EscapeAI: The AI-Powered Escape Room Experience

Live Demo

• Frontend: https://escapeai-smoky.vercel.app/
• Backend: https://escapeai.onrender.com

Overview

EscapeAI is an immersive, story-driven escape room experience that uses artificial intelligence to create dynamic storylines and personalized challenges. Every player’s journey is unique, shaped by their decisions and the AI’s storytelling.

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About the Project

EscapeAI was designed to bring together the thrill of puzzle-solving and the creativity of AI-driven narratives. Instead of following a fixed storyline, players are guided through evolving scenarios that adapt to their choices. The system generates new rooms, story branches, and endings based on player interactions, ensuring no two sessions are ever the same.

The platform includes the following key sections:

1. Landing Page

2. Login Page

3. Room Selection Page

4. Game Screen

5. Result Page

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Core Features

• Dynamic story generation using Gemini AI, adapting to player choices in real time.
• Secure Google authentication for login and session tracking.
• Fully responsive and interactive user interface with animations and transitions.
• Persistent game session management with MongoDB integration.
• Real-time data exchange between frontend and backend for smooth gameplay.
• AI-based summarization of gameplay to generate personalized endings.

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Tech Stack

Frontend

• React.js for component-based UI
• Tailwind CSS for modern styling
• Framer Motion for animations and transitions
• Axios for API communication

Backend

• Node.js and Express.js for server and API management
• MongoDB with Mongoose for database operations
• Google Gemini API for AI-driven content generation
• JWT for secure user session handling

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Setup Instructions

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to the backend folder:

   cd backend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file and add the following configuration:

   PORT=5000
   MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
   GEMINI_API_KEY=your_google_genai_api_key
   JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
   CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173

4. Start the backend server:

   npm run dev

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to the frontend folder:

   cd frontend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Add a .env file with the backend URL (optional):

   VITE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID = "YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID"
   VITE_API_URL = "http://localhost:8080"

4. Run the frontend application:

   npm run dev

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AI Service Integration

The backend integrates Google’s Gemini API for the following functions:

AI Service	Description
Story Plan	Generates the entire narrative outline
Initial Room	Builds the first scene and challenges
Next Room	Produces the next scene based on player’s choice
Summary	Creates a conclusion and performance summary

All AI responses are JSON-validated before being stored in MongoDB.

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API Endpoints

Authentication

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/auth/login	Login using Google
POST	/api/auth/refresh	Refresh JWT token
GET	/api/auth/me	Fetch logged-in user profile

Game Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/api/game/start	Start a new AI escape session
POST	/api/game/choose	Submit user choice and get next room
POST	/api/game/summary/:sessionId	Get AI summary for a session
GET	/api/game/current	Get current session data

Session Routes

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/session/history/all	Fetch all previous sessions
GET	/api/session/:id	Fetch a specific session

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How It Works

1. Start the Game: When a player begins, the backend requests the Gemini API to generate a story plan and the first room.
2. Player Choices: Each choice is sent to the backend, which triggers the AI to produce the next room based on context and decisions.
3. Session Management: The player’s progress is stored in MongoDB, ensuring continuity and history tracking.
4. Game Summary: Once the player reaches the end, the AI generates a complete story summary with insights into the path taken.

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Future Enhancements

• Multiplayer cooperative escape experiences.
• Visual and sound integration for immersive storytelling.
• Leaderboards and performance-based achievements.
• Advanced memory-based AI story continuity across sessions.

Contributors

• Nidhish Agarwal
• Yash Kanwar
• Varsha Vijayashwini Panda