Following the success of its laser tag arena in Syracuse, New York, US, Apex Entertainment has rehired Creative Works for its new laser tag and escape room attractions in Albany.
The operator’s decision to set the business up in a mall is part of a growing industry trend, according to Creative Works’ vice president of sales, Russ Van Natta. “They are ahead of the curve with their location. Malls are looking to bring entertainment into 1their spaces because traditional retail is shrinking, while location-based entertainment still provides a draw to bring in more foot traffic,” he said.
The facility features a wide variety of other attractions, including bowling, an arcade, virtual reality, X-Rider, bumper cars, a large corporate meeting space and a full-service dining and cocktails area.
It also wanted the site to evoke the aesthetics of New York. “We always look to have the arena be something that relates to the community and area that it’s located in,” said Apex’s COO, Marcus Kemblowski.
Tori Addessi, Creative Works’ concept designer, said: “The wall panels are inspired by some of the artwork and some of the imagery from The Great Gatsby. Specifically for this arena, we wanted to give it more of a futuristic vibe by tying in some Tron colours, as well as some additional futuristic touches in the colour palette.”
To communicate the motif to players before they enter the arena, a New York-themed arch was designed that they walk through to get to the starting area.
“It has a skyscraper sort of look where we employed some of the elements of repetitive detailed line work that Art Deco is so well known for. Another unique piece of this arena is that, at the entryway, we have projection mapping. The projection mapping helps create a story for the players before they even enter the arena,” Addessi added.
