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Mall Escape

A point and click escape room adventure set inside a mall that changes after closing time.

ROLE

Narrative Designer / Writer

STATUS

Concept

GENRE

Point and Click · Escape Room

CORE DESIGN

Exploration · Inventory Puzzles

OVERVIEW CHARACTERS QUEST FLOW PA ESCALATION DIALOGUE

Overview

After closing time, the player finds themselves locked inside an empty mall. At first, each area looks ordinary, but returning later reveals that something has changed. Familiar stores become unsettling, and clues about a missing child begin to appear across the mall.

To escape, the player solves item-based puzzles and collects four objects that form the exit code. At the end, the clues come together: the missing child is Daniel, the player character, and the mall is a dream.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Narrative Design Environmental Storytelling Puzzle Narrative Character Writing Dialogue & Barks

Characters

PLAYER CHARACTER

Daniel

His identity is only revealed at the end.

PLAYER PERCEPTION

Known through most of the game only as “the striped shirt kid,” referenced by mall announcements before the player understands why.

VISUAL CLUES

Recognizable through two recurring props: a striped t-shirt and a red backpack. Used across multiple locations as visual match clues.

BEHAVIOR

Reacts to the mall's escalating strangeness with curiosity and problem solving, not panic. The tone stays observational, not visibly scared.

REVEAL

He's asleep in his own bed. His mother has been waiting for him to wake up.

ANTAGONIST

The Mall / PA System

PRESENCE

Has no physical form. Present only through announcements, a distorted elderly woman's voice, and changes to the environment itself.

ESCALATION

Starts neutral and administrative and becomes directly hostile once the player breaks the mall's rules.

VOICE

The only speaking antagonist in the game. Everything else is silent or environmental.

FUNCTION

Controls access, warns the player away from locked areas and reacts when the player pushes against the mall's intended route.

Quest Flow

This opening flow follows the player from arriving in the empty mall to unlocking the map and gaining access to the next area. It introduces exploration, environmental clues, code-based interaction, and the PA system as a way to control access.

PA Escalation

SCENE CONTEXT

Early in the game, most of the mall is locked. The player can only reach the Vending Machine. Trying other areas triggers an escalating response from the mall's PA system.

TRIGGER

Player clicks a locked area.

CHARACTER

The Mall / PA System

ESCALATION SEQUENCE

RESTRICT

On-screen label: “Closed.” / “Access Restricted.”

ANNOUNCE

Neutral PA voice: “Attention please. The mall closes at 5:50 PM. Security system will be activated after 5:50 PM.”

WARN

On another attempt, static crackles and a distorted elderly woman's voice says: “You are not supposed to be here.”

COMMAND

Short pause. “Leave.”

REDIRECT

The player returns to the ground floor. The Vending Machine is now the only playable area.

Dialogue Samples

PA SYSTEM · CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT

“Attention please. The mall closes at 5:50 PM. Security system will be activated after 5:50 PM.”

PLAYER · SODA PICKUP

“A soda without popcorn feels wrong.”

PA SYSTEM · MARKET

“Attention please. A child has gone missing. The child was last seen wearing a striped shirt and a red backpack. If you see him, please report it to Security.”

PLAYER · PHOTO

“Maybe I've seen that jacket somewhere.”

MALL VOICE · AFTER DISPLAY WINDOW

“You were told to leave.”

Pause.

“You shouldn't have done that.”

MOTHER · FINAL SCENE

“Good morning, Daniel.”