Escape Room Project

“Creativity is what happens when a mind encounters an obstacle. It’s the human process of finding a way through, over, around, or beneath. No obstacle, no creativity.” - Ben Orlin

Description: 

This project is all about creativity in the face of constraint.  Collaborating in groups of 2-4,  you will design and implement an escape room experience of your own.  Your escape room should 

• have a cohesive and engaging storyline

• incorporate research about a particular place

• consist of 5-10 puzzles and at least 4 of them integrate mathematical concepts covered in class

• and have a fun and effective user interface

Objectives: 

• 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, and

• apply mathematical concepts in a fun and creative way.

Timeline / Due Dates: 

• 9/23 Annotated bibliography of place research due

Purpose: To conduct the background research that will help inspire and inform your escape room narrative. The resulting annotated bibliography will organize your research and your 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 5 sources that relate to a place (or event) centered in Salem (or the Willamette Valley). This can be an extension of your previous writing 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 150 words per source not counting citation).

• 9/30 Story idea/outline pitched in class

Purpose: To refine your narrative ideas with feedback from your peers.

Details:  As a group, be ready to make a 2-5 minute presentation to the class pitching your story/narrative idea to the class (you're welcome to  make two pitches if you're deciding between two different directions). You may make slides if you wish, but they are not necessary. Each person in your group should present something. Include in your presentation

1. A description of the background/set up to your narrative

2. the purpose of the players (what is their goal?)

3. ideas for different rooms or "chapters" of your narrative (e.g. the different train cars in the online game from this summer, or the different parts of the island)

4. how your story integrates with the space you've chosen and what interesting details about your space (from your research) you are incorporating in your project. 

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.

• 10/12 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:

1. 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.

2. 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. 

3. 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.  

• 10/24 Flow chart, rough drafts of puzzles due

• 11/7 Play testing of digital escape room

• 11/11 Final draft of project due

Rubric

The final project grade will be based on: 

• (40%) organization and puzzle design -  coherence, attention to detail, user experience, integration of puzzles into story

• (20%) strength of written work - engaging narrative which meaningfully incorporates something you learned about a space, time  (clever is bonus…), and is free of grammatical and spelling errors.

• (20%) mathematical content - math is a meaningful component of at least 4 puzzles 

• (20%) In the future make it worth more intermediate scaffolding assignments (annotated bibliography, story pitch, narrative drafts, puzzle drafts, play testing) and a final reflection on the experience and team contributions. 

Resources

• Digital escape room tutorials and guides

  • Google slides, forms and sites tutorial

    • https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2021/09/134-creative-escape-rooms-without-the-fuss.html 

    • https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2021/09/elaborate-digital-escape-rooms-forms-sites-slides.html

  • 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

• 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

  • https://www.escapology.com/en/memphis-tn/news/understanding%20escape%20room%20design%20and%20storyline

  • https://www.puzzleworksmn.com/blog/2020/2/13/designing-an-escape-room

  • https://escaperoomgeeks.com/diy-escape-room-tutorial/