Words We Use / Words We Avoid
Terminology
Shared language for how Edge of Elsewhere describes itself. Use these terms with guests and the outside world when they appear in house vocabulary, and keep the rest of this page as a gut-check before anything goes public.
House Vocabulary
Use freely with guests, Explorers, and the outside world.
| Word | Definition / usage |
|---|---|
| world(s) | Different themed regions past Ellsworth's study |
| Stories | A guided, self-contained adventure a team unlocks at a Story Station and plays through to completion |
| chapters | Name for additional stories within a Story Station |
| Explorers | Visitors with active passcards |
| guests | Visitors in the space who have not yet purchased a ticket |
| staff members | Team members at the front desk and entrance |
| The Elsewhere | The overarching realms/worlds of Edge of Elsewhere |
| Society Members | Staff members working/helping within The Elsewhere. Society Members use this term both with guests and among themselves. |
| The Eye | The emblem on the Story Stations where Explorers tap their passcards |
| “Tap Eye to eye” | Specifically for passcard placement on the Story Stations |
| Story Station | The unit where Explorers tap their passcards to start a Story |
| Check-In Station | The unit where guests will check in after purchasing a ticket |
| ticket | Signifies that the holder has access to experience |
| passcard | An RFID-enabled card Explorers use to activate Stories |
| adventures | Ambient language |
| curiosity | Ambient language |
| delight | Ambient language - what we try to create and what we hope to bring to our Explorers |
| discoveries | Ambient language |
| explore | Ambient action word; what Explorers do |
| exploration | Ambient language for the act of discovering within The Elsewhere |
| imagination | Ambient language |
| mysterious | Ambient language |
| secrets | Ambient language |
| wander | Ambient language for moving through at your own pace |
| your team | Ambient language - a group of Explorers moving through the space |
Terms We Use Internally
Additional terms that we may use in-house but not with outward-facing guests.
| Word | Definition / usage |
|---|---|
| RFID card / Tapcard | Inward-facing internal term for the card players are given to use in the venue |
| area | Inward-facing internal term used by the team to describe a parcel of space (could potentially be a contained room or a space in the open world) |
| Open world | Inward-facing internal term to describe the space that is not inside the rooms |
| whimsy | Ambient language we use to describe the feeling that drives our work. Never used in external or media copy. |
Terms We No Longer Use
| Word | Definition / usage |
|---|---|
| district | A deprecated term |
| kiosk | A deprecated term |
| player(s) | A deprecated term |
| alternate realities | A deprecated term |
Handle With Care / Avoid
| Word | Definition / usage |
|---|---|
| Escape room | We're not one, and we shouldn't imply a race against a clock. |
| Corporate jargon | “Activations,” “leverage,” “bespoke experiences,” etc. If it sounds like a deck, cut it. |
| The Midnight Mansion origin story | Keep EoE's copy about the world, not the studio's backstory. Nail down all MM distinctions. |
Geography
Use Somerville when precision helps (locals, press, directions). Use Boston area for wider discovery. Don't stack both in one sentence.