Bullet Points @ timlongo.com

There is nothing like a trip to Disneyland for a Game Developer. Specifically for a designer. There is just something about such a well thought out place with a huge amount of polish and attention to detail but also with the right about of smoke and mirrors. It is a great reminder of how important smoke and mirrors really are when such a tangible but fictional experience in right in front of your eyes. Something you can often even touch yet it still has to seem real and create a fantasy. We complain so much in Video Games about how hard it is to convince the player about the fictional worlds we create. How much effort we put into making them think it is real. But imagine how much work it is for the designers of Pirate’s of the Caribbean or the Indiana Jones Ride. Specifically the line leading to Indy. It has to sell to their audience face-to-face and hand to touch. We have a few feet and a TV screen between us and them. We have it easy! It is just a humbling thing to see and it is both inspirational as well as daunting. But it definitely gets you in the mood to make some great experiences for people. Even if they are a facade of a facade. It also made me appreciate how theatre and games and the rides are all so closely linked and how an education in an archaic thing like Theatre does have its payoff in the end.

And don’t forget, as seen below, it is all about the lighting.

P.S. There may actually be a limit to how many times you want to go on It’s A Small World. With a 7 year old we certainly tried to find that ceiling.