During the IAAPA Expo last week, Alterface announced two new projects; Wander and Erratic.
Wander
Wander is the first distributed interactive solution for on-location entertainment. It is the latest addition to the growing family of non-linear interactive attractions from Alterface. The core of this solution is the dispatch center which recognizes and assigns missions to visitors. The innovative and scalable Wander solution brings interactivity to an unseen park-wide level.
Installed in various areas of the park, the action centers are the interactive locations where visitors will perform the mission assigned by the dispatch center.
CEO and Founder Benoit Cornet, comments: “We have put our interactivity expertise together with today’s market needs to come with a range of solutions for creating (dark) rides which are less predictable than today’s linear experiences. Our new Wander and Erratic solutions offer visitors every time a new and unique experience. It requires more complex technology and careful planning but guarantees so much more fun for the visitors. This approach ensures a real differentiator for parks and will move them to the next level. Wander will turn visitors into scavenger hunters, crossing the park in search of clues, challenges, rewards or surprises.”
A look at Wander, where guests will be assigned missions, and it’s non-linear. It’s all based on different factors as to which missions you are assigned.
It’s a way to unite the park around a single game. @Alterface pic.twitter.com/AA6hvap0i1
— Coaster101.com (@Coaster101) November 16, 2017
Expect the unexpected
Park visitors are given a mission individually or in group, and are sent to various places of the park to fulfil them. These places depend on the chosen story, on the available capacity of each station and on the previous experience of the players. As a result, they get missions that are changing all the time and cannot be predicted.
In order to implement such complex and challenging system, Alterface relies on its powerful Salto™ interactive engine. This is the beating heart of, amongst many others, Alterface’s successful Maus au Chocolat in Phantasialand and Justice League Battle for Metropolis attractions at Six Flags. The result is an amazingly flexible system, which can adapt to any venue regardless of its size and with a virtually unlimited amount of gameplay possibilities. Every visit to the park is turned into a new experience, offering a perfect tool to spread the crowd between attractions.
Ben from @Alterface demonstrates his magic wand as part of new park-wide interactive system #Wander pic.twitter.com/5KE5bz3P0E
— blooloop (@Blooloop) November 16, 2017
Flexible & easy to operate
In order to offer an affordable product, easy to operate and maintain, Alterface has selected interactive devices that only relies on ‘passive’ components. The Wander magic wand contains no batteries nor moving parts, it can be easily stored or even sold and returned for the next mission. The magic wand infrastructure is very flexible and supports multiple operational modes, offering a world of opportunities.
Wander will match the identity of the user with the unique identifier of the magic wand to create a truly personalized experience. It can operate as a stand-alone attraction or can be enhanced through interfaces with some visitor oriented programs such as season pass, loyalty card and local payment systems, among others.
As far as the ‘play areas’ are concerned, the system provides also a lot of flexibility: the magic wand can reveal movements from animatronics, props and show elements. With the addition of Alterface image generators, it can even turn into an on-screen interactive experience.
“We have taken great care that the components of the magic wand remain as light and small as possible, making it portable and perfectly suitable for all ages and design formats. Alterface can handle the complete deployment of a Wander system in a park or family entertainment center. Their experts guide customers step by step through the required preparation phase, liaising with IT resources for complete integration of the system in the park’s visitor database. This way Alterface can ensure the ideal solution in view of visitor dynamics and park culture.”
SHARE the excitement!
We brought you the ERRATIC® ride at #EAS17 and now we will bring you a new revolutionary interactive system – Wander® at #IAE17!
Read about our new technology here: https://t.co/DamKVZPxbb pic.twitter.com/W9IxLZw9p5
— Alterface (@Alterface) November 10, 2017
Unleash the Magic
Wander, in its most simplified form, comprises stand-alone stations where visitors can freely interact, either with animatronics and props or with content. Their mission is to find the active elements within the park or the entertainment center, based on a map they received or in a random order. No need to log in, no need to hurry, just unleash the magic wherever it can be found!
The park becomes the attraction!
The Wander system can be organized as a walkthrough experience within a building or any other location inside and outside. It is the ideal product to add interactivity in places which are not suited for traditional ride systems.
Space is allocated based on an optimal visitor flow, maximizing throughput whilst securing an exceptional experience. Custom themes and devices can be developed to make sure this attraction perfectly fits the park facilities. The park itself is no longer a collection of attractions, but becomes the attraction!
“Alterface will continue to lead the way by providing affordable solutions to fit every park’s needs and offer visitors a truly unique experience,” Cornet said. “As technology and communication further evolve, the industry needs to continuously innovate in concepts which optimize space and offer future-proof attractions.”
Erratic
Alterface Projects, along with ETF Ride Systems also announced a true ground-breaking and unmatched interactive ride: the new Erratic Ride. It is a first-of-its-kind non-linear mixed-media ride featuring dynamic scene changing. This means that players can determine the sequence depending on their ranking and preferences. The attraction fully immerses and engages riders into the story, which becomes more dynamic and fun. Furthermore, it can be installed on a relatively small space, yet with high throughput.
The first installation will take place at Walibi in Belgium. Erratic at Walibi will feature Popcorn Revenge, the new proprietary intellectual property recently developed by Alterface, and the trackless Multi Mover vehicles by ETF in full alignment with theming and decoration.
“We know the Alterface team for a long time now and are impressed by their achievements,” stated Jean-Christophe Parent, CEO of Walibi Belgium. “This new ride generation is refreshing and innovative. The Erratic Ride will without any doubt be a great addition to our park. Based on Alterface’s track records and the quality of our relationship, we totally trust them to deliver our visitors an experience that will be immediate, simple, playful and extremely effective!”
Benoit Cornet, CEO and Founder at Alterface, added: “After 16 years of un-demented interactive dark ride success, including Maus-au-Chocolat type rides, we felt we had to come with a new and truly ‘gamechanging’ concept. The storytelling capabilities of our show control technologies, combined with the unique features of ETF Multi Mover vehicles, are the key ingredients for this new exciting ride formula. The collective know-how acquired over no less than 30 successful installations allows us to rapidly define a winning concept.”
New family of visitor-centric experiences
Erratic is the first member of a new family of “visitor-centric” experiences for Alterface. It is aimed at space conscious venues and represents a total solution for anyone who wants a true dark ride experience on a limited footprint. “The user experience was the starting point of our reflection, the technical details followed, making sure that transitions from one scene to another are smooth and the limited footprint has rather an enhancing than a limiting impact.” said Cornet.
Ruud Koppens, CEO of ETF Ride Systems, explains: “The well-proven trackless Multi Mover is the perfect match for the new and dynamic Erratic Ride. The vehicle speed, routing options, unlimited rotations of the body and reverse movements can be defined in the design phase and altered any time to operate this type of ride. The vehicles are designed to carry up to six passengers on two bench seats, each accommodating up to three persons. This adds a special dimension to the ride as guests can share experiences and fully enjoy the ride with family or friends.”
Popcorn Revenge will bring in a flurry of projection technique, video mapping and special effects, as already demonstrated in many of Alterface’s signature rides around the world. Combined with a unique touch of “choreography”, usually only found in much larger projects, it is truly an IP for parks of any size and visitors of any age. Alterface designed a series of characters that can fit each movie theme: pirate, space, horror, magic, superhero and many other possibilities.
Now, @Alterface’s Erratic attraction, demonstrating the ride path and its unpredictability. The guest won’t know what’s coming! pic.twitter.com/w8s9MceJad
— Coaster101.com (@Coaster101) November 16, 2017
“The new Erratic Ride is the perfect example of a next-generation attraction which offers a more dynamic and coherent media experience. It needs a relatively small footprint and can therefore be easily installed at any park or indoor location,” Cornet said. “The movie and popcorn theme is universal and suited for young and old but we can implement any other IP or character of choice. With this new world-class yet affordable ride Alterface demonstrates once again its commitment to developing innovative concepts for customers to offer the best possible ride at their venue.”
What do you think about these new attractions from Alterface? Do you hope that they pop up somewhere in the United States? Let us know in the comments below!
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