After yesterday’s post about Tick Tock Unlock, a quick round-up on other projects under construction.
A search suggests that Birmingham is set to become the third city after London and Bristol to get a second exit game, courtesy of a project called Escape Live. The web site doesn’t yet have anything other than a very fancy splash screen, but there’s a little more information available on Facebook and on Twitter. An opening date of June 2014 is expected; a behind-the-scenes construction photo posted suggests that the site may well be in an intriguing, semi-cylindrical location. (Underneath an arch or in a tunnel, perhaps?) The use of social media is strong and suggests that this site, too, may well be able to hit the ground running.
Looking a little further, the Twitter bio of John Dalziel claims he is a director of Escape Live UK; he is also involved with the Free Radio radio stations of the West Midlands. Keyhunter, the longer-standing Birmingham exit game, has long advertised the visit of Free Radio breakfast DJs Jo and Sparky on its web site. I’m looking forward to reading more about Escape Live; more news about the site as I get it.
In other Birmingham news, the upcoming UK Games Expo convention (May 30th to June 1st), will feature an “Alien Laser Tag” live event. “Alien Laser Tag sets the players in an interactive Live event where they must escape from a stricken space ship crawling with lethal alien life forms. Using lighting, fog effects, sound track and live alien monsters this living event requires players to solve problems, work as a team and generally kick ass if they want to get out alive.” Sounds sort of like a pop-up exit game, distinctive for additional shooting and dodging of laser guns, and hopefully a good dose of problem-solving along the way.
Another site I’ve been following from time to time, though it has not yet launched, is Puzzlescape in Manchester; their web site has recently been removed. I don’t know whether it will be shortly replaced by something reflecting more process, or whether the project will turn out not to make it. In any case, Make A Break has beaten them to being the first site to open in Manchester and has been attracting a string of excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.
The longest-running in-progress mystery of them all is the Live Escape Game site “coming soon” in Brighton. Still no information, and even enquiring with the person listed in the site’s WHOIS listing has not yet borne fruit. (To be fair, they may be linked with the hosting company used by the web site, rather than with the exit game physical site itself.) Brighton could well be an extremely strong market; perhaps Puzzlescape might well end up not being the only long in-progress site beaten to the market by another local competitor.
More news on this, and every in-progress site, as it becomes available. If you want to help your information along, please e-mail it through!