Gatlin's - Curse of the Kraken's Eye

A coastal town is in crisis. A brutal storm is closing in, and the only hope rests on a legend — a cursed gem called the Kraken’s Eye, rumored to be buried somewhere aboard the wreckage of the Siren’s Fury. The ship once belonged to the notorious pirate Barnabas Blackheart, and it didn’t go down without its traps. Spread across four themed rooms, the experience draws players deeper into Blackheart’s twisted vessel, puzzle by puzzle, with every corridor hiding something unexpected.

Knabe Labs was brought in to design and install the complete escape room technology system for Gatlin’s Escape Games — Curse of the Kraken’s Eye in Pigeon Forge, TN. At the core of the show control system is a Productivity PLC that manages precisely timed sequences of video, DMX lighting, fog, haze, and audio across all four rooms. A QSys Core handles audio file playback and mapped routing throughout the space, delivering sound effects right where they’re needed. What sets this build apart is the addition of both pneumatic and liquid effects — a rare combination in escape room show control that catches guests completely off guard.

Tying it all together is a custom HMI interface built for the game masters, giving them real-time visibility into every puzzle state, the ability to manually override any element, and a clear reset confirmation between sessions. The result is a TERPECA-nominated Pigeon Forge escape room that sits firmly at the intersection of immersive theater and puzzle design — one of the most show-heavy experiences we’ve built to date.