No more Directional Locks.... could this be the end for Escape Rooms?!

Love them or hate them, directional padlocks have been a staple feature of escape rooms pretty much since the beginning.
But now that Masterlock have discontinued production of its iconic 1500iD "Speedlock" directional lock, and suppliers have sold the last of their existing stock, what does that mean for escape rooms that relied on these locks for players to enter a directional sequence from solving a puzzle?
In this video, I'll demonstrate an alternative directional electronic lock I created using an Arduino. It might not have the compact form factor of a padlock, but it has customisable behaviour including audio and visual feedback of input, LCD display of the directional sequence entered, and either automatic or manual unlocking when the correct input is given. And it can be themed to make it appropriate to any escape room setting, from pirate cove to science lab!
Timings
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00:00 - 01:33 Introduction
01:34 - 03:40 Pirate Compass Directional Lock
03:41 - 06:10 Space Joystick Directional Lock
06:11 - 07:59 '90s Dance Mat Directional Lock
08:00 - 16:50 Component Wiring Diagram
16:51 - 45:46 Arduino Code
45:47 - 47:55 Wrapup
If you enjoyed this video or found it helpful, please like and subscribe to this channel! And, if you'd like to download the Arduino code, the wiring diagram, or other resources used in this and all the other escape room projects shown on this channel (and support me to continue making more tutorials in the future!), please check out my Patreon at / playfultech

[@Altharion]

Of course it's the direction part of the Konami code 😁👍

[@contentwh0re]

any other code would be blasphemy!

[@joshdew5240]

Unreal work man. Well articulated and really well explained. Keep it up!

[@albertoangelgildelpozo1814]

I love the video, and it's a great solution to the padlock stock problem. But equally thematically in a 1930s adventure a lock is better than a prop :_(. I'll miss the padlock

[@MsHojat]

These are some amazing prop puzzles, and I'm sure you'd get a ton of use out of them, but still that is super expensive to make compared to the directional padlock. Obviously most escape room companies that have a good bit of money shouldn't be cheaping out on directional locks when they can give a higher quality experience, but it is still unfortunate for cheaper escape rooms, or even just people in general who are a fan of the lock for their locker or such.

[@athomeescaperooms5696]

Excellent point. Directional locks (when they were still available) were about $20. And you didn't need to have electrical knowledge. I'm extremely sad they decided to discontinue them. Directional puzzles are so fun!

[@FullStackFool]

Love the pirate lock 👏

[@peterlee706]

enjoy watching your video! I also registered your patron! I am in love with room escape in South Korea, and also working in the industry as well. you are just awesome and damn creative

[@user-yj8du5rf5j]

Hi Alastair, absolutely love your videos. Keep up the good work. I was wondering whether you built the dance mat yourself? I'm looking at creating a directional puzzle where players step on the mat in a particular order to open a mag lock. I'm struggling to find a dance mat for sale anywhere and am unsure where to begin building one! Thanks

[@s3rth30]

I've always hated directional locks ever since I had them incorrectly explained to them as only having a four "digit" code, and although I was staring at the solution in the room I was thinking it wasn't it, because it was more than four moves. So having the feedback would have saved me a lot of frustration then. It obviously helps to secure small areas where running cables would be inconvenient or just plain impossible, but the use of them is definitely not as straight forward or entertaining as a joystick, so I'm not sad they're going away. Not to mention most of the times it was used in a very basic and lame way.

[@upla]

Hi Alastair, I am wondering which touch sensors you were using in your piratebox. Could you provide a purchase-link? Thank you for the great video again!

[@ronishbarakoti4371]

Sir is it possible to make transparent crystal glow bright light on darkness and which chemical or liquid can glow bright 5to10 days

[@ronishbarakoti4371]

Hello sir is there any chemical or liquid that can glow many days

[@mfx1]

They're probably wanting to push their electronic versions more which are no good for escape rooms as they have a lockout delay after several wrong attempts, mind you I don't think that getting away from commercial off the shelf locks is a bad thing, in a way it's kind of lazy.