Logan Buchalter
Virtual Escape Room
Cornerstone of Engineering II, Northeastern University
Relevant Skills: project management, aesthetic design, MATLAB, SolidWorks, flowcharts
Objective
Develop a virtual escape room capable of being played by multiple remote players simultaneously
Variables / Constraints
Each team was given a timeline of approximately 3 months, and were required to implement a combination of code-based and CAD puzzles.
Role
As the project Architect, I was in charge of overseeing the project. While I did develop several puzzles of my own, I was also responsible for developing a layout for all of the puzzles and making sure that each puzzle blended seamlessly into the next.
Design Process
[1] I set up a meeting with the team to collectively decide on a theme for the puzzle room. After we decided on Star Wars, I developed a rough puzzle layout illustrating the different coinciding puzzle paths. I made sure that each group member received puzzles that played on their strengths and interests.
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Final layout created and used for duration of project, modified as needed throughout course of project
[2] While making sure the rest of my team was on track, I began to set up the website to serve as the staging ground for the start of our game. I made custom graphics to give players a sense of uniformity and immersion. I also developed a custom lightsaber model in SolidWorks to be used as a prop in several puzzles.
Lightsaber prop, closeup
Lightsaber prop, isometric view
Lightsaber prop, side view
Title page for puzzle website
Excerpt from initial pages that instruct players how to proceed
[3] With the central webpage set up, I began to develop puzzles. The first puzzle required me to experiment with image editing and adding interactive features within an image. The second puzzle involved me to develop a dialogue that led to a MATLAB puzzle. For easy copy and pasting, this puzzle was put in a Google Doc.
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Solution
By the end of the project timeframe, my team was able to develop a fully cohesive project. We smoothed out any errors by having classmates test play our puzzle room, leading to a polished final product.