Time Parabox is a hybrid escape game that combines a physical puzzle box with a mobile app. Players solve riddles across different historical eras using both tangible artifacts and sensor-based digital interactions.
Overview & Scope
Time Parabox is a hybrid puzzle experience that merges a physical escape box with a mobile app. Developed by a team of ten Master’s students, the project explores interactive gameplay where players solve time-travel-themed riddles using both tactile and digital elements.
The project encompassed the entire creation process, from designing puzzles and storylines to implementing app functionality and integrating sensor-based hardware. It was designed for puzzle enthusiasts, history buffs, and tech-savvy players, while also serving as a playful learning tool for teamwork and problem-solving.
Traditional escape games often focus on either physical puzzles or digital challenges, leaving a gap in experiences that fully combine storytelling, interactivity, and modern technology.
Time Parabox addresses this gap by creating a cohesive experience that blends historical storytelling with interactive puzzles, appealing to players who seek engaging, educational, and technologically enhanced escape game adventures.
The App
The Time Parabox app serves as the central digital interface for the game. It guides players through puzzles, provides hints, tracks progress, and manages interactions with the physical box’s sensors, creating a responsive and immersive experience focused on gameplay and storytelling.
Key Features
Puzzle guidance with hints and feedback
Tracks progress across eras
Connects to physical box via Bluetooth
Integrates story-driven time-travel narrative
Hybrid digital-physical gameplay
Target Users
Time Parabox is designed for escape game enthusiasts who are looking for innovative and interactive experiences, as well as for history and culture lovers who enjoy educational gameplay. The game also appeals to tech-savvy players interested in sensor-based interactions and digital feedback.
Conception
At the start of the project, we developed a general narrative framework so that the puzzle box design could begin in parallel. The goal was to weave the different eras into a cohesive time-travel adventure, where each puzzle not only presented a challenge but also carried narrative meaning.
Timeline
Timeline Visualization of Time Parabox Happenings, by Laura Kainzbauer
Since time travel is a complex and often confusing topic, we created a clear diagram to visualize how paradoxes and timelines would function in the game.
Logic Diagram
Logic Diagram for Middle Ages Riddle, by Katharina Harrer and Me
For the individual puzzles, we created a detailed logic diagram to map out how players would interact with the different steps. I worked on the diagram for the renaissance. Since both story and mechanics had to flow seamlessly, the diagram helped us connect narrative beats with physical and digital interactions.
Wiring Diagram
Wiring Diagram for Microcontroller and External Sensors, by Lukas Gruber
The wiring diagram illustrates how the sensors and electronic components are connected to the microcontroller, serving as a blueprint for the technical setup of the puzzle box.
Screen Design
Wireframes
App Wireframes by Selina Lehner, Vanessa Hofer and Me
High Fidelity Designs
High Fidelity Screen Designs by Selina Lehner, Vanessa Hofer and Me
The Box
Time Parabox includes a multi-chamber physical escape box, with each chamber representing a different historical era. Players interact with mechanical puzzles, artifacts, and sensors, combining hands-on problem-solving with the guidance and feedback provided by the companion app.
Planning
I researched a suitable large boxe that could serve as the foundation for building the individual smaller boxes for the different puzzles.
Building
The construction of the individual puzzle boxes was a true team effort, with the entire masterclass contributing ideas, craftsmanship, and technical skills to bring the different eras and their riddles to life.
The Finished Product
The completed Time Parabox successfully brought together the mobile app and the physical puzzle box into a fully playable experience. Development wrapped up through focused workshops, including final sprints, extensive testing, debugging, and assembling the physical components. While minor issues such as display quirks and voice recognition limitations remained, all major functionality was achieved.
Learnings
Time Parabox was an invaluable experience for expanding both technical and creative skills. Working in a large team taught me how to coordinate across multiple dependencies and communicate with the team. I gained hands-on experience with sensor technology and native mobile development, even though these weren’t my primary responsibilities, which allowed me to explore new technical areas. Crafting the story was a highlight, letting me blend writing and game design in a collaborative setting. Working with a tangible, physical product alongside the digital app made progress much more visible and rewarding, giving a concrete sense of achievement that purely digital projects often lack.
