The USS Cape is a virtual escape experience that seeks to explore the escape room design space created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Players take on the role of mission control operators that are working to rescue the crew of the USS Cape, who have flown off-course during their voyage home from Mars. Play takes place over a Zoom video conference that leverages the breakout room functionality to produce three unique, defined rooms. Each room features an NPC actor that the players interact with to solve puzzles and aid them in their escape. Puzzles are served to players through a companion tracker app delivered through their web browser. Playtesting was focused on gauging players’ reactions to the experience in comparison to physical counterparts to test the validity of the system. The main findings were: A) playtesters found the experience to be an accurate representation of a physical escape room, and B) playtesters appreciated the presence of the NPC actors and felt that they enhanced the overall experience.

Creator

• Cerini, Erik J.

Colaboradores

• Rosenstock, Joshua
• O'Donnell, Dean Michael
• Moriarty, Brian J.

Degree

• MS

Unit

• Interactive Media & Game Development

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• etd-22296

Palavra-chave

• COVID-19
• Escape Room
• IMGD

Advisor

• O'Donnell, Dean Michael

Defense date

• 2021-04-30

Year

• 2021

Date created

• 2021-05-05

Resource type

• Thesis

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Última modificação

• 2023-10-09