"Step into the recreated haven of a Queens, New York City apartment circa 1986. Indulge in the warmth of nostalgia as you experience—or explore—a slice of time from Dr. Julia Adler’s childhood, long before she became a professor or started experimenting with memory technology. Come back to when everything was beautiful and perfect. Because it was perfect. It really was."

Memoirscape is a cozy anti-escape room that I produced and co-directed. Rather than asking players to escape, Memoirscape invites them to linger, explore, and uncover a story at their own pace.

Set inside a lovingly furnished 1986 apartment, the experience initially feels like a nostalgic playroom filled with books, games, candy, and analog technology. Curious players can discover a deeper story hidden beneath the cozy surface: glitchy television broadcasts lead to cassette recordings, blacklight footprints reveal a hidden laboratory, and a memory-extraction machine offers a glimpse into the troubled past of Dr. Adler, the fictional inventor of Memoirscape.

I was interested in challenging the assumption that interactive experiences need to be about optimization, achievement, or escape. Instead, Memoirscape uses exploration, physical space, performance, and storytelling to create opportunities for curiosity, memory, connection, and care.

Memoirscape was nominated for an IndieCade 2024 Live Action award and has been featured in Eurogamer, Boston Post Mortem, and IndieCade Artist Talks. The project is also discussed in my forthcoming chapter for Cozy Media: The Aesthetics, Politics, and Affects of Comfort.

Making Memoirscape

After the run of a class-run traditional escape room, "Home for the Holidays," in the winter of 2023, Dr. Melissa Kagen and I worked together to explore building a new experimental live-action anti-escape room, run it for a week, and debut our work at our home institution, WPI, during 3 days for Foundations of Digital Games '24.

I asked Dr. Kagen to be the Narrative Director, Hannah Belan to be the Art Director, and I served as a director and producer. I saw this creative work as an opportunity to experiment with consensual play and low-threshold, prosocial play experiences. Thus, we secured external funding and recruited artists, programmers, writers, and performers to make this happen!

Tech Construction and Programming

Two programmers on our team, Samin Shahriar Tokey and Cuhmur Onat, constructed the time-accurate computer in the room using a Raspberry Pi and a custom 3D printed case. Tokey programmed the computer with vintage games like Breakout, which contained clues that revealed the location of one of the cassette tapes, or (more accurately to the story) Dr. Adler's extracted memories. Cuhmur constructed a memory extraction machine, which reveals the location of Adler's office if the player successfully finds all 5 of the recorded tapes.

With the help of Hannah Belan, I helped construct the walls with a consultant to create the apartment structure inside the room. Hannah, Cuhmur, and I collaborated on programming the vintage TV (which was, through some fancy hardware manipulation, compatible with an arduino!) with a series of glitched videos that revealed more clues and contributed to the environmental storytelling.

Ephemeral Narrative and Performance

Kat Crighton produced ephemera to further communicate Adler's failing memory and the queer romance. They also designed a mechanic to populate the room with player's painted rocks, relating to themes of meditation, nature, and connection.

Maddie Veccia Managed writing team in later stages, scripted dialogue, and performed as Adler at FDG.

Since we wanted playstyle options, Melissa requested 5 endings to be designed based on some predicted play approaches. Players were given postcards to give them narrative closure based on their actions in-game.

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…

Reception

Memoirscape was a general success!

It received:

Positive acclaim from the general audience;

Attention as a standout installation at its FDG debut;

An IndieCade nomination for the Live Action Award;

Interest by Boston Postmortem;

An Article Writeup in Eurogamer

Implications

Through this creative endeavor, I explored how consensual play can be designed and experienced through:

Relationships

Moving from painful familial rejection toward loving acceptance and validating romantic connections.

Opportunity for Solo Reflection

Creating time and space for players to reflect on their own boundaries, preferences, and desires in a sensory-rich ludic world.

Modeling Play

Inviting space for players to show each other how diverse play can be practiced, communicated, respected, and maintained with staggered, untimed entrances and exits.

Space for Various Play styles

Maximizing autonomous experiences by designing towards exploratory, ambient, aesthetic, and cerebral approaches to play.

Technology & Analog

Using technology alongside physical, analog materials to create a more tactile and embodied play experience, inviting players to engage with consent beyond the screen.

Uncomfortable Elements Juxtaposed with Cozy Invitations

Placing challenging scenarios alongside inviting and comforting experiences, encouraging players to navigate their own responses and discover their yes / no / maybe preferences.

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