The Depths

Date 2019
Company The Escape Game
Role Game Developer

Undersea adventure game designed for installation in undersized locations, delivering flagship experience quality with reduced footprint and tighter budget.

Challenge Create an Escape Game experience with multiple rooms and narrative expansion (the company’s signature style) in a space too small for traditional installations, while maintaining production budget constraints.

Approach I led initial brainstorms and developed the submarine-docking narrative structure. To prove multiple rooms would work in the reduced space, I designed a modular prototyping system—standardized door frames, puzzle-height blocks, and rollable walls—inspired by whiteboxing tools from 3D game engines. We assembled and reconfigured prototype rooms at scale, playtesting various formations before committing to construction.

Solution The final design used a three-act structure: players solve Room 1, unlock Room 2 via submarine docking sequence, then complete an escape that spans both spaces. This maintained the “expanding playspace + wow moments” house style while reducing footprint by approximately 40% compared to other titles.