Trap doors were production design secrets when it came to building one of the toughest games on Netflix’s “ Squid Game: The Challenge.” Games production designer Ben Norman needed to retain the look of the Netflix drama series while making the sets completely immersive for the players. 456 players suited in green tracksuits had to compete in a series of change and strategy games for a prize of $4.
56 million. As with the original “Squid Game,” challenges include Green Light/Red Light, Mystery Telephone and even Kitchen Nightmares. As the players dwindled, the games got harder.
In Episode 7 “Friend or Foe,” with just 20 players left, the Glass Bridge challenge required players to carefully choose a glass panel. Pick the wrong one and you fall off. Pick the right one and it’s onto the next panel.
Aside from having to construct the bridge, Norman had to figure out how the contestants would fall and what could be used to create the fall. Glass was out of the question. He looked at using safety glass, but those had flaws.
“If it doesn’t break into smaller pieces, you could hurt someone,” Norman explains over a Zoom call from London. “We looked at sugar glass — the kind used in films, but it doesn’t work because you can never get the clarity.” He ended up using Perspex, an acrylic-type material were used.
The bridge itself was constructed from steel. Norman and his team worked with an engineering company to rig the bridge and help with the base structur.
