In 2005, Universal Orlando first experimented with a game within the event at Halloween Horror Nights. Clues planted on the event’s website led sharp-eyed players to a special in-person encounter with members of the Halloween Horror Nights design team. In 2008, the game expanded into Legendary Truth, a highly-detailed alternate reality experience that played out both online and in the park. The game has continued to evolve ever since, dividing players into Legions under the name Horror Unearthed in 2012, and then asking them to investigate the roots of those Legions in 2013.
For 2014, it appeared that Legendary Truth would not return at all. In the first weeks of the event, fans tried fruitlessly to access the official website and Facebook page, which remained quiet and devoid of official communications. Naturally, when an “official” message went out on October 19, players were ecstatic. What the Art & Design team delivered, however, was so much more than we could have imagined. Here are 5 secrets of the 9th haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights 24.
1. Its existence
As the experience was only available for the last weekend of the event, and only to those who knew about it, many people missed out on it. However, the Legendary Truth experience of 2014 was merely a preview of what is to come. In fact, those of us who were lucky enough to attend were told that the experience was in technical rehearsals. I believe there are big things to come in 2015, especially with it being the 25th anniversary year. But in 2014, The Compound, the marketing team’s social media game, was the big news. Only those who were actively involved in the Legendary Truth online fan communities knew of the new experience.
2. How to access it
Official communications from the Legendary Truth team instructed us to download an app, available for both Android and iPhone. Once downloaded, the app’s use remained mysterious until the game officially commenced on October 29. A welcome message explained that our personal devices could now record paranormal encounters, but exactly how that would work was unknown. We did learn that an active Bluetooth connection was required to play.
Through messages that came to our phones throughout the night, we learned that we had to visit one area for each Legion to receive our next mission. A map of the park showed which houses and scare zones were assigned to each Legion, and the Bluetooth technology allowed us to passively receive credit for each experience. When a player’s phone registered at least one Seal from each Legion, we were given directions to visit 6 Touchstones, also assigned to Legions. To find the locations of the Touchstones, we had to visit Sting Alley (located in the New York section of the park) and decode a puzzle on a poster. Visiting all 6 Touchstones gave players the Master Seal. In a nice bonus, we also got messages giving fun facts about each house, while scareactors with Bluetooth devices made our spectral health levels go up or down.
The first night was dedicated to working out the bugs in the technology. Many phones failed to pick up some of the Seals and Touchstones, making it impossible to earn the Master Seal. That night, no prize was given to those who did manage to earn the Master Seal.
Beginning the next night, October 30, and continuing through the last night of the run, however, players were able to earn an unprecedented reward. Anyone who was able to earn all 6 Seals and all 6 Touchstones, earning the Master Seal before 8 p.m., was instructed to report to Legendary Truth headquarters at 9 p.m. There, we were given timed return cards and instructed to meet the Masters at the green Gargoyle that had been erected between the Dracula Untold house exit and the Macy’s façade. Most of the bugs had been worked out of the Bluetooth technology, but A&D team members were willing to work with those who were still having trouble.
3. The experience
Time cards in hand, we gathered at the designated location about 10 minutes early. Looking around, we were surprised to find that our group consisted of only 12 people. The experience ran several times throughout each of three nights, but each group was intentionally kept small and intimate. We were escorted through an unassuming door, and found ourselves inside a fully-realized Field Research Center. Props from past years, maps, and all sorts of scientific drawings filled the space, and we were instructed to sit in folding chairs and watch a short welcome video.
The premise was that Senior Staff had made some major breakthroughs in research technology, and we were to act as a test group. The actors, all members of the Art & Design team, stayed in character throughout the experience, except for a brief break after the video to explain that we were part of a technical rehearsal and our feedback would be highly valued.
We were then sent through the house in even smaller groups of 4. Before entering, our phones were confiscated, under the storyline reasoning of examining our devices for possible collected research data. Of course, it was actually a smart way of ensuring that we didn’t photograph or otherwise document our experiences.
4. The storyline
The house experience was definitely designed for those who were already familiar with the ongoing storylines of Legendary Truth. At one point, we were able to interrogate a spectral figure who, surprisingly, answered impromptu and highly detailed questions about the story. However, I believe that even those with no previous game familiarity would thoroughly enjoy the experience.
We were asked not to discuss the specifics of the technology, but the essence was the ability to use provided tablets in remarkable new ways. We scanned slimy body parts to determine which legion they were from, participated in a séance that required us to use a tablet like a Ouija board planchette, scanned walls and floors for hidden text, and interrogated the aforementioned specter. In every room, a “scientist” (played by a member of the A&D team) was on hand to discuss the mystery, keep us on track, and answer our questions. The level of personalization and interactivity was truly mind-blowing.
5. Possible implications for the future
Technology is rarely developed solely for a single purpose, and it seems absolutely ludicrous to imagine that the level of detail that we saw was built solely for a three-night thank you to the fans. The fact that the experience was billed as a technical rehearsal seems to back up that opinion. Yet there is no possible way that a house that interactive, sending guests through 4 at a time and letting them play with expensive technology, could ever work as a mainstream Halloween Horror Nights house. The event is simply too popular, and throughput, or the number of guests pushed through per hour, is critical.
The A&D team has talked for years about creating an extreme house—maybe even for an upcharge, which Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream has proven can be successful at a mainstream theme park event. Could next year bring such an experience, using the technology that we tested in 2014? Is it possible that this isn’t intended for the general public at all, but will form the basis of 2015’s game? If so, will it be more heavily promoted than it was this year?
What about implications outside of the event? While Halloween Horror Nights remains an annual favorite, Universal Orlando now packs its calendar with special events. Could the technology transform into special Christmas and Mardi Gras experiences? Or perhaps it will be used throughout the year. Experiments with interactive wands have been hugely successful in Diagon Alley. Maybe the latest technology will usher in a new layer of interactivity in the Harry Potter lands and other areas of the Universal Orlando parks.
While it is too early to know what the future will hold, it is safe to say that once again, A&D outdid themselves for their most loyal fans. A super-secret 9th house, accessible only by beating a series of in-park challenges, was a reward that none of us could have imagined. We are excited to see what next year will bring!
