Download File - The Six Flags Museum

More than a ride - Six Flags bills new attraction as `ultimate video game'
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Thursday, July 6, 1995
Author: JESSAMY BROWN, Star-Telegram Writer
ARLINGTON - A downturn in the defense industry is turning into a blessing for Six
Flags Over Texas , which Tuesday will be the first U.S. company to open a virtual
reality game invented by a firm expanding from flight simulation into amusement parks.
The Chameleon is an octopuslike contraption, with arms holding six white gondolas that
pitch and roll with enough velocity to create some G-force as they revolve around a blue
hub.
While a futuristic space adventure - named Labyrinth Rangers - plays on a video screen
inside the pod, teams of two players use controls to maneuver their aircraft through
tunnels, shoot down monsters and collect life-sustaining crystals.
Workers are installing the interactive game in the theme park's Good Times Square, a
section of video arcades and carnival-type games in a 1950s motif. Chameleon players
will pay $5 for the 21/2-minute game
"The technology is centrifugal. It comes from the space program," said Bennett
Omensky, vice president of Chameleon Technologies Inc. "You don't just ride it like a
roller coaster."
The game is based on techniques developed by parent company Veda International,
which has designed and manufactured flight training simulators for the space program
and the Navy, said Amy Bowden, spokeswoman for Veda, based in Alexandria, Va.
But because the market for flight simulators is limited and the defense budget is
declining, Veda began to look for ways to apply its knowledge to the commercial market,
Bowden said.
Billed by Six Flags officials as "the ultimate video game," Chameleon differs from other
virtual reality simulations in that users don't use helmets or gloves. Instead of sitting in a
theater while the seats interact with what's happening on screen, players control the
machine, Bowden said.
"The appeal is that you're in charge, you're making it happen. You're not just going for a
ride," Omensky said. "That 1950s section is about to go to the year 2040."
While waiting in line, participants see a video on the game's development and proceed to
a training area to learn how to control the pod and score points. After the 10-minute
experience - including a 2 1/2-minute ride - players get a printout of the play-by-play,
said Tom Iven, Six Flags retail vice president.
The game's list price is $2.3 million, Omensky said. The computer cost $400,000, but Six

Flags is not disclosing how much it paid for the game, said Six Flags spokeswoman
Nancy St. Pierre.
Baseball players in town for the Major League All-Star Game at The Ballpark in
Arlington will be the first to try the game, at a private gala Monday, St. Pierre said.
The Six Flags opening marks the game's first permanent United States installation. The
only other location is in Hurstville, Australia, at a mall-like "family entertainment
center." Locals and repeat customers there appreciate that the machine can offer several
types of games, hence the name Chameleon, Bowden said.
New game at Six Flags
What: Chameleon, a new virtual reality game.
Where: Six Flags Over Texas , 2201 E. Road to Six Flags.
How much: $5, plus admission into the park, $27.95 for adults and $21.95 for children.