Reality Escape Pod - Escape Rooms & Immersive Games

S4E2 – Paradox Project, Greece: Dimitris Varelas and the Three Hour Escape Room

Oct 11, 2022

Dimitris Varelas, creator of Paradox Project in Greece, talks about crafting some of the longest and top-ranked escape rooms globally. He shares insights into their design process, passion for player experience, and dedication to creating immersive games. The podcast explores the inception of Paradox Project, detailed design considerations, puzzle creation aligned with storytelling, game rules, unique themes like village settings, and memorable experiences in escape rooms. Additionally, Dimitris discusses the unique twist of an accidental interruption by a carpenter during an escape game.

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Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

Creating Immersive and Engaging Escape Room Games in Athens

02:11 • 16min

Designing Immersive Puzzle Experiences for Escape Rooms

17:42 • 6min

Escape Room Game Rules and Immersive Experiences

23:39 • 19min

Creating Immersive Escape Room Experiences with Mansion and Bookstore Themes

42:43 • 4min

Escape Room Creators and Games in Athens, Greece

47:05 • 10min

Exploring the Paradox Project and The Mansion of Paros in Greece

57:21 • 2min

Unexpected Interruptions and Memorable Experiences in an Escape Game Mansion

59:42 • 2min

In Season Four of Reality Escape Pod, we’re going global! Each episode we’ll be interviewing escape room creators from a different country, and there’s no better place to start with than Athens, Greece, home to Paradox Project. Paradox Project’s escape rooms are some of the most highly regarded games in the world, with two of their rooms ranked in the top twenty best escape rooms according to TERPECA. These games also have the distinction of being some of the longest escape rooms in the world, with The Bookstore clocking in at 200 minutes. That’s a whopping three hours and 20 minutes.

While chatting with Dimitris Varelas, one of the creators of Paradox Project, it became clear that the driving force behind their games is a deep love of escape rooms and a devotion to creating the best possible player experience. He’s willing to run his games for you at all hours of the day, and has invited any visiting escape room enthusiasts to consult with him when planning their trip to Athens.

Hearing Dimitris talk about their design process, we could see how much care they put into their games. From their willingness to put the player experience first, to crafting custom sets in huge locations, Paradox Project is a shining example of how to craft incredible escape rooms that cater to escape room enthusiasts.

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