Up & Away: A Balloon Adventure!
In 1821, Francois Le Mand was demonstrating the latest in balloon technology over the skies of Philadelphia, when his balloon was struck by lightning. Le Mand and his balloon vanished. Or did they? Le Mand’s journal told of his secret plans to time travel, by harnessing the ions of lightning.
Now it’s your turn to glide through time, back to the days of the dinosaurs, and into the future of floating cities and flying cars!
Up & Away: A Balloon Adventure! An interactive AR experience using MagicLeap, 360 video and special effects.
Up & Away: A Balloon Adventure! is a location-based experience that combines 360-degree projections with augmented reality goggles to create a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure. 4-6 people board the time travel balloon, and through a combination of traditional practical effects, and cutting edge computer graphics, riders become immersed in the worlds of the past, and worlds that have yet to be!
Passengers will board a balloon replica surrounded by a 360-degree screen. As the balloon adventurers travel through time, backgrounds will be projected on the curved screen, and AR elements will display between the viewer and the background through “flight goggles” - AR glasses (MagicLeap headsets for development). Additionally, practical effects like wind and rain will heighten the immersion of the experience.
One of our early concept models.
Project elements: This experience will combine visuals created in Blender and VR creation tools, with 360-degree video. We’ll utilize Unreal Engine for the interactive elements in the “flight goggles”. Storytelling will incorporate CG creatures, spaceships, etc within the space. Additionally we will be creating a custom balloon/ride platform and props based on period-accurate aeronautics.
Dodge spaceships as you work together to return to your own time!
Project status: We’ve created preliminary models of the experience, and are testing the optimum way to present the 360 images. Working from our storyline, we’re developing the augmented reality imagery. Next, we’ll create advanced models of the experience and further test the digital components.
We will be sharing details and updates on social media soon. For now, keep an eye on this page.