Commentary
IAAPA European Expo highlights immersive entertainment innovation
Concepts introduced at the first IAAPA European Expo since 2019 focused on small footprints for deployment in family entertainment centers and other venues.
January 3, 2022 by Kevin Williams
Amusement operators are focusing on future-proofing their businesses in today's unpredictable business climate and are looking at interactivity and immersion as key elements. This much was evident during the IAAPA European Expo 2021 convention in Barcelona, the first such physical event since 2019.
Following are highlights from the show floor, the first in a three-part series.
Sally Dark Ride came to the expo with a history of having developed 15 attractions within the European region, one of the most influential being the 2019 installation at PortAventura of the award-winning "Sesame Street: Street Mission."
The company has since expanded its approach towards flexible dark ride attractions, considering the demand from mixed use leisure entertainment and other reduced size venues. This proved to be a theme repeated across the big attraction developers on the show floor.
Interactive media marries VR
The crossover of interactive media-based (immersive) attraction development and the move towards virtual reality-based development was illustrated by the likes of Simworx which revealed the concept of its "Alpine Racer" VR attraction offering a high-speed sledge experience through the snowy mountain Alps.
Simworx offered a continued focus on the family entertainment center market, along with its media-based work in the attraction sphere. It promoted a second new release with its "Fly Motion" attraction, targeting a smaller footprint and headspace and smaller location size, accommodating 30 guests (three rows of bench seats).
Triotech innovates
Triotech demonstrated its Storm VR amusement system, running the latest software "Sugary Slopes," the third interactive title now available. The system has UltraLeap hand tracking, along with the motion seat for two players, all running tethered HTC Vive headsets.
Along with this, the booth included mock-ups of planned Triotech dark ride attraction hardware and work from partner CL Corporation.
Triotech also revealed plans to develop an interpretation of the flying theater concept. Called "VR Drone," the attraction has up to eight guests, in groups of two, in special standing positions with motion, wearing VR headsets and experiencing a VR film experience seen through the eyes of a soaring drone.
The attraction incorporates thematic elements as if riding a giant drone. The attraction hopes to offer a unique experience, with specially commissioned drone film content. The company was keen to confirm that the number of positions can be expanded to suit the location's available space.
Another eagerly awaited VR DOF Robotics attraction was "Warp In The Space," a free-roaming VR room enclosure that offers up to six players the chance to take part in a horde shooting space battle with attacking robots. The system is planned to use a non-backpack PC approach.
The company also revealed attractions for the Marvel Experience Thailand, a travelling entertainment.
E-sports on the move
Amega Entertainment presented its simulators and attractions, along with its Formula One Simulator arena that offers a competitive e-sports environment with the latest racing rigs for players to compete on.
The system, based on the company's Amega Multi Racing Arena, has even been converted to run with VR headsets. The concept supports the latest racing game content, licensed for deployment in this enclosure, which offers the ability to drop a turnkey solution into high-foot traffic locations.
Brogent Technologies also announced its latest developments in the e-sports scene, with the miRide platform, offering interactive, real-time motion simulators configured for racing — with four networked units employing the Brogent motion platform. The platform offers an e-sports solution for a variety of facilities, the company confirming a version of the attraction also available mounted in a container.
ImSim, the developer of its own racing rig platform, revealed a partnership to supply the only official Automobili Lamborghini driving simulator in the market.
Alterface Projects presented its "Action League," a combative interactive dark ride experience offering a competitive element and a unique rotating ride layout. The platform accommodates up to 72 players across teams in six-player vehicles.
BoldMove also presented plans to develop "AR Hybrid Quest," a physical space attraction, using gamification to turn any space, be it in a mall, park or open space, into an attraction. The system employs the guest's smartphone to view the tracked game space as they take place in the digital treasure hunt.
Zierer and the Leisure Expert Group presented some six turnkey concepts for new styles of dark ride focusing on the use of interactive elements and dedicated track-based ride vehicles — all married to media-based content.
Space considerations
Flexibility of space was the key, as developers look at the FEC and leisure venues, along with park installation. The companies are proposing concepts for 400- to 2,000-square meter attractions.
Regarding other media attraction content providers, Red Raion launched its CGI movie for theater licensing. Called "Moby Dick — Friends to the Rescue," the kids and family-focused movie will be released in 5D, VR and Dome formats.
The company also signed an agreement with SimEx-Iwerks to produce the next chapter of its successful Dino Island series, with a new flying theater movie called "Frostbite — Dino Island III."
Another company with a strong media-based attraction background was entertainment resource GmbH. Well-known for motion simulation platforms, the company revealed details of its VR-based systems, presenting VRFly, a flying theater concept, employing four-rider motion seats with VR headsets to supply the soaring experience.
Many projects have been designed to offer a small footprint for deployment in FEC and entertainment venues.
Additional concepts from the IAAPA European Expo 2021 will be described in parts two and three of this three-part series.
(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published by KWP and its director, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)
About Kevin Williams
Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.
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