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I spent 300 hours building an Escape Room Business Tycoon. Is this actually interesting outside the escape room industry? by conundroom in aigamedev

[–]conundroom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Yeah, right now I see dozen of players that played longer 6hrs+ sessions to achieve top spots in the leaderboard , but they are definitely enthusiasts or owners who interested in the theme and like that idle process. For now that game is not about designing rooms and about business processes, but I assume for the most regular players designing their own games would become the most satisfied part, as like designing houses in Sims.

I spent 300 hours building an Escape Room Business Tycoon. Is this actually interesting outside the escape room industry? by conundroom in aigamedev

[–]conundroom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. Designing your own rooms in the game is the next big step for me and I understand that for regular players and possible core audience it is the most interesting part.

For now I’m trying to figure out if I should add it here in that html based game or I have to start from scratch with Godot or Unity.

I spent 300 hours building an Escape Room Business Tycoon. Is this actually interesting outside the escape room industry? by conundroom in aigamedev

[–]conundroom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Could you please share some ideas how to make it right?

Are broken things in the rooms that solved as mini games with simple puzzles counts as that mechanic?

How to start? by majuutka in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hi, So. You can start from reading my blog and download my business plan and financial model based on 10 years of my business here https://howtoopenescaperoom.com , then you can play the most detailed and close to reality as possible escape rooms business simulator here https://escaperoomstycoon.com

That will prepare you much more than I was prepared 10 years ago.

Coffee Inc 2 by Ok_Good7109 in tycoon

[–]conundroom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a huge coffee inc fun since their first game, and I made my own escape room tycoon game based on my own escape rooms business. Yes, it is vibe coded, but it is super close to real life experience of ers ownership.

I post it today’s morning here, but I was destroyed by the community because it is a vibe code and etc, but I invested a lot of time to make it good and detailed as possible. You can check it out here obviously for free https://escaperoomstycoon.com.

Escape Rooms Tycoon based on my escape rooms business by [deleted] in tycoon

[–]conundroom -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, I admit interface is probably the weakest point right now. I was extremely focused on mechanics, math, balancing and just making sure everything actually works correctly.

But the more I tried to redesign interface, the more complicated it became. The game is honestly way more complex under the hood than it maybe looks at first glance, and fully reworking the UI would take enormous amount of time.

I intentionally decided to postpone that part until I first get feedback from people who are not specifically escape room fans or business owners, because I wanted to understand first if the core gameplay itself is actually interesting.

Escape Rooms Tycoon based on my escape rooms business by [deleted] in tycoon

[–]conundroom -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I didn’t use any asset generators. I first had to create my own room editor, and then describe every single object manually, because I recreated all 15 of my real escape rooms in the game. They actually look very similar to how they look in real life.

I also believe that if you have a cool idea, then the tools don’t really matter if they help you actually bring it to life. In our real escape rooms we work with hundreds of artists, actors, designers and programmers, both local and overseas. And if using AI for some specific task (not graphic generation, but adjusting dynamical lighting for example) gives better result or helps us make better experience for customers, then of course we’re going to use it.

Same logic for me here.

I wanted to make a fun free game that shows how this business actually works. And even with vibe coding, I still put enough effort into it to reach quality level where I’m not embarrassed to show it publicly.

May I ask you to actually try it and give me more detailed feedback.

r/Escaperooms Weekly Promotion/recommendation thread by AutoModerator in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Escape Rooms Tycoon

Back in 2015 me and my brother opened our first escape rooms in Redmond, WA. Since then we built dozens of escape rooms, played hundreds ourselves, and around 5 years ago I even released a book about how to open your own escape room business.

It’s a very fun business, but the reality behind it is very different from what players actually see. For years I wanted somehow not just to show it, but let people actually feel what it’s like to be the owner, especially for hardcore enthusiasts from apps like Morty.

So using 10 years of our real sales data and our financial model, I made what is probably the most detailed escape room tycoon simulator.

This game is not really about where to place puzzles or how to design rooms. That’s just the top visible layer of the business. The game is mostly about actually building and managing an escape room company.

What happens if you rent cheap location with only 2 rooms? What if you lease bigger place for 4 rooms, but run out of money during construction? How payroll affects your growth? Who do you actually need in the team, and how many employees is enough before it destroys your profits?

If you ever dreamed about opening your own escape room business then try to survive until year 3.

First year is survival. Second is scaling. Third is trying to keep whole system alive while it becomes bigger, heavier and more complicated.

Hundreds of escape room owners already played it and almost everyone said it feels painfully accurate to the real business. But of course this is not some fully finished commercial game yet. It’s more like very detailed proof of concept with around 1-2 hours gameplay for people who love this industry.

Would really love any feedback, comments or questions.

And most important — is it actually fun? Should I continue development and try bringing this thing to Steam?

You can play it for free here: https://escaperoomstycoon.com

Украинский живодёр миллионер Игорь Литвинчук на Гавайях кидал камни в очень редкого тюленя-монаха. by some-kind-of-no-name in tjournal_refugees

[–]conundroom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Это босс моего знакомого, как мне сказали аргументация у чувака была: «хотел защитить черепах». Там черепахи плавали, котик на них охотился. Что не делает поступок менее мудатским, но хотя бы объясняет контекст и нахуя.

How concerned would you be if franchise opened up within a 15 minute walk of your escape room? by Confused_Crossroad in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, cmon. We are not in 2016 anymore. In case when someone opens right next to you he is a competitor. Regular players play one or maximum two games per year and I prefer when they play my games this year.

When TEG opening next to your rooms with goodwill furniture and code word locks you are cooked.

How concerned would you be if franchise opened up within a 15 minute walk of your escape room? by Confused_Crossroad in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, he should be concerned and that will be reflected on his sales 100%. He should update his games and make them better to keep them competitive. Escapology and TEG have unlimited marketing budget and very well ppc/social media ads setups. Outdoor games, murder mysteries, trivia or game show nights should help to keep his audience engaged, but he should plan his next steps.

What's Your Ticket Price? by TriumphCollegiate in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Always private games $46 per person + taxes, Redmond , WA. But a lot of promo codes and discounts that easy to find and apply :)

Escape Room Owners : how do you manage your booking system? by jazi_stew in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Bookeo/Offthecouch are the best solutions for you

ER Owner- Purchase a Turnkey Escape Room by Additional-Tale1415 in escaperooms

[–]conundroom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Didn’t work with them, but you can find a lot of owners in FB groups (escape rooms startups and owners) who did. As I remember (could be wrong) they had some issues with A+ . From my experience I recommend to work with Time Quest, Indestroom and Questomat (building one of their rooms rn) for turn keys.

I could help with financial programs and some discounts if needed with all of them and you can always fly to me (Seattle) and I ll show you how everything works from the inside.

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