Assignment #3

A Summary of
The Immersive Worlds Handbook: Designing Theme Parks and Consumer Spaces
by Scott Lukas

Randall Kapuscinski

CMCT 6507

Prepared for Professor Caitlin Fisher

York University

September 27, 2017

Readings for Future Cinema 1 began in Week 2 with an examination of expanded cinema histories,

including a discussion of Expo 67 and its many screen-based pavilions. As Monika Kin Gagnon and

Janine Marchessault recognized of Expo 67 in their introduction to Reimagining Cinema: Film at

Expo, “not only did it reconfigure the screen as architecture but, importantly, it used architecture as

the screen in order to effect ‘total architecture’” (p.7). This is a convenient segue to the kinds of

designed immersive experiences described by Scott Lukas in The Immersive Worlds Handbook:

Designing Theme Parks and Consumer Spaces. Expo 67 itself could be considered a designed

immersive experience that recognized many of the design concepts identified by Lukas, including

theme, immersion, and the use of symbols. To some degree, Expo 67 is representative of an era that

birthed the kind of designed immersive experience that Scott Lukas is addressing. For perspective,

construction of Disney World also began around 1967, and Six Flags opened its second park in

1968.

Lukas includes theme parks, restaurants, malls, casinos, and many other spaces in his work and

examines “ways to make these worlds more meaningful for the guests who visit them” (p. xi). This

is not a theoretical investigation. Rather, it is a handbook of design for immersive spaces. There is a

practical inclination in the book that is reflected in the many embedded exercises in the text. There

are also many transcripts of interviews with subject area experts. The majority of the interview

subjects are practitioners and include designers, writers, consultants, art directors, and even a

restaurant owner.

The book is largely undiscriminating with respect to the nature of the projects. For example,

Bass Pro Shops and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum are held equally worthy of

examination. Critical examination is reserved for projects that are guilty of flawed design, with the

Lapland New Forest project frequently cited in this regard.

 It is difficult to provide a concise summary of the content of the book because it is a very

comprehensive examination of design principles that are relevant to designed immersive worlds.

But with a goal of giving a sense of the issues addressed, here are some selected notes and quotes

from each of the eight chapters:

• Chapter 1: The Nature of Themed and Immersive Spaces

o “an immersive world will take you in such that you don’t want to leave” (p.4)

• Chapter 2: Designing Effective, Immersive, and Creative Spaces

o “stories bring the world alive and they allow all of us to feel better within it” (p.52)

• Chapter 3: Atmosphere, Mood, and Effective Spaces

o “Theming could be called a ‘stereotype’ of place, culture, and people, but more

accurately we might say that theming is a conscious, thoughtful, and effect-producing

representation.” (p.79)

• Chapter 4: Authenticity, Believability, Realism

o “A key, likely the key, to any authentic space is whether the guest will accept it as

believable - that is, will the guest suspend his or her disbelief and accept the design

choices that have been made by the designer?” (p.103)

• Chapter 5: The Guest, Experience, and Immersion

o “If a guest is truly immersed in a space and the world that it promotes, he or she will feel

powerful emotions, incredible senses of discovery, and even feelings of personal

transformation.”(p.137)

• Chapter 6: The Brand and the Senses

o “One of the most important ways of establishing the big idea of a space is through

symbols. Symbols represent the key aspects of a culture—the essence of the culture

distilled in a form.” (p.178)

 • Chapter 7: Material Culture, Technology, and Interactivity

o “In the case of rides that are found in theme parks or other entertainment spaces, they

offer some of the most vital connections that can be made with a guest.” (p.221)

• Chapter 8: Loyalty, Tradition, Change, and the Future

o interview with Henry Jenkins (pp.245-247)

The focus of the text is very much on projects that occupy physical space. Although not really

addressed in the book, many of the concepts presented seem equally applicable to virtual spaces in

games, VR experiences, etc.. Lukas also recognizes the inverse saying, “While virtual spaces are not

a focus of this book, they should be seen as important sources of inspiration for design” (p. 21).

The Immersive Worlds Handbook Scott doesn’t focus much on theoretical perspectives on

immersive worlds. One of the few references to a theorist is a brief mention of Roland Barthes’

‘idea of the punctum’ in the section on symbols (p. 178). Also included in the text is a transcript of

an interview with Henry Jenkins (pp. 245-247).

Although not mentioned in the text, there are a number of theories and theorists that could be

relevant if pursuing a more critical analysis of the designed immersive spaces described by Lukas.

The text describes how an emotional connection to the created world is an important factor in

assessing the success of the design (for example the section on ‘The Emotions of Immersion’ in

Chapter 5), so presumably affect theory could be relevant here. The work of Deleuze, Guattari &

Massumi on the idea of affect could be useful.

Spectacle is one of the subjects addressed in Chapter 6. Lukas references David Rockwell and

Bruce Mau’s book Spectacle which is largely a descriptive look at notable spectacles around the

world. A more critical examination of spectacle in designed immersive spaces could reference Guy

Debord’s thoughts on this subject.

 Since immersive worlds often strive to create representations of the real, the idea of a

simulacrum is relevant. Ideas from Jean Baudrillard are central to a discussion of simulacrum. As

Baudrillard said, ‘simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being, or a substance. It is

the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.’ Baudrillard also often

referenced theme parks by name, as for example, when he said ‘Disneyland is presented as

imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real’
( Baudrillard , pp.166-184.).

The first question for discussion by the class comes from a notable omission from the text.

There isn’t a single mention of ethics with respect to the design of immersive spaces. The recent

HBO remake of Westworld provides an imagined extreme example of a designed immersive world.

Arguably, the show demands that the viewer confront the ethical choices of the designer of the

world, in this case played by Anthony Hopkins. Given the ethical issues highlighted by Westworld1:

Should a design guide for immersive worlds have included material on ethics?

Lukas provides as examples many of the urban environments that we typically spend a lot of our

time in including retail space (Starbucks), hotels, and cultural spaces including museums. Has the

design approach Lukas describes become pervasive in present day urban environments? Are

we ever free of designed immersive environments? If not, what at the implications?

World building has already become a common aspect of film and TV production2. Sometimes

world building precedes script development (example: Minority Report). What impact do you

believe world building will/could have on the content of future cinema?

1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuS5huqOND4
2
http://worldbuilding.institute/videos/building-transmedia-worlds
Barthes, R. (1981). Camera lucida: Reflections on photography. New York: Hill and Wang.

Baudrillard, J., & Poster, M. (2001). Selected writings (2nd, rev. and expand ed.). Stanford, CA:

Stanford University Press.

Gagnon, M., & Marchessault, J. (2014). Reimagining cinema: Film at expo 67. Montréal: McGill-

Queen's University Press.

Lukas, S. A. (2013;2012;). The immersive worlds handbook: Designing theme parks and consumer

spaces. Burlington, Mass: Focal Press. doi:10.4324/9780240820989