Research
An escape room is where a player has a set amount of time to escape. The room is normally locked and have to solve a series of puzzles which the player has to complete.
An escape room is often popular of the experience it provides. The experience they provide is a story driven game with pressure from the countdown and will give the player as sense of achievement as it puts quick thinking on the line. Having puzzles gate keeping the progression can lead the player to make mistakes as they try to rush in order to beat the time. Same mechanics are needed to unlocked other mechanics causing the game to make a particular order of events.
Games within the genre
The Backrooms – was created by a indie game developer. The game currently has 5 levels. The levels are huge and and is designed to be more difficult than the previous one and each one with different puzzles and mechanics. This game is based on the famous creepypasta with many real references implemented such as iconic entities. Due to this trend this is where The Backrooms managed to get a large majority of their audience.
Granny – was created by DVloper which had created a few horror escape rooms. The game has a few spin-offs which introduce the chapters (sequels) to the original game. You have 5 days to escape granny’s house or you will have instant deaf. The game has many different gameplay mechanics unlike Backrooms it is all in one level meaning each mechanic leads to another mechanic. DVloper already released popular games which caused this to be popular to. It was also popular because a lot of streamers played this game.
What are the similarities
Both games contain entities which pressures the player further as if they get caught they will die. They also both contain large levels making the player feel enclosed to their enviourment. They both feature psychological horror because of jump scares. The game is quiet at certain points keeping the player on edge as they expect something to happen but nothing does.
Differences
Whereas the backrooms have many entities granny only having the one therefore, with less entries the player knows what to look out for. The backrooms uses a blend between entries and enviourment as the space itself could be horror due to the audio and sounds around you. Granny has only one enemy meaning it can be predictable at times.
What I want in mine
I want the idea of granny that it is one large enviourment instead of many levels like the backrooms. However, mine will be smaller than granny’s house as I don’t think I will have enough time to do all of Andy’s house. I will also not being having a entity like granny or backrooms this is because I want to prioritise the the mechanics first with atmosphere supporting.
How am I going to meet my goals
In order to meet the mechanics first with atmosphere supporting I will want the enviourment to feel much larger than the player as you play as Buzz lightyear who is a toy so the enviourment is suppose to feel engulfing. I will do the mechanics first as they are important and will meet the requirements first.