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Lore and Stories given to rides: A benefit or a detriment?
- Thread starter Trooper Looper
- Start date
TomW
TS Member
I think Oblivion is a good example of this done well. All guests immediately understand the essence of the backstory purely from the theming, there is videos to watch in the queue for those who please but if you miss them, it doesn't detract from the ride. There is a reason why there's a great big coaster track there within the story itself (I always thought Nemesis was a bit of a reach in that respect), and it's an engaging, original (if now a bit dated) idea which doesn't require pages of written explanation.
Big Thunder Mountain is another good example, there is a reason why everything this there, track and cars included, and it is immediately obvious with no explanation required. There is more backstory to look into if it interests you (the whole society of explorers and adventurers thing), but if you have no interest in that, it doesn't detract from the ride.
Dark rides can get away with more detail, because they are essentially entirely storytelling as an experience, with coasters, too much can get a little tiresome though.
I think the art is in creating an experience with a narrative which anyone can understand purely by riding the ride, but creating extra depth to that narrative through detail in the themeing/queue/area.
There is of course the 'just ride the coaster' argument, but I'd say this kind of thing, done well, is what makes me love true theme parks over something like Six Flags.
Big Thunder Mountain is another good example, there is a reason why everything this there, track and cars included, and it is immediately obvious with no explanation required. There is more backstory to look into if it interests you (the whole society of explorers and adventurers thing), but if you have no interest in that, it doesn't detract from the ride.
Dark rides can get away with more detail, because they are essentially entirely storytelling as an experience, with coasters, too much can get a little tiresome though.
I think the art is in creating an experience with a narrative which anyone can understand purely by riding the ride, but creating extra depth to that narrative through detail in the themeing/queue/area.
There is of course the 'just ride the coaster' argument, but I'd say this kind of thing, done well, is what makes me love true theme parks over something like Six Flags.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
With the new announcement of Shows with Merlin IPs, it'll be... interesting to see what happens with storytelling and more lore given to rides.
variety-com.cdn.ampproject.org
The London Eye Reality Show? Wheelhouse Signs Deal With Merlin to Develop Unscripted TV Based on Global Attractions
Wheelhouse and Merlin Entertainment to develop unscripted TV inspired by global attractions, such as the London Eye and Sea Life aquariums .
Tim
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Air / Blue Fire
Th13teen was my first introduction to this subject, and I think it's a great example of how too much lore and too little lore are both problems.
During its construction the enthusiasts community over-analyised literally everything. Every bit of marketing, or new object that arrived on site had to tie into everything else in some way. It was the Theme Park equivalent of the Pixar Theory (as if all films being in the same univers somehow made them better rather than limiting the narrative).
Ironically however when the ride opened it turned out there was literally nothing linking anything together. Even the rides name is random.
I did however appreciate what the creative team were saying at the time. Theme and style are more important than lore. I think the best rides have very clear stories that are visually obvious. Examples like:
"An Alien creature is found on earth, but is safety contained under tones of steal".
"A genius inventor harnessed electricity to create a teleportation device"
"Lightning strikes a tall tower, plunging the lift into another dimension"
All of these stories are a little bit "out there" but they are very easy to grasp and understand. In the case of the last two examples there's tones of lore that goes with them. Nearly every prop in the Tower of Terror loby contains a reference to a twilight zone story. Voltron's queue appears to be full of prototype devices that lead to the final creation. It's also tied to the ACE, which opens the story up to multiple other stories around the park, although in this case it's kept clean and simple. The ACE funded the project, that's it. No complex plot trying to explain how the Dinosaur lady was crucial to power the first generator, ect, ect.
Where I think Nemesis has gone astray is that the Phalanx is now front and centre to the story. Who pinned down the monster wasn't a critical story point. I think it's very cool they have a name and a logo. I also appreciate that Sub-Terra needed to flesh them about a bit more as it is a story driven ride. But even then their existence is not critical in Sub-Terra. The story for that ride is "An egg from Nemesis was discovered, we want people to see and learn about it, but it must remain unhatched and contained" that description doesn't even mention the organisation doing the containment, let alone their name. Yet you can't walk through Forbidden Valley without seeing their logo everywhere and having them mentioned on nearly every bit of audio.
I still don't think their inclusion is bad, it just would have landed better if they kept a bit of mystique to them. The critical story point is the giant alien monster (or in Sub-Terra's case its eggs) and that is where most the focus should be.
During its construction the enthusiasts community over-analyised literally everything. Every bit of marketing, or new object that arrived on site had to tie into everything else in some way. It was the Theme Park equivalent of the Pixar Theory (as if all films being in the same univers somehow made them better rather than limiting the narrative).
Ironically however when the ride opened it turned out there was literally nothing linking anything together. Even the rides name is random.
I did however appreciate what the creative team were saying at the time. Theme and style are more important than lore. I think the best rides have very clear stories that are visually obvious. Examples like:
"An Alien creature is found on earth, but is safety contained under tones of steal".
"A genius inventor harnessed electricity to create a teleportation device"
"Lightning strikes a tall tower, plunging the lift into another dimension"
All of these stories are a little bit "out there" but they are very easy to grasp and understand. In the case of the last two examples there's tones of lore that goes with them. Nearly every prop in the Tower of Terror loby contains a reference to a twilight zone story. Voltron's queue appears to be full of prototype devices that lead to the final creation. It's also tied to the ACE, which opens the story up to multiple other stories around the park, although in this case it's kept clean and simple. The ACE funded the project, that's it. No complex plot trying to explain how the Dinosaur lady was crucial to power the first generator, ect, ect.
Where I think Nemesis has gone astray is that the Phalanx is now front and centre to the story. Who pinned down the monster wasn't a critical story point. I think it's very cool they have a name and a logo. I also appreciate that Sub-Terra needed to flesh them about a bit more as it is a story driven ride. But even then their existence is not critical in Sub-Terra. The story for that ride is "An egg from Nemesis was discovered, we want people to see and learn about it, but it must remain unhatched and contained" that description doesn't even mention the organisation doing the containment, let alone their name. Yet you can't walk through Forbidden Valley without seeing their logo everywhere and having them mentioned on nearly every bit of audio.
I still don't think their inclusion is bad, it just would have landed better if they kept a bit of mystique to them. The critical story point is the giant alien monster (or in Sub-Terra's case its eggs) and that is where most the focus should be.
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Trooper Looper
TS Member
Just saw the trailer for Hyperia. Seems like they're trying to sell of some sort of story to a ride with no theming. I honestly don't get it. They could've spend that time and budget on other aspects such as better marketing and perhaps more promo stuff like they did with the Smiler a while back.