Degree students transform studio into pirate-themed escape room

Games Design and Production degree students have transformed a blank studio space into a fully immersive escape room experience as part of a practical coursework project. 

Students were challenged to design, build and run an entire live game environment from scratch.

Working to a professional-style brief, they were tasked with creating a two-room escape experience featuring narrative design, puzzle creation, lighting, sound, player communication and physical set construction.

Module leader Sam Curtis praised the scale of the students’ work: “We provide the brief and the budget, but the students drive the entire production,” he said.

“Watching them setup live-feed cameras, trigger sound and lighting effects and turn a blank studio into a professional experience was fantastic to see.”

The team created a haunted pirate ship themed escape room in which players became paranormal investigators attempting to break a deadly curse before the ship vanished beneath the sea.

“We decided to focus on designing the rooms to feel like the inside of a pirate ship while making sure the lighting and sound effects portrayed the supernatural vibe we were going for,” said student Kaya.

“The story was quite intricate, and we designed it so all of the puzzles tied into the narrative,” added fellow student Grace.

Student Zachary explained how the narrative unfolded across the two rooms, gradually revealing that the ship’s captain had sacrificed his own crew in exchange for treasure using cursed relics. “The players then have to use the same cursed relics in a banishing ritual in order to escape,” he said.

Another student, Bea, said maintaining immersion was one of the team’s biggest priorities throughout the design process. “If any puzzle, prop or piece of set felt out of place, it would break the immersive experience,” she explained.

Bea also highlighted the importance of balancing atmosphere with gameplay.

“The rooms were intentionally cluttered to make the space realistic, but there was a risk players would struggle to identify important clues,” she said.

“We used tea lights to highlight key sections of puzzles and sound effects to signal when a puzzle had been completed.”

The Games Design and Production degree is primarily focused on digital games design, with students saying one of the biggest challenges was translating digital ideas into a real-world physical experience.

“Getting the props is a lot harder as we had to find or buy everything we were going to use,” Zachary said. “Building the set required a lot more time, effort and planning than in a game engine.”

Grace added: “Digitally, there’s almost no limit to what you can create, but in the real world everything takes much more time and money to change.”

Kaya, who managed much of the technical side of the project, said the team used live-feed cameras, lighting and sound effects controlled remotely to help run the experience smoothly. “We were able to notify the players when they solved puzzles swiftly and provide hints and warnings through a radio system,” he said.

Alongside creative design, students said the project taught them valuable teamwork and communication skills. 

“Good organisation really helps teamwork,” Zachary said. “Seeing how players approach puzzles also gives really valuable insight into how to improve the experience.”

To learn more about Games Design and Production degree, see the facilities and meet the team – book onto our upcoming degree open day on June 13th here.