Alterface will be participating in the Dubai Entertainment Amusement & Leisure Show (DEAL), taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center, from March 27 to 29.
Organized by International Expo Consultants, this 23rd edition is the Middle East’s gateway for all participants and associates from the amusement and entertainment industry.
Interactive dark rides have been booming all over the world. New attractions driven by media-based, innovative technologies have enhanced the experience, offering visitors an exciting and more reactive, immersive gameplay, all over the world.
Ben Cornet, Founder & CEO of Alterface, comments: “Looking at the world map, we can see still significant differences in the growth and geographical spread of interactive dark rides. For 2016 the clear winner was the Middle-East region with a head spinning amount of new parks and indoor attractions opening in the span of just one year!”
In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, no less than 10 interactive dark rides have recently opened. The vast majority of those were mixed media rides, featuring a balance of theming and media content, Alterface’s line of expertise. 80% of those attractions were designed by this Belgium-based interactivity specialist and all of them were based on internationally acclaimed IPs.
Among those new attraction, the new mixed-media dark ride ‘The Amazing Ride of Gumball’ (pictured above) opened at IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s largest indoor theme park, located in Dubai. It features a unique immersive experience, combining shooting on live decors, mixing physical targets with media content. In addition to its interactivity, the ride features rapidly changing scenics, which integrate media content like flying vegetables, robots, ghosts, lightened wall creatures and much more. Lighting, projection and audio are controlled by Alterface’s advanced Salto! System.
Located in the center of Dubai, Hub Zero offers a universe where the real and virtual worlds collide, and where gamers exist in an all-new dimension. It is the perfect setting for the new interactive dark ride Resident Evil, featuring an Alterface shooting system to target screens and physical elements.
For both projects, Alterface worked very closely together with ETF Ride Systems, who provided the ride systems in line with the theme of both attractions and handled the project management. The ETF Multi Mover is a trackless ride transporting up to 6 passengers comfortably during dark rides. The ETF ride control system seamlessly interfaces with the Alterface show control. Ruud Koppens, President of Netherlands-based ETF comments: “ETF has a solid foot on Middle-Eastern soil and it’s a great pleasure to work with partners like Alterface to produce exciting rides for our customers. The opening of new parks and dark rides allows us to implement the latest technologies, offering park visitors top-notch experiences.”
As most dark rides are indoor and ideal for families to enjoy together, they are the perfect attraction to fit any kind of park format or footprint. While the “sit and shoot” type of ride is by far ruling the industry, creative and unique concepts have emerged such as walkthrough attractions featuring human, physical and media-based targets, building on the successful concept of Laser Tag, yet augmenting the experience to new heights with the use of media.
Ben Cornet concludes “Dubai is amazingly modern and maintains high standards, attracting tourists and visitors from all over the world who are looking for the most technologically advanced and spectacular attractions. We see a great future for the entertainment business here, and are happy to be part of it!”
Visit the Alterface booth 2-B39 at DEAL. More information on DEAL can be found on: http://www.dealmiddleeastshow.com/2017/
