As a kid, I loved choose-your-own-adventure books. It upped the re-read factor of a book, and by immersing myself in the story, it added to the overall fun of reading. Over time, we’ve seen the application of choose-your-own-adventure evolve into video games and other entertainment mediums, now thanks to the evolution of technology we can even help film protagonist Jed in his quest to Escape the Asylum.
The first chapter in CHATTERBOX, Escape the Asylum is a choose-your-own-adventure-style suspense-horror experience where you, the audience member, decide the actions of a schizophrenic based on the voices in his head. You’ll help make decisions like whether or not Jed takes his meds, whether he should have sex with another patient, and other actions that guide the story along. Backed and produced by the people behind the 2015 social media murder mystery Virtual Morality, the experience was developed based on the learnings from that effort and integrated a more game-like experience looking to games like Her Story and Myst for inspiration.
The length of experience can vary based on your actions with a typical play-through taking about eight to ten minutes, but the film’s creators shot over 40 minutes of video to make up the overall experience. Viewers have more than 500 different choice points depending on the path taken, with the overall goal of escaping the asylum. Make a wrong move and don’t make it out? You’ll get a sense of déjà vu as you find yourself back in Jed’s room starting all over again.
Ready to try and make your escape? Try it out for yourself here.
