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Level design is everywhere part 5
*or*
Everything I know about level design/spatial narrative I learned from an retired Imagineer named Tom Morris (who came and spoke to us during themed entertainment class):
*or*
Everything I know about level design/spatial narrative I learned from an retired Imagineer named Tom Morris (who came and spoke to us during themed entertainment class):
âDisneyland wasnât really a radical step for Walt because even in the two-dimensional world of motion pictures space is implied. In fact, we used many of the techniques we had learned from the films and applied them to the third dimension....
... And when we set up a kind of story in our own mind, we would establish an imaginary long shot as if we were taking it with motion pictures.â â John Hench
Good spatial narrative allows designers to:
* Set up a scene
* Communicate instantly
* Give it that extra quality
In other words, how many spires does a castle need to look inspiring? Data canât help us there.
* Set up a scene
* Communicate instantly
* Give it that extra quality
In other words, how many spires does a castle need to look inspiring? Data canât help us there.
Is it "story" in support of "experience" or is it "experience" in support of "story"? 
"Plot you leave in the theater, theme you take home with you." â John Landau
"Donât focus on plot, itâs more about theme" â Joe Rohde
"Plot you leave in the theater, theme you take home with you." â John Landau
"Donât focus on plot, itâs more about theme" â Joe Rohde
âAlthough your setting is a fiction, not everything that comes to mind may be allowed to happen in it. Within any world, no matter how fantasied, only certain events are possible or probable.â â Robert McKee, Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting
The 6 Degrees of Separation by Tom Morris:
Threshold 1:
From the everyday world into the Resort
Anachronisms:
Traffic directionals, toll booths, parking lots
Threshold 1:
From the everyday world into the Resort
Anachronisms:
Traffic directionals, toll booths, parking lots
Threshold 2:
Approaching the Kingdom
Anachronisms:
Train stations, monorails, trams
Approaching the Kingdom
Anachronisms:
Train stations, monorails, trams
Threshold 3:
Stepping into the Kingdom
Anachronisms:
Turnstiles, guest services, orientation, parades
Stepping into the Kingdom
Anachronisms:
Turnstiles, guest services, orientation, parades
Threshold 4:
Transitioning into the Lands
Anachronisms:
Weenies and icons that intrude into a scene
âCross dissolvesâ â where you can see the transition from one land to another
Transitioning into the Lands
Anachronisms:
Weenies and icons that intrude into a scene
âCross dissolvesâ â where you can see the transition from one land to another
Threshold 5:
Inside the Land (the âimmersive neighborhoodâ)
Anachronisms:
Guest from âtodayâ time and geography âjumpsâ
(This is the hardest one to do/justify)
Inside the Land (the âimmersive neighborhoodâ)
Anachronisms:
Guest from âtodayâ time and geography âjumpsâ
(This is the hardest one to do/justify)
Threshold 6:
Attraction â total show immersion
Anachronism:
Disconnects at the threshold itself
Attraction â total show immersion
Anachronism:
Disconnects at the threshold itself
Ex: if the Haunted Mansion was really a haunted mansion there wouldnât be a sign that says "Haunted Mansion," right?
You can also overthink suspension of disbelief, i.e. Why is there a human inside of a Dumbo? Why does Dumbo have a door?
You can also overthink suspension of disbelief, i.e. Why is there a human inside of a Dumbo? Why does Dumbo have a door?
So how do Imagineers do it, create this total show immersion?
1. Spatial manipulation: the power of twisting and turning in a dark ride. Note that most of Venice, Italy is small and self contained, but it feels like a paradox of time and space because the pathways twist & turn
1. Spatial manipulation: the power of twisting and turning in a dark ride. Note that most of Venice, Italy is small and self contained, but it feels like a paradox of time and space because the pathways twist & turn
2. Shadow play: if you manipulate the shadows, it gives a false sense of time due to the shadows advancing quicker than in real life - this effect is subconscious.
3. Treat the experience like a movie backlot. Arrange buildings and land masses to optimal effect to sequence and reveal.
Squeeze disparate worlds together. The same block can look like France from one angle, but Germany from another. These are old fashioned movie tricks.
Squeeze disparate worlds together. The same block can look like France from one angle, but Germany from another. These are old fashioned movie tricks.
4. The weenie. At the end of main street, your eye wants to land on something at the end - like a courthouse or church.
5. Twists and turns with contrasting visuals also manipulate time. Pirates of the Caribbean is only ~15 minutes long but it feels like a lot longer. You never know where precisely you are relative to the real world.
"Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrections." â Arthur Schopenhauer
6. Leverage the power of the silhouette. What's your "shape language"? Think: Spaceship Earth, Tree of Life, etc. Start there and then fill it in with details.
7. Use portaling. What are the transitions as you move from one space to another? Like from a tight, dark space, to an expansive battlefield. "Irising up" to a bigger scene. Dark rides are notoriously great for these quick transitions through a series of small chambers.
8. How quickly can the audience "get a read" on the scene? Use the Hans Bacher approach to animation. Lay out the scene in color values so you can communicate at a glance. On a ride, the audience may be passing through at 2-3 feet per second or 7 miles an hour!
9. Everybody's favorite: forced perspective! Ex: Main Street is famous for getting smaller on each progressive floor as you go up; castles do this, too. Gives the feeling that itâs taller than it really is.
And it's not just height. Colors also get lighter as you go up and up to the top. This effect can also be done through window size, floor shortening, etc.
10. Handle magic with care. There's a story about the Pepper's Ghost effect in Haunted Mansion being accidentally ruined by maintenance who turned the lights *up* thinking it was a mistake. The ghosts turned solid. Whoops!
11. There's a right amount of black light and a wrong amount of black list. Don't accidentally expose too much.
12. The "sky" is often done via "cheating." 30-40 feet away you can begin to introduce flat painted trompe l'oeil. If you got too close, you'd realize it's flat.
12. The "sky" is often done via "cheating." 30-40 feet away you can begin to introduce flat painted trompe l'oeil. If you got too close, you'd realize it's flat.
13. Imagineers also need to see things through the eyes of a child. From a kid's perspective, safety railings can look like prison bars. Ask, is it possible to do more, with less? Do we really need this particular element here?
But above all:
14. Theme is not a condiment. You can't just sprinkle it on top.
He mentioned he was writing a book about a lot of these tips and tricks! I hope to read it some day.
14. Theme is not a condiment. You can't just sprinkle it on top.
He mentioned he was writing a book about a lot of these tips and tricks! I hope to read it some day.
Previous thread on what #immersivedesign can learn from #themeparks! https://twitter.com/kathrynyu/status/1221139683729502208?s=21
Follow us @NoProscenium for news, reviews, and features on #immersive stuff including theatre, VR, escape rooms, and more.
Here's some features you may be interested in checking out from me/us:
The Second-Order Problem: A Participant-Centered Approach to Immersive Design: Applying the lens of situational game design to immersive experiences https://noproscenium.com/the-second-order-problem-a-participant-centered-approach-to-immersive-design-a45f696611b7
The Second-Order Problem: A Participant-Centered Approach to Immersive Design: Applying the lens of situational game design to immersive experiences https://noproscenium.com/the-second-order-problem-a-participant-centered-approach-to-immersive-design-a45f696611b7
Evocative, Enacted, Embedded & Emergent: Narrative Architectures for Immersive Storytelling: An expansion of Henry Jenkinsâ framework as a toolkit for experience design https://noproscenium.com/evocative-enacted-embedded-emergent-narrative-architectures-for-immersive-storytelling-c0e740528184
Contemplate Extinction in âThe End of the World Bar and Bathtubâ: On creating magic circles, casting the audience, and designing for agency https://noproscenium.com/contemplate-extinction-in-the-end-of-the-world-bar-and-bathtub-the-nopro-review-dcb27660b5a5
The 2020 Immersive Entertainment Industry Report, by authors Ricky Brigante and Sarah A.S. Elger (Pseudonym Productions) and edited by Noah Nelson (No Proscenium): available now as a free downloadable report: https://noproscenium.com/2020-immersive-entertainment-industry-report-781068739081
How to make a magic circle at home for interactive experiences: https://twitter.com/kathrynyu/status/1274108962300821504?s=20
