“We try to do something new every three months.”

In 2018, Curtis Ratliff and Derek Townsley were both attending college, studying business management and theater set design. Additionally, they were both working at an escape room when the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day happened. Severely understaffed, beset with disasters, and lacking resources or appreciation from the owners, Curtis and Derek realized that if they wanted things to run more smoothly, they were going to have to do it themselves. 

And thus, The Escape Ventures was born. They started this business while they were both still in college, and now, six years later, they have three locations with twelve escape rooms, and more on the way. Not only are they incredibly prolific, their games are also critically acclaimed, with three games ranking in the top 300 games in the world. They are also featured in the Escape, Immerse, Explore tour to Orlando.

The speed at which The Escape Ventures creates and builds escape rooms is mind-boggling. Curtis and Derek join us to talk about their quick game development and production cycle. They were also early adopters of ideas like unlimited hints where every team wins. Their game design focuses on immersion, humor, characters, and quirkiness.

Not only do they design and build escape rooms, they also consult with other escape room companies, buy and sell escape rooms, and they have also just opened Geek’d, a game store with a fun and inclusive environment. I am in absolute awe at how much these two have accomplished, all before the age of thirty. I really enjoyed hearing about their process, and I especially enjoyed the conversation about the name Bros for Life, Fraternity Heist. Curtis and Derek have a passion and drive that is really inspiring. I’m really thrilled to learn what this younger generation of escape room designers is bringing to the industry.

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

• 00:13 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot, Escape Room Marketing Software
• 05:06 How Academic Experience Translated to Running a Business
• 07:09 How an Understaffed,Terrible Day at an Escape Room Made Them Quit Their Jobs
• 10:28 The  Story Behind Bros For Life, One of The Escape Venture’s Standout Games
• 16:29 Sponsor Break: Morty App, Discover And Track Escape Rooms
• 18:29 The Actor Driven Game: Neighborhood Watcher
• 28:10 Sponsor Break: Cogs By Clockwork Dog, Interactive Show Controls
• 30:15 Operation Arctic Storm and Producing on a Larger Scale
• 34:23 New Games in Port Charlotte
• 47:00 Building Games Modularly
• 48:54 Purchasing Escape Goat
• 53:20 Insights on Working With Your Romantic Partner
• 57:21 The Story of Geek’d Orlando
• 01:09:21 Bonus Story: When Immersive is too Immersive

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Got a question or thought for the podcast? You can submit a voice recording by calling the Room Escape Artist not-so-hotline that always goes straight to voicemail (551-227-7273).

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Escape Ventures Website
• Geek’d Orlando Website
• Derek Townsley Design Website
• REA Reviews
  • Phantom Files (Port Charlotte)
  • Click ‘N Glitch (Port Charlotte)
  • Outage: No Vacancy (Orlando)
  • Neighborhood Watcher (Orlando)
  • The Satirical Miracle: A Jolly Tale of Granny’s Blackmail (Orlando)
  • Operation Arctic Storm: The Final Meltdown (Orlando)
  • Bros for Life Fraternity Heist (Orlando)
  • Area 51 (Originally Escape Goat)
  • Operation Treehouse: Capture the Flag (Originally Escape Goat)
  • Dragon Challenge: A Hero’s Choice (Originally Escape Goat)

About Derek Townsley & Curtis Ratliff

Instagram: @TheEscapeVentures

Facebook: The Escape Ventures Orlando, The Escape Ventures Port Charlotte, The Escape Ventures Winter Garden

Tik Tok: escapeventures

We at The Escape Ventures has been hustling for the past 4 years for non-stop growth and improvement! In just a short time, we have three “The Escape Ventures” Locations, a Board Game Lounge called “Geekd” and a consultation firm that now has clients all over the world for immersive experiences.

For now, we do not see an end to the growth and are excited to bring even more experiences in the coming years!

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