Meet Cico!
Welcome back to our "Meet the Builders" series, where we delve into the creative minds behind some of the most remarkable room designers in Escape Simulator. Last time we talked with Zesty and now it's Cico's turn! Today we are putting the spotlight on Cico, who's known for some of the spookiest rooms ever to be created in our in-game Room Editor. Cico is one of the veteran builders from our community, who made the Little Emily series, The Motel II, Grandma's Kitty and many other excellent rooms! Now without further ado, it's time to meet the builder!Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into playing Escape Simulator?
Hi, my virtual name is Cico, my real name is Anton, I'm French and I've been playing Escape Simulator since October 2021. Escape rooms have become a passion of mine since my first one in 2015. I've been working in a French escape game for two years now. For some time I've been looking for a game that would allow me to create my own rooms and share them with other players. Escape Simulator became an obvious choice when I saw all the possibilities it could offer. And it has to be said that in a video game, there's no need to reset the room and tidy up after the players have gone through ahah. ????What inspired you to start designing rooms in the game?
After creating games and scenarios in real life, I needed a place where I could realise my greatest follies in a simple and inexpensive way, to take my ideas and scenarios from paper to virtual in a simple and intuitive way. When I discovered all the possibilities offered by the game and the constant support of the developers, I was immediately won over. I think it's the steam purchase I've hesitated least to make in the last five years.You are known to make some very spooky rooms and the name ‘Emily’ even sends shivers down the spines of many Escape Simulator players. How do you manage to effectively scare people every time? ????
First of all, I'd like to apologise to all the Emily's who must hate me by now. ???? I think the most important thing is to focus on the story and the atmosphere. The fear doesn't just come when you're walking down a corridor and something pops up in front of you, but also when you have to open a heavy wooden door, it opens slowly and you have no idea what might be waiting behind it, hiding in the shadows and seemingly watching you for a long time. Playing on phobias, giving "the fear of being afraid" are important elements that give the player a feeling of never really being safe.
That name still sends shivers down our spines...
Out of all the people you managed to scare with your rooms, which one are you most proud of and why? ????
I've been lucky enough to see several steamer or youtube videos on my rooms, and the DisguisedToast and Valkyrae videos are still hilarious moments for me. But I think the people I'm most proud of having scared or impressed are my close friends who test my rooms first and I love seeing their reactions. They know me and they're hard to surprise, so it's always a source of pride for me to impress them.Can you walk us through your process of creating a room? (you sketch on paper, what tools, how you start)
I usually start by putting my first ideas down on paper. First I think about the theme, the setting and above all the story. Once my ideas are clear, I think about the puzzles that might fit the story and the complexity I want the play to have. It's after these steps that I finally launch the game for some long and exciting hours of construction. I often change everything in the middle of construction, give up and start again from scratch, but I always get the same joy out of writing and designing a room. There's also a whole creation process that takes place on the side, with the images, clues and textures being put in place using photoshop and other software for the sound.
You'll just need to take care of grandma's kitty. What could possibly go wrong?
Even though you are known for your spooky rooms, you also created a bunch of rooms that were more light-hearted in tone like Grandma’s Kitty. In which ways does your process for these rooms differ from your scary rooms?
In reality, it's not so different from the horror rooms. The difference is mainly in the design of the atmosphere. Of course, seeing blood running down the walls of a little grandmother who just wants to feed her cat would be strange… I like to put little references to my past and future rooms in each adventure. For me, rooms that don't have a horror theme are always more complicated to design. It's harder to convey emotions, but I like to put a little moment of suspense in all my rooms. Players who have played Grandma's Kitty may remember a little mouse that startled them.What are some of your favorite rooms you've created so far, and what makes them unique?
It's hard for me to choose but I'd have to say Grandma's Kitty and The Motel II are my favourites. I loved working on Grandma's Kitty with a colleague and friend to design the story and puzzles, it was rewarding to share ideas and design a fun room. For The Motel II it was a pleasure to rework an old room that had appeared in 2021, to revise the atmosphere, improve the puzzles and add the game's new technology. This room also allowed me to try out a new way of telling a story and to work more on the narration.
The Motel II turns a spooky classic into an even spookier place than before!
