In a second room, which was modeled after Charles’ apartment, we saw the Brazzos poster for the fictional show that character used to star in. Additionally, don’t be surprised to see other familiar props from the show, including Malbec wine and, of course, Gut Milk.
Those Easter eggs and Only Murders puzzles are all brought to life through the work of Ben Enos, senior director of production design, The Escape Game, and his team.
Enos, who has worked with Disney before on experiences for shows like The Mysterious Benedict Society and teamed up with other companies such as Amazon and Paramount, said the creative first came from a discovery process with Hulu.
In these meetings, the teams figured out what they wanted to update to coincide with the new season, whether that is the addition of new characters, Easter eggs, or even storylines. Once the discovery process concluded, the game design portion began, which took several months and included sending designs on a weekly basis while working closely with Hulu.
Once those designs are given the green light, the Escape Game team goes into production mode and builds everything in a warehouse in Nashville, Tenn., before shipping it to New York. That process can take about 12 weeks.
“This is the same process as the rest of our experiences so that we keep it the same quality as our other experiences,” Enos said. “We want to make sure we maintain the highest quality games out there. So, it goes through production, and we ship it to the site. It was a very fast installation. It took us about two and a half days to do the installation, and then we went through a calibration process where we’ll test the game.”
To test the game, Enos said the team brings in friends, family, and various demo groups to experience the game and fine-tune the puzzles to ensure they’re perfect for paying guests.
“It’s the perfect world to play in for an escape room,” Enos said. “You’re essentially doing what they’re doing in the show. You’re in the shoes of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, so you’re solving crimes to get to the end of the solution of the game.”