Just to start this thread off with full disclosure, I do work at a laser tag facility, and it'll be the main one I talk about. But I'm not just a shill, I think there's some genuinely interesting things going on in the industry and want to know if you guys have all tried some of these places, or what you think of laser tag in general. I'd be putting up a thread like this even if I wasn't working there, since it's a really cool changing industry and I haven't heard anyone here mention it.
How the game has changed
I'm sure when you guys saw the thread title most of you thought of cheesy black light futuristic laser tag. Most people still do. While some of those places still exist, the industry has recently moved past that sort of aesthetic. There's a small but growing surge of places that have taken their inspiration directly from video games. I realize that the cheesy black light ones were also at least in part probably inspired by video games, but the game industry has moved on. As you all know, probably too well, the trend in gaming is toward more realistic first person shooters. Well, it just so happens that these games are absolutely perfect when translated into laser tag.
About a two years ago my friend (and now boss) started a paintball facility. Paintball did well, but it too had a reputation. The paint is painful, and that bars a lot of more casual players from playing. So my friend opened a laser tag arena on the other side of his facility, inspired pretty directly by Call of Duty. When he took me over to the arena as he was building it and told me his plans I was amazed. I thought the idea would do really well. And so far it has.
The Battlefields
The arena itself is something pretty unique in the world. Our place has 8 two-story buildings, and another second story room/pathway that connects the two ends of the arena. We have dumpsters and a broken down car to take cover behind to make things a bit more realistic.
As I said in the beginning, this isn't just about my place. I recently went to a worldwide meeting of people running these sorts of places. The industry is still kind of small but it's growing and thriving. A lot of these places do outdoor and mobile only, which is kind of a bummer and not something I'd personally do a lot of. But if you have a party you want to plan it is a pretty fun idea. There are a few that have set up locations, though, like my place, and that's where the fun is (for me). One specific place in Fairfield, CT, has a really cool facility decorated like an abandoned airport. They have ads and stuff that seem really inspired by Fallout placed everywhere, too.
The Games
The games themselves are all taken pretty much straight from video games. We have a king of the hill type game were you have to control two boxes. You hold down a button to accumulate points for your team. We've got a game called Total Defense, which is our spin on Capture the Flag. We've got Search and Destroy complete with an amazing bomb prop that you really have to see to believe. It ticks down and fills the arena with sound effects, and in order to stop it you have to input a code. Instead of being like a place where you pay your money and just go for kills all of our games have mission objectives. You only win if your team wins.
At our place we don't keep track of kills and stuff like that, yet. As I said, you only win if your team wins. We do have some plans to implement that and really get a Call of Duty style level up system at some point, though. Other places have things like this already implemented, where you can gain ranks and stuff, and I think that's really cool.
Weapons
As for guns we've got Stinger SMGs (our main guns), M4s, AK-47s, Sniper Rifles, etc. Some places have pistols, too. And these things are heavy duty. They're made of aircraft grade aluminum, and feel like the real thing. In fact our assault rifles actually have the back half of real assault rifles. These aren't the plastic, cruddy guns of old. Ours are sighted in weekly and have some deadly accuracy. We also have some really great props, like the aforementioned bomb prop. That always gets people gasping.
Where to go:
Here are places that I've found, both with our worldwide meeting and just searching around. If you guys know of other places I'll definitely add them. I can't really vouch for how fun some of these places are, but they might be worth it to check out.
CMP Tactical Lazer Tag in Milwaukee, WI <--- This is where I work as a marketing and graphic design guy. You can also find us on Facebook
First Person Sports in Fairfield, CT
Hard Knocks in Orlando, FL
Combat Sports Outdoor Laser Tag in Manalapan, NJ
Adrenaline X Laser Tag in Cedar Falls, IA
Modern Mission Outdoor Laser Tag in Fayetteville, AR
Battlefield Houston in Houston, TX
Stratagem Laser Missions in Frankfort, IL
This are just the ones I could think of from my searches and from our worldwide meeting.
TL;DR / What this thread is about:
Laser tag is getting kind of awesome compared to what it used to be. So, GAF, do you play laser tag? Have you ever been to a place that's more like this new style of laser tag?
Barring all that, do you have any nostalgia with laser tag or even the cheesy futuristic laser tag stuff? When I was little I bought a gun and sensor set, but only got to play it about once or twice since it took something crazy like 8 batteries per gun. Anyone else have these things?
How the game has changed
I'm sure when you guys saw the thread title most of you thought of cheesy black light futuristic laser tag. Most people still do. While some of those places still exist, the industry has recently moved past that sort of aesthetic. There's a small but growing surge of places that have taken their inspiration directly from video games. I realize that the cheesy black light ones were also at least in part probably inspired by video games, but the game industry has moved on. As you all know, probably too well, the trend in gaming is toward more realistic first person shooters. Well, it just so happens that these games are absolutely perfect when translated into laser tag.
About a two years ago my friend (and now boss) started a paintball facility. Paintball did well, but it too had a reputation. The paint is painful, and that bars a lot of more casual players from playing. So my friend opened a laser tag arena on the other side of his facility, inspired pretty directly by Call of Duty. When he took me over to the arena as he was building it and told me his plans I was amazed. I thought the idea would do really well. And so far it has.
The Battlefields
The arena itself is something pretty unique in the world. Our place has 8 two-story buildings, and another second story room/pathway that connects the two ends of the arena. We have dumpsters and a broken down car to take cover behind to make things a bit more realistic.
As I said in the beginning, this isn't just about my place. I recently went to a worldwide meeting of people running these sorts of places. The industry is still kind of small but it's growing and thriving. A lot of these places do outdoor and mobile only, which is kind of a bummer and not something I'd personally do a lot of. But if you have a party you want to plan it is a pretty fun idea. There are a few that have set up locations, though, like my place, and that's where the fun is (for me). One specific place in Fairfield, CT, has a really cool facility decorated like an abandoned airport. They have ads and stuff that seem really inspired by Fallout placed everywhere, too.
The Games
The games themselves are all taken pretty much straight from video games. We have a king of the hill type game were you have to control two boxes. You hold down a button to accumulate points for your team. We've got a game called Total Defense, which is our spin on Capture the Flag. We've got Search and Destroy complete with an amazing bomb prop that you really have to see to believe. It ticks down and fills the arena with sound effects, and in order to stop it you have to input a code. Instead of being like a place where you pay your money and just go for kills all of our games have mission objectives. You only win if your team wins.
At our place we don't keep track of kills and stuff like that, yet. As I said, you only win if your team wins. We do have some plans to implement that and really get a Call of Duty style level up system at some point, though. Other places have things like this already implemented, where you can gain ranks and stuff, and I think that's really cool.
Weapons
As for guns we've got Stinger SMGs (our main guns), M4s, AK-47s, Sniper Rifles, etc. Some places have pistols, too. And these things are heavy duty. They're made of aircraft grade aluminum, and feel like the real thing. In fact our assault rifles actually have the back half of real assault rifles. These aren't the plastic, cruddy guns of old. Ours are sighted in weekly and have some deadly accuracy. We also have some really great props, like the aforementioned bomb prop. That always gets people gasping.
Where to go:
Here are places that I've found, both with our worldwide meeting and just searching around. If you guys know of other places I'll definitely add them. I can't really vouch for how fun some of these places are, but they might be worth it to check out.
CMP Tactical Lazer Tag in Milwaukee, WI <--- This is where I work as a marketing and graphic design guy. You can also find us on Facebook
First Person Sports in Fairfield, CT
Hard Knocks in Orlando, FL
Combat Sports Outdoor Laser Tag in Manalapan, NJ
Adrenaline X Laser Tag in Cedar Falls, IA
Modern Mission Outdoor Laser Tag in Fayetteville, AR
Battlefield Houston in Houston, TX
Stratagem Laser Missions in Frankfort, IL
This are just the ones I could think of from my searches and from our worldwide meeting.
TL;DR / What this thread is about:
Laser tag is getting kind of awesome compared to what it used to be. So, GAF, do you play laser tag? Have you ever been to a place that's more like this new style of laser tag?
Barring all that, do you have any nostalgia with laser tag or even the cheesy futuristic laser tag stuff? When I was little I bought a gun and sensor set, but only got to play it about once or twice since it took something crazy like 8 batteries per gun. Anyone else have these things?
