01/06/25 – Reflection: Enhancing Presentation and Interactivity

01/06/2025

🎮 Progress: Game Adjustments and Thematic Refinements

Today was a day of small but important progress toward refining the 30-minute escape room experience. Here's what changed:

🧩 Prime Number Game: Now More Intriguing

  • Removed the explicit instructions about prime numbers.

  • Players now must deduce which numbers cause their score to increase and which cause it to decrease.

  • Goal: Add a layer of mystery and pressure, rather than spelling it out.

This change should make the experience more engaging, though I'll need to test for accessibility—it might end up being too confusing for some groups.

🎨 Visuals: Upgrading Text Panels

  • Standard Immersive software text boxes felt dull and blurry due to projection misalignment.

  • Solution: Custom text panels:

    • Created visually engaging slides in PowerPoint and AI-edited images.

    • Imported as full images rather than layering text, ensuring clarity.

    • Consistent hexagon-themed design to match the rest of the experience.

This process gives more design control but is definitely more time-consuming.

🎙️ Narration Integration

  • Began adding narration over intros and outros:

    • Helps accessibility.

    • Avoids reliance on hard-to-read projections.

  • Workflow frustration: Phone records in incompatible formats.

    • Current workaround: Record voice notes → Import into iMovie → Export as MP3.

    • Goal: Find a voice recorder that exports directly to MP3 to save time.

🕹️ Mini-Game: "The Sum of All Fears"

  • The prime number splat game now has:

    • A moving red background (exported from Keynote as an MP4 for higher quality).

    • A fun, thematic new title to make it feel less dry.

  • Still struggling with the padding feature—objects move outside their set bounds, breaking the visual effect. Ongoing.

🤖 Red Herrings and Easter Eggs

  • Added:

    • Fake "Top Secret Escape Clues" book—a blank scrolling time-waster.

    • Jurassic Park "You didn't say the magic word" screen—a fun distraction.

  • New whiteboard mechanic:

    • Players must find and select the board eraser before they can reveal the sum.

    • Introduced a pop-up prop (eraser icon) during wiping.

These tweaks add interactivity and humour, even if they don't contribute directly to puzzle solving.

🧠 Theme Consolidation: Tron Influence

  • Shifting more of the visuals and background videos to match a Tron-like aesthetic:

    • Blue/cyan neon grids

    • Futuristic, game-world vibes

  • Considering swapping out the Rocky steps clip for Tron gameplay footage to align thematically with the hexagon challenges and Tron soundtrack.

🔊 Sound Effects and Voice Lines

  • Added individual audio cues for item finds (e.g., "You found my vape!").

  • Planning for:

    • Victory sounds per challenge

    • Mocking voiceovers from "students" for immersion

    • Possibly narration for questions—though cautious not to overload the experience.

🛠️ Remaining Challenges

  • Hotspot alignment:

    • Recent changes may have thrown off hotspot placement.

    • Will require another manual recalibration—tedious but essential.

  • Splat Game Scoring:

    • Still haven't cracked how to lock players into the splat game until a score threshold is met or displayed.

  • Facilitator behaviour:

    • Need to stay out of the room during future tests to avoid unintentionally coaching players.

✅ Summary of Key Developments

  • ✔ Improved presentation with custom text/image panels

  • ✔ Introduced more thematic consistency (Tron aesthetic)

  • ✔ Added fun Easter eggs and distractions

  • ✔ Added real-time audio cues for actions

  • ✔ Improved splat game visuals and theme

  • 🚧 Voice recording workflow still clunky

  • 🚧 Hotspot alignment still pending

  • 🚧 Need to test score-locking for splat game

💭 Personal Reflection

The workload is becoming intense—Sunday or not, there's a growing backlog of tasks. Progress feels real, but the time commitment is heavy. Still, it's exciting to see the escape room getting closer to a professional, immersive experience.

Next time, I need to:

  • Focus on testing without interference.

  • Finalise all audio.

  • Iron out the last technical wrinkles.

Images Created for the Experience

Splat Game Intro

AI created image for a red herring

What they participants can find on a shelf

More Images

This is now on a shelf and has to be selected before the board can be cleaned

This now appears as a prop when wiping the board

This has been added to the English quiz section to remove the locks from the questions they've answered wrong more than once

ATOM Functions for above

Click here and start typing. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium.

Click here and start typing. Illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo nemo enim ipsam voluptatem.

Click here and start typing. Magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem ut enim ad minima veniam quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis.

Problems Log

Splat game lacks clear instructions

No direct instruction on scoring prime numbers; players have to figure it out

Removed direct instruction to create intrigue; observing player reactions will determine if further clarification is needed

Player testing, escape room design principles

Game balancing and player engagement research

Makes the game more challenging and engaging

01-06-25

In Progress

LO5

Text overlays hard to read due to projection misalignment

Text blurry due to misaligned projectors; difficult to read on large wall

Moved text into designed image backgrounds using AI + PowerPoint, adding narration

Testing readability; trial & error

Presentation design techniques

Ensures better readability and keeps aesthetic quality

01-06-25

In Progress

LO4

Audio recording file formats incompatible

Phone voice recordings incompatible with immersive software

Workaround: record in voice notes, import to iMovie, export as MP3

File format troubleshooting

Basic audio formatting workflows

Ensures audio can be uploaded into system

01-06-25

In Progress

LO5

Padding feature on splat game not working

Splat icons move outside set parameters despite padding settings

No current solution; considering contacting Immersive support or alternative layout strategy

Trial & error; Freshdesk manuals

Technical standards for gamification

Still unresolved, plan to investigate further

01-06-25

In Progress

LO4

Need for immersive red herrings

Wanted to add distractions and false clues to enhance game complexity

Added AI-created 'fake clues' (e.g., blank escape book, Jurassic Park 'magic word' gag)

Escape room gamification methods

Game design best practices for engagement

Keeps players engaged and misdirected

01-06-25

01-06-25

LO5

Physical interactivity in whiteboard wipe

Needed players to interact more naturally with props

Created a hidden hotspot requiring selection of a board eraser before wipe is possible; added animated props

Gamification design ideas

Immersive props features

Encourages physical interaction and realism

01-06-25

01-06-25

LO4

PowerPoint screen recording low quality

Needed a higher-quality moving background for games

Shifted to using Keynote for video export as MP4 for better quality

Alternative software trial (Keynote)

Visual presentation best practices

Provides smoother, higher quality animations

01-06-25

01-06-25

LO4

Lack of atmospheric consistency

Tron theme partial but not consistent across puzzles

Expanded Tron theme visuals and music across all games

Thematic alignment observations

Theme consistency for immersion

Creates a cohesive and immersive experience

01-06-25

In Progress

LO3

Too much instructor intervention in playtests

Being present in tests caused unconscious guidance to players

Plan to remove self from the room during future tests

Observations of player behaviour

Escape room playtesting standards

Ensures unbiased testing and genuine player feedback

01-06-25

In Progress

LO5

Leaving splat game too easily

Unclear how to gate exit based on achieving a minimum score

Investigating how to lock exit until target score is reached

Review of immersive software documentation

Gamification exit mechanics

Maintains game structure and challenge integrity

01-06-25

In Progress

LO5

Inconsistent visual style for game hotspots

Purple question marks out of sync with Tron theme

Plan to redesign with blue Tron-style icons or 'light discs'

Theme analysis and user feedback

Aesthetic coherence in UX design

Enhances visual consistency and professionalism

01-06-25

In Progress

LO3

Need for narration and sound feedback

Rooms felt too flat and quiet during testing

Adding narration and sound effects to actions and game triggers

Playtest feedback; immersion research

Audio reinforcement best practices

Increases immersion and engagement

01-06-25

In Progress

LO5

Hotspot misalignment due to wall shifting

Hotspots not lining up after wall template adjustments

Plan to rely more on invisible hotspots not tied to background position

Testing different layout strategies

Projection mapping guides

Stabilizes gameplay experience

01-06-25

In Progress

LO4

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