21/04/25 – Reflection and Story Development

🎨 Creative Progress: AI Visuals & Voiceovers

Yesterday, I experimented with using AI tools to create character portraits. I uploaded real photos and generated stylized character images, which saved a huge amount of time (no photography or editing needed). The results are surprisingly effective and add a lot to the world-building.

I also tried using 11 Labs to create voiceovers for the mission briefing intro, but quickly hit my usage limit—and honestly, I wasn't satisfied with the tone or pacing. Hearing the script read aloud helped me realize it needs to be tighter: more Mission: Impossible, less meandering monologue. I'll rewatch some actual MI intros to better capture that punchy, suspenseful style.

🎞️ Scene Flow & Immersive Design (Walkthrough w/ Stacey)

I ran through the story with Stacey, recording the session for reference. It helped highlight narrative gaps, especially around the ending, and clarified which scenes are working well. Here's a breakdown of the current flow:

🧭 Story Outline (Mission Briefing + Escape Room Progression)

1. Intro: Conference Room (Inciting Incident)

• Setting: Ideally the management conference room

• Experience: A Mission: Impossible-style video briefing with facial scan visuals

• Narrative:

  • Dr. Trent Holbrook is declared a traitor.

  • He was researching "Hunters" for a covert agency and went off-grid.

  • Participants are tasked with retrieving his research from Crawley College.

Materials Given:

• Tablet (used for photo documentation & handler communication)

• Profile on Holbrook

• Key with white rabbit icon (leads to hidden book clue)

• First half of the Lexicon puzzle

2. ST11 Immersive Room: Holbrook's Hideout

• Design: Converted into a storeroom/hidey-hole

• Puzzles:

  • Hidden Alice in Wonderland book (requires rabbit key)

  • Second half of the Lexicon inside the book

  • QR check-in reveals handler video

• Narrative Update:

  • Handler ("Tac") reveals Holbrook's paranoia, odd behavior, and disappearance

  • Tac seems logical; Holbrook's methods described as erratic

3. ATC Immersive: Holbrook's Classroom

• Design: Simulated classroom with content about ADHD behaviors

• Puzzles:

  • "Wipe-to-reveal" clue opens box containing:

    • Spiral map

    • QR code

    • Key to the pod

    • Blacklight pen

• Narrative Update:

  • Participants begin understanding Holbrook's theories

  • "Hunter in a Farmer's World" metaphor introduced subtly

  • Hidden spiral map shows route to the pod

4. Pod Immersive: Archive Office

• Experience: Darker tone, emotionally charged

• Narrative:

  • Participants meet Lupa (video)—accused of killing Holbrook

  • Holbrook's posthumous video ("If you're seeing this, I'm dead")

  • Misdirection: Was it the agency? Was it Lupa?

  • Lupa reveals Holbrook was betrayed by Tac and the agency

• Twist:

  • Tac orders participants to destroy the data

  • Lupa urges them to preserve and complete it

• Choice-Based Pathway: Participants must choose who to trust

5. Final Room or Return: The Strategy Archive

• Climax (in development):

  • Discover Holbrook was building a "Hunter Support Archive"

  • Strategies are incomplete—participants must finish his work

  • The final reveal: Tac is the true antagonist

  • Possible thematic ambiguity around Holbrook's fate (suicide implied but not confirmed)

🔧 Design Solutions & Challenges

• Physical clues: College ID badges with fake names and clues (e.g., classroom locations)

• Gamification: Lexicon puzzle, hidden keys, QR-based progression, team role assignments

• Participant Roles: Each player has a unique function (e.g., archivist, code breaker, communicator)

• AI Integration: Face-scan visuals and character images save production time

🌀 Symbolism & Visual Narrative

• Fibonacci Spiral:

  • Embedded throughout story, maps, puzzles, and visual elements

  • Agency logo subtly unravels into a spiral in the final act

  • Used as a metaphor for natural complexity vs. institutional rigidity

⏱️ Timing & Structural Realism

• Total duration target: 60–90 minutes

• Concerns raised:

  • Travel time between rooms

  • Slow-moving teams

  • Puzzle complexity

• Solutions:

  • Walkthrough test planned to set room-by-room time estimates

  • Consider removing one room to streamline flow

  • Incorporate timers and radio check-ins to keep teams moving

💭 Reflections

• Feeling overwhelmed by the project's scale—but also proud of what's been built so far

• Need to transition from brainstorming to execution

• Priority: solidify story, simplify where needed, and test run the experience