Volume 1, No. 5. April 6, 2001
Sinking into a new concept
I’ve not seen this thing in person, so I may not explain it adequately, which is one indicator of its potential role as an industry revolution.
It is called Oceania, an immersive attraction that combines simulators, computer graphics, virtual reality and 3-D over the course of nine different rooms in a 40-minute walk-through show. The attraction opened last month in the Metaforia Entertainment Center in downtown Montreal, Canada, and its developer, Metaforia Divertissements Inc based in Montreal, has an agreement in principle to install one in the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"I strongly believe it’s the next generation of entertainment," said Stephane Le Bouyonnec, president and CEO of Metaforia, who describes its fit as a mix between the theme park, cinema, and video games. But, he stresses, it’s immersive, not interactive. "There’s still a lot of people who like to just sit and enjoy something."
Oceania moves groups of 40 people through every six minutes, allowing up to eight groups traversing the program at any one time. Guests wear "uniforms" comprising vests and attached headsets on which they hear the synchronized soundtrack. The latter is a key aspect of the concept because the show is broadcast over 32 different frequencies. With eight groups at any one time, the show could be broadcast in four different languages simultaneously. True to its multi-lingual home, the Montreal Metaforia plays Oceania in French and English.
The story line takes guests to a 15,000-year-old underwater city. They ride a SimEx motion platform to Oceania’s laboratories, then walk through several sets containing electronic props like revolving platforms and automatic doors, special physical effects like smoke and fire, lighting effects from 700 different lamps, and visual effects like "paper ghosts" (a la Disney’s Haunted Mansion), Le Bouyonnec said. One room puts guests into virtual subs where they watch their journey through periscopes and feel the effects in the seats. Stereoscopic screens feature a continuum of characters, including "Kami" a cute hybrid of a seal, dinosaur, otter, elephant and dolphin that has a potential merchandising aftermarket. More than 300 suppliers were involved in OceaniaÕs development, La Bouyonnec said.
Le Bouyonnec first developed the Oceania concept for Portugal Telecom’s exhibit at the Lisbon World’s Fair in 1998. The $20 million Canadian (US$13 million) attraction processed 5,000 people a day for a total of 600,000 people over four months. The Canadian version cost $36 million Canadian (US$23 million), including $9 million for refurbishing a 1920s theater and $12 million for the movie’s production costs. Metaforia also contains two bars, a restaurant, a kid’s playroom, climbing wall and an arcade containing 65 nonviolent games, including a networked Oceania submarine race.
The Montreal Oceania is charging a top price of $20 Canadian ($30 in combination with other Metaforia attractions), and Le Bouyonnec said supplementing the show with the other activities is meant to extend family stays to two hours or more. Aside from opening his first Metaforia close to company headquarters, Le Bouyonnec chose Montreal as a suitable test site due to the demographics of a 3 million metropolitan population and an average tourism market. "If I put it in Vegas, I’m not proving anything."
The primary point Metaforia
has to prove is whether Oceania will generate repeat visits. Theme parks,
movies, and arcade games do, so why wouldn’t a hybrid of all three? So
far, La Bouyonnec is seeing the immersive element draw guests back in. "It’s
amazing that people are going back a third or fourth time and seeing something
new each time because it’s more challenging than a movie. You’re involved."
To visit Oceania on line, go to www.metaforia.com.
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