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I still have a working title but it's the same concept that I've been working with (A vault break-in).
Here's a preliminary layout of the room:
I'm sure the dimensions will change and I will probably mix the lasers with the pressure plates but here's for shooting for the moon.
Over my winter break I decided to do some research in Boston. Took the train up there for a day and stopped by The Tomb.
The Tomb is where "participants get to play the role of hero in their own adventure, as they are confronted with puzzles, challenges, twists, and traps to test their bodies and minds." So basically you are let into an Egyptian tomb with a group of people and have to solve various puzzles to move on to the next room and find the Pharaoh's sarcophagus.
It's kind of like a video game in real space and I'd recommend anyone to go visit it if you find yourself bored in Boston.
I e-mailed ahead of time about visiting and got in touch with the CEO Matt DePlessey. Sadly we couldn't meet up, as he was out of town, but when I showed up their Sales Coordinator, Joe, showed me around and got me into a show and then passed me over to one of their designers, Schyler.
We talked for a while about a lot of their design, some behind the scenes info, and the work that 5-wits is doing currently. I found out that they were commissioned to do a piece at the Spy Museum called Operation Spy, which I also checked out when I got back into town.
After looking at the two pieces I'd say that there's a lot more polish in the Spy Museum show, due to funding, but it also tends to be a bit too complex of a story. Since it was based on actual events it ends up being too much information for a group to pick up when running through corridors and trying to solve various puzzles. The Tomb, however, was fairly simple in it's puzzles, story and design (especially since it was a first attempt and has had a few years to be polished by user feedback). It did a good job of mixing physical and mental puzzles and I felt that the physical sets and surroundings allowed me to better engage my imagination and feel more immersed. Operation Spy did have a killer corridor with security cameras and utility elevator that came right out of a James Bond movie that felt quite immersive but the rest of the experience did not have as strong of a feeling. I think part of this is because many of the rooms looked to be designed more for realism as opposed to spy movie standards and the settings were in the present and thus it did not employ as much imagination and suspension of disbelief as the Tomb.
Either way I would recommend both to anyone studying immersive interactive media.
Thanks again to the 5-Wits guys for the interviews, feedback, and great show.
For more info check them out here:
http://www.5-wits.com/home/