There’s a reason Los Angeles is known as the City of Dreams. It’s a town populated with dreamers and makers. They concoct fantasy worlds filled with quirky characters, dashing heros, and tormented villains. Oftentimes, the backdrop of Southern California serves as inspiration itself, with its wide sandy beaches, snowy mountaintops, and the desolate wilds of the Mojave desert.

In honor of RECON Los Angeles, Season 7 of REPOD is filled with creative luminaries all hailing from Southern California. We curated a select cross-section of the different types of immersive games you’ll find locally, and there is an impressive variety of experiences. They range from escape rooms and magic shows to networking games, large scale festivals, and theme parks. There’s even an escape room in a vacation home where the Joshua Tree landscape itself is part of the set.

Our editor, Steve Ewing, put together some memorable clips from each episode of Season 7. It’s perfect for new listeners of this podcast or fans who want to relive their favorite moments. I hope this episode inspires you to visit my hometown of SoCal, and if you’re coming for RECON Los Angeles in August, make sure to check out these featured experiences.

If you want even more podcast episodes, consider joining our Patreon. For only $5 a month, you’ll get access to our Bonus Aftershow, which is a more casual conversation with each guest.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 0:58 – Episode 1: Quirky & Compelling: The Ministry of Peculiarities with Adam Moody, Jonathan Berk, and Benjamin Berk: Our guests talk about the various lobby gags they spring on unsuspecting guests who arrive early.
• 5:02 – Episode 2: Dystopian Desert Dreams: Jared Butler, Creator of Wasteland Weekend & Neotropolis: Jared explains what attendees actually do once they arrive at Wasteland Weekend, a five day Mad Max-themed immersive festival taking place in the Mojave desert.
• 10:26 – Episode 3: Kooky and Creative Networking: Brett Jackson, Creator of Imagi-Ne’er Do-Wells: Brett describes how the show’s creative prompts work to spark imaginative ideas for the attendees.
• 16:46 – Episode 4: Design From the Heart with Jason & Marketa Richard of Steal and Escape: Jason describes how he came to be proficient in escape room tech with the help of a boy genius.
• 20:18 – Episode 5: The Secrets of Wild Heart Ranch: Blake Hodges-Koch & Thomas Meston: Blake and Thomas describe who their Escape Room AirB&B is for, and how that’s changed over time.
• 25:52 – Sponsor Break: Morty, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.
• 29:11 – Episode 6: Engineering Fun: Al & Stacy Delcome of Confusion Escapes: Al and Stacy describe how they got their start in immersive experiences creating elaborate home haunts.
• 33:31 – Episode 7: Game Design is Magic: Michael Borys of The 49 Boxes: Michael talks about working on the seminal Alternate Reality Game (ARG) based on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
• 39:11 – Episode 8: Influential and Experimental: Luke & Madison Rhoades of Cross Roads Escape Games: Luke and Madison share their approach to player positioning in The Weeping Witch, which involves designing the set around sight lines.
• 45:17 – Episode 9: Captain of Heartfelt Shenanigans: Andy Crocker, Immersive Performance Director: Andy talks about the moment of clarity that led her to break out of the box and create their escape room in a play, Escape From Godot.
• 50:07 – Episode 10: Unlocking the Secrets of RECON LA with Lee-Fay Low and Theresa Wagner: The teams answers a common question, “Who is RECON for?”
• 56:39 – Episode 11: Everything Immersive: Noah Nelson of No Proscenium: Noah breaks down the term “immersive”—when it’s used correctly, and when it’s gone hilariously wrong.
• 1:02:23 – Episode 12: Dreaming & Betting Big: Terry Pettigrew-Rolapp & Tommy Wallach of Hatch Escapes: Our guests talk about the balance between high expectations, the reality of commerce, and their creative desires.
• 1:07:58 – Outro

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