Gamifying theme parks
Gamifying theme parks
Gamifying theme parks
By Lance Hart
February 11, 2021
Summary
People like to play games of all kinds, and people like rides.
Many theme parks decided to add pay-to-play interactive water geyser effects to their water rides.
These allow guests on dry land to drop money into a slot and time it just right so that a geyser of water would trigger and soak the riders in a passing boat on a water ride.
The actual first interactive dark ride experience is said to be a ride called El Paso that opened ten years earlier at Bobbejaanland.
Several popular interactive dark rides have been built in parks all across the world.
As well as the addition of some interactive games within attraction queues and the continued evolution of interactive rides, we've also seen the rise of some new game playing and role-playing concepts.
Not all interactive dark rides are based on riders shooting guns at targets.
Sometimes the technology is given a more peaceful and child friendly theme,
such as on Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek! at Tokyo Disneyland where riders are given flashlights to play a game of Flashlight Tag with the characters.
In 2021, we will see at least two new interactive dark rides that take the process of gamifying theme parks to a new level.
Through the use of interactive video screens and built-in sensors in the ride vehicles, guests will be able to shoot webs like Spider-Man through a simple hand gesture, targeting an army of small replicating Spider-Bots that have gotten out of control.
Reference
Hart , L. (2021, February 11). Gamifying theme parks: the rise of interactive rides. Blooloop. https://blooloop.com/theme-park/opinion/gamifying-theme-parks/