Playground Outline:
With the world of Sly Cooper being spread out over the course of several games, trying to create an experience that encompasses every single aspect of it isn't as feasible as, say, a theme park or a museum--make it too large, and it'd be easier for kids to get lost in there, and they'd have a harder time making their way back to the exit when it's time to leave.
With that said, it is possible to create a series of features with their own specific theme, each one taking their inspiration from different parts of the Sly Cooper series. The target audience would be kids and teenagers alike, offering a vivid and colorful environment to play in or enjoy a workout.
More importantly, it would all take place indoors--there wouldn't be any need to worry about a rainy day. This would also heighten the sense of immersion, as the surroundings could be painted to resemble the parts of the Sly Cooper universe that each attraction takes its inspiration from.
With that said, it is possible to create a series of features with their own specific theme, each one taking their inspiration from different parts of the Sly Cooper series. The target audience would be kids and teenagers alike, offering a vivid and colorful environment to play in or enjoy a workout.
More importantly, it would all take place indoors--there wouldn't be any need to worry about a rainy day. This would also heighten the sense of immersion, as the surroundings could be painted to resemble the parts of the Sly Cooper universe that each attraction takes its inspiration from.
Attractions:
Some of the attractions at the Sly Cooper indoor playground would include the following rides:
The Gangster Hideout:
This part of the playground is modeled after a classic gangster's hideout--a swanky mansion with high security. Guests can avoid sweeping spotlights and laser security by using cleverly-immersive obstacle courses--for example, a series of rope swings over a shallow pit with a padded mat might take the form of taking a stairway that supposedly leads to the manor's ceiling, with the swings having platforms that make them look like chandeliers, and the use of harmless lasers and a shallow layer of fog (from a fog machine) to suggest a laser grid below. Finally, animatronic dummies of gangsters Muggshot and Don Octavio can be found in the hideout's penthouse--unless guests can use the furniture in the room to sneak past them, they risk getting spotted and sprayed with a hail of gunfire! (which really takes the form of harmless water jets, of course)
Rajan's Jungle Palace:
This part of the playground, modeled after a lush jungle palace in India, requires more physical ability from the guests than the Gangster Hideout. Here, they can:
All amidst scenery meant to evoke an opulent Indian palace, with certain parts of the obstacle course looking like they might be hiding priceless treasures.
- Use rope vines to swing from one section of the palace to another.
- Cross the gaps between the palace rooms via monkey bars.
- Make their way past formidable trap rooms (with harmless foam spikes pushing out of the walls or being spun around on rotating pillars, and trap doors giving way to soft, bouncy mattress beneath ball pits).
- Pretend to make a daring escape via coiling slides.
All amidst scenery meant to evoke an opulent Indian palace, with certain parts of the obstacle course looking like they might be hiding priceless treasures.
The Vehicle Hub:
Outdoor playgrounds sometimes have primitive rides--metal horses or dragons mounted on springs that kids can pretend to ride on. The Sly Cooper playground takes it a step farther by having automated "simulation rides"--vehicles modeled after the Cooper van, the biplanes that Sly and Penelope flew in the ACES competition, and so on. With creative use of Augmented Reality, such as...
- TV screens on the inside of the Cooper Van where the windshield and windows would be.
- Video images projected on the inside of the plane's cockpit.
- VR headsets wired to the hovercraft.
- Motorized servos mounted on all the vehicles.
Mz. Ruby's Voodoo Swamp:
What's any good indoor playground without a big ball pit to wade around in? This one would be modeled after the swamp lair of the notorious Voodoo witch Mz. Ruby, and would be themed appropriately--balls would be colored to resemble the muddy depths of a swamp (turquoise-green, perhaps even coated with a mild glow-in-the-dark paint given the dim lighting of the chamber), and a number of cosmetic additions would be added to the environment, such as:
- Islands rising out of the ball pit, modeled to look like voodoo ritual altars (dolls with toy pins stuck in them, skulls with glowing eyes, etc)
- A vast cauldron being stirred by an animatronic Mz. Ruby (no actual liquid, the presence of witch's brew would be simulated by a fog machine and colored lights)
- A few toy hover-craft that jerk about on motorized springs, allowing guests to simulated driving across the muddy swamp.
- A layer of fog being projected across the ball pit, which can be used as a catalyst for hidden hologram-projectors to create 3-D images of creepy ghosts.
Infiltration of Le Paradox's Time-Travelling Blimp:
From the outside, this attraction would look like a large, steampunk blimp--Le Paradox's time machine from the fourth game, Thieves in Time. However, once guests ascend a ramp and climbed into one of several "duct tubes" in the hangar bay, they will find an extensive tube maze that simulates the blimp's ventilation system. As they crawl their way through the cylindrical tunnels, they'll notice screens on the walls that simulate grill vents showing the interior of the blimp as it travels through time. These ambient scenes will include:
- Viewpoints into other time periods, from Feudal Japan to the Ice Age to ancient Arabia, and many more!
- Scenes of Sly Cooper and his friends sneaking throughout the blimp, sabotaging it along the way. Guests can even help by pressing buttons at certain points to trigger animated scenes of trouble unfolding for the bad guys.
- Le Paradox scheming to conquer all of time and space.
- A view of Le Paradox's "loot chamber," where he's keeping all the relics he stole from across time.
Clockwerk's Tower:
Intended to be the final attraction that anyone visits in the playground, this sinister, high-tech avian fortress combines elements seen from the other parts of the theme park. These include:
- A ball pit. While not as vast as Mz. Ruby's Voodoo Swamp, it resembles a bubbling magma pit (the balls are coated with red flourescent paint), and the guests cross it by using monkey bars or hopping across platforms.
- Stealth sections where the guest has to use the environment's scenery to sneak around, avoiding spotlights being projected by animatronic robot owls. If spotted, they get sprayed with water jets from the owl's mouths (lit up by colored lights to resemble lasers).
- An acrobatic/athletic obstacle course, in which the player swings on ropes, climbs ladders (or a "rock wall" type obstacle), etc.
- Video sections that show Sly and his friends raiding Clockwerk's tower, and having to contend with the malevolent owl's traps--and, by pushing buttons, being able to help the gang overcome them.
- At the summit of the tower, a "command center" that includes large "zapper guns" that take the form of gun turrets and Augmented Reality (video screens made to look like windows, which show Clockwerk flying around and bombarding the tower with pulse cannons). Here, the guests try to shoot down Clockwerk, while others can choose to dash around to slam shut lids on pipes that blast "poison gas" or "flames" (really colored smoke from fog machines) into the control room whenever Clockwerk lands a hit.
- An "Escape chute" slide that treats the guest to a cinematic exit--as they slide down, a series of video screens show Sly and his friends making a daring escape while Clockwerk crashes into his own tower, ending the adventure with a literal bang.
Other Features:
What would make this playground stand out from the others would be the additional features that both increase the sense of immersion and offer additional security and comfort for both the kids and the parents. Some of these features would include:
Carmelita's Security Station:
With such an intricate playground, some parents may be keen on keeping tabs on their kids whereabouts while they explore the park. While there's at least a few playground employees patrolling to make sure everything's okay, parents can get in on the action by joining the on-duty watcher at a "security kiosk." Modeled after a series of security monitors at a police station (even having some "filler" scenery like Carmelita's files on Sly Cooper), these TV screens are connected to video cameras set up all over the playground, and can be used to find them if they're anywhere on the grounds.
Murray's Food Court:
For those who want to grab a bite to eat or something to drink, this food court is the place to go. From relatively standard food court fare (hot dogs, pizza slices, etc.) to themed treats (like cookies in the shape of the Cooper emblem, complete with colored frosting), any guests will be able to sate their cravings in a hurry.
Bentley's Arcade:
Suppose you're too old to go climbing through the playground after your child, younger sibling, or youthful charge? Have the staff reassured you that they'll keep an eye on things? This arcade can keep you entertained. Each of the games in this area is modeled after elements of the Sly Cooper world--the resident light-gun game has you shooting bad guys with Carmelita's Shock Pistol; one of the pinball machines is modeled after one of Bentley's hacking minigames, and so on. There's even a couple of games modeled after Dance-Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, taking place in Dimitri's nightclub!
Hidden Treasure!
There's another feature that improves the guests' sense of immersion in the playground--hidden treasures! Across each of the attractions, guests will have the chance to look for treasures that've been hidden across the attractions--jewels, antique relics, and other such shiny valuables. While these hidden treasures aren't real--prop jewelry and toy relics--finding one and bringing it back to the front will result in earning a reward, whether in the form of multiple arcade tokens or a free snack at the food court. To discourage guests from fighting over treasures, there's several of them hidden across each of the attractions, and if two or more guests bring a treasure back together, they get to share the reward.
Evaluation Criteria:
To determine whether or not this venture is successful, we'll be looking out for a certain number of criteria and trends. These include:
- The number of tickets sold.
- The number of people who sign up for our membership (yearly fee, get in for free and a discount on snacks) and holiday discounts.
- The profits from snacks and beverages sold at the food court.
- The profits from the money spent to buy tokens in the arcade.
- The profits from special events like birthdays or holidays.
- Licensing and promotional deals from Sucker Punch Productions and Sanzaru Games.
Escape to the Concept Proposals!