MAN IS THE WARMEST PLACE TO HIDE
Journey with me as I make a tribute to John Carpenter’s cult classic sci-fi horror, The Thing (1982).
The Problem
My goal was to create a piece of key art for an interactive themed experience of my choosing.
I chose a haunted house/maze with VR/AR elements based on The Thing (1982).
To fulfill the brief I needed to create something that would engage the client (in this case my professor and peers) and generate interest for a new, unique experience. This class was my first time really creating environments meant to be used for themed entertainment so I was also challenged to think a little differently than I typically would about appeal and purpose.
Initial Progress - Layer Zero
One of the main inspirations for this experience was the Halloween Horror Nights event put on by Univeral Studios every year. There will be 2-3 minute mazes set up around the park based on characters and IPs owned by Universal Studios. This project started as one of those, loosely inspired by two past mazes set up at Universal Studios based on The Thing (1982) and (2011). As engaged as I was though, I wanted to create another layer of interest. What if you could interact with the maze? Thus came the idea to give each guest VR/AR goggles and a prop flamethrower to fight back against the titular thing. This idea came from rides like Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters
Diving Deeper - Iterations and Decisions
The immediate next question in my mind was where everything would be placed. Halloween Horror Nights mazes are meant to be compact as they are temporary, thus the walkways can get tight. This also contributes to the fear factor as the scare actors are much closer to the guests. I needed to figure out where to place the camera, the guests, and the scare actors to demonstrate the central idea of the experience. This proved very difficult when combined with the cramped space I created and the many little details commonly added to mazes to catch the guest’s attention and create better scares. I was forced to create a very odd angle for the camera, pushing the perspective to look a little odd no matter how many times I redrew it.
Result
This was a very difficult scene to put together. Between the issues I had with getting the correct perspective and organizing the room to have as many features visible as possible. I am completely happy with the result though and look forward to sharing it with more and more people as a good example of my artistic skills as well as my problem solving skills.