Overview

Type: Immersive Narrative Escape Experience / Live Performance
Team: Liang (Creator & Lead Designer)，Avivi Li (Space designer), Student Forum Cohort, Advisors
My Role: Creator, Narrative Designer, Puzzle Architect, Producer
Current Stage: Narrative Finalization, Puzzle Prototyping, Space & Flow Design
Tools: Twine Mapping, QLab, Physical Prototyping, Improvisation Workshops
Estimated Completion: February 2026 Premiere at Wesleyan University

The Seventh Fire is a one-room immersive narrative experience that merges branching storytelling, escape-room mechanics, and live performance. Inspired by historical fragments and hidden campus lore, the piece invites players into what appears to be a simple anniversary event—until time fractures, memories surface, and the room begins to reveal a secret ritual buried beneath Wesleyan’s past.

Opening in February 2026, this installation represents the culmination of my Theater × IDEAS linked-major capstone. Development began in September 2025, supported by a student forum I created and taught: THEA 419 – Playing the Story And Escape the Room.

Design Goals

Build a player-driven narrative blending agency, ritual, and emotional discovery.
Use branch-and-bottleneck storytelling to keep choices meaningful but coherent.
Integrate analog puzzles, environmental clues, and actor improvisation to drive story progression.
Create a space where audience decisions, physical movement, and live narrative combine to form unique experiences each run.
Treat the room as a “living video game”—a responsive environment shaped by player action.

My Role

Creator · Lead Designer · Producer · Narrative + Puzzle Architect · Forum Instructor

I oversee the entire creative and production pipeline:

Develop the world, lore, branching structure, narrative timeline
Write the script and character interactions (including “if/then” actor sheets)
Design all puzzles, clue logic, and progression flows
Build the spatial dramaturgy and audience movement
Lead the THEA419 student forum, teaching narrative systems & puzzle design
Lead rehearsals, playtests, and production meetings
Coordinate with faculty, designers, actors, and technical support

This is my first fully integrated work combining game design, live performance, and physical computing into one unified player experience.

Process（Ongoing）

Fall 2025 — Research & Prototyping (via THEA419 Student Forum)

Through weekly sessions I designed and taught, our group investigated:

Immersive-theater foundations
Branching-narrative systems
Puzzle mechanics & game-feel
Improv-based audience interaction
Site-specific, light-based spatial storytelling
Safety, consent, and reset systems
Low-tech prototyping and micro–escape room sprints

These workshops generated early drafts of story beats, puzzles, spatial layouts, character arcs, and interactive testing models that directly feed the spring production.