GAMING LIFE
Play The Room for Real
The Room games have always felt remarkably real. They revolve around mysterious boxes the player must open by flipping switches, turning dials, and cracking codes. The boxes in all three games look remarkably realistic, and the motions required to crack the puzzles mimic real life beautifully: Every button pressed and dial twisted is satisfying to the touch.
So why not make a Room-style puzzle for real?
By day, Guido Bonelli is director of engineering at a power supply manufacturing company. In his spare time he makes stuff, using electronics to make furniture come alive or creating hologram-like glassware. It all began when he moved into his first home and started to decorate.
“I decided to go buy an interesting clock, so I did what any person does: I went to the big-box stores,” Bonelli tells us. “Aisle upon aisle, row upon row, of the same mundane clocks and paintings stared back at me.”
Armed with a 3D printer, a laser cutter, and a computer-controlled metalwork rig, he decided to make his own clock. It escalated quickly from there. “I now make almost all of my decorations," he says. “I love when people walk into my home and stare at all of the unique pieces of handmade, interactive artwork.”
Bonelli’s Room-inspired piece is his most complex build to date and has a special place on his mantelpiece. “I just happened to stumble upon The Room one day and couldn’t put it down,” Bonelli explains. “I have since completed all three and am eagerly awaiting the fourth installment!”
He estimates his real-world Room puzzle took around 800 hours of work, from concept to completion. Bonelli began by creating models to test out his concepts, and once he settled on a final design, he enlisted friends to help cut the wood. Several hundred feet of wire and 2,000 lines of code made it a reality.
Bonelli did add an extra twist: His real-life Room puzzle doubles as a time capsule.
“Everyone who solves it leaves a little piece of them behind,” he says. “Years from now it will be full of players past…I can’t tell you more than that, unless you play!”
To do so, you’ll have to head over to Bonelli’s place in Long Island. Although he’s been asked to make more of these boxes, he has politely declined. “There is something magical about this being the only one in existence and not being cloned millions of times,” he says.