22 Dec 2014
Bio-activated horror maze planned for UK in 2015
BY Tom Anstey
Interactive games company Slingshot, creators of the highly successful 2.8 Hours Later zombie experience, has revealed plans for a unique bio-activated horror maze to debut in the UK in 2015.
Themed around Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Jekyll and Hyde, the Jekyll 2.0 indoor horror maze will be formed around a matrix of rooms. Each room will have four doors and the aim of the game is for participants to find their way through this maze to a central point and out again. Somewhere in the maze is a monster players have to try to avoid.
To navigate the maze, technology that measure biometrics will enable users to activate the world around them using the body. For example, they can breathe on a door lock to unlock it, hold their breath to switch the lights on and off or raise their heartbeat to change the soundtrack. Guests rigged up with biosensors move through the maze using this technology, which is linked to a central system.
“We’re aiming for the ‘Playstation Generation’,” said Simon Evans, director of Slingshot, speaking to AM2. “Our core demographic used to be 25-34. It’s actually split now between 18-24 and 25-34. One thing that characterises them is that they all play games and they respond to game type things. So you give them missions, give them certain things, certain tools, certain weapons etc. We use those mechanics to create an attraction experience and our medium to long-term aim is to build a boutique theme park. Hyde is a step towards that.”
Slingshot is currently negotiating on the first venue for Jekyll 2.0, which is likely to be in either Bristol or Cardiff. The company is also planning a crowdfunding campaign to start in January with an opening date of October 2015. The first year costs to develop and build the attraction is an estimated £400,000 (US$625,000, €510,000).
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