MagiQuest

MagiQuest is a live action role-playing game in which players take the role of magic users. Players, called Magi in the game, use an infra-red (IR) emitting wand to interact with objects. These objects are scattered throughout the location. By waving and pointing the wand at an object, referred to as "casting" in game, a player activates the object's action. For example, pointing a wand at a treasure chest will cause the chest to open and an amount of gold is added to player's account. At some locations there are also optional items available for purchase such as a key which unlocks secret areas or a compass which allows a player to go on additional quests. Completing certain compass quests unlocks more features such as a map showing the location of every object from the basic quests.

Current Locations

The first MagiQuest opened in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at noon on June 15, 2005. The opening celebration included live appearances by actors featured in the quests. Additional MagiQuest locations have subsequently opened in East Hanover, New Jersey; and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Great Wolf Resorts made an agreement with Creative Kingdoms in 2008 to install the game at all current Great Wolf Lodge resorts. There are also plans to open MagiQuest at the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, California in April 2016. On July 31, 2011, MagiQuest opened in Fun City at the Palisades Mall in West Nyack, New York. In Japan, there is a MagiQuest kingdom near Tokyo Dome.. In December 2011 - January 2012, the first Canadian MagiQuest opened in a Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara, ON.

On September 7, 2015, the Myrtle Beach MagiQuest closed permanently.[1] Other locations in West Nyack, New York and East Hanover, New Jersey were also permanently closed.

The Myrtle Beach location was owned by Creative Kingdoms (owner and developer of MagiQuest's technology and associated patents). When the Myrtle Beach location closed it was owned by Great Wolf Industries, who bought out Creative Kingdoms in 2010 to make it cheaper to install MagiQuest in their hotels. Other locations are franchised besides the ones in Great Wolf Lodges.[2]

Related games

DinoQuest, a dinosaur themed interactive game based on the same patented technologies is located in Santa Ana, CA.[3]

Announced at the IAAPA 2009 (International Association of Amusement Park and Attractions) trade show are plans for Creative Kingdoms (the parent company of MagiQuest) to create a spin-off company, 'AquaKingdoms' that will bring a new form of the technology used in MagiQuest to water based attractions. The first product of AquaKingdoms, SplashQuest, was introduced in prototype form to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, TX for the summer of 2009.[4]

CompassQuest, a game very similar can be found in some of the same locations of Magiquest. It uses a compass instead of a wand and there is no boss battles like the Red Dragon. It was very recently introduced to many locations and may have more runes and activities developed over time.

In Fall 2013, a new quest called ShadowQuest, a more complex and harder version of MagiQuest began to appear at six of MagiQuest locations at Great Wolf Lodge. It will be added to the rest of the locations soon.

Gameplay

The Ancient Book of Wisdom

Players are provided with an "Ancient Book of Wisdom," a booklet containing useful information about the game such as hints and riddles to locate objects necessary to complete a quest, game directions, requirements for adventures (more advanced quests that require the use of certain spells obtained by completing quests), and a map of the location. Because there are different quests and adventures in different locations, the book's contents are unique to each location. The Book of Wisdom's ShadowQuest counterpart is the ShadowQuest Guide.

Quests and adventures

The objective of MagiQuest is to build and gain power by obtaining magic runes. These runes are awarded for completing certain tasks, using the wand to activate targets marked with a stylised Q. The runes available on Rune Quests are: Lightning, Enchant Creature, Music, Protection, Freeze, Distraction, Healing, Portal, Dazzle, Reveal, Ice Arrow, and Master Magi. While the Master Magi Rune does not grant any spells like the other Runes, earning it opens up new Rune Quests specifically for Master Magi. These Runes are the Fire, Shield, and Potion Runes. The Celestial and Great Wolf Runes are also available at some Great Wolf Lodge locations.

Also, outside of the kingdom of MagiQuest, a player can use his or her wand and the powers they have earned in the experience to duel each other for gold and experience points.[5] At the Myrtle Beach location, Magi could also participate in "Garden Quest", a special rune that took Magi around Broadway at the Beach, an outdoor shopping mall in Myrtle Beach where the MagiQuest was located.

MagiQuest Online

MagiQuest Online (MQ Online) was an online version of the game created by Cyan Worlds, the creators of Myst. The game ran on the same engine used in Cyan's own online game, Myst Online: Uru Live. MQ Online was sold in chapters; but only the first chapter was developed and available for gameplay. While the game had a free trial mode, each "chapter" had to be purchased individually per player account. Players who completed chapter one online were allowed to access an additional quest, the silver dragon, that could be played at selected MagiQuest and Great Wolf Lodge locations in the United States.

On October 1, 2012 Creative Kingdoms announced it would discontinue MagiQuest Online on December 31, 2012. As of 2013, the game is no longer available, and the Silver Dragon quest was made available to all Master Magi who defeated Charlock, the red dragon.

Technology of MagiQuest

The MagiQuest wand is a battery-powered infrared (IR) remote control device with an LED at the tip. Motion sensors (a spring sensor and a ball-and-tube sensor) inside the wand detect movement and cause the LED to emit a brief series of flashes which is unique to that wand. (These flashes can be seen by pointing the wand at the lens of any digital video camera in a dark room). The wand's range is several meters. There is no on/off switch; when the wand is left motionless, the circuit is not energized, saving battery power.

The Compass Quest compass is a plastic housing containing an embedded RFID device (an unpowered microchip and antenna circuit.) No battery is required. Like the wand, every compass has a unique numeric code; this is transmitted when the compass is placed within range of a detector, approximately 1-2 centimeters (about 1 inch).

No information is stored in either the wand or the compass. The player's name, birthdate, and nickname are associated with the wand and/or compass ID number at the time of purchase. The exact names and date given are irrelevant. This association is stored in a central online database server, and can be transferred to a new wand if the original one is lost. The server tracks the current status (runes and gold acquired, current quest, etc.) of every player in the system.

The physical topography consists of a large set of objects throughout the hotel/mall/park complex with embedded IR sensors, plus a set of RFID panels shaped like the outline of the compass. Game objects can include pictures on the walls, statues, ceiling tiles, animatronic chests, and video kiosks and projection rooms. Most stations have lights and audio prompts which play briefly on activation and shut off automatically, but kiosks and projection rooms additionally contain touchscreen video displays which allow the player to interact with the system for a short session; no login is required other than the presence of the wand or compass.

Game play typically consists of using a kiosk to receive instructions for a quest or adventure, then finding and activating a series of game objects. The requirements for the initial quests are printed in an instruction booklet supplied with the wand, but some quests must be received from the kiosks and committed to memory. Informational kiosks throughout the complex can be used to find out what parts of the current quest have been completed and what is left to do, but these omit certain clues to the locations of the objects.

The database is nationwide. The player's status (current quest, number of gold pieces, etc.) for every location can be queried from any informational kiosk in the network. Within a complex, it is updated continuously—for instance, after activating one object, a time limit (e.g. 30 seconds) may be given to find and activate the next object in the series, and if the limit is exceeded by even a few seconds, the next object will instruct the player to return to the previous station.

Content creation

Blackmore's Night

The band Blackmore's Night performs some of the music for MagiQuest. Candice Night, the band's vocalist, plays the role of Princess Candice. She also plays the role of Princess Amora, who is seen only at Great Wolf Lodge locations.

Wand accessories

There are several different replacement "orbs", known as "toppers", available for purchase. There is also a rune keeper on which to keep purchased rune replicas. The orb toppers relate to the specific clans that the player can join. While the toppers relate to the clans, the player, or Magi, can choose any topper s/he wishes. The Clans are:

Toppers, Powers, and Recharge Requirements (A list of these can also be found while creating a new wand; however, powers vary by location):

You can choose your clan and choose a topper and decorations that correspond with the clan that you chose.

Notes

  1. ↑ "MagiQuest closes Myrtle Beach location after 10 years". WMBF News. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Fleisher, Lisa (2007-11-14). "MagiQuest's creator franchises MB-first game in U.S., Japan". The Sun News. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  3. ↑ Colbourne, Scott (2006-07-19). "Lose those Dockers and pick up a sword". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  4. ↑ "Industry News". ScreamScape. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  5. ↑ "MagiQuest: Dueling". YouTube. Nicholas Nostro. Retrieved 22 December 2015.

External links

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