<s>
Escape	B-Application
the	I-Application
room	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
room	B-Application
escape	I-Application
or	O
escape	B-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
subgenre	O
of	O
point-and-click	O
adventure	O
game	O
which	O
requires	O
a	O
player	O
to	O
escape	O
from	O
imprisonment	O
by	O
exploiting	O
their	O
surroundings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Escape	B-Application
the	I-Application
room	I-Application
games	O
were	O
born	O
out	O
of	O
freeware	B-License
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
created	O
in	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
have	O
since	O
become	O
most	O
popular	O
as	O
mobile	O
games	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
examples	O
include	O
Crimson	B-Application
Room	I-Application
,	O
Viridian	O
Room	O
,	O
MOTAS	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Droom	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Elements	O
of	O
escape	B-Application
the	I-Application
room	I-Application
games	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
other	O
adventure	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Myst	B-Application
and	O
Nine	B-Application
Hours	I-Application
,	I-Application
Nine	I-Application
Persons	I-Application
,	I-Application
Nine	I-Application
Doors	I-Application
,	O
where	O
a	O
complete	O
puzzle	O
is	O
solved	O
by	O
evaluating	O
the	O
elements	O
within	O
a	O
single	O
room	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
like	O
The	O
Room	O
may	O
also	O
present	O
virtual	O
puzzle	O
boxes	O
that	O
are	O
solved	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
manner	O
to	O
escape	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
by	O
finding	O
out	O
how	O
to	O
open	O
the	O
puzzle	O
box	O
using	O
visual	O
clues	O
on	O
the	O
box	O
and	O
around	O
the	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
escape	B-Application
the	I-Application
room	I-Application
games	O
is	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
tied	O
to	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
Myst	B-Application
series	O
,	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
1993	O
by	O
Cyan	O
Worlds	O
,	O
which	O
created	O
puzzles	O
across	O
pre-rendered	O
computer-generated	O
environments	O
,	O
requiring	O
players	O
to	O
look	O
for	O
clues	O
across	O
the	O
landscape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
landmark	O
title	O
,	O
helping	O
to	O
popularize	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
CD-ROM	O
technology	O
for	O
computers	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
they	O
continued	O
to	O
develop	O
sequels	O
with	O
more	O
ambitious	O
landscapes	O
,	O
alongside	O
several	O
other	O
developers	O
spurred	O
by	O
Mysts	B-Application
success	O
,	O
adventure	O
game	O
sales	O
flattened	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rand	O
Miller	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
Cyan	O
's	O
co-founders	O
,	O
described	O
Myst	B-Application
as	O
"	O
too	O
big	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
too	O
hard	O
to	O
top	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
originated	O
in	O
2001	O
from	O
the	O
MOTAS	B-Operating_System
game	O
,	O
though	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
older	O
examples	O
of	O
the	O
point-and-click	O
variation	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Noctropolis	B-Application
,	O
and	O
even	O
earlier	O
examples	O
from	O
the	O
text	O
adventure	O
canon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
genre	O
was	O
further	O
popularized	O
in	O
2004	O
by	O
the	O
Japanese	O
"	O
Crimson	B-Application
Room	I-Application
"	O
game	O
by	O
Toshimitsu	O
Takagi	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
spread	O
throughout	O
the	O
internet	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
on	O
many	O
gaming	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
escape-the-room	B-Application
games	O
play	O
from	O
a	O
first-person	O
perspective	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
click	O
on	O
objects	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
room	B-Application
escape	I-Application
games	I-Application
offer	O
only	O
token	O
plots	O
,	O
usually	O
a	O
short	O
cut	O
scene	O
consisting	O
only	O
of	O
text	O
to	O
establish	O
how	O
the	O
player	O
got	O
there	O
,	O
and	O
sometimes	O
another	O
when	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
finished	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Room	B-Application
escapes	I-Application
usually	O
have	O
a	O
minimalistic	O
interface	O
,	O
ambient	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
and	O
no	O
non-player	O
characters	O
;	O
these	O
elements	O
can	O
enhance	O
the	O
gamer	O
's	O
sense	O
of	O
isolation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
when	O
reviewing	O
the	O
PSP	O
game	O
"	O
Crimson	B-Application
Room	I-Application
Reverse	O
"	O
(	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
room	B-Application
escape	I-Application
games	I-Application
that	O
were	O
originally	O
free	O
online	O
flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
)	O
,	O
critic	O
Brad	O
Gallaway	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
Key	O
items	O
are	O
often	O
hidden	O
behind	O
other	O
items	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
has	O
no	O
way	O
of	O
knowing	O
these	O
areas	O
exist	O
or	O
that	O
it	O
's	O
possible	O
to	O
search	O
there	O
unless	O
the	O
cursor	O
falls	O
in	O
a	O
very	O
specific	O
location	O
,	O
sometimes	O
a	O
"	O
hot	O
spot	O
"	O
as	O
small	O
as	O
a	O
few	O
pixels.	O
"	O
</s>
