Laura E. Hall
{{Short description|Writer and puzzle game designer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Laura E. Hall
| image = LauraEHall.jpg
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| caption = Hall speaking at the 2017 Game Developers Conference
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| other_names = L. E. Hall
| occupation = Game designer, puzzle designer, author
| website = {{URL|http://lauraehall.com}}
}}
Laura E. Hall is an American immersive artist, puzzle game designer, and writer. She has written several books about video games, immersive entertainment, and escape rooms.
Hall co-created one of the first escape rooms in the United States. In 2022, Hall was the subject of a documentary about solving an alternate reality game puzzle 14 years after it was set, called Finding Satoshi ("{{lang|ja|"謎の日本人サトシ" }}").{{cite AV media|people= Barthelemy, Laurent (director), Dafoe, Willem (narrator)|date=28 February 2022 | title=謎の日本人サトシ～世界が熱狂した人探しゲーム～|trans-title=Finding Satoshi|language=Japanese, English|type=documentary|publisher=NHK}}
Puzzles
Hall began participating in alternate reality games in college, and played Perplex City. She became invested in puzzles after moving to Portland and attending Puzzled Pint events.{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Andy |title=Laura E. Hall on how escape rooms are more like video games than you'd expect |url=https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/laura-e-hall-on-how-escape-rooms-are-more-like-video-games-than-youd-expect-3058147 |website=NME |access-date=16 September 2022 |date=30 October 2021}}
After Perplex City's completion in 2007, Hall continued to work on a puzzle that was still unsolved, Billion to One. The puzzle focused on exploring the concept of Six degrees of separation by presenting a man's photograph and his first name, "Satoshi", asking players to locate him. In 2020, Tom-Lucas Säger used image recognition software and located Satoshi, reporting it to Hall, who ran the website tracking information about the hunt.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/perplex-city-satoshi|title=A mystery cube, a secret identity, and a puzzle solved after 15 years|magazine=Wired UK}}
In 2022, Hall was the subject of a documentary about the Billion to One puzzle, Finding Satoshi.{{cite web |title=Finding Satoshi |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15787004/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 |website=IMDB |publisher=Mt. MELVIL |access-date=14 September 2022 |date=28 January 2022}}
Installation Art and Game Design
In 2014, Hall and five friends opened the first escape room game in the state of Oregon{{cite news|last=Hale|first=Jamie|title=Escape games come to Portland: 60 Minutes to Escape offers an interactive puzzle adventure|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2014/10/escape_games_come_to_portland.html|access-date=4 February 2022|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=2014-10-25}} and one of the first 22 escape rooms in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.wweek.com/culture/2021/07/21/laura-hall-created-portlands-first-escape-room-now-shes-literally-written-the-book-on-them/|last=June|first=Sophia|title=Laura Hall Created Portland's First Escape Room. Now She's Literally Written the Book on Them|access-date=4 February 2022|newspaper=Willamette Week|date=21 July 2021}}{{cite web|last=Spira|first=Lisa|title=Two Years of Room Escapes: The Growth of the US Market|url=https://roomescapeartist.com/2016/06/26/two-years-of-room-escapes-the-growth-of-the-us-market/|date=26 June 2016|accessdate=4 February 2022}}
She has since created escape rooms and immersive experiences around the United States{{cite magazine|last=Diehl|first=Caleb|title=Power Gamer: Laura Hall|url=https://www.oregonbusiness.com/article/arts-entertainment/item/18140-power-gamer-laura-hall|accessdate=4 February 2022|magazine=Oregon Business|date=21 December 2017}} and the world.{{cite magazine|last=Kunkel|first=Leigh|title=Mind Games|magazine=American Way|date=1 October 2019}}
Her installation art and games have appeared in the Portland Art Museum,{{cite web |last1=Coleman |first1=Ben |title=Laura E. Hall, Escape Artist |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/Arts/2017/02/22/18858513/laura-e-hall-escape-artist |website=Portland Mercury |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en}} XOXO,{{cite web |last1=D'Cruz |first1=Andrew |title=This Shared Portland Office Could Save Our Souls (and Our Wallets) |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2016/06/this-shared-portland-office-could-save-our-souls-and-our-wallets |website=Portland Monthly |access-date=16 September 2022 |date=13 June 2016}} and the London Games Festival.{{cite web |title=2017 Festival |url=https://nowplaythis.net/2017-festival/ |website=Now Play This |access-date=16 September 2022}}
Writing
Hall writes about films, games, and culture for Letterboxd,{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Laura E. |title=Dating the Movies: A Calendar of Film Moments • Journal • A Letterboxd Magazine |url=https://letterboxd.com/journal/dating-the-movies-calendar-film-moments/ |website=letterboxd.com |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en |date=1 January 2022}} Dan and Dave’s Art of Play,{{cite web |title=The Art of Escape Rooms: Six Strategies for Success |url=https://www.artofplay.com/blogs/articles/the-art-of-escape-rooms-six-strategies-for-success |website=Art of Play |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en}} A Profound Waste of Time,{{cite web | url=https://apwot.com/issue-2 | title=A Profound Waste of Time magazine Issue 2 | access-date=February 4, 2022}} and The Atlantic.{{cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/what-happens-when-digital-cities-are-abandoned/373941/ | title=What Happens When Digital Cities Are Abandoned? | last=Hall | first=Laura E. | website=The Atlantic | date=13 July 2014 | access-date=February 4, 2022}}
=''Katamari Damacy'' (2018)=
In 2018, Hall published Katamari Damacy with Boss Fight Books about the creation of the 2004 video game Katamari Damacy, featuring interviews with creator Keita Takahashi.{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=L. E. |title=Katamari Damacy's Creator Had To Move Mountains To Get His Game Made |url=https://kotaku.com/katamari-damacys-creator-had-to-move-mountains-to-get-h-1829795785 |website=Kotaku |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en-us |date=17 October 2018}}
=''Planning Your Escape'' (2021)=
In 2021, Hall published Planning Your Escape: Strategy Secrets to Make You an Escape Room Superstar with Simon & Schuster, about the history of the immersive entertainment genre and a toolkit for new escape room players.
References
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Category:Immersive entertainment
Category:American game designers
Category:Transmedia storytelling
Category:Alternate reality games