Nodal recently assisted with the build-out of the interactive experience Passport to Iron City, an immersive re-creation of the setting of the upcoming feature film Alita: Battle Angel.
Since opening in New York on January 26, Passport to Iron City has given visitors the chance to socialize, play, and compete on a painstakingly accurate re-creation of the film’s locations. The experience begins at the fully-functioning Kansas bar, complete with custom-made beers brewed for this event. The bar itself was designed alongside the film’s production crew (including veteran Hollywood production designer Steve Joyner) to faithfully reflect the original set. Event employees are in character, and each visitor is provided with a high-tech ID card to add to the effect.
This experience is more than just a display piece. Visitors are encouraged to form teams and compete for prizes via themed challenges pulled from the movie. The competition runs for approximately 40 minutes, featuring several unique challenge stations and a handful of side missions. Each completed task is worth ‘credits’ that are compared against other teams’ totals (displayed on a prominent leaderboard for added tension). io9’s Germaine Lussier sums it up thus: “Think of it like a choose your own adventure, escape room, boardgame with a team.”
Obviously, any high-tech interactive experience from the year 2563 requires a significant network backbone, and that’s where Nodal’s expertise came in. Working alongside Passport to Iron City’s team of engineers, contractors, and designers, Nodal determined the networking and technical requirements of the experience and developed the solution. The firewall, switching, and wireless infrastructure for the project was configured and supported by our team.
Ticket information for Passport to Iron City are available here. io9 has a great breakdown of the experience (beware minor competition event spoilers) here. Alita: Battle Angel arrives in theaters on February 14, 2019.
If you need technical support or consulting for your installation, interactive experience, or studio, reach out to Nodal!