S9E7: Omescape Sunnyvale's Sarah Zhang

"It's not about the size of the room, it's about the richness of the details." Whether you're making new robot friends, investigating a haunted school, or cooking up some puzzles, the escape rooms at Omescape Sunnyvale are all absolute bangers. Omescape Sunnyvale is a rare gem in the escape room world. Their games are all massive (or feel massive) with gorgeous sets, chock-full of puzzles, and oftentimes with unique mechanics. They're all telling different stories with different styles of gameplay, and this is all contained under one roof at Omescape's Sunnyvale location. Sarah Zhang, one of the co-founders of Omescape Sunnyvale, joins us to chat about their escape rooms. While many of their games are licensed, Sarah explains that they usually end up changing over 80% of the game, building new sets, creating new puzzles, and even writing new narratives. As an escape room enthusiast, Sarah often travels the world playing games, and when an especially interesting mechanic or aesthetic catches her attention, rather than just copying it, she looks to license the game. This is a pretty unique approach, and I appreciated her candor in explaining their business practices. As the conversation progresses, it becomes very clear that Sarah has a deep understanding of what makes games fun for players. She talks about the need for puzzles that involve the whole team as well as designing around a few "aha!" moments. I especially appreciated the segment where she talks about the importance of ending a game on a thrilling, physical sequence. This gets the players' heart rates up, and creates a strong ending memory for the guests. Check out the whole episode for the secret sauce behind Omescape Sunnyvale's success.   Full Show Notes   Episode Sponsors Thank you to our sponsors: Weldwood Marketing, Buzzshot, COGS by Clockwork Dog, and Patreon supporters like you.    Weldwood Marketing Maximize your online presence with Weldwood Marketing. It's a one-stop shop for digital marketing—specializing in web design, SEO, online ads, and best business practices. They can even manage all your integrations so you can track the customer journey from clicking on an ad to booking your game. Let Weldwood help unlock more money for your business. Special offer exclusively for REPOD listeners: Weldwood rarely offers discounts, but they did for us. REPOD listeners get 15% off Marketing Services for the first 3 months, PLUS $750 off escape room websites. Schedule your Discovery Call and mention REPOD in the notes! Visit weldwoodmarketing.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   Buzzshot Buzzshot is Escape Room Software, Powering Business Growth, Player Marketing, and improving the Customer Experience. They offer an assortment of pre and post game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and streamlined review management for Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Morty. Buzzshot now has integration with the other REPOD sponsors: Morty and COGS. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners get an extended 21-day free trial plus 20% off your first 3 months, with no set-up fees or hidden charges. Visit buzzshot.com/repod to learn more about this exclusive offer.   COGS COGS by Clockwork Dog is an easy to use software/ hardware platform for running interactive events, including escape rooms, and other immersive experiences. They have plug & play hardware that seamlessly integrates with their software so you can create a show with lighting and sound cues without having to write a single line of code. Map all kinds of inputs to outputs by building up simple logic steps which determine what you want to happen and when. Special Offer for REPOD Listeners: REPOD listeners can get the COGS Starter Set for only $130 + free shipping to the USA. This bundle is usually valued at $257. You can learn more and purchase your Starter Set at cogs.show. Use code REPOD at checkout.   Become a Patron Today! Supporitng us on Patreon helps to fund our work, pay our team, and it grants you access to an incredible library of bonus content including:  The REPOD Bonus Show The Spoilers Club The Travelogue Series Thank you to all of our ongoing supporters 💙   Production Credits Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law Produced by Theresa Piazza Supported by Lisa Spira Edited by Steve Ewing Music by Ryan Elder Logo by Janine Pracht