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Staying ahead of the trend In the past, Beumers maintains, dark rides have not always been as popular as a roller coaster, for example, or a thrill ride. This is mainly because park operators have found it more difficult to know how to market them. “Over the last few years, more and more dark rides have been built, since we provide parks with well- known IPs and/or story-lines to base their marketing around,” he says. “Visitors love them. It is a ‘show’ experience, rather than a thrill experience. Now operators have found a way to market dark rides, and I think that’s why we are seeing more demand.” Beumers believes AR, or augmented reality, is set to become a
The GameChanger is designed to be a ‘top shelf’ solution for parks that want an interactive challenging dark ride for families, but on a small footprint and at a more affordable cost, Beumers tells Park World. It is also scalable up or down, which opens it up as a possibility for both smaller parks and FECs, as well as larger theme parks.
When asked about possible new GameChanger installations in the future, Beumers revealed that Lagotronics has seen an influx of interest from parks all over the world following its Bayern-Park debut. “The GameChanger is one of our specialist products,” he explains. “We’re doing quotes for Germany, Spain, the USA… it’s a growing market. The official opening at Bayern-Park attracted a great response from both our partners and from visitors.” The secret is in the ride’s flexibility. “It’s easily adaptable in size and theme, making it suitable for different environments and countries,” explains Beumers. “But the theme doesn’t have to change much. Farm Fair allows us to introduce new characters into the existing games, making it work in different countries and parks.” At Bayern-Park, for example, the site’s popular lion mascot was incorporated into the ride, playing a farmer role in the storyline: adding in a character is a cost- effective way of making the ride unique for different parks. Beumers also sees the potential for adapting it to work for different demographics - young adults, for example. As a family ride, inclusivity is key to the GameChanger - not only is it suitable for all the family, it also provides the option of a section into which a wheelchair can be rolled, meaning guests with physical disabilities can enjoy the experience and play alongside their families and friends.
big part of dark rides in the near future. “VR suits thrill rides, but dark rides don’t provide that thrill ride feeling, so VR is a bit unneccesary. AR is much more interesting for dark rides - it allows you to see another layer of a certain environment with characters or special effects, on top of the physical decoration, or theming. We are working in this area on an interactive prototype using augmented reality to improve the game experience. This is the next generation of dark ride, and we are hoping to have it functional within a year.”
Success in other markets Whilst the GameChanger is arguably Lagotronics’ new flagship product, it hasn’t stopped the Dutch designer from creating and delivering interactive experiences all over the world in recent years. With a recently-opened office in the Asia-Pacific region,
Lagotronics is focused on spreading its reach into new and expanding markets. “We wanted to have a sales team on the ground in Asia, and a project manager for technical support. It is easier having someone in the right time-zone,” Beumers explains. He has very high expectations for the region: “We are talking with two very big clients, each planning to build several big installations. One is focussed on VR in particular, and we have created a truly immersive project, partially including VR that covers four stories!” Still in the design stages at the moment, these installations are expected to open in 2020-21. “We never dreamt of this success for GameChanger - we just
identified a gap in the market,” says Beumers. “We have had a number of requests from FECs as well – it’s a great product for both amusement parks and FECs.” A recent project for an FEC in a Kuwait mall will feature huge video screens, floor projection, and mapping from Lagotronics, as well as being equipped with the GameChanger., Our sources tell us that another Farm Fair installation is in the works for an as yet unnamed Japanese client… watch this space!
Lagotronics Projects has contributed to ride projects all over the world. Park World got an inside insight into some of the most memorable recent projects…
Ghost Hunt, Lake Compounce, Connecticut. “The ride system had a lot of problems, so we did a complete upgrade and delivered on schedule, giving them all the elements they asked for. Parks can spend a lot of time and money on trying to keep older rides alive, when often it’s more economically sound to invest in an upgrade and create a newly refurbished ride.”
The Lost World, Conny-Land, Switzerland. At Conny-Land, Lagotronics did a complete upgrade of both the storyline and the tech, creating a new storyline to tie in with the existing dinosaur theme, enhanced by a new interactive system and additional show elements like lighting, audio, video and special effects.
Red Baron, Tivoli Friheden, Denmark. An outdoor flat ride in which riders control the aeroplane- themed vehicles and aim to shoot targets after located around the control tower. ”We upgraded the interactive system on it to make it more accurate and functional. It is an outdoor ride, so it is a completely waterproof system. That’s really the unique part of our system, we can use it indoors or outdoors, to enhance existing rides or create new ones.”
AUGUST 2018
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