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D&D: The Original Escape Game
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7700856" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>Escape Games are all the rage these days, in which players are locked in a room and must solve a series of puzzle to escape. The origin of the game varies depending on the source: someone's daughter heard about it in Europe, it was inspired by Agatha Christie's works, developers wanted to mimic video game challenges. Whatever their origin, Gen Con attendees have been playing escape games before they became so popular.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]260017[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"><a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/escape-room-mystery-door-lock-4888667/" target="_blank">Picture courtesy of Pixabay.</a></p><h3>Escape Games Are a Lot Like RPGs</h3><p>Escape games have a simple but effective structure. A team of disparate players (possibly strangers, although escape games are also used as team building events) experience a crisis inside a room. They must work together to solve a puzzle within a time limit (usually an hour), with the ultimate goal to escape the room. Sometimes, a guiding force (a non-player character who is part of the game) will give them clues. Escape games have experienced a massive surge in popularity in recent years. To get an idea of just how popular, see the this comprehensive list at the <a href="http://escaperoomdirectory.com/" target="_blank">Escape Room Directory</a>.</p><p></p><p>The parallels between an escape game and a <em>Dungeons & Dragons </em>are numerous. <a href="http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf" target="_blank">There's even a game master</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>There are plenty of D&D trapped rooms that replicate this effect. Gygax's Tomb of Horrors comes to mind. The difference is that in D&D, players are taking on a role but sitting a table. Some escape rooms <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-weird-new-world-of-escape-room-businesses-2015-07-20" target="_blank">look a lot like tabletop sessions</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Players have been escaping rooms in D&D since the game debuted. It took True Dungeon to bring it to life in an organized fashion.</p><h3>Real Life Dungeons</h3><p>True Dungeon is descended from a combination of tabletop and Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) games which have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_live_action_role-playing_games" target="_blank">existed since the 1960s</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>True Dungeon took live action in a different direction. The players had roles, but those roles were chiefly game-based rather than role-based. <a href="https://truedungeon.com/how-to-play/item/30-td-history" target="_blank">And it all started with Jeff Martin</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Jeff eventually turned to prop-making, which led to puzzle-making:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Dwarven Forge owner Stefan Pokorny played in one of Jeff's games and made the introduction to Peter Adkison, who was hooked:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>If D&D is a distant ancestor of escape games, <a href="https://truedungeon.com/what-is-it" target="_blank">True Dungeon is most certainly a close relative</a>:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It's clear that True Dungeon and the escape games that followed are a new form of gaming.</p><h3>Escaping the Paradigm</h3><p>Escape games proliferated in Asia (Beijing has over 180) and spread to the U.S. with over 20 in LA. They drew their inspiration from a <a href="http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf" target="_blank">variety of sources</a>:</p><p></p><p>About 65% of the survey respondents said that their inspiration came from playing in or learning about another escape room; common organizations named were SCRAP from Japan, Parapark in Budapest, Hinthunt in London, and Escape the Room in NYC. The rest of the respondents were not aware of other escape rooms when they started. Their inspiration came from a variety of sources. A few of them were inspired by adventure movies like the Indiana Jones series or horror films like Cube, Saw.</p><p></p><p>Dr. Scott Nicholson points to a convergence of sources as inspiration for escape games: point-and-click adventures, puzzle & treasure hunts; interactive theater & haunted houses; adventure game shows & movies; themed entertainment industry; and LARPs (including True Dungeon).</p><p></p><p>Uncoupled from their fantasy origins, escape games follow the flow of popular culture. Only 12% of the escape games surveyed were fantasy-based, with the majority taking place in the modern era.</p><p></p><p>With such a varied origin, escape games are something new: live action exploration without role-playing. Escape games and True Dungeon lack the RP of LARPs but have more physical interaction than D&D. Dr. Nicholson recommends using the phrase "live-action adventures" to categorize the new genre.</p><h3>Future Role-Players?</h3><p>It's an exciting time for role-players. Live-action adventures can act as a gateway for future role-players. The escape rooms, if their solutions are ever published, can also make for fun dungeon puzzle rooms. It may well be worth it for enterprising game masters to pitch their games as "escape room games without the room."</p><p></p><p>All this time, D&D gamers sitting around a table have been escaping rooms in their minds. Now that the rooms have been brought into the physical space, the basic concepts of role-play are being enjoyed more than ever before -- even if they're not playing a role.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 7700856, member: 3285"] Escape Games are all the rage these days, in which players are locked in a room and must solve a series of puzzle to escape. The origin of the game varies depending on the source: someone's daughter heard about it in Europe, it was inspired by Agatha Christie's works, developers wanted to mimic video game challenges. Whatever their origin, Gen Con attendees have been playing escape games before they became so popular. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]260017[/ATTACH] [URL='https://pixabay.com/illustrations/escape-room-mystery-door-lock-4888667/']Picture courtesy of Pixabay.[/URL][/CENTER] [HEADING=2]Escape Games Are a Lot Like RPGs[/HEADING] Escape games have a simple but effective structure. A team of disparate players (possibly strangers, although escape games are also used as team building events) experience a crisis inside a room. They must work together to solve a puzzle within a time limit (usually an hour), with the ultimate goal to escape the room. Sometimes, a guiding force (a non-player character who is part of the game) will give them clues. Escape games have experienced a massive surge in popularity in recent years. To get an idea of just how popular, see the this comprehensive list at the [URL='http://escaperoomdirectory.com/']Escape Room Directory[/URL]. The parallels between an escape game and a [I]Dungeons & Dragons [/I]are numerous. [URL='http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf']There's even a game master[/URL]: There are plenty of D&D trapped rooms that replicate this effect. Gygax's Tomb of Horrors comes to mind. The difference is that in D&D, players are taking on a role but sitting a table. Some escape rooms [URL='http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-weird-new-world-of-escape-room-businesses-2015-07-20']look a lot like tabletop sessions[/URL]: [INDENT][/INDENT] Players have been escaping rooms in D&D since the game debuted. It took True Dungeon to bring it to life in an organized fashion. [HEADING=2]Real Life Dungeons[/HEADING] True Dungeon is descended from a combination of tabletop and Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) games which have [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_live_action_role-playing_games']existed since the 1960s[/URL]: True Dungeon took live action in a different direction. The players had roles, but those roles were chiefly game-based rather than role-based. [URL='https://truedungeon.com/how-to-play/item/30-td-history']And it all started with Jeff Martin[/URL]: Jeff eventually turned to prop-making, which led to puzzle-making: Dwarven Forge owner Stefan Pokorny played in one of Jeff's games and made the introduction to Peter Adkison, who was hooked: If D&D is a distant ancestor of escape games, [URL='https://truedungeon.com/what-is-it']True Dungeon is most certainly a close relative[/URL]: It's clear that True Dungeon and the escape games that followed are a new form of gaming. [HEADING=2]Escaping the Paradigm[/HEADING] Escape games proliferated in Asia (Beijing has over 180) and spread to the U.S. with over 20 in LA. They drew their inspiration from a [URL='http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/erfacwhite.pdf']variety of sources[/URL]: About 65% of the survey respondents said that their inspiration came from playing in or learning about another escape room; common organizations named were SCRAP from Japan, Parapark in Budapest, Hinthunt in London, and Escape the Room in NYC. The rest of the respondents were not aware of other escape rooms when they started. Their inspiration came from a variety of sources. A few of them were inspired by adventure movies like the Indiana Jones series or horror films like Cube, Saw. Dr. Scott Nicholson points to a convergence of sources as inspiration for escape games: point-and-click adventures, puzzle & treasure hunts; interactive theater & haunted houses; adventure game shows & movies; themed entertainment industry; and LARPs (including True Dungeon). Uncoupled from their fantasy origins, escape games follow the flow of popular culture. Only 12% of the escape games surveyed were fantasy-based, with the majority taking place in the modern era. With such a varied origin, escape games are something new: live action exploration without role-playing. Escape games and True Dungeon lack the RP of LARPs but have more physical interaction than D&D. Dr. Nicholson recommends using the phrase "live-action adventures" to categorize the new genre. [HEADING=2]Future Role-Players?[/HEADING] It's an exciting time for role-players. Live-action adventures can act as a gateway for future role-players. The escape rooms, if their solutions are ever published, can also make for fun dungeon puzzle rooms. It may well be worth it for enterprising game masters to pitch their games as "escape room games without the room." All this time, D&D gamers sitting around a table have been escaping rooms in their minds. Now that the rooms have been brought into the physical space, the basic concepts of role-play are being enjoyed more than ever before -- even if they're not playing a role. [/QUOTE]
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