Design Week is a twice-annual challenge for teams of 4-6 post-secondary game design students. A challenge is announced Monday morning, and the teams have until Thursday night to complete a game prototype and document their creation with a short video.

The Challenge

Design and build an "Escape" Game: a series of interconnected puzzles leading toward a clear goal.

A successful entry should exhibit these four traits:

1. Puzzle Forward: multiple puzzles to complete, emphasizing logical and creative problem solving over precise input execution or timing challenges.
2. Puzzles Connect: puzzles relate to one another, where solving one helps to progress others, and they tie meaningfully to the theme, setting, and context of the game.
3. Embrace Digital: leverage the digital medium to explore possibilities beyond what players could experience in a regular escape room.
4. Cross Media: incorporate a physical component that players need to use to solve the puzzles. Think about how to make that experience accessible to visitors playing your game from its itch.io page.

Beyond Escape Rooms

Your goal is not limited to "escape." A well-chosen goal should:

• ...be immediately clear to the player when they start the game.
• ...connect to your puzzles, so the player can understand how to make progress.
• ...lead to an apparent conclusion, so the player recognizes when they've achieved it.

Your setting is not limited to a "room." A well-chosen premise should:

• ...communicate what actions, items, or spaces are within bounds or out of bounds.
• ...support players in developing the right intuitions about what to try / what may be fruitful.
• ...establish a context in which your puzzles, their solutions, and the connections between them make sense.

Highlight Design Skills

Your submissions should demonstrate that your team can do the following: