Future of themed attractions

Into the future world of themed attractions and designing involving large venues and small alike we go!

Think-teams of experiential designers will not only work the cogwheel through the bigger and better light bulbs of concepts, storyboards, planning, design and development stages, but will have to take in the new challenges and seek new levels of eye candy to stay up with the trends or set trends.

There is a host of new, edgy ideas already in use; interactives such as teaching stations soft play games, multimedia motion viewing theaters and arcades with computer touch-screen stations that are now crucial elements to any venue that are called "bedtime". In arcades these venues are like shooting "TI- fighters" from the Millennium Falcon with motion-activated seats that shoot up into the ceiling and swivel sideways as you play the game simulation. Gone are the days of Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids unless they have 3D relevance. In the home theater gamming has only begun as virtual villagers plunder dungeons and capture strongholds in war games in online-teaming experiences. The nentendo Wii & Game Boy, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PS3, and more have now taken over reality as we know it. The "next level" will only reveal even more interaction as enthusiasts & gamers get off the couch and literally into the game.

The generational shift and the use of video games and their interface have taken a spotlight. There is a convergence in storytelling in video gaming & movies. In home theater & digital cinema in on line multi user universes, they are provided themed experiences without having to go anywhere. The content and theme park ride like- special effect gags that are in the real world space become useful when converging these experiences in a physical space. They press "new buttons" emotionally in the digital pipeline and multi-user interfaces. There are so many 3D IMAX theaters and 4D theaters. And there are now places that interact virtually in the round like LIVE PARK (a 4D Walk in type traveling exhibition experience. Newer boundaries are being pushed in theme parks with not only sights and sounds but smells with tiny air jets and rumbling seats called "butt kickers". New prototypes beyond personal movie goggles where you can watch your own movie are being utilized as Dual-Focus contact lens and sensory gloves for virtual gaming, medical and military needs. These extra enhancements to the senses provide a more memorable experience in the simulators.

Software designers, engineers and simulator developers are enhancing the 3D viewing now so that wearing 3D glasses will be obsolete. Holograms will be everywhere from advertisements in retail to gaming arenas. One day soon we will have a "holodeck" like the one seen on Startrek or a type of play true 5D environ. There are developers now creating a simulator where the guest can move, walk or run in any direction in a "cybersphere" where a number of high power projectors are used in combination to project the images which then combine to provide a fully immersive visual experience for the guests. This will give the illusion of walking freely through the computer generated environment.

The developers are already in discussion with organizations wishing to use the technology for applications as diverse as computer gaming, military simulations and manufacturing engineering product and factory design projects. Another new technology is the movement tracker system "used in a collective experience area that allows the media content to coinside with the movements of the guests and visitors or an individual in the environment called Omnimedia Theater". Yet another is the "Immersive Gaming Environments", or IGE's that aims to provide a new level of interactivity for the emerging real time gaming industry. It creates a console free multi user gaming experience. The IGE is a modular and portable gaming solution that redefines the relationship between spectators and players. The IGE immersive topology allows game designers to link spectators and two players through the 3D-real time motion tracking capabilities. It is a software ( computer driven) enhanced device (video, sound, lights) into a visitor controlled environment. I just want to ride in that flying car and have that Dick Tracy / Batman live feed video watch.

A really good place to checkout the future of gaming and simulators is at the E3 trade show ( Electronic Entertainment Expo) held annually. It was in 1997 (through a vender) I was able to work with Disney Interactive on a tradeshow booth. Their booth was massive at the E3 show and was based on Disney's animated movie Hercules. Another tradeshow is COMDEX - the technology business innovation trade show held annually. Last but not least, is IAPPA ( International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions). All of these shows are held annually. They vary from city to city based upon where the committees of those organizations think it should be held.

Themed gaming venues can also provide the security and atmosphere parents appreciate, in that the family or teens will have FUN in a competitive and completely themed environ and yet be safe. Larger venues such as DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park is a place where you create your own adventures in a one-of-a-kind indoor interactive theme park bursting with games that give "state-of-the-art" new meaning. As you enter through a portal, you will discover five floors of cutting-edge technology, virtual reality and 3-D experiences - all fueled by Disney innovation and imagination.

Smaller venues such as "Family Fun Centers" can benefit on cost and space not "lost in space" situations. These types or entertainment centers need to change their interiors around about once every couple of months and add new elements of excitement with new video and interactive games in order to generate return visits. I discovered this while designing and themeing for Mountasia Family Fun Centers and Malibu Grand Prix throughout the 90's. These "fun centers" can be a smash hit! These were ahead of their time and were shown at IAAPA in the 90's. Their brand strategy and management are used as models to this day.

Another venue is themed retail. "Gamification" in retail , the use of game design, techniques and mechanics to increase user engagement and to drive action, is gaining fast momentum in the retail industry based upon the new generations of technology and user interphase. The growth in this sector has reached around $100 million, and is expected to reach around $3 billion by 2016, according to M2 Research. It's kinda like the movie Minority Report where you interact with the retail environment and it recognizes You by a key devise. I had designed a prototype hand held devise to be presented to Simon Malls.

I studied many elements, as I watched the industry go through its own learning curves, attending seminars and working at Six Flags 1995-99 as an independent designer, that large theme parks must also add new attractions, facades, and themed retail arcade/outlets and rides each year to pull in crowds. Get the "BANG for the BUCK" in planning and themeing and invest in new environments! Watching soft play and video interactive's at larger parks such as Epcot (Disney) Universal Studios and Six Flags parks is a great way to see what is trendy. Due to multi-tasking attention disorders of the public, the fun for designers is the challenge of how visually to present the theme surrounding edutainment app's and visa versa with all of the "bells and whistles for emotional impact. Venues such as new science centers, interactive teaching museums, historical museums and Epcot Disney have the handle on it and so do newer heritage centers. I call it "edutainment designing". These are where you make complex and scientific ideas accessible to many different audiences. How do you excite kids about high-level research? How do you shape changing attitudes about our environment and motivate personal action? These Centers provide unique opportunities to make these connections. Some connections are "Learning Center Kiosks where touchscreen technologies allows multiple displays and "edutainment" in teaching skills with BIG Ideas or just plain out FUN!

We invite visitors to become explorers of their physical universe in new and unexpected ways. It is said that a child at play is an explorer at work investigating with speculation. Most of all we seek to inspire that sense of wonder and to provide pathways to action. Some are focused environs to pull in different age groups. This allows the patrons to relax in their social groups (and spend!) Demographic marketing and the tools of planning with no-holds barred themeing produces powerful and impacting environments

Talented extreme theme designers with awesome concepts and strong storylines can in a very similar way be like "super" movie directors( i.e.. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton) carefully calculating the motion of atmosphere. We hurl the viewer into a space through a Q-portal that displaces time and directional bearing into what ever universe we can dream up or replicate

"We give them an adventure and memories that bounce from the cranium to the brain in excitement and knowledge that can last a life time and keep them coming back for more like a cool roller coaster dark ride effecting all the senses"! The Best "so far" that I have had the privilege are the new 4D motion dark rides". The on- the- fly, whiz-bang timing and process of the totally themed "dark ride" adventures are in my book, nothing short of amazing!

In all that I do in designing the experience, I try to find inspiration on location in story-lines of fantasy character worlds, historical realities, future thought, while traveling on vacation or work, in books and in checking out other designers- even if their work "gives me envy pains". They are all resources to learn from and enjoy. I hope you are able to go and see IAAPA for the latest in themed attractions and where they are going into the future. There is always a panel or "forum convention" where the discussion on the future of theme designing is going. It is a never-ending process that we all enjoy! To see what’s new on the horizon (and around the next corner) out of curiosity gives rise to the exploration of those concepts and ideas.

Best regards,
Matthew L. McCoy

Experiential Designer