Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth
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Photon was the name of the first commercial lasertag arenas. The company also came out with a home lasertag game, and there were various media tie-ins; a TV show also called Photon and a series of novels by Peter David.
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[edit] History
George Carter III claimed to have had the idea for Photon while watching Star Wars when it premiered in 1977. In 1982, research and development started in earnest, and the first Photon center in Dallas, Texas opened in March of 1984. The first franchisee opened in Toronto in June of 1985.[1]
The home units were introduced in 1986, as were the Lazer Tag brand units of competitor Worlds of Wonder (toy company). Both companies were very successful in the Christmas shopping season of 1986.[1]
By 1987, 70 franchise licenses had been sold and 45 arenas were operating.[1]
In 1989, lack of financing and loss of franchise revenue forced the corporation to sell off its assets and cease operations.[1]
Now in 2007, a new Photon center is being constructed in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.[2]
[edit] 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, and played in a Tron-like setting. 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.) A feature of the game was that no player could be "zapped" more than 3 times consecutively; this forced players to vary their targets. When "zapped", a player's weapon would be inert for 5 seconds, and then reactivate automatically, with no need to "charge up" at a base as was required in the games of competitors. A safety feature built into the Photon hardware prevented players from "zapping" any target from closer than 5 feet away.
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.
[edit] Last survivor
For some reason, the franchisee in Laurel, Maryland did not cease operations when the rest of the system went out of business. That location continued operations throughout most of the 1990s. At some point, they were forced to change locations and stop using the Photon brand name, but built a new location close by with a similar arena layout under the name XP Laser Sport. XP reportedly stands for eX-Photon. While original Photon arena equipment is not used daily at this facility, they do sometimes hold "retro" nights using the old equipment, and it can be booked in advance for group outings.[3]
[edit] A new era
Currently, a new Photon center, owned by Jim Strother, is being constructed in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. This will be the first Photon branded field since the closure of the last original field at the Chicago/Harvey location in 1995.
