THE DREADSTATE SAGA BEGINS
ABOUT US
Dreadstate (formerly known as Next Level Escape), was created on a trip home from what I consider the Live Experience capital of the world, Athens. After years of dreaming about doing it, I decided that if I didn’t finally take the plunge then I would likely never do it. Days later, my notice was in, the plan was ready and the journey would truly begin.
I’m Luke Hockley and joining me is my business partner Neil Durant. You can see some of our highlights (with commentary) as Escape & Live Horror experience enthusiasts; but why start a Live Experience business? You’ll see as you read on our inspiration for the business direction and what we want to achieve.
OUR INSPIRATION
Inspired by the ‘live’ and completely immersive experiences created by the likes of Deep Inside and Panik Room in Paris; Lockhill, Mystic Corportation and Verone in Athens & Dark Park in the Netherlands. Dreadstate was born out of a desire to bring truly memorable Live Experiences to the UK marketplace.
Whilst we personally love all types of Escape and Live Experiences, the ones we really aspire to be playing are the games where you become so fully immersed and engaged in their storyline, that you literally lose track of time.
Some people call this feeling as being ‘in the zone’, Psychologists describe it as ‘flow state’ whereby under the right conditions, you become fully immersed in whatever you are doing.
IN THE ZONE
Time feels like it has slowed down and the only reality you become aware of is the here and now. Nothing else exists and the outside world is not just physically locked out, but also mentally locked out.
At the peak of this state your senses are heightened. You are at one with the task in hand, you will feel great and perform at your best, action and awareness merge, time flies and self-vanishes.
NEXT LEVEL
However, in order to achieve this ‘flow state’ players must be completely invested in the storyline and the immersion of the game has to be relevant to that story.
We refer to these totally immersive experiences as being ‘Next Level’ and they are not designed with solving puzzles in mind, instead they are designed to make you feel like you have literally fallen into another world!
With a Dreadstate experience, you are not escaping from it, but instead escaping into it.
TRUE IMMERSION
Have you really entered a Pharaoh’s secret chamber below the Pyramids in ancient Egypt or are you just holding a padlocked box in a sand filled room?
To achieve the level of immersion required to create ‘flow state’ the design team at Dreadstate focus less on puzzles and padlocks and more on creating truly immersive experiences; by featuring live characters you can interact with, using high-pressure tasks and challenges to progress the story, producing unique set designs and employing dynamic lighting and sound systems.
WOW MOMENTS
As stated previously, in order to create ‘flow’ the players have to be completely invested into the story and that story has to make sense, and feel real. So, whilst puzzles and locks do have their place in experiences; their use is limited to where their inclusion makes sense to our story. So mainly you will complete tasks and overcome challenges instead.
Our ultimate goal at Dreadstate is to create memorable, adrenaline fuelled, and fun filled Live Experiences that combine the very best that escape experiences have to offer with compelling stories and live immersive theatrical performances, that deliver genuine ‘wow’ moments.
