P2: Last Dive (Group 21)

CS 247G: Design for Play, Spring 2025

Team Members: Adi, Anthony, Lauren, Maimuna, Nhu, Yinlin

✍️ Artist’s Statement:

An eccentric cast, an out-of-touch tech executive, submarine vacation turned deadly; Last Dive is an escape-room-in-a-box type game where players solve puzzles in order to get out of a submarine that has been hijacked by its billionaire owner. Physical and digital elements are combined in this game— players interact with a wide range of puzzle types through paper printouts, while an accompanying website simulates the submarine space by guiding them through each “room”, as well as assisting players in their puzzle-solving. Last Dive can be enjoyed by all adults, but its parodies of internet celebrities and referential puzzles make it an ideal experience for late teens to young adults, especially college students!

For Last Dive, we wanted to create an escape room experience that would smoothly integrate our digital interface into the game flow and leverage both the physical and digital sections in order to improve upon the challenge posed by the puzzles and the immersion into the atmosphere and storyline of the game. The website could take on the work of managing environmental conditions, such as the puzzle answers, time limit, and hints, allowing the players to dedicate more of their attention and time to the gameplay without having to account for a game master-type role. It would also allow for a more responsive narrative delivery. In addition to the environmental storytelling that most escape rooms utilize, we also wanted Last Dive to feature active NPC interactions, breathing life into each themed section of the game. 

The fate of this expedition, and all the people on board, is doomed—unless you’re clever and quick enough to subvert it!

 

🗺️ Model of System:

Last Dive – Core Slice System Model (Game Loop Focus)

Game Slice Focus: Players use physical puzzle clues to identify a recipe → reference numbers in recipe book → unlock padlock.

Core Slice Game Loop:

1. Solve Physical Puzzle
2. Identify Matching Recipe in Recipe Book based on input
3. Extract Number Clues from the recipe book (page number)
4. Enter Code in Padlock (e.g., 5 -digit lock → unlocks next phase or room)

Puzzle Integration:

Recipe Book as a Mechanic: The recipe book is an interactive artifact with which players must infer the correct dish using clues. There include embedded clues via the page number, which are built up and used to find the ultimate code.

Padlock System: The code is formatted as a 6-digit physical lock. Each correct dish (of the appetizer, entree, and dessert) contributes 2 numbers to the correct code. The correct code will successfully let the player into the next room. For its failure state, a wrong code fails to unlock the room and forces the player to retry.

 

🧠 Initial Decisions:

Initially, the formal elements of our game consisted of any number of players (the escape room can be solved solo or in a group) with the objective of trying to escape the submarine. We built a satirical escape room narrative where players must solve a series of logic-based puzzles and social challenges to reach the final escape pod before the hour is up. The players can solve the puzzle in any order they want and use other words to fill in the blank for the recipe book which then leads to the padlock to escape the kitchen room. However, the players cannot skip any part of the recipe, or else they will not be able to find the page numbers that unlock the padlock to escape the kitchen. Players can utilize the built in hint system to choose which puzzle they want help on (given the shape of which puzzle they are working on). They also have a timer at the top of the screen to keep track of the time left to solve the puzzles before they drown. The boundaries of the world include the physical puzzles that help solve the virtual submarine world, and both elements must function properly in order to complete the level. The mechanics of the game include the physical puzzles (e.g., logic puzzles, ciphers, anagrams) where each distinct puzzle leads the player to a specific word, the character backstory and narrative, the hint system, music when solving one course, padlock system, audio narration of sequences, and the timer left on the submarine. The dynamics of our game are the pressure of time where players must solve the puzzles before the timer runs out, collaboration between players if this game is being played between more than one person to delineate puzzles amongst players, and decision making where players must decide which meal they want to start with. 

We also initially wanted the values of this game to promote narrative and challenges for players where the players become immersed in this underwater environment and are challenged to solve the puzzles before the timer runs out and they ultimately drown. We want players to have fun by learning more about the characters in the game and solving puzzles (even including sound effects for when puzzles are solved) so they feel successful and encouraged to solve all the puzzles. To make sure the game was accessible and fun for all, we also included the hint system without any limits so players can determine where they want to receive help and solve puzzles if help is needed. This addresses cognitive limitations many escape rooms have, because we want to make sure everyone has the ability to escape, by even including a “Try again” button if the timer runs out to solve the level and level up. We also wanted to address any auditory disabilities by having text that showed up when the player unlocked a recipe correctly “Success” and the character narration was also visible on the screen. Similarly, many escape rooms are inaccessible for those with visual impairments, so we also added audio to the character narration and sound effects that indicated a player was successful or failed (e.g., “Game Over” sound when the player’s time ran out). These values were very important to us, because we believed as a team that everyone should be able to escape our submarine, and making the game as accessible as possible would encourage players to have fun through the narrative and challenges designed.

🔍 Game Scope:

The full scope of the game would have been an escape room submarine-edition for users to experience going through all the rooms in the submarine, collect all the facts about Maverixx Flux, and escape the submarine before the time runs out and the submarine sinks. We created a slice of our escape room (Submarine) for our P2 submission, and honed in on the kitchen room for players to solve. We created the escape room’s exposition scenes so the players would get immersed in the situation, setting, and narrative. Then, we led players to the kitchen room, and fully created the elements for the room including Rordan Gamsey’s hint system, the recipe book of Maverixx’s favorite recipes, and the padlock to escape the kitchen room. This slice of our escape room is indicative of the path we would want to lead our players on which is to lead players through different rooms, collect fun facts about Maverixx, and escape with him before the submarine sinks.

 

📝 Testing and Iteration History

Our playtesting process involved 3 formal sessions done over two weeks all with CS247G students, who brought formal game analysis experience to their feedback and perspective.

Playtest 1 (May 23)

• Guiding questions: Does the basic puzzle flow work? Are the physical-digital connections clear? How can we improve puzzle difficulty progression? What role should the envelope play? 
• What went well: Players quickly understood the red cellophane puzzle and envelope instructions. The connections puzzle worked smoothly, with players immediately guessing “cake” (“cup” took some time, though). Players also successfully used context clues from other answers to solve the “protein” puzzle. 
• What could’ve gone better: The velvet puzzle caused some confusion, only being solved after players had other answers for context. Players were intimidated by the chemistry elements in the “protein” puzzle and needed hints from the moderator. Maybe most importantly, laying puzzles out in a specific order inadvertently guided players to solve them sequentially rather than allowing free exploration. The envelope’s purpose was unclear, and players missed the clue inside entirely. The “bar” puzzle felt very anticlimactic and simple. The submission system for the recipe book lacked pressure to submit proper, correct answers and just gave rise to guessing. The lack of a submission history made it easy for players to forget past attempts and guesses.
• Key insights/implementations: The physical arrangement of puzzles was unconsciously directing player behavior. The connection between physical and digital elements felt weak, with the digital component serving merely as an answer checker rather than an integrated experience. Based on feedback, we decided to implement a mechanism to reduce the time remaining by one minute for each incorrect guess and add a submission history so players can see past attempts.

Playtest 2 (May 27)

• Guiding questions: How does the overall game flow work? Is the exposition effective without audio? 
• What went well: Players completed all dessert puzzles in less than 10 minutes, showing an improved efficiency and understanding of the game. The color and visual design got positive feedback, and players appreciated the escape room atmosphere with minimal to no audio. 
• What could’ve gone better: Players skipped through exposition too quickly, suggesting a need for pacing through audio. The sequence of puzzles remained unintuitive, with players unsure which puzzle corresponded to which recipe book entry. The “protein puzzle” continued to be the most challenging.
• Key insights/implementations: Players needed clearer guidance about using the recipe book before attempting the padlock. The system should only make interactive elements available when relevant to prevent confusion. We made this clearer in the exposition going forward, and we also edited our website to scramble the physical puzzles and reveal the order as a hint in the digital interface. We also added audio pacing and voice clips of our own team members acting as people in the game (including the narrator, Rordan Gamsay, and Maverixx Flux) to keep players engaged and have them feel as if there was a dialogue between them and the game’s characters. The protein puzzle was also simplified to provide more . Once we locked down on our final dessert course mini-slice, we expanded to appetizer and entree courses using this feedback. 

Playtest 3 (June 3)

Image from playtest 3

• Guiding questions: Does the complete three-course meal structure work? How accessible is the game for different knowledge backgrounds? 
• What went well: The longitude/latitude puzzle for “Wellington” (entree puzzle) was easily understood and solved smoothly. Players became more familiar with the gameplay structure as they progressed. The 30-minute completion time felt appropriate. Players also appreciated the background music and hint system. 
• What could’ve gone better: Cultural knowledge barriers emerged as significant issues; Beef Wellington wasn’t familiar to all players, and the crossword puzzle was met with confusion. This reveals a broader accessibility concern that revealed dependencies on Western culinary knowledge and cultural references. The players also wish it was clearer that their time would be deducted upon looking up an incorrect recipe.
• Key insights/implementations: We fixed small inconsistencies (e.g. changing “Maverixx Fluxx” to “Maverixx Flux” on the envelope for accuracy) and added notes specifying that guessing an incorrect recipe deducts a minute from the clock.

Bigger iterative challenges throughout playtesting:

• Puzzle ordering: We moved from a rigid sequential structure to a more flexible system that still maintained narrative coherence while allowing player choice.
• Hint system evolution: What began as a simple help feature became a tool that could be used to enhance familiarity and accessibility, with players using hints not just for solving but for guidance and clarification.
• Physical-digital integration: Early feedback about weak connections led us to look into more meaningful interactions between physical and digital scenes, which include an interactive hint system, audio recorded by the creators of the game (us), exposition pacing, puzzle answer validation, escape room timing, submission history, and more tools for players to have at their disposal.
• Cultural accessibility: Later playtests revealed the need to think about diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly around food knowledge and culinary references. This made us enhance our hint system as a guiding tool and not something that makes any player “worse” at the game. We also included messaging in our game to include characters saying the hints are there to use without penalty. 
• Envelope design: The envelope grew from a simple container of physical puzzles to a key game element with in-universe branding and clues.

✨ Optional Additions:

Design Sketches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut Ideas/Future Expansions

The Last Dive initially started out with numerous whimsical and outlandish ideas that we had to cut out over time. We wanted to emphasize the eccentricity of the billionaires and their often ridiculous interests. One such idea was giving each of the celebrities pet Capybaras. Our team thought that giving the celebrities pet Capybaras would simultaneously humanize them as real characters in this world and develop their quirky personalities. However, we eventually concluded that the Capybaras were not super relevant to the plot and could distract from the central narrative. In future expansions, they could definitely be an additional plot line we explore or part of a puzzle that needs to be solved.

Another idea we ultimately cut was having a lot of tech bro billionaires and other celebrity figures. We wanted to create a cast of characters that was similar to Glass Onion. This resulted in a lot of fun and creative brainstorming but none of the ideas were truly productive or served to further the plot. Furthermore, we had already decided to do a slice and we believed that cramming too many different and quirky celebrity characters into a slice would simply be distracting and overwhelming. Rordon Gamsay made the final cut and became the celebrity for the kitchen slice. For future expansions, we’ve already discussed having a storage room with Beff Jezos or having a computer room with Zark Muckerberg that players could escape from.

Extended Narrative or Worldbuilding

From the start of the project, we wanted to create a narrative and build a world players want to be a part of. In order to create these elements of fun and nudge players into becoming emotionally invested in these characters and the world of the game, we had to construct a story that generated enough intrigue. Our group agreed that we wanted to do a submarine escape room from the start. However, that leads to the questions of why are these players on the submarine and why are they trying to escape. We brainstormed a lot of ideas but settled on something we thought would be relatable for most players: an all expense paid luxury submarine that billionaires pay to experience. This both simultaneously answers the question of why you are on the submarine and the luxury aspect of it gives us a lot of cool rooms to design escapes. Since most/all of our players were not going to be billionaires, we decided that the player would be the lucky winner of a lottery. As a result, much of the story arc centers around how the player who is a normal person would see a lot of the other characters as extremely unique. 

Answering the second question of why the player is trying to escape such a luxury experience was much harder. We brainstormed ideas about perhaps wanting to escape from the eccentric rich people or having a rich person be secretly evil. After much discussion, we decided that those narratives were largely trite and not very interesting. We eventually settled on the idea of even further exaggerating the character flaws of one of the characters and making that the focal point. Maverixx Fluxx consequently became a hyperbolized narcissist who couldn’t stand the idea of not being the most important or constantly adored. As a result, we settled on the story of Maverixx Fluxx being upset about not being the center of attention and forcing the other passengers to learn about him or die. Rather than trying to come up with a super realistic reason, we decided to continue the theme of being ridiculous and fully weave it into the narrative of the story. 

The characters in our game are the essential building blocks of worldbuilding and the narrative. It was crucial for us to have the players interact with them as much as possible. To do this, we had dialogue that was specifically tailored to each of the characters. Maverixx Fluxx and Rordan Gamsay both spoke in a particular way unique to their personalities, and we had the voiceover narrations also reflect this. By having these characters read and sound different, we further cemented their personalities and made them even more interactive. 

The puzzles also fit into the narrative and world of the story. Since the players are stuck in the kitchen of a luxury submarine with Rordon Gamsay, we decided to make the puzzles follow a fancy 3 course meal structure. Coincidentally, the answers to the puzzles eventually fit together to create Maverixx Fluxx’s 3 favourite dishes. Each part of our game was designed with intentionality. We used every mechanic and opportunity to embed narrative elements and continue building up the world the player is immersed in.

Notes on Accessibility

While Last Dive still has a long way to go on incorporating more accessibility features, based on playtest feedback, we recognize that players engage with information in different ways, and we want to accommodate diverse cognitive and sensory needs, especially for players with attention differences or neurodivergent learning styles.

To support this, we’ve started integrating auditory features into the experience. We recorded voice-over dialogue to provide narrative context and instructions in a way that reduces reliance on dense written text. Additionally, we added background music and ambient submarine sounds to help set the tone, guide pacing, and focus attention during puzzle-solving moments. These audio elements also contribute to immersion, helping players stay engaged and anchored even in moments of cognitive fatigue or distraction.

If we were to do a full release, we plan to offer subtitled audio, adjustable volume settings, and potentially visual cue alternatives for all audio content, so that players can tailor their experience to what works best for them.

If this were a full release…

If Last Dive were a full release, we would expand the experience by adding more rooms to deepen both the narrative and puzzle progression. Right now, players interact primarily with kitchen and food-themed puzzles as they are in Rordan Gamsay’s room, but the full version would take them on a journey through a variety of themed submarine compartments themed after celebrity parodies and rich archetypes, each with distinct mechanics, sensory elements, and narrative fragments. These rooms would not only progress the story but also reflect the absurd, slightly comedic tone of the game.

Some of the rooms we envisioned include:

• The Control Room: where players must decode a chaotic mess of logs, levers, and buttons labeled with outdated or cryptic instructions, all led by a tech bro (Zark Muckerberg).
• The Music Room: a mysterious space lined with waterproof instruments where players have to recreate a sea shanty, guided by their helpful mentor Sabrina Fisherwoman.
  

All of these rooms would build on the game’s central mechanic, observation and puzzle-solving, and reflect a world that is intentionally ridiculous. The game would culminate in a high-stakes escape pod scene, where players must synthesize everything they’ve learned from earlier puzzles to complete a multi-step final challenge. This final act would heighten the urgency of the oxygen timer and incorporate emotional stakes, potentially revealing recorded messages or final transmissions from crew members. It would deliver narrative closure and a satisfying arc, shifting from quiet, absurd mystery-solving to chaotic, time-pressured decision-making and ultimate escape.

 

🔗 Important Links:

Final Playtest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZwPuJOVl5c

Print and Play Document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rEEfb-I0RVJZfmQYzJiGUZvwN8VNL2va/view?usp=sharing

Digital Gameplay Link: https://laurenjiyu.github.io/last-dive/

GitHub Link: https://github.com/laurenjiyu/last-dive

Figma Link: https://www.figma.com/design/V1XwrSXo32yXe3kKv7mhuo/Last-Dive-Medium-Fi?node-id=0-1&t=CRDzF5VcIv30LQSp-1