{"id":3965,"date":"2016-10-22T12:26:46","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T16:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=3965"},"modified":"2016-10-22T12:28:37","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T16:28:37","slug":"a-puzzling-and-addictive-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=3965","title":{"rendered":"A puzzling and addictive trend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From the Montreal Gazette, Saturday, Oct 22nd<\/em><\/p>\n

Escape rooms are popping up all over city, offering a 3D gaming experience<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s something you don\u2019t get to do in everyday life that\u2019s more exciting than video games or movies . … It\u2019s more tactile.<\/p>\n

From page A1<\/a> The fate of the world is on the line and the clock is ticking down. A zombie plague is wiping major cities off the map and you\u2019re pinned down in the one lab that contains the cure.<\/p>\n

PHOTOS: DARIO AYALA From left, friends Charles Blanc, Alexis\u00a0Dupire and Clemence Bergier look for clues in a 1930s mafia-themed escape room at Question Games.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Running out of time means certain doom for all mankind. But if you can find the hidden cure and make your way out of the lab in time, you will get bragging rights over everyone who couldn\u2019t hack it \u2014 playing one of Montreal\u2019s latest escape rooms, an entertainment trend taking the city by storm.<\/p>\n

The general idea behind the experience is simple, even if escaping can be complex. Groups of two or more friends or colleagues in a team-building capacity get locked in a room and solve puzzles to find their way out, with a time limit of about an hour.<\/p>\n

Locales offer different scenarios to keep up with demand, with an average price tag of about $25 per person to play. At Question Games for example, players choose between several \u201cmissions,\u201d including the quest for the cure described above.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty immersive,\u201d says Gabriel Lawson, 22, prior to attempting a Question Games mission. Originally from British Columbia, Lawson has visited rooms all over the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something you don\u2019t get to do in everyday life that\u2019s more exciting than video games or movies . … It\u2019s more tactile. You get to do stuff with your body instead of just staring at a screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not restricted to North America, escape rooms originated in Japan back in 2007. They made their way to Montreal two years ago, with \u00c9chappe-Toi opening in October 2014. The operation wasn\u2019t alone for long, with Find the Key, A\/ Maze, and Obsidem having started construction at around the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably now have 14 different companies in Montreal and the suburbs,\u201d says Emmanuel de Gouvello, \u00c9chappe-Toi\u2019s co-founder. \u201cWe\u2019re still growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Gouvello is not just referencing the industry, but his company, too. Another \u00c9chappe-Toi has since opened in France, with a third to follow in Boston under a different name: Dasuru, which translates from Japanese to \u201cescape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new name in Boston was to be expected for language reasons, but that\u2019s not all that is changing, according to de Gouvello. Some of the most successful escape rooms deliver different experiences depending on the market.<\/p>\n

\u00c9chappe-Toi is even starting a franchising program next year. Such is the nature of the rapidly expanding industry, featuring few barriers to entry, with first-generation rooms requiring minimal startup capital. However, a lot of word of mouth is needed, not to mention motivation, especially at the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe small weeks were 60 hours and the big weeks were probably 80-85,\u201d says de Gouvello, who had been working as a business coach when \u00c9chappe-Toi opened. He eventually had to choose between the two.<\/p>\n

That those 80-hour weeks haven\u2019t stopped altogether is a testament to the success of \u00c9chappeToi and de Gouvello\u2019s passion for his business, which he says fits him perfectly. It\u2019s a recurring theme among founders, many of whom were inspired to start one of their own by playing elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a dream to work in this environment. You get to watch people come and work together and have fun doing something you created,\u201d says Question Games cofounder Matthew Diamond.<\/p>\n

As the number of locations increases, each escape-room company naturally tries to raise the bar. However, they don\u2019t necessarily see each other as threats to one another. True fans of the genre are going to try as many different escape rooms as they can. As long as the overall quality stays high, owners stay happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, you can open a small room with keys and locks, call it an escape game, and you\u2019re going to have customers,\u201d says Alexander Reverse, the CEO of A\/Maze. \u201cHowever, people who are playing for the first time won\u2019t want to do it anymore, and they won\u2019t know to go where the quality is much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help separate them from the pack, Obsidem has added adventure games to their offerings. There, actors may help to further immerse players in a larger-scale environment, where, for instance, the goal isn\u2019t to escape, but extract a separate group of prisoners. In fact, it\u2019s got to the point where \u201cescape room\u201d is almost a misnomer.<\/p>\n

De Gouvello compares the games to movies. He has used actors since almost the start, for the most part sticking to the tried and true formula of pitting players locked in a room against the clock. To keep things fresh, puzzles are updated once a year. The actors help, too.<\/p>\n

Whereas in a movie actors have lines, \u00c9chappe-Toi gives theirs more leeway to move stories along. Groups playing the game each enjoy different dynamics. As a result, their experience interacting with the environment, actors and all, can be just as unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actor is supposed to be able to improvise something to get to an outcome, which will translate into the players being able to progress,\u201d says de Gouvello.<\/p>\n

\u00c9chappe-Toi\u2019s games still have only about a three per cent success rate, so progress doesn\u2019t always mean escaping altogether. That\u2019s not the point, though. It\u2019s not just about getting out. It\u2019s about playing out a real-life 3D computer game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the next dimension, where you can touch things and take away experiences,\u201d Reverse says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s at the very least an escape away from reality, even if only for an hour. As far as ways to pass the time go, it beats an actual zombie apocalypse, hands down. And it\u2019s only getting better and more realistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs technology becomes more readily available \u2026 there\u2019s not much you can\u2019t do,\u201d Diamond says. \u201cAnd we keep wanting to add and enhance that experience for people when they play.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>So the next time you and your friends are locked in a room, you just might be the last line of defence against a zombie apocalypse, finding a cure to fight a deadly virus, or attempting a daring prison escape … the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n