Containment Breach Escape
Tags: Escape Room Immersive Experience Design Team Collaboration
Date: Sept. 2019 - Dec. 2019
My Role: Producer, Lead Designer, and Room Builder.
Team Size: 23
A 30-minute escape room experience in which players solved a sequence of puzzles to recapture a released entity and lift a facility lockdown. About 100 players participated over the three days of its public run.
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Containment Breach Escape is an escape room project developed over several weeks and executed by graduate students in Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) IMGD5300 course. After a class-wide vote, my proposed theme and aesthetic direction were selected as the top choice among 23 concepts, and I then served as the project's producer and lead designer. I was also an active member of the construction team, helping build the escape room from the ground up.
Photo of the escape room during playtesting
My project topic's pitch, which was selected as the top choice out of 23
Containment Breach Escape
ROOM CONSTRUCTION
The space assigned for the escape room was located in the Graduate Lounge in the basement of Fuller Lab. Our team prepared the area by clearing the room and constructing partitions with wood planks, filler, wall putty, and paint to divide the space into playable zones. We also integrated electronic equipment into the room, using wiring, Bluetooth devices, and one-way glass to support the puzzles and create a more immersive environment.
Working with the construction team
Containment Breach Escape
OUTCOMES
The completed escape room included 18 puzzles across multiple formats. The technologies and design techniques incorporated into these puzzles included paper-based challenges, physical mechanisms, UV-A lighting, laser lenses, video games, board puzzles, audio mechanisms, pagers, projection equipment, and other interactive elements.
Working with the construction team
Containment Breach Escape
PUBLIC RUN
The escape room opened for public play in December 2019. To promote the event and support ticket sales, we created a temporary website for online purchases and set up an on-campus booth to sell physical tickets. We also invited WPI faculty and professors to participate. Over the course of three days, including three rounds of playtesting, approximately 100 players experienced the escape room.
Selling physical tickets on campus
Group photos of players after the playing
Video
Project: Containment Breach Escape
The Page Last updated: May 23, 2026