The field was set, and the critical pieces were coming together. The energy was right, and the date for the first meeting was set. I turned to PowerPoint to create the first official meeting for our Escape Room Business. It was exciting as my thoughts filled up the presentation slides with everything we had to talk about. From what we wanted, to where we wanted, to everything else that we could want. Slide by slide, I saw my dreams come to life vividly. Then it happened, the person that whom I really wanted, and would have been the youngest member of our team, got violently sick. The school’s badminton team was given an opportunity to spar at an open gym with MSJ, a school known for having the best players on this side of the Bay Area. The would-be youngest member fell violently ill at a time he could have been practicing and sparring with the other team. I have snapped an image of my poor friend, laying in a fetal position on the gym floor at MSJ.
I had a couple of days before we would be able to meet for our first meeting, and I kept thinking, what if one of us fell ill, what would happen if multiple people fell ill. Our model had enough members to cover, but I knew I would feel terrible if I underestimated how many people would be the perfect amount. Luckily, that third night, I had the opportunity to pick the mind of our “last” member. My so-called younger brother, who was much more brute in escape rooms than logical, would be a great addition due to his “uncanny” methods to “solve” puzzles. In some instances, once he’s done with them in escape rooms, they may never be reset again, unless the company had a spare to replace the new way of muscling through puzzles. We were new and young to escape rooms, so most of our two fingers of strength were perfect in many situations, but Joey was another story. When fear is introduced into our escape experiences, all bets are off, as well as all fixtures, and things not bolted to the walls. His two fingers of strength helped escape rooms troubleshoot some of their more delicate puzzles as he helped them reshape some puzzles as he sought to make everything “fit” for our escape. Having him join us would add a much-needed perspective when we created games for the Average Joe”y”.
Right before I headed to the meeting, I asked if he was interested in a casual conversation, and he was hooked, tagged along, and became the 9th owner for EDscapade Games.
It wouldn’t be until a year after meeting and planning that I knew I had to jump on my chance at what would be the youngest addition and owner to EDscapade Games. He was such a shining star, that we created a whole escape room on our plane ride to and from Los Angeles. However, he wouldn’t be added until a year after we started planning for the company, and found a great place to sow our roots. It wasn’t because we needed another member, but it was because of the talent that he possessed in understanding all the intricacies in building games. Plus, we struggled for a year, as each member had their opportunity to build a complete game, and not one of the other original members was able to build, let alone troubleshoot an entire game within their heads. They all had their strengths and their perspectives on what they wanted, but I didn’t realize that what was easier for me to think up, would be a colossal hurdle for us. Enter Mr. Justin Nguyen, the youngest member, the inception of EDscapade Games, and the second half of Game Design.
We sat on the flight to LA for a nice weekend trip, and obviously, to experience some of the best escape games they have to offer. I pulled out my iPad, and then it was non-stop. He would finish my ideas, I would add to his, and within one round trip, we created magic, the perfect Escape Game. Oh, it had all the elements that would be perfect for all ages, and provide everyone with a great escape. We entered it as our third game after Hostage and BoX, only to put it on the back burner to establish it as the first game of the next site. It was too grand an idea to place in the space that we had, so instead, I went back to an idea of what we were all comfortable with, The Nursery, a game with all the elements that would make for a great movie, and our players as the main actors.
With Justin, the EDscapade World became complete, we had everything we needed to work with. A shared vision, with a common purpose - and insanely talented and gifted management staff. As such, we welcome everyone to come and enjoy some of our dreams come to life. Come and enjoy our BoX game where we tap into your inner geek, as we take you into a world caught between Dungeons & Dragons, with the flare of Harry Potter, or our Dark theme Hostage game, for those who enjoy the occasional whips, chains, cages, darkness, and blindfolds.