Photon: The Ultimate Game On Planet Earth - Technology and Gameplay

Technology and Gameplay

While primitive compared to technology today, entailing wearing 18 pounds of battery packs and equipment, Photon was one of the first video game-like experiences that one could play in the real world. The arenas featured multiple levels, catwalks, mazes, and an observation deck from which people not participating could cheer their friends in the game, or get target practice by shooting players from special token-operated emplacements. (Shots from observation deck guns did not affect the game in any way at most arenas.) This contrasted sharply with competing laser-tag centers, whose fields were small, single-level, composed of clusters of free-standing painted cardboard barriers, and typically contained no observation area of any sort. Also, in Photon, players were allowed to roam at will through the entire playing field rather than be restricted to team-specific zones.

Photon players joined either a red or green team (solo games were not an option), and played in an arena. Dramatic music, strobe effects, and smoke machines were used in the arena during games to enhance play. Players gained points for shooting other players and for shooting the enemy team's base. Players lost points for being shot ("zapped" in game terminology) or by shooting teammates. (A player "zapping" a teammate would lose a massive amount of score and be automatically "zapped" himself.) One feature of the game was that no player could be "zapped" more than three consecutive times by the same player. This forced players to vary their targets. When "zapped", a player's weapon would be inert for five seconds and then reactivate automatically, with no need to "charge up" at a base as was required in the games of competitors. At some locations, the amount of time a player's weapon would be inert would vary based on score. A player would a high score would have an inert weapon for up to 10 seconds. For safety reasons, referees would try to enforce a rule that you must be at least 5 feet away from an opponent that you are shooting.

Customers joined by purchasing a photo ID badge (ranging in price at different areas from $10– $35), and then paid a per-game fee (or a blanket fee on special nights that allowed unlimited play). Games lasted six minutes, with cues from the soundtrack that regular players could utilize for more strategic games. During game play, monitors on the observation deck and in the waiting areas showed scoring, with players listed under self-chosen handles.

In many franchises, Photon leagues were formed, with rules somewhat more complex than in general gameplay, and tournament games were held regularly.