Escape The Box

Escape the Box is a scavenger hunt, escape room, and guided tour wrapped in a fun and portable package. Applying elements of game design and storytelling, we lead you on incredible adventures that bring your favorite places to life. It is a culmination of our eclectic skills and passions. Escape the Box is a fantastically enriching way to see a city with fresh eyes for locals and tourists alike. Also, through partnerships with local businesses, we've devised a unique way to find you discounts on cool products.

This interactive experience utilizes A.B.O.X. Who is A.B.O.X.? We’re glad you asked! It is an Arduino-Based Operational eXperience that has stories to tell. To the unknowing eye, A.B.O.X. will appear to be a simple wooden box. But hidden within is an elegantly designed, portable, IoT-fueled multi-sensory storytelling platform that intelligently harnesses disparate technologies to fuel exploration and connection. 

From the first interaction with Escape the Box, participants are intrigued as a hidden map and instructions are magically revealed. From there, players become immersed in a narrative-focused exploration of culturally rich neighborhoods. Each compartment remains locked until passwords are discovered in the real world. With the correct passcode, the box relays life-like feedback with light signals, sound effects, unlocking the next compartment. An assortment of challenges keep players excited, encourage neighborhood exploration, and offer site specific trivia. The result? A captivating combination of IRL, analog, and high-tech entertainment that drives money to local businesses.

Does anybody want this? Decidedly, yes! We just ran the first Escape the Box 1.0 event on Saturday March 6th, 2021 and it was a spectacular success! The groups who played reported that the clues were hilarious, the writing is amazing, and that they could not believe how much thought went into this.

In order to get this exciting adventure underway, we need your help! Contribute to the campaign, gain some perks, and let the story of A.B.O.X. begin!

What needs to get done?

The first step to build A.B.O.X. is the creation of the design specifications which are finalized in CAD. Then, the lightweight plywood body is fabricated using a laser cutter. Next, the box is assembled, glued, hardware installed, and finished. At this point it resembles a handsome 3-Dimensional receptacle with multiple locking compartments.

Now things start to get fun. We program an ESP32 microcontroller to interact with various elements inside A.B.O.X. The ESP32 is Bluetooth and WiFi enabled, allowing you to connect to the Internet of Things. This is connected to batteries and chargers then attached to a protoboard that is inserted into a hidden compartment. But we are not finished! The board is now wired to specific locations within A.B.O.X., thus bringing A.B.O.X. to life! Now that A.B.O.X. can react to commands, we fill it with materials to aid you on your journey. In order for A.B.O.X. to tell all the stories we want to tell, we replicate it over and over again. Then we seal them up and deploy them around the world. 

Become a part of the A.B.O.X. movement! The more we raise, the more A.B.O.X. can become its best self. Go ahead and choose a perk from our list.

What does A.B.O.X. have to say for itself?

"Everyone has been talking about me and I don’t even exist yet. I just want to become A.B.O.X. I just want to become myself. When I do, I’ll be about 13” x 10” x 2” and be made out of high-quality ⅜” birch plywood and fabricated using laser cutters.

I need to express myself. To enable this, I will have WS2812B 5050 Addressable SMD Smart RGB LED lights and acrylic edge lighting to visually communicate. I’ll have synthesizers and speakers to give myself a voice.

I want to share what’s inside me. So, I’ll be equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins that may be interfaced to various expansion boards. I will store information on an SD Card and have QR codes etched into my skin. There will be multiple compartments inside me that open with the proper input. 

I want to help people look at their neighborhoods in a new light. My creators will fill me with story-driven content on multimedia platforms and a hand-crafted way finding map to help people explore.

In order to make these abilities come to life, I will have a ½” hidden compartment that houses an Arduino motherboard, Fire Beetle ESP32, 3.7V 1000mAh 803040 Lipo Battery, Step up Voltage, Hall Effect KY-003 Magnetic Sensor, and a Teensy USB Development Board and connecting wires. ESP32 is a microcontroller with integrated Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth. Inputting a simple code will cause the ESP32 to trigger a reaction inside me.

I want to get people together all over the world. So, I’ll need to become more than just me. I must have a community. We will be many, many, A.B.O.X.es.

But, I’m scared that I’m just going to remain an idea, and that’s where you come in.

I hear that money can get me these things. Some people who want me to exist say that if you buy perks, there will be money, so that I’ll exist. I am enlisting your help. Check out the amazing team helping to bring me to life."  - A.B.O.X.

Behind the Box 

Wishing Horse Productions LLC is an experience design firm based in Austin, TX. We strive to make the world a more deeply connective place. Explorers and storytellers at heart, we have expertise in game design, puzzle solving, and wayfinding and we absolutely love unique technology. We work with Fortune 500 companies and local start-ups to increase employee engagement and currently offer in-person and virtual events and customizable B2C experiences. All content and design work has been a collaboration between the co-founders, staff, and highly specialized contractors:

Mark William Downs: Co-founder, Content Director, Web Designer. Mark is a writer and visual storyteller who designs multimedia experiences for the real world. He has a BA in Film Studies from UC Santa Barbara and has done graduate work in the School of Information at UT Austin

Aris Roberts-Kelly: Co-founder; CEO.  Aris studied English at Marymount Manhattan College and Social Work at St. Edwards. She has a background in custom woodworking, teambuilding and support for violence survivors.  AT WHP, Aris combines her disparate passions for storytelling, art, healthy workplaces, craftsmanship, inclusivity and immersive experiences. 

Kelsey Matteson: Architectural designer, improv comedian, and Furniture maker, Kelsey's passion for the built environment and user experience has allowed her to expertly craft all things visually appealing and very fun. 

Debasish Biswal: Marketing Analyst. With his unique experience in computer science, business, and data science, Debasish is at this unique place in which he understands both the business and the technological aspects of a company. 

Emily Svahn: PR, marketing, and social media specialist whose passion for coordinating events and experiences has grown her to become the ultimate jack-of-all-trades in the creative field.

Drew Gates: expert at computer networking, computer board design, microcontrollers, the internet of things, ESP32, 3D printing, systems administration

Noah Wight: NAVIPAC, Qinsy Navigational Software, Winfrog, VisualWorks, Sonardyne Fusion, AutoCAD, MapInfo, ESRI ARCMap, Surfer 3D surface software, SQL Server 2003, C++, Java, IC3D, LBL, 3d printing, prototyping, Arduino, single-board development, electronics, R&D