May 1 - May 10, 2024 @ 5-8pm
Frequently Asked Questions
The Experience
About Memoirscape
Memoirscape is a cozy, untimed, immersive experience that asks guests to become participants in the first live demonstration of Dr. Julia Adler’s work on constructing interactive memories—reconstructing, for this first test, Dr. Adler’s own happy memory of the summer of 1986 in her grandmother’s apartment, the last she spent there before heading off to college.
A successor to the Fall 2023 Home for the Holidays escape room built by WPI’s Interactive Media and Game Development students for Prof. Melissa Kagen’s “Design of Interactive Experiences” course, Memoirscape deliberately centers the concepts of cozyness, nostalgia, embedded narrative, and collaborative play, creating an environment where diverse playstyles—and both novices and experts alike—can experience Memoirscape at their own pace: whether through cozying up within the professor’s childhood bedroom or through the pursuit of puzzle-solving endeavors. Regardless of their chosen method of play, guests become integral participants in Dr. Adler’s narrative.
Using tools such as immersive theater and environmental storytelling, the Spring team that brought Memoirscape to life sought to cultivate an atmosphere of cozy immersion, eschewing competitive dynamics in favor of collaborative engagement. Informed by foundational concepts such as the “magic circle” and the burgeoning genre of “cozy games,” the design fosters an environment where players are invited to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves fully in the unfolding narrative.
About IMGD
WPI Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD) is among the oldest games and interactive media degrees in the nation. Blending the visual and technical arts, programming, storytelling, music, writing, design, user experience, and production management, IMGD offers highly customizable degree programs that both covers the breadth of interactive media and games and empowers students to specialize in their own area of interest. One of the only academic units in the nation that has all the areas of games and interactive media within a single program, IMGD is a hyper-collaborative program. Through course and project work, IMGD trains students at all levels both in development of specialized skillsets and in how to effectively and respectfully communicate with each other, collaborate, and work toward common design goals that require all those skills to align.
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
WPI is a top-tier STEM-focused research university and a recognized pioneer and global leader in project-based learning. Founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems, WPI’s continued mission is to transform lives, turn knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionize STEM through distinctive and inclusive education, projects, and research. WPI’s project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. Today WPI offers more than 70 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. To help address ongoing challenges, improve lives, and help create a more sustainable world, WPI faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research in such areas as the life sciences, smart technologies, materials and manufacturing, and global initiatives. www.wpi.edu
Escape rooms typically require players to sequentially solve a series of interactive puzzles, within a specific timeframe, to achieve an ‘escape’ from a themed room.
- Memoirscape doesn’t ask you to try and escape. Instead, you are invited to immerse yourself in the space, let your curiosity guide you, and notice what unfolds. Allow yourself to be curious, to play around, to savor. Through this gentle exploration, the narrative will reveal itself, layer by layer.
- Memoirscape doesn’t have a required timeframe. From the time you enter to the time we close at 8 P.M., you’re free to stay for as little or as long as you like, with only your entrance time limiting how long you have to play.
Memoirscape will run daily, 5 PM – 8 PM EST, from Wednesday, May 1st through Friday, May 10th, 2024.
Entry to the experience costs $12 per guest, payable by cash at the door.
Your entrance fee goes directly to future students in next year’s “Design of Interactive Experiences” course, forming the backbone of their budget. We would not have the Memoirscape without the efforts of students before us, and your contribution will help students in the future. Thank you!
Accessibility
As part of creating an immersive, interactive environment based on a specific time period, Memoirscape has some elements that may not be accessible for some guests. Parts of this experience may include:
- audio/visual elements that may include unclear sound, unexpected sound, continuous sound, ;
- manipulating small objects;
- bending down and/or picking things up from the floor;
- moving through one or more non-ADA accessible entrance(s);
- moving short distances, such as from the parking lot to the building entrance to the elevator that leads to check-in.
Depending on accessibility needs, alternate materials may be available.
Allergens
Parts of this experience may include:
- airborne perfume
- food/drink
Please see this page if you have any specific concerns over the content found in this experience.
For questions or concerns regarding any of the above:
- Prior to reserving a time, guests are encouraged to contact the Memoirscape team directly;
- upon arrival guests can speak to the lobby attendant; and
- during the experience guests can speak to the lobby or room attendant.
While the initial run of Memoirscape was from May 1-10, the team is pleased to announce that it will also be available to experience at the Foundations of Digital Games 2024 conference taking place at WPI from May 21-24, 2024.
Please visit the FDG 2024 site for more information about the conference and the demo.
Time
After you enter, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like; the only limiting factor is the closing time of the experience that evening.
Memoirscape isn’t a closed half-hour experience; instead, entry times are staggered every half hour throughout the evening. In addition to helping us maintain a range of play across the evening, that timing also allows us to introduce you to the experience, provide you safety guidelines, and answer any last-minute questions you may have before entering the experience.
Depending on what kind of experience you want to have, you might be interested in choosing a particular entry time:
- Want to give yourself time to explore, learn, and play at your own pace? Book an earlier entrance time.
- Want to test yourself against the clock to discover the story inside the room? Book a later entrance time.
- Not sure what sort of player you are yet? Pick any open entry time; room attendants will be present to help answer questions and guide you toward the kind of experience you want to have.
Guests
To guarantee a fun and safe experience for all participants, Memoirscape‘s staggered entry times can accommodate a maximum of 4 guests entering at a time. Parties of fewer than 4 can sign up, but remaining slots will remain open. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Memoirscape team directly.
With the staggered entrances and open-ended play, there is a high likelihood of guests beside yourself or your party being present or entering/exiting the experience and engaging in different levels of play.
- Interested in experiencing Memoirscape with just your party? The first entry time of the night, at 5 P.M., will give up to 4 guests half an hour to experience Memoirscape without other guests present.
If you’re interested in booking a longer solo experience for you or your party, please contact the Memoirscape team directly. - Interested is experiencing Memoirscape with others? While there’s no predicting how many guests will be present at any time during the evening, a later entrance time is likely to have guests still active and enjoying the experience.
Yes! Off-campus and non-WPI guests are allowed and encouraged. Please be sure to review our Location details to ensure you arrive on time for your booked entry.
Due to the staggered timing and limited space, we recommend making reservations in advance. Walk-ins may be admitted based on availability, but we cannot guarantee entrance.
Etc.
Yes! With the exception of any room attendants you may come across and your fellow guests (unless permission is given), we encourage you to take photos of your time and experience within Memoirscape.
And if you want to let us know what you loved, tag us on Instagram and use the hashtag #ComeBackToTheLab—we might feature your photo on our site or social media!
As part of reserving an entrance time for Memoirscape, all guests are requested to provide their name, email address and phone number. We request this information largely to help deter bot activity. Phone numbers will only be used in case of cancellation or other emergency. Email addresses will also be used in case of cancellation, but are primarily used to send confirmation emails that detail entry time and cost. Email addresses may also be added to a mailing list for future WPI IMGD rooms, but any such mailing list will have an opt-out feature that will allow you to remove yourself without further contact.
At the Memoirscape check-in guests are also provided “participant surveys” that are collected at the end of their experience; personal information is not collected on this form (with the exception of your name, which does not in this instance need to be real). These forms are scanned and reviewed by our team to help us further iterate on the Memoirscape experience.
With the exception of any email addresses transferred to the above referenced mailing list, all personal information collected by the Memoirscape team will be deleted once the experience has ended its run.
For press inquiries, please reach out to the Memoirscape team at gr-escaperoom@wpi.edu