Category: Culture

Chernobyl disturbs me like few things do. The mixture of hubris, human error, and authoritarian stupidity that led to that disaster has long been a source of fascination for me.

While the Paris Catacombs might be the living embodiment of macabre, I don’t find them disturbing. Maybe it’s the age… maybe it’s the fact that it was deliberately created… or maybe it’s that the Paris Catacombs are so over the top that they feel less real.

On the other hand, Chernobyl was recent, accidental, and haphazard… all of which is on frightening display. There’s nothing graphically disturbing here, but viewing these ruins hit me in a way that few things do.

These videos are captured in 360-degree VR. While they are playing, you can look around within them.

Via Dread Central

Thank you to Mark from Walnut Creek, CA for sharing this virtual tour.

Of the many castles associated with the story of Dracula, Romania’s Bran Castle is the one with the strongest connection.

There is a Google Street View Tour available of Bran Castle… and it’s a really cool place. Just looking at it makes me want to play a Castlevania game.

Speaking of which, I recently played Bloodstained Ritual of the Night and I truly enjoyed. This game was created by Koji Igarashi who created Castlevania Symphony of the Night.

Thank you to Mark from Walnut Creek, CA for sharing this virtual tour.

We really want this build and play LEGO escape room in our lives… and with the help of the escape room community, we can help make it possible.

There’s a LEGO IDEAS project called Carter’s Escape that needs our votes. With our support, this could become a real thing for escape room players to purchase and escape room companies to sell in the lobbies.

Plus we love the idea of new people learning the joys of escape rooms through this brilliant project.

We recently spoke with the creator, Brick Project, to learn more about the creation.

Please tell us about your escape room LEGO kit. How does it work?

Hi! I’m pleased to share with you my latest LEGO IDEAS project. Being attracted to everything related to puzzles, I always loved creating mini puzzle hunts and DIY escape games on my own. Mixing it with my second great passion has been a fantastic idea, but at the same time, very complex to create.

This LEGO project works as a real escape game: you will have 60 minutes to get through the rooms. The goal is to reach access to the planetarium and free Newt Carter, who is stuck inside. This escape game is composed out of 6 rooms. All of them are detachable. To open the doors, you will have to find some hidden objects or solve a puzzle.

There are two types of clues to find here:

• mechanical (hidden objects that will permit you to open another door)
• thinking (you will need to find a code that can only be solved by constructing the thing)

There are a total of 15 clues to find to get through this journey. The important thing here is not to find them. It is to know when these will be useful. Indeed, to solve this escape room, it is important to find the correct sequence (when to use the correct piece in the right place).

Can you still solve the escape room if you’re the person who builds it?

That is the main challenge of this project, but at the same time the most exciting characteristic of the build. I need to be honest: the person who builds the set will know a lot about the secret hidden objects and the main mechanisms. Unfortunately, there is not a perfect solution to escape to this problem.

I have 2 possible alternatives that could bypass this:

• There are 6 detachable parts in this house. I suggest that different players can build separate parts of the house. When a room is played, the player who built this part of the house will temporarily be the gamemaster for the other players (like in a real escape game).
• I also suggest another option: as the creator of 3-in-1 LEGO sets (official LEGO theme where you can build 3 different models with one set by using the same bricks), there could be a possibility to create different houses and different models with one set of bricks! I haven’t started designing the other models yet, but I have the ideas. With one set, you will be able to play up to 3 different escape games with different clues, and with a different difficulty score. I know this seems crazy, but it’s possible to do it.

What inspired you to design this LEGO kit?

I tried to create something new here on LEGO IDEAS. After building the Ratatouille Kitchen (which raised 10k supporters in less than 3 months), I wanted to build something technically challenging to assemble. I am very proud of the result and I’m very happy to present it to you right now!

Do you have a favorite real-life escape room?

I haven’t tried all the escape games in the world, so I can’t really judge if it’s one of the best, but I truly liked the one in Velizy (France) at Glorious Escape Game that takes place in Egypt: Anubis Atone. It was one of the first escape games that I played and I loved the general atmosphere of the rooms. What I like in escape games is above all the sets, more than the puzzles themselves.

How does LEGO IDEAS work?

LEGO IDEAS is like Kickstarter or Indigogo, but the main difference is that supporting a project here is totally FREE! The objective is to reach 10,000 supporters. Once reached, the LEGO Group will judge if the project is marketable or not. I think this project has huge potential because it is original and playable. Additionally, LEGO Group doesn’t have to acquire a license for it.

Right now, I only need to gain support the project. More than 2,000 fans have already voted for it, but I have a long way to go. I thank you so much in advance for your help!

What can escape room fans do to support you in bringing Escape Game: Carter’s Secret to life?

The most important thing to do right now is to support the project on LEGO IDEAS. It’s free to support a project. You only need to create an account that takes just a second! Also, I’d appreciate every share on social media or to friends and family. 10,000 votes is a lot, but the power of this community gives me confidence. We can make this come to life!

This is a fantastic virtual tour, maybe the most beautiful one that I’ve found.

Take a journey to the Valley of the Kings, in Luxor, Egypt. The tour takes you through a long corridor that is adorned with magnificent hieroglyphics.

Things become increasingly beautiful as you progress deeper. As you start descending stairs, that’s when things really escalate. Enjoy your trip.

Tour the Tomb of Ramesses VI

Thank you to Mark from Walnut Creek, CA for sharing this virtual tour.