, or something in between? Do you have ideas for different rooms or "chapters" of your narrative (e.g. the different train cars in the online game from this summer.)
How your story integrates with the space you've chosen in a meaningful way and what interesting details about your space (from your research) you are incorporating in your project.
It’s not enough to simply locate your adventure in a place. That place should be meaningfully incorporated into it.
The goal of your digital adventure
In addition to being fun and diverting, your adventure should have some goal. This goal could be to educate the player about a particular place or time, or convey a particular message to the player. Adventures from previous classes educated players about campus, the Reed Opera House, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, and had messages related to processing grief and the melancholia that naturally surrounds losing pieces of our childhood, and the importance of finding closure.
Job of the listeners: Be attentive during the presentations. After the pitch, ask any questions you have. Raise possible challenges the group may need to avoid ("have you considered...?") Offer feedback.
10/9 Narrative draft due
Purpose: Develop your group’s escape room narrative and collaborate with your peers to strengthen each other’s narratives.
Details: For class on Wednesday, you need to bring a complete draft of your escape room narrative. This will consist of:
An introduction which sets the scene and explains to the players what their goals are. Your introduction should explain the situation and place that the players find themselves in, along with any other details and background information needed to begin play. The higher the quality of this narrative (the level of detail, character development, evocative story telling), the richer the experience will be for the players. Your introduction should be between 300-500 words.
Front matter text for each of the different rooms or chapters of your meta-puzzle / game room. This text should continue the narrative from the introduction, progressing your overall story arc as well as providing any clues or instructions players need to engage with this portion of the game room. What are the players’ immediate goals for this chapter? What hints are you providing for this chapter’s clue extraction? etc. The front matter for each chapter should be about 100-300 words in length. There are no limits as to the number of rooms/chapters your game contains. One chapter might contain several nonlinear puzzles. Keep in mind that fewer chapters means the component puzzles will have to do more to carry the story. You do not need to have puzzles specified at this point.
Create a flowchart of the narrative elements of your escape room. This flowchart should map out the sequence of events or chapters in your story. While you don’t need to know yet what your component puzzles will be, your flow chart should clearly specify which clues will be extracted from the component puzzles, when/where this extraction will happen, and how these clues are relevant to your room’s story arc.
10/25 Flow chart, rough drafts of puzzles due
Purpose: Complete a final draft of your escape room plan, including 5-10 puzzles that are integrated into your narrative. Collaborate with your peers to strengthen your integrated puzzles.
Details: For class on Friday, you need to bring a complete paper draft of your flowchart and puzzles. This will consist of:
A google slide flowchart of both the narrative elements of your escape room and the puzzles that will make up the experience. This flowchart should map out the sequence of events or chapters in your story, where each puzzle will be encountered, what type of puzzle and extraction technique is being encountered, and what information the solution of that puzzle will provide (aka how each puzzle advances your narrative). Depending on the level of puzzle detail you included in your last flowchart, this new submission may be a significant revision or a very minor one.
5-10 fully fleshed out puzzles including front matter and meta-puzzle clue extraction layered over the puzzle.
At least 4 of the puzzles should be built on mathematical topics (for example logic puzzles, grid puzzles, cellular automata puzzles, minarism puzzles, art gallery puzzles, pigeonhole puzzles, puzzles built on graph or network concepts, binary, modular arithmetic, etc).
Each puzzle should be presented with the front matter that links it to the escape room story arch. Each puzzle should include prepared hints (on a separate page) and enough information for players to understand the objective of the puzzle and clue extraction. Label each puzzle with an estimated amount of time you think the puzzle will take to solve.
In a separate document, provide solutions to each puzzle including any clue extraction steps. Clearly label the type of puzzle and extraction technique being used.
You are welcome to integrate these puzzles directly into your narrative, but you don’t have to.
You will present your flowchart and puzzles to the class and then assign each of the other groups 2-3 of your puzzles to do.
11/4 Fully implemented digital escape rooms due. Playtesting of digital escape rooms
11/8 Revised escape rooms published and available to the community
The final project grade will account for 30% of your final grade and will be based on
(40%) organization and puzzle design - coherence, attention to detail, user experience, integration of puzzles into the story
(30%) strength of written work - an engaging narrative that meaningfully incorporates something you learned about a space, time (clever is a bonus…), and is free of grammatical and spelling errors.
(30%) mathematical content - math is a meaningful component of at least 4 puzzles
Intermediate scaffolding assignments (annotated bibliography, story pitch, narrative drafts, puzzle drafts, promotional blurb) and a final reflection on the experience and team contributions, will account for 10% of your final course grade.
Digital escape room tutorials and guides
Google slides, forms, and sites tutorial
comprehensive resource page https://guides.fscj.edu/escaperooms/how
tutorial using Google Forms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLzbPGF4TzY
Creating a digital escape room with Google slides, docs and forms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjKkmRdQ8ac
Puzzle design resources
logic puzzles: http://puzzles4you.blogspot.com/
puzzle design "rules" https://thecodex.ca/13-rules-for-escape-room-puzzle-design/
some non-math puzzle ideas https://lockpaperscissors.co/escape-room-puzzle-ideas
more puzzle ideas https://escaperoomgeeks.com/diy-puzzles/
clever puzzle ideas: https://escaperoomtips.com/design/escape-room-puzzle-ideas
introduction to writing puzzles and inspiration https://web.mit.edu/dwilson/www/puzzles/puzzlewriting.html
encoding resources https://www.constructedadventures.com/the-toolbox
puzzle maker https://puzzel.org/
Artifact Generators
code sheet https://web.evanchen.cc/upload/EvanPuzzleCodings.pdf
receipt maker https://www.pressanykey.com/Receipt_Maker_Page.php
drivers license maker https://www.festisite.com/documents/drivers-license/usa/new-york/
artifact generator and ideas https://keslerscience.com/escape-room-puzzle-ideas-for-the-science-classroom
activity ideas: https://www.theliterarymaven.com/2017/04/breakout-digital-escape-room-ideas.html
Escape room structure and organization
Previous Escape Rooms
https://sites.google.com/willamette.edu/ids101escaperoomsf22/home
https://sites.google.com/willamette.edu/ids-101-escape-rooms-f23