Where Are The Footprints On The Ceiling - Society

Everyone has their own ideal holiday. In my opinion, this is some kind of quiet and green place far from the city, the bank of a river, fishing, gatherings around the fire with friends. Therefore, the offer as a Sunday rest to “drive to a quest” surprised me a lot: “What other quest? Computer, or what? " To which they answered me with a sly smile: “Don't worry, you'll like it! This is a psychological quest about the unconscious!"

EXPERIMENT ON YOURSELF

"Unconscious" (the name of the quest of one of the companies) turned out to be quite a quality unconscious! In the head of the disappeared professor, in which we found ourselves, a real mess reigned! Chains of strange footprints ran along the ceiling; on the work table, notebooks with mathematical formulas were mixed with medical journals; and in the left corner was a real black hole. By the way, for a very long time no one dared to stick his hand into this hole - you never know what is hidden there ?!

I can proudly say that we successfully completed the task, and the hour allotted for it flew by completely unnoticed. The result was a great mood, competitive excitement and increased blood adrenaline levels. Completing the quest turned out to be a surprisingly wonderful rest, and the emotional state was very reminiscent of the enthusiasm of a fan after winning his favorite team.

SHYSHEL-MUSHEL - TAKE AND OUT

The “quests” that are gaining popularity in Russia, the task of which is to get out of the locked room, is actually only one of the subspecies of quests in reality. Puzzle-solving games can take the form of action (where logic is added to the need to react quickly and overcome physical obstacles) or challenges with restrictions (say, blindfolded).

Quests based on Russian folk tales have been released recently in several companies, which is not at all surprising, according to psychologist Tatiana Norvalade: “I think that the popularity of these entertainments is connected not only with the level of stress in cities, but also with our mentality and traditions.

The genetic code plays an important role here, although quests, regardless of genes, satisfy several needs at once: for pleasure, for communication, for self-knowledge, for getting rid of unrealized physical and mental energy. Playful, positive stress is one of the main reasons people get addicted to this entertainment, but you need to be very careful. After all, if the method of stress therapy in behavioral psychology is used under the strict supervision of a specialist, then at the time of the quest there is no such curator nearby. And in theory, a game useful for emancipation and self-esteem can become for the same introverted teenager, who is as vulnerable as a crystal vase, a reason for additional frustration. In addition, there is always an illusion of productivity in gambling, which leads to the risk of addiction. This does not detract from the merits of a well-designed quest, because it is a mix of intellectual, competitive and role-playing game. Its obvious result is the restoration of strength and creative energy."

WHAT'S THE SECRET

What is the reason for the popularity of such games, what is their psychological mechanism? Let's start with the definition: quests in reality (or "get out of the room", or "live quests", or escape-room) are entertainment in which a small company needs to solve several puzzles in a certain time (usually an hour). If the team coped with the task - hurray, victory! - you go free, the doors open. And everyone can feel like a hero, able to overcome difficulties and help friends out of trouble. The players are experiencing a real adventure.

Any quest is based on a story. Often the plot is based on a popular movie or computer game. The story helps to create a unique atmosphere, to achieve the effect of psychological immersion.

There are quests where “atmosphere” comes first, creating a certain emotional state. These games are called "performances" and often involve actors. Among performances, "horror films" are especially popular, allowing one to survive acute, but completely controlled fear. These experiences are much stronger than watching a thriller in a movie theater, and in terms of severity they are comparable to the sensations on a roller coaster.

The psychotherapeutic effect of these emotional shocks is well known. Therefore, as soon as psychological fatigue from the drab everyday life accumulates, a good performance is what you need! In addition, completing such quests helps to get rid of some phobias (for example, fear of the dark or claustrophobia).

The quest usually consists of several puzzles that must be solved sequentially. At some stages, "division of labor" or the use of alternative options for passage is quite allowed. To meet the allotted time, you need to choose the optimal strategy for completing tasks. Sometimes it is not easy to do this, and disagreements arise among the players. Teams that successfully overcome these controversial moments cope with the task faster. It turns out a kind of team building (team building training).

QUEST INTERVIEW

Quests are a great alternative to the standard job interview. This is how Google, the world's largest IT company, uses them: Programmer Max Rosett, while working on a project, typed in a Google search bar one rather specific query for computer code. And something unexpected happened: the page with the search results suddenly opened like a door leaf, and between them a black window appeared with the words “You speak our language. Ready for the challenge? " This is how the quest from Google began, after completing which (solving several programming problems), Max got a prestigious job.

MIND AND FEELINGS

A variety of tasks can satisfy the most demanding psychologist. All the main mental processes are actively involved in their solution. First, we turn on attention and observation. There are many strange objects, signs and hiding places in the quest space. It is necessary to examine, touch, sniff everything as carefully as possible. Any minor detail may be the missing piece in the puzzle.

The found objects must be correlated with each other, to determine the connection between them. And this is already a task for the intellect, in the solution of which a variety of functions of thinking can be involved. Sometimes this is visual-effective and visual-figurative thinking, when, for example, you just need to assemble a puzzle from several parts. Or untangle the knot. Or go through a mini-maze.

Verbal-logical thinking is connected when it is necessary to solve some mathematical problem, to decipher an ingenious sequence of symbols.

To what has been said, it should be added that some quests are quite "realistic", they do not violate the ordinary logic. For example, if there is a pencil in the space of the quest, then they should write. But there are many games with "fantastic" logic, where the functionality of the objects used can be the most unexpected. A pencil here can be a lever, a support, a magic wand, a means for pressing the desired button, etc. The plot of the game can suggest “fantastic logic”, but in any case, the participants will need extraordinary imagination. By the way, a creative approach sometimes helps to find an unexpected (even for the creators of the quest) solution to the problem and significantly speed up the passage.

SECRET PSYCHOLOGICAL RECOMMENDATION

Be sure to invite your loved one to go through the quest, with whom you are only planning to connect fate. Overcoming difficulties together is an excellent test for psychological compatibility! If during the passage you do not quarrel, then in the future you will be able to solve any life problems.

FUN WITH USE

What do we get as a result? Quest is not just great fun, but also a comprehensive intellectual training that activates memory, attention, thinking, imagination. The game gives you the opportunity to have a great rest, recharge with positive emotions and arrange a "warm-up" for the brain. We do not forget about teamwork and team building. You can complete quests with colleagues, friends or the whole family (just pay attention to age restrictions; there are games that are not recommended for children).

And in conclusion, about the serious. The modern labor market is changing rapidly. The generation that grew up in the pre-computer era is being replaced by 20-30-year-olds, whose psyche was formed under the influence of computer games. They are “bored” within the framework of traditional professions, so gamification of production and business comes into our lives for a long time. There are already companies in which they do not “fulfill the sales plan”, but “go through the quest to get bonuses”.

Take a closer look at the quests - they are the future.

SNOW IDEAS

Passing quests is the best entertainment during the New Year holidays. Especially if the theme of the games is festive and winter

“You can find an option for any number of people,” says Bogdan Kravtsov, General Director of Claustrophobia. - We, for example, have a quest "Polar Station" for 1-2 people: the members of the expedition are deprived of their equipment due to a hurricane, and the only chance to escape from the eternal snows is a mysterious abandoned station.

If you have 2-4 people, then you can do another task - to save Christmas in the quest "Santa's Factory". The postcards were not sent, the gifts were lost on the way, and the wizard himself disappeared somewhere. All hope is only on you, employees of the elf special brigade.

For a large company (two teams of 2-4 people), we hold the Winter Olympics 2030 - a great competitive adventure for the New Year. Besides, this is a new quest format - confrontation!

Well, if, because of the dull weather, “everything is wrong and everything is wrong,” we have a unique method of dealing with gloomy moods! Just plunge into the snow-white world with your head - and sorrows will leave you. “White Room” is a very funny quest, completely white, like the first snow, and exclusively psychotherapeutic:)”.