Jimu News reporter Zhou Dan Kang Xuyang
Video clip Kang Xuyang
Several people are trapped in a dimly lit and claustrophobic room, and must pass through layers of "breaking through" before they can "escape". In this process, players not only need to use wisdom to solve puzzles, but also may be frightened and chased at any time... In recent years, this immersive escape room game has been favored by more and more "Generation Z" because it is full of excitement and fun.
However, the accompanying labels of "yellow" and "violent" have also made escape rooms controversial. On the 22nd, Wuhan citizen Wang Dong (pseudonym) reported to Jimu News that a recent game in the secret room made him and his playmates feel uncomfortable.
Feel unwell after the Chamber of Secrets game
Wang Dong is 25 years old and freelancer. He introduced that on February 18, his girlfriend proposed that several girlfriends wanted to play escape room, had booked tickets, and asked him to accompany them. The next morning, a group of 6 people came to the LostWood Live-Action Game (Wuhan No. 1 Flagship Store) located in Hankou New Jiali Plaza, ready to play the game with the theme of "Golden Cicada Shelling - Escape day".
Wang Dong and his friends go to the escape room shop where they consume
"I played it for the first time, I haven't played it before, and the other five who play together are girls, and the theme is too scary to try, so I specially chose a non-terrorist game." Wang Dong said that after arriving at the scene, under the leadership of the staff, they went to store bags and mobile phones and other items, and then changed into game costumes - prison uniforms. The staff prompted the safety reminder of physical health, and after signing the consent form and other links, began to enter the secret room.
The whole game lasted about 150 minutes, "and it was fine at first, but when the game was about halfway through, I suddenly felt very strange." Wang Dong recalled: "At that time, a male staff member who played the role of a cell boss asked me to crouch in front of him holding a magazine to block my view, and the other 5 female players we were traveling with stood in front of him with their backs to him. ”
Then, a scene that caused discomfort to the players appeared.
"I heard the indescribable kind of voice and felt like he should be doing indecent gestures." Wang Dong said that at that time, because he was crouching on the ground, the magazine blocked the view, and the light in the secret room was too dark, he could not fully see clearly, "but the kind of sound made by the staff in public was really disgusting." ”
Still, he went on to finish the game. But the more I think about it in hindsight, the more I feel that this kind of game involving pornography is not appropriate.
Relevant departments intervene in the investigation
"I later looked at the booking page and there was an age requirement for the game, players had to be at least 18 years old, but no one asked us about our age, either at the time of booking or before entering the game." On the 20th, Wang Dong came to the store again and contacted the store, "The store manager said that this link is the need of the plot, just the role interpretation, not really implementing indecent actions, but admitting that there is an indescribable sound." ”
Due to the failure of the two sides to reach an agreement through consultation, Wang Dong chose to call the police.
The police then came to the scene to investigate, and the store manager provided some surveillance video at the time of the incident. However, due to the monitoring angle, only the side of the 5 women can be seen, and the side of the staff who played the cell boss and Wang Dong cannot be seen clearly.
A recording provided by Wang Dong at the time showed that the staff of the store had stated to the police: "Involved in pornography, there is a feeling of XXX, but there is only sound, no action." ”
Wang Dong put forward a demand for 4,000 yuan of economic compensation, but the store was only willing to refund the ticket, and the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Subsequently, Wang Dong complained to the Wuhan Municipal Market Supervision Department and the Cultural Tourism Department.
On the 22nd, the Huashui Market Supervision and Administration Office of the Jianghan District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Wuhan City mediated on the matter, but still failed to reach an agreement. Subsequently, the Firm made a decision to terminate the mediation.
"If the store had informed us in advance that we had a pornography-related link, we would definitely not have chosen such a theme, but no one had mentioned it to us beforehand." Wang Dong said that he asked the store afterwards why he did not inform in advance, and the answer he got was that if he "spoiled" in advance, the game would not be fun.
The store admitted to being involved in pornography and then denied it
On the 24th, the Jimu News reporter found the LostWood Live-Action Game (Wuhan's first flagship store) and asked whether there was a "pornography-related" plot in the theme of "Golden Cicada Shelling - Escape Day".
"This theme is the oldest batch of themes in the store, it has been online for almost 3 years, the plot has never changed, this is the first time in three years by a player complaint (involving pornography). There may be a little bit of involvement in the plot, but it will never be seen by the player, we will let the player turn his back, and we will also introduce the situation to the player before starting to play, if the player can not accept the alternative route. According to the front desk clerk, the theme is divided into A, B, C three routes, the plot of the three lines is different, before playing, the staff will inform the player in advance of the content involved in different routes, for the player to choose, the player may pick the A line.
However, the head of the store then came to the front desk and denied that there was a "pornography" plot reflected by the player in the theme.
"We didn't break the rules, because the player was facing away from the scene, probably more sensitive to the sound, and put himself into this plot, we don't have this plot." The person in charge said that the script of the theme has now been handed over to the police for investigation and is currently awaiting the results of the investigation, and the theme has also been temporarily removed from the store and cannot be booked.
On the booking page of the online platform "Golden Cicada Shelling - Escape Day", the reporter saw that the single person charged 138 yuan and booked at 5 people, which is the "2021 best-selling theme", and the labels include "confrontation class", "suitable for novices and high play", "there is a dress-up", "over 18 years old" and so on.
Screenshot of netizen reviews
In the evaluation of this theme, some netizens mentioned: "The theme has a process with a little color, it is best to communicate with the boss in advance whether the people who are traveling with you are suitable", "There is no horror and decryption element, but the yellow storm element, individual words and actions and interactions may be uncomfortable at the time, but this is also because of people"...
Multiple themes involve elements of "Yellow Storm"
Jimu News reporters noted that there are many escape room themes involving yellow riots, and the order pages of these secret room themes do not prompt players that the content involves "yellow storm" elements. Some customers feel uncomfortable because of the "yellow storm element", and some customers are willing to pay for it for thrill seeking.
Located at No. 743 Zhongshan Avenue, Jiang'an District, the Elephant Pig Bird Super Secret Room, the escape room theme named "Yin Chun Ge", has been repeatedly marked by netizens on social platforms as "very yellow and violent" to share.
Netizens introduced that the theme of the secret room simulates "casino" and "green building", NPC (non-player character) will be verbal "flirting" with players, players may need to take off their clothes after gambling in the "casino" after losing"... However, the reporter noted that this secret room store has been suspended for business.
A cage deep immersion room on Jianghan Road also has a theme with undressing links. According to netizens, in the theme of "Hong Kong Trick 1997", it is necessary to curry favor with NPC tour guides in various ways to make money to clear customs, such as undressing, "dancing", dripping wax, leather whip, etc.
On the 24th, the reporter consulted the staff of the cage deep immersion chamber as a consumer, which confirmed that the theme did have a large-scale link, but before entering the chamber, the player will be informed and the player will be selected. "We have normal mode and adult mode, adult mode is relatively large, but it can be controlled according to the player's acceptance, and if the player can't accept it, the NPC will not force them to undress and other behaviors." The clerk said.