Whether you're making new robot friends, investigating a haunted school, or cooking up some puzzles, the escape rooms at Omescape Sunnyvale are all absolute bangers. Omescape Sunnyvale is a rare gem in the escape room world. Their games are all massive (or feel massive) with gorgeous sets, chock-full of puzzles, and oftentimes with unique mechanics. They're all telling different stories with different styles of gameplay, and this is all contained under one roof at Omescape's Sunnyvale location.

Sarah Zhang, one of the co-founders of Omescape Sunnyvale, joins us to chat about their escape rooms. While many of their games are licensed, Sarah explains that they usually end up changing over 80% of the game, building new sets, creating new puzzles, and even writing new narratives. As an escape room enthusiast, Sarah often travels the world playing games, and when an especially interesting mechanic or aesthetic catches her attention, rather than just copying it, she looks to license the game. This is a pretty unique approach, and I appreciated her candor in explaining their business practices.

As the conversation progresses, it becomes very clear that Sarah has a deep understanding of what makes games fun for players. She talks about the need for puzzles that involve the whole team as well as designing around a few "aha!" moments. I especially appreciated the segment where she talks about the importance of ending a game on a thrilling, physical sequence. This gets the players' heart rates up, and creates a strong ending memory for the guests. Check out the whole episode for the secret sauce behind Omescape Sunnyvale's success.

Full Show Notes

Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you. 

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Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Theresa Piazza

Supported by Lisa Spira

Edited by Steve Ewing

Music by Ryan Elder

Logo by Janine Pracht