Room Escape Artist

“I try to maximize for wonder, for sideways-ness, for novelty. That’s what interests me.”

What better way to start the new year than by covering an escape room with a whole new mechanic. David calls this one of the most wildly ambitious games he’s ever seen. Five years in the making, The Ladder is the second offering from Terry Pettigrew-Rolapp and Tommy Wallach, the creative minds at Hatch Escapes. They took a big swing with this escape room. Not only does this game involve branching narratives, it’s also chock full of mini-games, a diegetic puzzle track, incredible production value, and a crazy amount of tech to make it all work.

Tommy and Terry have a very specific point of view when it comes to designing escape rooms. They nurture their craft, combining it with their love of musicals, open world video games, and terrific storytelling to create something unique. The structure of this game is very different from your typical escape room, with a scoring system and a guarantee that every player will experience the entire story (though which story you get depends on your performance.) I encourage you to read more about it in Lisa’s review of The Ladder.

In this Spoilers Club, we did a little corporate espionage, and got Tommy and Terry to spill the beans on their thought process behind design decisions, from the countdown timers, to the crazy LED floors and ceilings, to designing for replayability. They also share all the little details that went into making this game special. It’s no wonder this game is all about climbing the peaks of ambition. The Ladder is such a huge beast of a game that this is a two-part series. Part 1 released in December 2024, and Part 2 will release in January 2025. You can also hear more from Tommy and Terry on REPOD S7E12.

How to Listen

When you support Room Escape Artist on Patreon at $15 per month (or above), you get access to the Spoilers Club, our exclusive podcast where hosts David Spira and Peih-Gee Law chat in depth with creators about iconic escape rooms… spoilers and all!