Calgary Public Library recently hosted a virtual escape room event for Valentine's Day. The family-friendly 'Locked Library' game experience could be accessed online by ticket holders and consisted of numerous interactive puzzles and challenges.
Centered around escaping a virtual library, the game could be played conveniently on one screen both individually or alongside friends and family, and was suitable for participants of all ages. Featuring two hours of game play, this virtual escape room challenge spoke to growing consumer desires for at-home gaming experiences in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Going beyond mobile gaming, the library's virtual escape room successfully recreated a popular in-person group activity through a convenient format that was easily accessed by participants.
Image Credit: Calgary Public Library
What's Driving This Trend
- Virtual Escape Rooms
- The trend of virtual escape rooms offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for the events industry, allowing for unique and interactive experiences to be hosted online.
- At-home Gaming Experiences
- The trend of at-home gaming experiences offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for the gaming industry, allowing for new types of games and experiences to be created for individuals and groups playing from their homes.
- Online Interactive Puzzles and Challenges
- The trend of online interactive puzzles and challenges offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for the education and entertainment industries, allowing for engaging and educational experiences to be created for participants of all ages.
Who This Affects Most
- Events Industry
- The events industry can leverage the trend of virtual escape rooms to create engaging and interactive virtual events for corporate and social occasions as a safer, cost-effective and more accessible alternative.
- Gaming Industry
- The gaming industry can leverage the trend of at-home gaming experiences to create new types of games and platforms that cater to the growing demand for unique, multiplayer experiences that can be played from home.
- Education Industry
- The education industry can leverage the trend of online interactive puzzles and challenges to create engaging and interactive online learning experiences for students of all ages.
