Escape the room
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Escape the room is a genre of online video games (similar to an adventure or puzzle game), usually made in Adobe Flash. The point of these games is to find a way to escape from a mysterious room. The room usually consists of a locked door and several pieces of furniture. The player must interact with the furniture or objects that can be found throughout the room. The player must then use the object to interact with other items in the room to reveal a way to escape. For example, a player may find a red box in the room, and by using several keys that are found in other places in the room, may open the box to reveal even more objects, such as a key to a door.
Most escape the room games are also point-and-click games, and so the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
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[edit] Origin
The game which popularized the term "escape the room", inspiring gamemakers, is said to be MOTAS (2001), though there are many older examples of this format, for example "Behind Closed Doors" by Zenobi Software (see adventure game). Though this game was text-based and not an online Flash based point and click game, the very first puzzle in MOTAS is basically the same - using a piece of paper under a door to retrieve a key. This puzzle was also in point-and-click adventures, such as "Fascination" and "Zork" among others. The Escape the room genre was further popularized by the Crimson Room game (2004) by Toshimitsu Takagi, which has spread throughout the internet and can be seen on many gaming websites. Strictly speaking, MOTAS is no longer "escape-the-room", as it includes more than one room and even outdoor locations.
[edit] Story
Most escape the room games are in a first-person perspective, with the player clicking on objects to interact with them. Many games of the genre start with a small cutscene (which usually consists only of text) to establish how the player got there. The usual story is the player waking up after a night of drinking (or a similar cliché activity) and finding themselves in a mysterious room from which they must escape using household items left in the room.
[edit] Gameplay
During gameplay, the player clicks on objects to either interact with it or add it to his inventory. If the object cannot be collected, the player is usually informed of what it is (as if the player was instead inspecting it). After collecting various items and using them with various objects, the player may eventually find a way to get out of the room. Some games require that the player solves several rooms until finding the end. Escape the room games often require significant amounts of pixel hunting.
