The basic idea is quite simple, and it quickly conquered the world: a group of people enters a room, gets locked in, and then starts working together on the shared mission of escaping the room within a set time. What? Why? And most importantly, how is it done?
Escape rooms have a similar character to their spiritual fathers, video games. Like them, they are built on an idea that connects going on an adventure with a well-constructed plot combining mysterious scenery and several tasks. The goal is, as mentioned, to escape. But unlike video games, today’s escape rooms are not limited to experienced gamers, but are open to a growing audience of new addicts, “escapers”. The phenomenon is relatively new. In 2007, the first escape rooms opened in Japan, Singapore, Silicon Valley, and Eastern Europe. Today, a decade after that pioneering wave, the supply in Israel alone stands at over 300 sites across the country, from Eilat to the Upper Galilee, with the vast majority opened in the last two years.
The philosophy of escape rooms is accessible and fundamentally genius, requiring no prior knowledge or experience in the field. Each participant experiences an adrenaline-filled adventurous experience. Escape rooms attract a diverse audience that keeps growing. They serve simultaneously as sites for family activities for parents and teenagers, employee team-building activities, and leisure activities with friends. Participation is usually in groups of two to five participants, but at many sites, it’s also possible in larger groups.
But what’s the real deal?
The popularity of escape rooms is also related to the escape experience itself for each participant. Without mobile phones or communication to the “outside world,” one can escape from the routine of life and worries while enjoying tackling tasks and jointly deciphering the plot. Escape rooms are built on the personal involvement of each participant, the quality of communication between them, and active and analytical thinking from each group member. It provides experience in personal and collaborative work full of challenges and gives a sense of satisfaction from success. The group dynamics inside escape rooms not only encourage communication between group members but also promote teamwork and autodidactic learning. The dynamism and ticking clock also improve other important skills such as working under pressure, goal persistence, strategic planning, and dealing with challenges. And above all, it’s simply fun.
**Alright, we’re in! Or more accurately, we’re on board.**
In recent months, we led a crazy and beautiful creative process in which we meticulously designed and planned together with OBA Studio and Oi! Studio for People and Computers company the Google Escape Bus – a first-of-its-kind local initiative in Israel and the world. The bus will pass through ten localities – Petah Tikva, Tel Aviv, Hadera, Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, Rishon LeZion, Jordan Valley, Ma’alot, Sderot, and Haifa – where participants can solve puzzles and face the challenge using common Google applications.
Participation in the escape bus is free of charge and appeals to all audiences, families with teenagers, employee teams, experienced escapers, and skeptics who want to try for the first time, only requiring pre-registration.
But what’s really the deal?
The production company People and Computers Ltd. – Dana Peled – which has been working with Google for over a decade, approached us with an initial idea for a mobile escape room and asked us to manage the project for them in all its production, creative, and technological aspects. During the work process, we built a cross-disciplinary team that included screenwriters Oded Kramer and Itai Herman, a creative team, designers, and technology experts who dove in with us for deep thinking and turned the process into an empowering, fascinating, and educational experience.
So why the #Escape_Bus? We researched, examined, and proposed several planning and design solutions to express the concept in its most precise form. The initial idea, as mentioned, was for Google to go out and meet the community, including a wide variety of users. This rare type of encounter has several guiding principles, the most prominent of which is making knowledge and technology accessible in a user-friendly way, in a fun, positive, and curiosity-provoking experience.
Therefore, it was important for us to present Google and its applications to as wide an audience as possible, not just conceptually, but also physically, and so the decision was made to go out and tour the country with the #Escape_Bus. The goal was to create direct encounters with the community and create a close connection with everyone in diverse places, both in the center and outside it. Thus, among other things, it was decided during the project development to make it accessible to people with disabilities and even set arrival targets in various cities in the periphery and center.
Alongside building the #Escape_Bus, we began a process of logistical coordination with various authorities and developing the online campaign. The teaser campaign directed to a dedicated website where the audience was asked to use Google tools as a test, after which they could enter a registration site. The move aroused great curiosity and exposed a wide range of the company’s tools at a very early stage, even before the project was launched.
The result was extensive and experiential use of Google tools with a very significant added value: an entire public that trained for their turn on the #Escape_Bus. About two days after registration opened, tens of thousands of people had already registered for all cities, a huge and pride-inducing response.
The outstanding experience in the project was the satisfaction of the participants who, in dealing with the challenges that awaited them on the escape bus, and solving puzzles using Google applications, summarized it as fun, liberating, and full of added value. It’s a great privilege to take part in such a project.
