URB’explorerz is a concept inspired by escape games, but scaled up to the size of the urban exploration activities that many are interested in. It combines infiltration, strategy and efficiency to reach the top and escape the police...
Innovation overview
Company name: URB’explorerz
Innovation name: Urbex Game
Company motto: Experience the illegal, legally
Innovation summary: URB’explorerz is a new concept called Urbex Game. It is inspired by escape games, but scaled up to the size of the urban exploration activities that many people are interested in. However, urban exploration is usually illegal and dangerous, which is why this innovation fulfils the need of thrill and adventure that some have, while insuring safety and rules. Users can experience a brand new game, pushing them to explore a map, collect information and overcome obstacles to reach the final point of the map. Once the objective achieved, they will also have to climb it down and escape the police, to fully succeed the mission.
Innovation functioning and features
1- How would it all work?
The overall idea of this project would require URB’explorerz to buy a large size land in nature, where several areas can be created. This Urbex game will then provide 3 different Urbex set-ups that the customers can choose from. The different urban exploration experiences would be split as follows: “High-surveillance headquarters”, “Abandoned war manufactory” and “Bio-lab building under construction”. Each map has been designed to provide a big and long enough experience to the users, including a large variety of movements and features: stairs, ladders, construction platforms, possible jumps,
obstacles to overcome, hatches, broken walls etc… The idea is to create different paths and ways possible around the map, even though only one or a few will lead to the final prize. For each of these 3 experiences, the decoration elements and success tools (ladders, cameras, furniture..) will be modified every 6 months, to allow customers to comeback for a new challenge. However, the difficulty level in between each map will be slightly different allowing one map to target beginners, a second one with an intermediate level, and a more difficult one.
Regarding the main Urbex entrance hall, participants and newcomers will gather in the main hall, where reception, changing rooms, lounge, and instructions rooms are. Some pathways outside link to the 3 different buildings that can be explored. Also, there will be a leaderboard in the main entrance showing the fastest performances achieved by explorers for each map. Finally, regarding players' safety, the trickiest paths that include jumps or climbing will be opened only for players over 15 years old. If younger, players will see an automatically blocked path. These physical steps will be covered with landing mattresses and respect necessary safety rules. All players, after having being briefed, are signing a responsibility form, stating their agreement with the rules and risks of the game.
2- What are the rules of the game?
In this Urbex Game, players can be in groups going from 2 to 6 people, and are given one hour and half to explore the building they chose. The goals are simple: 1 - they need to access the final destination within the accounted time, and 2 - they need to escape the building before the police catches them. For the first objective, the destination to reach can be the rooftop of a building, a secret laboratory room or the hidden basement of the structure. Reaching the destination will give them a prize proving their success, and an escape route that will be much faster than the one they experienced throughout the exploration, in order to better escape the police. Indeed, cameras, lasers and sound detectors are around the buildings, and players must remain discrete. The more players are visible and loud, the earlier the police would arrive, and the smaller chances are to succeed. The police will be represented by one cosplayed actor that will first stand outside the building, before getting inside to search for the explorers. Players have to avoid the way of the police man and escape through a discrete way out. Players can keep on running away until the police man is close enough to say “hands in the air, don’t move”, meaning the escape has ended. For young players or beginners, it is possible to deactivate the police option, and only try to reach the destination and come back in time.
3- How would be the user experience?
When entering URB’explorerz, players will first go through the main hall, where they will be welcomed. They will present their booking and confirm the selection made (number of participants, building chosen, police intervention…). Then, they are given time to change and get ready, before starting the briefing with an expert, who will explain the concept and rules. Once the briefing is over, players hit a start button from the main hall, and run towards their selected building, as the one hour and a half countdown starts. They can walk around the building discretely in order to decide on the best entrance, and start the exploration while not getting noticed. Players will walk inside the building, look for clues on the final destination’s location, and try all outcomes possible in order to get to their goal. They will have to read documents, find maps of the building and follow some signs towards the destination. On their way, they will have to climb ladders, construction barriers, jump over obstacles and more. Once arrived to the final destination, players will keep with them the proof of their success and runaway through the advised exit path or another one they decided, in order to make it before the police finds them.
4- How would it be financially/business relevant?
Even though this idea must be a very expensive one to bring to life, and could probably seem more like a millionnaire’s childhood dream than a realistically profitable company, let’s have a look into the economical aspect of it.
However, if a land can be purchased in the contry-side with two or three old-fashioned buildings that are to be renovated and decorated, the costs could be around 500.000 euros for the purchase and renovation. Let's add to this the running costs of 2 full time employees, in charge of hosting, safety and maintenance, it can add up to 36.000 euros of costs per year. Let's estimate how much revenue can be made in a year: with an entrance ticket of 40 euros, an average of 8 people visiting per hour (so 4 people per building, assuming only 2 buildings out of 3 are used on average) during 7 hours per day, during 5 days of the week during a year, we get around 580.000 euros of revenue per year, making it roughly profitable after the first year. Let's bear in mind that many extra costs would have to be considered in case of such a project being launched, and the innovation would need a great awareness and success to have as many visitors as estimated in the above calculations.
This Urbex game could however use membership subscriptions, group offers, and company packages to attract as many players as possible, coming from various backgrounds and for various reasons: entertainment influencers, company team-buildings, teenagers’ birthdays and more… Located in close surbubs of major metropole. Tough to scale up. How to make more money out of it? (premium membership, wide events..)
Let's take a step back
Pros and cons:
New entertainment group activity taking over a “limited in choice” already existing market (escape game, laser game, bowling…)
Many objectives at once (find the destination, escape the police, do a great time performance)
Variety of environments and levels
Map possible to be renewed and changed frequently
Real life looking experience
Various types of customers to be attracted
Very high starting costs
Little “replay value”
High maintenance of buildings, software, cleaning etc..
Safety matters
Expansion opportunities:
After the success of this innovation, scaling-up represents a great opportunity. It could be possible to add more buildings/maps to one location, and of course to create new locations in different cities or countries if this concept is successful. Adding more interaction during each session could also be an opportunity: possibility to use a drone to pre-look into zones, or buttons activating some doors movements or lights. On a much greater scale, this concept could also become a competitive sport. Locally, some tournaments of teams of 4 could take place, where players have to complete the mission (find the destination and escape) as fast as possible. There could be several rounds, where the map and destination will be changed once all teams competed on one set-up. Such activity could be live streamed, and these tournaments could take place anywhere: any stadium or arena could host a big enough stage to build a small infrastructure, where the different teams will have to compete against each other to find the destination and escape before the other. This will consist of a completely new innovation idea, and will be coming soon.
What is the main strength of this innovation?
Police intervention to escape
Map possible to be renewed and changed frequently
Quite realistic simulation
Possible to make it a competitive challenge
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