TEL Imaginarium released its first virtual mystery game (think online escape room) – Hello from the Other Side – in the midst of a pandemic-stricken new term.

The TEL Imaginarium (TEL-I) team were pensive about doing this initially. Many what-ifs crossed their minds, key of which was whether going virtual will impact the players’ level of interest and engagement. To their pleasant (albeit somewhat horrifying) surprise, more than 90% of the slots were taken up in the first two days of publicity. Rounds of internal game-testing and feedback were conducted to ensure the game was fun and smooth-running.

42 game sessions involving a total of 127 participants were run from 5 – 23 October 2020. Most players were shy online, but more than a handful turned on their videos and made themselves really comfy on zoom 😊. There seemed to be very little difference in the players’ enthusiasm between physical and virtual games. Some players even remarked that this is better than the physical game they tried in February 2020.

The game required players to exercise teamwork as they probed and worked their way through the puzzle. By observing the interesting team dynamics, the TEL-I team felt that they too learnt to communicate better and be more creative. As the games proceeded to the 2nd week, competition started to get stiffer. Time gaps between teams narrowed and players took shorter times to complete, testament to the braininess of our NUS community. 😎

Finally, the moment of truth. Ta-daa! Here are the winning teams (prize winners will be notified by email):

• Awoooo – Time: 21:54
• Team Unblocked – Time: 22:10
• Team Pokémon – Time: 23:48

6 special prizes were also identified because the golden ratio was mentioned in Book 6 of Euclid’s The Elements (those who played would know what we’re talking about).

• Top Entertainers – Goblin Slayer
  Almost like a running commentary or vlog going on in the game
  via GIPHY
• Surround Sound Effects – DLP
  Audibly-speaking, game became more immersive
• Most Tech Savvy – Lavender
  Use of various tech on hand to solve clues
• Sopranos – Trio
  Highest pitch recorded by this team!
  via GIPHY
• Serial Note-takers – hjmx2
  Logged down every detail possible
  via GIPHY
• Most Creative – TLSC
  Interesting minds, especially when guessing the passwords, very creative password combinations

The TEL-I team received numerous feedback from the players, such as how much they enjoyed it, what attracted them to play, how to improve, how they appreciated the effort in running this game, and how they would like to adopt the use of more immersive technology for their research or projects ( 😀 YAY!)

Here is a word cloud of why the players joined the game.

Based on the positive reviews, sounds like we’ll be coming back for more games next year. Let’s keep the rest a mystery for now.😊

The team would like to thank all players for tolerating the occasional technical boo-boos and making this game a success. Till next time!
via GIPHY