We were asked by EY Toronto to create a competitive team-building escape room on the 31st floor of the EY Tower in downtown Toronto.

The project would last 1-month and be engaged with by EY staff from Toronto and across North America.

A particular design challenge was construction inside an office tower and creating the right mood and environment given the tower is mostly glass. Another challenge was operational, we needed to hire and train staff a team to operate the escape room for several weeks.

We conceived of ERNIE, an interactive obelisk-like AI machined designed to make company processes more efficient (a process EY is well-known for). Staff were invited to “test” in her final implementation phase.

Naturally ERNIE quickly bored of being tested and turned the tables on unsuspecting players. The project involved actors/game masters, behind the scenes technicians, elaborate sound and lighting design, a VR challenge, and a seriously imposing and snarky central prop: ERNIE herself and the “control station” with custom software.

This was a challenging project but ultimately a rewarding project. There is nothing quite like having an omni-present robot voice encourage or discourage players along the way. This is the most Wizard of Oz experience we expect to have!

Over a thousand EY staff challenged the game for the best time and had nothing but positive feedback. The project was on-time and on-budget, despite tackling the difficult logistics of building a temporary fully immersive escape room inside an office tower.