Miniature house & game
Rosewood inn
The Enchanted Rosewood Inn is an escape room game that takes place in a miniature house. As I worked on this 6-month passion project, I captured my process from concept to completion, including ideation, art direction & craftsmanship.
Overview
The goal of the game
According to the lore, the players are travelers who got lost and needed a place to stay. They find Rosewood Inn, a charming Victorian house, and decide to come in. However as soon as they step inside they magically turn into miniature objects. The goal of the game is to break the magic spell by solving puzzles and unlocking all the rooms in order to become humans again!
game flow
Bedroom
This cozy and spacious room can be misleading in its simplicity. Players need to find the final key to the attic.
Study
Books, maps and mahogany cabinets - they all point to something very special that’s hidden in the attic.
Front Hall (start)
This is the first room players get to explore. A locked suitcase, tiny mail and post-it notes hold the key to the parlor.
Attic (finish)
The final room features the Enchanted Rose that can finally break the spell and turn players into humans again.
Kitchen
On the menu for today: food-inspired clues and challenging math problems.
Parlor
This room is all about leisure and arts: guitar, books, TV, and paintings - they all mean something.
Mapping the user flow
To keep track of 60+ clues and the game progression, I created this flowchart. It features three major elements: clues, actions, and knowledge. Besides being necessary while ideating, it’s also a great reference guide for resetting the clues.
Process
1. Ideation
It all started when my boyfriend and I stayed at a gorgeous Victorian hotel in Canada called Amethyst Inn. The moment I stepped into it I was blown away by the immersiveness of that place. That’s when I knew that no matter what - I have to have my own hotel one day.
The escape room part came in much later and was inspired by The Prison Experience, an escape room in Barcelona. It was highly engaging and brought my family closer. That’s when I realized that my hotel can be more than just a pretty object - it can be a game!
2. Visual design
The crucial component of this project was the look and feel of the house.
It was very important for me to get the color scheme right. I decided to color code each room so that it has a unique personality. I dove deep into the color theory and gave a lot of thought to it before settling for the final scheme.
3. House creation
I set out to create the most beautiful, iconic, and romantic miniature house ever, so every detail mattered.
I purchased a laser cut miniature house on Etsy and painted it myself. The painting part was rather laborious (priming, sanding, painting and coating), but luckily I have a strange passion for monotonous activities. Painting the roof alone took me 8+ hours because I initially painted it shingle by shingle. I ended up repainting it twice, settling for a solid color. What can I say. 🙃
Props & Clues
Sourcing the props
By far the most fun part of the process was decorating the house with props and furniture. I have great passion for interior design, so I spent countless hours moodboarding, scavenging Etsy, and curating miniature objects to fit the color schemes and functionalities of the rooms.
I myself made some simpler props, such as notes, mail, artwork, and the Enchanted Rose.
idea & inspiration
Home is where your art is.
As any creative project, this one came from a convergence of many different interests, the deepest of which is my life-long inquiry on what “home” means.
Being born in Russia and having moved to San Francisco left me a bit confused about where my home really is. I knew that certain places and companies made me feel more at home than others, but what was the defining factor? Was it the physical place? Was it people? Was it mindset?
I eventually came to the conclusion that “home” is not something I can find, but something I can create. By making this project I have fully committed to making my home two things: the people I love and art.