Get the latest tech news

Open door policy: can an escape room be queer?


Hello! Eurogamer is once again marking Pride with another week of features celebrating the intersection of LGBTQIA+ cul…

Memoirscape's design is built on what its narrative and production consultant Katherine Crighton calls "asynchronous storytelling through ephemera" - inspired by Punchdrunk's immersive experience Sleep No More and Henning Nelm's 1969 handbook Magic and Showmanship - and, as someone who studies archaeological approaches to games, I was fascinated by this material culture. On the path to uncovering Alder's past, for instance, players use genuine, old-fashioned audio cassettes to gather clues - a process Crighton believes encourages them to "practice patience and mindfulness" as they interact with unfamiliar analogue technology. An obvious parallel would be developer Fullbright's walking simulator, Gone Home; as in that game's tale of slowly unfurling familial revelations, Adler's story is told as an epistolary narrative, allowing players to discover more at their own pace.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Eurogamer

Read more on:

Photo of escape room

escape room

Photo of door policy

door policy