The 99 Rooms



The 99 Rooms is a visual project by Kim Köster, Richard Schumann, Stephan Schulz and Johannes Buenemann. Using pictures of the abandoned East Berlin Industrial sector overlaid with Köster's art, each room has a 'task' that you must complete to progress, similar to point-and-click style escape games. (However, the 'escape' part is only if you want to play through the whole thing straight — you can bounce around and skip rooms as easily as you please.)

The rooms are... weird, to say the least. While the whole thing isn't too scary, some of the rooms you do not want to view in the dark.

The project was launched in June 2004, and has since had over four million visitors. The people behind the rooms are working on another project, Ana Somnia, which follows the trail of our minds once we turn out the lights and are safe in bed.

Tropes in the 99 Rooms:

 * Ambiguously Human: Most of the people depicted in the art.
 * Biological Mashup: One room has what sems to be a fusion of a camel and a vulture. Another has a rattlesnake-vulture.
 * Blood From the Mouth: The cow in Room 3.
 * Creepy Circus Music: Accompanying the jester in Room 33.
 * The psychedelic peacock in room 84 as well.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Just about everyone's reaction to Room 57.
 * Dance Party Ending: Well, Headbanging Party, anyway.
 * Eye Beams: Room 70.
 * Eyeless Face: Room 16, possibly.
 * Frickin Laser Beams: Room 26. Damn it!
 * Funny Animal: The kangaroo-thing in Room 57 and the iguana in Room 38.
 * Glowing Eyelights of Un Death: The raccoon and man (we think) in Room 51.
 * Guide Dang It: In a couple of the rooms, the area to click is so incredibly tiny that it's impossible to find without help.
 * Heartbeat Soundtrack: Room 27 and Room 54.
 * Jump Scare: Used to great effect.
 * Mind Screw: Oh, I'm sorry, were you looking for art that made sense?
 * Nothing Is Scarier: Except for one or two rooms, there's never anything really in-your-face terrifying. Maybe in-your-face would be for the better...
 * What is in those pipes? Or behind that crackling window?
 * Pixel Hunt
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: A beautiful, satisfied harp piece plays in the room where you crank handle to reveal.
 * Tentative Light: Room 4.
 * Traveling Pipe Bulge: Room 19.
 * Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can hurl the fish in Room 13 around as much as you like!