DarkPark Decoded Episode 8
Gijs's mistakes
Can you build a good escape room from a checklist? In this episode Gijs and Els dig into that question, but it soon becomes clear that the real answer lies somewhere else. It's about soul, creativity, daring to make choices and the danger of only wanting to tick boxes. At the same time Gijs looks back on a string of misses, detours and expensive lessons that shaped him as a maker. From axe throwing to selling perfume and from Wasteland Rebellion to the long road to Rise of the Phoenix: this episode shows just how many mistakes it takes to build something special.
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WATCH
SHOW NOTES
What to expect
- Why a good escape room doesn't come from a fixed manual
- How puzzles, game flow, experience and tension can constantly get in each other's way
- Why the maker is the most important ingredient of an escape room
- Which projects turned out, in hindsight, to be expensive lessons more than anything else
- What Urban Axe Throwing, Wasteland Rebellion and Afrodisium taught Gijs
- Why marketing is often about feeling rather than truth
- How delays, expectations and pre-sales can put a maker under pressure
- Why waiting for the second marshmallow is sometimes the only sensible choice
Credits
- Hosts
- Gijs Geers and Els van Leeuwen
- Music & artwork
- Eelco R. Claassen
- Set design
- Tineke Lopulalan
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