top of page
I am a game designer with a focus on meaningful play. Below are my published works.
Dark Mode
coming soon!
Geo-Roaming Off-road Suspension System
(2020)
This G.R.O.S.S. experience is a "dark ride" that shows off the beautifully strange sides of nature. Dr. Andrew Mal is excited to show off his new technology when he accidentally shrinks the guests! The guests are then taken on a wild journey throughout the planet, visiting remote places and seeing the world's grossest creatures.
Below, you can see our blue sky pitch for this experience. I made the mock-up of the ride vehicle and the conceptual diagram of the ride in the show building.
Bluesky Pitch
Hi everyone! I'm Aubrey Isaacman and these are my teammates, Brand and Kathryn. We're excited to show you our Geo-Roaming Off-road Suspension System but before we get started, we recommend wearing headphones. Please note that our presentation includes graphic nature imagery and intense scenarios, so feel free to look away when you need to.
We want to immerse you in the beauty of nature's strange side by highlighting weird animals in their natural habitats.
Nature is full of beauty and wonder, but it's also full of things we deem creepy, dangerous, and even just gross. We want to show you how amazing these other sides of nature are too! For example:
Nature is full of beauty and wonder, but it's also full of things we deem creepy, dangerous, and even just gross. We want to show you how amazing these other sides of nature are too! For example:
Here, we see a coyote trying to make a meal out of this horned lizard.
But the horned lizard has a secret weapon
It builds up the blood pressure in its eye and before the coyote knows what hit it...
But the horned lizard has a secret weapon
It builds up the blood pressure in its eye and before the coyote knows what hit it...
... A stream of blood bursts from the lizard’s eye, hitting the coyote, so our lizard can make a daring escape!
We will use unusual perspectives such as this one to provide a sense of excitement and drama.
We will use unusual perspectives such as this one to provide a sense of excitement and drama.
We believe that if we can provide you with thrills without the actual consequences of being in dangerous situations, we can provide you with an unforgettable experience.
Taking a brief look at logistics, GROSS will be a premium, high production value ride primarily aimed at anybody aged 10 and up who wants to be grossed out or surprised by nature. The experience goal is to give guests a sense of fascination and appreciation of nature by exposing them to unusual phenomena. To achieve this, we’ll be creating a tone and atmosphere that is weird, exciting, and even disgusting while also exposing guests to different animals in a variety of habitats across the world.
The ride will be around 8 to 10 minutes long, with a total of 6 scenes that each take place in a unique habitat around the world. There will be 4 riders per vehicle, which will be mounted on a KUKA arm and move on a single track. We will give an in depth explanation of the ride vehicle a little later.
We imagine GROSS potentially existing at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Night Safari in Singapore, other "nocturnal zoos", or even replacing Dinosaur in Disney World's Animal Kingdom.
We imagine GROSS potentially existing at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Night Safari in Singapore, other "nocturnal zoos", or even replacing Dinosaur in Disney World's Animal Kingdom.
Additionally, guests will be accompanied by the voiceover of an unseen quirky scientist host named Dr. Andy Mal, who will use the vehicle’s speakers to provide funny and educational commentary throughout the journey. With his clumsy personality, he plays the role as an unreliable narrator who presents real science facts while not necessarily being a very competent scientist himself. Dr. Mal will be an element of comic relief among the ride's more thrilling and gross experiences.
Dr. Mal sets the ride’s base premise, where you have the golden opportunity to be potential investors for his inventions and his GoFundMe projects. The ride will first kick off with Dr. Mal showing you around his lab and having you test out his dysfunctional technology. However, during his demonstration, one of his inventions malfunctions; you get thrown into a thrilling adventure where you’re teleported through different habitats around the world as the doctor frantically tries to get you home.
In addition, the technology malfunction also causes guests to shrink down to the scale of each animal’s prey, which results in a more immersive and thrilling experience.
As you can see in this diagram, all the creatures you see will seem enormous in comparison.
As you can see in this diagram, all the creatures you see will seem enormous in comparison.
As you can see in this example scene, our ride vehicle will look like an open Safari jeep that’s adorned with fake wheels and tinted windows.
The vehicle is then attached to this robotic KUKA arm that travels on a track through a show building, and we’ll explain this more later.
GROSS will have two branch experiences in a butterfly layout. This means guests could get a new experience next time they visit.
(Note: this is just a representation and meant to be conceptual. It does not represent actual scene lengths and is not to scale.)
(Note: this is just a representation and meant to be conceptual. It does not represent actual scene lengths and is not to scale.)
The pre-show for both branches will be the same: guests will suspect that there’s something wrong with this lab and see the same opening sequence that leads to the inciting incident that sends you on your accidental journey, thanks to Dr Mal.
Then, guests will get one of two branches as they go on their adventure. The two branches converge with a return to the lab and Dr. Mal, and a sigh of relief.
Then, guests will get one of two branches as they go on their adventure. The two branches converge with a return to the lab and Dr. Mal, and a sigh of relief.
As you stand in line, you see that the lab is falling apart, assistants are whacking computers to get them to work, things are held together by duct tape. After the inciting incident, you'll enter a branch where you might see: two wolverine frogs turning their bones into claws, a mother spider eaten alive by her spiderlings, electric eels attack the vehicle, and an anaconda exploding from a massive meal, before finally returning to Dr. Mal's lab.
Here's a quick overview of both branches. We described branch A in the previous slide. Branch B will show a beetle spraying acid, a scorpion vs. camel spider fight, a horned lizard shooting blood out of its eyes, and a great white shark attacking a seal.
We will have peaks and valleys of different emotions throughout the ride: exposition, rising action, climax, and conclusion.
On this attraction we will be safely transported in an open air vehicle with a safari jeep aesthetic
The vehicle will be mounted on a KUKA arm, which will travel on a track to take the vehicle through each scene
Our scenes will consist of a mix of projected films with physical sets and animatronics
We will also engage the senses within each scene by playing with temperature, smells, and binaural sound to deepen immersion and bring each of our environments to life.
The vehicle will be mounted on a KUKA arm, which will travel on a track to take the vehicle through each scene
Our scenes will consist of a mix of projected films with physical sets and animatronics
We will also engage the senses within each scene by playing with temperature, smells, and binaural sound to deepen immersion and bring each of our environments to life.
As you can see here, the KUKA arm has several joints that we will use to mimic specific movements, like the vehicle getting hit by an animal or getting stuck in the mud.
Similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal, we plan to use the KUKA arm and robocoaster system to move our guests through the show building, and push them in and out of scenes with huge projections (to be filmed at 8K, very high resolution, super high definition, so you can see every single gross detail and every hair).
In addition to movement from the track and arm as well as moving in and out of the projection domes, the rest of the environment will consist of physical sets.
Here is a conceptual example of what the ride looks like in the context of the show building
You can see our physical sets in front of our HD screens
We’ll use these sets to our practical effects like our water system.
Behind our vehicle, hidden to the guests, we have emergency exits and a separate track where we can take vehicles that need maintenance.
You can see our physical sets in front of our HD screens
We’ll use these sets to our practical effects like our water system.
Behind our vehicle, hidden to the guests, we have emergency exits and a separate track where we can take vehicles that need maintenance.
Here’s a short example of how the arm moves along the track.
We will switch guests seamlessly between digital content and physical sets.
In between scenes, we will have transitions that may look like lightning, fog, darkness, and other dramatic weather effects.
Dr. Mal may also use this brief interlude to talk to you about science or make excuses about his lack of progress getting you home.
Dr. Mal may also use this brief interlude to talk to you about science or make excuses about his lack of progress getting you home.
Leave Behind Doc
bottom of page