S4E4 – Holistic Game Design: Alexander Gierholz, creator of Amsterdam Catacombs, Netherlands

In Season 4, Episode 4, we head over to The Netherlands for a chat with Alexander Gierholz of Logic Locks, creator of The Amsterdam Catacombs, which has won numerous accolades including a Golden Lock Award and a TERPECA. In a country rich with globally top-rated escape rooms, The Catacombs stands out for its commitment to immersion, stunning location and incredible ending. The Netherlands has a vibrant escape room scene, due in part to Alexander's efforts with events like Up The Game, a global escape room conference he co-founded in 2017.

Coming from a psychology background, and having taught experience design and gamification, Alexander approaches game design with a unique holistic philosophy. He thinks deeply about creating experiences that pull from different disciplines which resonate with the audience in a meaningful way. This conversation about escape rooms, gameplay, and creating a community changed the way I think about game design, and I know you'll find it as fascinating as we did.

 

Show Notes

 

Episode Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: 

• Morty - A free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.
• World Escape Room Championship - A global competition for escape room players. It is being held virtually, for free. The elimination round is on November 5, 2022. Each member of the winning team will receive a Nintendo Switch Lite.

• Buzzshot - ‘Customer Satisfaction Software’ for your escape room business. Streamline your marketing and grow your escape room business with pre- and post-game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and integrated review management. Use code REPOD2022 in the dropdown list when booking a demo for 20% off your first three months.

Reality Escape Convention - RECON

Our escape room and immersive gaming convention, will be an incredible event for creators and consumers of the games we love. We hope to see you in Boston. Learn More about RECON.

Production Credits

Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Lisa Spira

Edited by Steve Ewing of Stand Inside Media

Music by Ryan Elder

Logo by Janine Pracht