Five UCF grad students create concepts for Alterface’s The Wander
by Judith Rubin
The Wander is an interactive technology developed by Alterface to support rich, immersive and non-linear experiences for education and entertainment in a wide range of indoor and outdoor venues. It was created to be an intuitive tool for designers, storytellers and world builders and is scalable.
To help demonstrate The Wander’s versatility and potential, Alterface and InPark recruited five students from the University of Central Florida (UCF) Themed Experience graduate programs, headed by Prof. Peter Weishar. These masters candidates, who are all currently employed in the field, were challenged to learn about The Wander and create viable, original concepts for its use in attractions.
From Alterface, information, feedback and guidance were provided to the students by Etienne Sainton (Product Manager), Stephane Bataille (CEO) and Laurence Beckers (Creative Director).
Sainton describes The Wander as “the first technology that ‘industrializes’ the creation of and manages the entire life of experiences, from design to implementation in a venue. It is a software tool to create and activate stories in the mind of designers.”
This exercise was organized and curated by InPark editor Judith Rubin. Heartfelt thanks to our student participants, whose names and work appear below, and who are building careers in themed entertainment. Follow the links to see their portfolios.
For more information about the UCF masters programs in Themed Experience, visit: www.ucf.edu/degree/themed-experience-ms/
Projects using The Wander have been announced and we can expect more news of them in the near future. Find Alterface online at www.alterface.com, and visit their exhibit booth at IAAPA Expo this November. •
EchoStone Experience
Mike Strong, project manager, Westview Productions LLC
[email protected] | mikewstrong.com
Story Lore: A theme park was created above Radiance Hollow, a hidden realm where magical creatures tend EchoStones that flourish on the park’s joy. Our villain, Moonshadow, coveted the stones seeking power and control. The guests’ laughter and joy in the theme park above, combined with the EchoStone players in the park proves formidable. As guests immerse themselves, the EchoStones thrive, creating a glowing symphony of light throughout the park.
One significant challenge in thinking about creating a cohesive park-wide story is that theme park lands tend to have their own separate stories. However, I found it compelling that the Wander technology has the capacity to be used throughout a park as opposed to a single area. I conceived the EchoStones story lore to use the opportunity to weave the Wander into every facet of a theme park, with the potential to adapt to an overarching theme both digitally and physically. In the case of a destination park, the technology could follow guests back to their hotel rooms – and even to other parks.
In the physical park, guests can purchase an EchoStone of their own, which will vary in color and design, and can be worn as a necklace (or placed into other receptacles: headbands, water bottles, etc.). As guests progress through the park, the EchoStone will glow, pulse, or vibrate to alert them to possibilities for interactivity. Guests with EchoStones collect joy and fun throughout their day, which causes their personal EchoStones to glow brighter and unlock opportunities to use the magic stored within.
Further, there can be opportunities to connect a guest’s personal EchoStone to a ride vehicle or place it into a device (a wand, lantern, etc.) and allow them to explore and interact more seamlessly within a given land’s theme. The opportunity to continually update, upgrade, and create new stories digitally is endless. Mini-games and cooperative play are also possible and can continue to evolve with the park and its guests. •
Stardust
Eleni Trapp, senior UX designer, Caesars Digital
[email protected] | www.elenitrapp.com
Jump into a land where exploration of the natural world becomes a personal adventure book. With the power of Wander, visitors can revolutionize how they explore the world’s natural wonders.
The Stardust storyline will guide guests through touchpoints of natural parks including visitor centers, iconic natural landmarks, campsites and trails to uncover stories left behind
by previous travelers. Guests will collect Stardust by completing challenges such as photographing wildlife, finishing a hike, or engaging with educational checkpoints. The Stardust earned can be tracked using enhanced devices – such as walking sticks with built-in geolocation and compasses that prompt personalized pathways – to create meaningful connections between visitors and their surroundings.
As visitors gather Stardust, they contribute to the entire park’s storyline by unlocking additional chapters of stories which can be told through a variety of mediums. These stories can be curated from the histories of the people who lived on the land, local legends and even the geological history of the park. A parkwide radio station serves to keep visitors informed while offering an additional avenue for sharing stories.
Stardust will truly come to life at night, as visitors settle into their campsites. Basic campsites transform into campfire storytelling hubs, where explorers gather around the flickering flames, to be swept away by rich history and legends. Aided by telescopes with AR overlays, the stories of constellations unlocked by guests with Stardust can play out in real time across the stars.
The Wander platform can be implemented to bring Stardust to a single park such as New York City’s Central Park – or expanded across a network of parks, such as the National Park System. With Stardust, visitors get to help write new chapters of a story where nature takes center stage. •
The Last Hallowish
Brittany Porthouse, Show Set Specialist, B Morrow Productions
[email protected] | brittanyporthouse.com
The Last HalloWish is a walkthrough, “choose your own adventure” game experience. Guests can help Halloween partygoers-turned-ghosts with their unfinished business, fulfill last wishes, and make new friends (or nemeses) in the process.
Backstory: Determined to make this year one that nobody could forget, Skylar Park decided to throw the biggest Halloween bash that Pine State University had ever seen. With her parents out of town for the weekend, she had free reign to turn their fancy house into the most creeptacular party. Unfortunately, a defect at the Ghostmallow factory turned the popular candy lethal, and after everyone ate them, none of these celebrants is the life of the party anymore!
Using their Wander-branded flashlights to cast light on paranormal activity, guests can discover interactions, games, and puzzles within the story. These may lead to a new quest (such as helping Stacy find her contacts), a necessary object (Fizz-O, Kirk’s drink of choice), or a game (beating Brad at fear pong, a cup game with a spooky twist).
Solving puzzles, beating games faster, or finding hidden details could lead to bonus knowledge to use in later activities – such as Andrew’s itching powder prank on Priya’s purse. If guests deliver Priya her purse without this knowledge, she may become upset…and subsequently “tell her friends.” Priya’s best friend Olivia, if approached by the aforementioned guests after The Itchy Incident, will react coldly and may give guests a different quest than other groups may receive from her.
This nighttime-focused venue has a quick-service food counter inside so guests can consume their favorite appetizers or beverages, just as at any other party. To allow younger audiences and families their own PG-rated fun during daytime hours, the experience has certain embedded props and storylines that can be activated. •
Mysteries at the Zoo: Become a Zoo Detective!
Arianna White, senior show coordinator, Universal Creative
[email protected] | arianna.whitefamily.com
Families and children discover the breadth of fun to be had exploring the animal world with the implementation of the Wander technology as Mysteries at the Zoo. Combining elements of education and puzzle-solving into an intriguing adventure that leads them throughout the zoo, guests find themselves growing closer to the animals and their counterparts in the wild.
Penny Pigeon, a bird-ace detective, recruits guests to help solve mysteries among the animals. The experience uses dynamic signage, show set and interactive puzzles along with an AR- capable magnifying glass device for guests to use.
At the brown bears’ exhibit, their favorite honey is missing! The magnifying glass helps guests uncover clues leading to two possible culprits: badgers and skunks. Guests continue their investigation at the skunk and badger exhibits, then bring their findings to Penny’s Detective Agency.
In the finale, guests apply everything they’ve learned along the way to solve the mystery with Penny and interrogate the animal suspects, with assistance from the Wise Old Owl. Finding that the skunks have stolen the honey, the guests earn Zoo Detective badges. The skunks are asked not to steal again and promised that the zookeepers will share more honey with everyone.
A new mystery awaits guests each time they return. The experience is conceived as a scalable add-on, a permanent installation with elements in and near existing exhibits, and multiple signup kiosks. There are some updatable elements, such as dynamic signage and multiple finales. In addition to badges or stickers, zoos could have higher-tier awards for guests to earn, such as opportunities with the animals.
It is assumed that families and groups are working as a team to help the youngest. Mysteries at the Zoo could be a repeatable franchise, with the potential to be a connected adventure across multiple zoos. •
Wander-LUST
Brittany McChesney, Development Manager, EA Sports
[email protected] | bmccart.com
On the floating city of a cruise ship, guests have a myriad of ways to stay entertained. However, these events rarely coincide with the content of their cruise, and have no effect on the outcomes or rewards they achieve. Wander-LUST bridges this gap to make cruising a more immersive experience.
Utilizing region-specific theming and quests, Wander-LUST allows travelers to experience an integrated system of quests, rewards, and trip-planning services for their cruise vacation. With Wander, several pathways will be available to make the most of guests’ vacations in their own distinct style.
QUESTING – Wander adds another layer of adventure and storytelling to the vacation of a lifetime. The questing pathway lets guests sink into the story through entertainment and gamification.
DISCOVERABLE REWARDS – For guests with a hunger for discovery, this pathway is for those who want to score rewards without getting too deeply immersed in the story. An achievement-focused playthrough will help them earn the best bonuses and deals onboard.
TRIP PLANNER – For guests who want an intuitive itinerary experience, this pathway lets Wander do the planning. Wander will guide guests based on their preferences, age, and logged experiences.
EXAMPLE: For childless adults or single travelers on a Scandinavian cruise, events may skew more physically demanding and adventurous, with quests or discoverable rewards to make them eligible for feasting in Valhalla. For families, events include quests that allow for fun together and separately, all to please Njord, the Norse god of the wind and sea.
Wander-LUST is family-friendly, offering tailored rewards based on player profiles and preferences. Progress for players is tracked via mobile app and an RFID-enabled pin for “check-in” at Wander-LUST stations. This hardware requirement limits installation to new or pre-commissioned ships, or a retrofit during an extensive overhaul. •
