OMG, I'm handcuffed to a chair and only Alexa can help me
I'm handcuffed to a chair. This is a new, uncomfortable experience for me and I have Amazon Echo and Alexa to blame.
The trouble started when I signed up for an Amazon promotion at New York Comic Con featuring an Escape Room, the fad adventure game filled with themed puzzles.
The voice inside the Escape Room experience in the back corner of New York Comic Con's main floor is provided by Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, via a collection of Echo devices scattered throughout.
Like most escape rooms, this one had a story. Designed to promote Amazon Prime Video's upcoming Jack Ryan series (2018), it has something to do with stolen plans, the CIA, double-crosses and, of course, the need to get the hell out of that room.
Amazon reps lined up a handful of journalists, collected all our backpacks (they let us hold onto our phones, which were of no help to us) mic'd us up, reminded us that we would be filmed and watched at all times, and then told us we needed to work together. The key to solving these puzzle rooms would be Amazon Alexa and, when possible, we were instructed to use the Amazon Echo Shows (and Echos) in each room to ask Alexa the right questions, send her the right commands, and make and receive crucial calls.
Unlike traditional escape rooms that rely on people searching for physical clues, these Echos and Alexa were also plugged into some of the smart technology (lights, locks, climate control) dotted throughout the professionally dressed rooms.
We piled into a small, octagonal room and the clock started ticking. In the center of the space on a small platform was Echo. On the walls were dials and overhead was a giant fan and some black lights. Someone, not me, had the brilliant idea to ask Alexa to turn off the main lights, which triggered the black lights. Without spoiling the puzzle, the black lighting illuminated the situation.
There was also a more complex puzzle that involved fake money and an equation that we had to ask Alexa to solve.
There were, at various times, calls through the Echo Show with our hero Jack Ryan (all voice) and video calls with a rather tense, unidentified woman. We also called base by saying, "Alexa, Call Foxtrot."
Virtually every puzzle we solved involved using Alexa.
Twenty minutes in and we were making tremendous progress. Then things got crazy.
Which brings me to my current predicament.
After we solved one of our major puzzles, I was briskly hustled from the room, leaving my team behind, informed I was being kidnapped, and dumped in another room with a single chair and those handcuffs.
The Amazon guy who moved me, apologized as he pulled my hands behind my back and cuffed me. Then he turned on his heel and left the room.
Now I'm alone, with a computer, a large speaker and some paperwork. The curtain to the right of me lifts and I can see my teammates. I can't hear them and I don't know if they can hear or see me.
My nose itches.
Jack calls me on the Echo Show and tries to talk me through a solution. Somehow, I help the team unlock the door and we're all reunited. Sadly, none of them have the keys to my cuffs. I have to watch helplessly as they solve the last puzzle on the computer behind me.
As a proof of concept, this Voice-enabled Escape Room was impressive. It was important that only one of us spoke at a time so Alexa could hear us, and there were times where even Alexa seemed confused. At one point we asked Alexa for a combination and it started playing tracks from the Kidz Bop 30 album.
Amazon told me that, while we solved the puzzle with five minutes to spare (yay, us!), we didn't experience the full Escape Room trial.
Amazon has invited three Twitcher gamers, Captain Sparkles, OMG It's Firefoxx, and Swiftor, to try and solve a 45-minute Escape Room while the world watches -- and tries to help -- on a livestream.
I hope one of them is ready to get handcuffed to a chair.
Topics Alexa Amazon Amazon Echo
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
