HT2004FirstLook
From Simreal
Alien Invasion
A first look
The stated, advertised, plot is that you are in search of <bad guy> who has been doing <bad things> in the setting of the old west. The actual plot is that Aliens have invaded the Basin and are methodically dismembering and experimenting on the people there. This is an un-trail, as inspired by Ronn Brashear. We will have to work hard to make it intense instead of confusing. Without the clear goal of collecting and solving a puzzle, we need to take extra care to motivate groups and get them involved. The group members must be able to be a hero in quest of some goal. We need to draw them out from being a simple cog into being part of the action.
They start on a cowboy theme, with the usual plot structure and collection requirements (one idea for collectible items is red fish), and a cowboy rope to keep things together. That theme rapidly degenerates into chaos. Only the first station or three are functional and then we find signs of where stations should be but have been overturned or disrupted.
Towards the end it should become very intense. Winning is surviving, and we need to take great care in those intense stations to (a) make them work, and (b) keep them safe.
From the very beginning, there may be subtle signs that can be recognized (in retrospect only) as being part of the alien presence, such as the live miniature cow we may have at Davenport (if we can get permission), or the pins, wrings, or bracelets being worn by people near the beginning. The aliens themselves will be mostly invisible, shadowy presences behind the scenes. Mostly we see the results of their work.
The entire story needs to be optimized to fit the environment, so it feels like a natural progression of events. It should look, and feel, real and not forced or faked. For this, we need to spend a bunch of time on the trail to get a feel for how the plot fits it. We can work in a guide death, but it must be abrupt so as not to telegraph to the guests.
Note that not all of the stations will be scary. There will be some ebb and flow in the scare, with a crescendo at the end. At the very end, there may be a "cowboy finale" station with some very confused actorsÖ and this also provides a way to give the guests an orderly exit and debriefing. We also hope to work in elements from stations that have been successful in the past, such as the pitch-black doll room. We will focus on all aspects of the experience, since we are selling experience itself. The story, of course, and props and stations. But not just the rough pieces. We also need to be aware of the touch, the smell, the feel of things.
Hi Jazz and everyone else, this is Teresa. I had a couple of set/station ideas to run by you guys. Usually, the first thing most people in westerns do when they arrive in town (if they aren't criminals) is go to the hotel. Perhaps the FIRST STATION where the guests "register" for the trails can be a hotel lobby? There could be a simple front desk, a few chairs and one of those red velvet round seat things. We should be able to make that cheaply out of hay bales, plywood and red 'velvet' or damask. That item could be where the guides pick up the group to take them to the saloon where the action starts.
STATION TWO could be a saloon with a whiskey barrel bar and mirror. We could use a mylar sheet or plexi spray painted with silver paint to imitate a mirror. That mirror could be one of those "odd" elements to indicate an alien presence. A local winery that makes port or sherry might loan us the barrels to make the bar. If this is a "mining town" then this set up would be relatively authentic.
A few tables with some actors playing typical characters would round it out.
STATION THREE could be the jail where the guests are taken because of the ruckus they "started" at the saloon. This could be a ploy to round up people that "won't be missed" to experiment on out at the basin. The sheriff could take them and when they get there the town drunk could warn the guests about the basin.
STATION FOUR is a holding pen before the loading chute. It should be a hidden room behind the jail cell so if we end up stacked here (hopefully not) it will give us breathing room between groups.
STATION FIVE To "load up" the guests we could make a cattle chute and herd them into the "alien transporter" or van. I assume that is the way to explain to the guests the modern transportation?
RIGHT IDEA, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
