'Actors' jump at the chance to flee reality

Wang Weizheng, 27, a professional musician, started work as a NPC in March. Trained as a child to become a classical pianist, he had also never played escape room games before.

As a newcomer to such activities, he had no idea where to begin, so he followed senior NPCs and received initial training in reading storylines.

"I'd never really been keen on games, puzzles or even locked rooms, but I always love trying new things," said Wang, whose first role as a NPC was playing a priest.

"Some players return to the same escape room as many as 20 times. They immerse themselves in the stories and their roles. They take their acting very seriously and experience different lives before returning to reality. For me, that's the most rewarding part of being a NPC," he said.

Wang added that as he is also a musician and publishes his work on social media platforms, he plans to compose for escape room games.

More than 100 NPCs work in Island Storm escape rooms－50 percent of them professionally trained actors.

Besides horror, a variety of genres have taken escape room games to the next level with immersive theater and role play. Themes range from historical to modern stories－some of them based on movies and TV series, such as Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes.

Popular movies, such as Escape Room, directed by Adam Robitel in 2019, and reality shows, including Great Escape by Chinese videosharing platform Mango TV, have made the trend even more popular. Great Escape boasts a team of celebrities, such as actress Yang Mi and actor Deng Lun.

The recent comedy reality show Super Sketch Show, broadcast by the iQiyi streaming platform, brought NPCs into the spotlight, with actor Jiang Long, 25, making his breakthrough and gaining a large fan base with his comedy play The Last Class.

In the show, Jiang plays a jobless actor who works at an escape room to make a living. While playing the role of a zombie in the escape room, he meets his real-life acting teacher, who is keen to give him additional training.

"It's a true story. I went to an escape room, where I met a friend, who is an actor. He is a good performer and relishes his role of scaring people. He chose not to give up acting, although he had to figure out a way to make a regular income," Jiang said. "For many young actors, it is difficult to find jobs after graduation. I am experiencing this situation and am still waiting for opportunities."

The Last Class received high scores from the celebrity judges and the audience.

One fan of the reality show said, "I've had great experiences in escape rooms thanks to the professional NPCs, whose acting skills are very convincing." After seeing the play, another fan posted, "They (NPCs) take these rooms as their own stages."