Book Club Posts
This month, we read:
Articles, Posts, and News
No Proscenium’s Leah Davis writes about Evermore Park, and whether its ambitions are able to match its reality.
Cory Doctorow has kicked off a multi-part essay series about crowd control and load-balancing in theme parks. The first, “Are We Having Fun Yet?” talks about the origins of the Disney parks as an escape for Walt Disney:
“Seen in this light, Disneyland isn’t just an ambitious built environment — it’s a tangible expression of the misery of an ambitious, sorrowing, restless, creative, and deeply flawed man’s desire to outrun the calcified structure of his life.”
Jamie at Armchair Escapist writes about a (fictional?) 200-year-old treasure hunt that’s playing out over TikTok.
The 2021 Thea Awards program by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is viewable online or available for purchase. The Nest (Los Angeles) won the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement, Connected/Immersive Storytelling”:
The future of themed entertainment is intimately linked to the evolution in demand for a more immersive, entertainment and authentic dialogue between storyteller and guest; a dialogue that can sometimes be experienced in a multitude of ways, that empowers the guest with an entry point that feels autonomous, intimate and that pushes the boundary between a “choose your own mystery adventure” and theater of the mind.
Resources
Dr. Richard Bartle is giving away his essential book about online world design, DESIGNING VIRTUAL WORLDS, for free. Download a copy here.
The Psychology of Design: 101 Cognitive Biases & Principles That Affect Your UX. Neat site with helpful examples.
Podcasts
No Proscenium interviews John Krizanc, creator of 1980s immersive play Tamara, on the latest episode of their podcast. The book is available in print; this thread from Kathryn Yu provides additional context.
The new episode of Reality Escape Pod discusses the behind-the-scenes of RECON, the upcoming escape room convention. Its first year, 2020, had to pivot to become a digital event; now, it is designed to be digital from the start.
Calls
The website streetgames.co.uk is seeking submissions to help catalog games from all over the world.
Events
September 17: Meow Wolf Denver/Convergence Station is scheduled to open in Denver, Colorado
August 22-23: RECON (Reality Escape Convention), online conference, free tickets available for Basic Access
Fun Stuff
The Meow Wolf Denver sign is lit:
Meow Wolf Denver/Convergence Station is scheduled to open on September 17.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is selling a set of “Mystery Message” forever stamps for $11 a sheet:
Self-promotion zone! My book, PLANNING YOUR ESCAPE: STRATEGY SECRETS TO MAKE YOU AN ESCAPE ROOM SUPERSTAR was released on August 3. If you’re in the US, you can get a copy for yourself or a friend here. (UK residents will have to wait til September for print copies.) If you’re an escape room wanting to stock copies at your venue, please contact hello@meridianadventureco.com and we’ll put you in touch with the right folks.