"Efteling Attractie" Assignment for SiNTLUCAS
This is a school assignment I had to do as part of my education at SiNTLUCAS.
For this assignment we were tasked with researching a theme park called "Efteling" and designing our own custom attraction.
The purpose of this assignment was to teach us how to use 3D software such as Blender, and how we could properly publish and present our work using websites like Sketchfab and Behance. We could then also use the work we've made to form a portfolio which could show our improvement over time and help us get a job in the future.
Here you can see the process of my work:
For this assignment we were tasked with researching a theme park called "Efteling" and designing our own custom attraction.
The purpose of this assignment was to teach us how to use 3D software such as Blender, and how we could properly publish and present our work using websites like Sketchfab and Behance. We could then also use the work we've made to form a portfolio which could show our improvement over time and help us get a job in the future.
Here you can see the process of my work:
Step 1 - Research a Fairy Tale
For the first part of the assignment, we were tasked with researching a certain fairy tale that was assigned to us by a wheel of fortune.
In my case I was assigned with the fairy tale of "Sjakie en de Bonenstaak", which is called "Jack and the Beanstalk" in other countries.
Here you can see the research I conducted about the fairy tale that was assigned to me:
In my case I was assigned with the fairy tale of "Sjakie en de Bonenstaak", which is called "Jack and the Beanstalk" in other countries.
Here you can see the research I conducted about the fairy tale that was assigned to me:
Story:
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Sjakie en de Bonenstaak is a story about a poor joung boy named Sjakie, he lives together with his mom and they're both struggling to make a living.
One day Sjakie's mother tells him to trade their cow for a few golden coins so that they can afford food, but instead Sjakie trades the cow with a stranger in exghange for three magic beans which the stranger claims will grow into a giant beanstalk that can lead Sjakie to a magic land.
Once Sjakie returns home his mother finds out what he did and throws the three magic beans out of the window in a fit of rage.
The next morning Sjakie and his mother discover that the three magic beans have grown into a giant beanstalk, after which Sjakie decides to climb to the top of it to see if he can find the magic land that the stranger told him about.
Once at the top Sjakie discovers a castle which is inhabited by two giants and a goose that lays golden eggs. Sjakie then first meets the female giant who tells him that her husband eats humans and that Sjakie should stay away from him.
Sjakie ignores this warning and goes on to steal a golden egg so he and his mother can afford food.
Not long after, Sjakie and his mother run out of money again, after which Sjakie decides to climb back up the giant beanstalk, but this time he takes the goose back with him.
Sjakie and his mother are now rich, but his mother still feels unhappy, so Sjakie decides to climb back up the giant beanstalk one more time so he can steal a magic harp which can make anyone feel happy.
During the heist Sjakie accidentally sets off an alarm and is discovered by the other giant, who chases Sjakie down the giant beanstalk.
Sjakie makes it down to the surface first, after which he quickly chops down the giant beanstalk, causing it to fall over which kills the giant.
Sjakie and his mother are now a rich and happy family, and they lived happily ever after.
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Sjakie en de Bonenstaak is a story about a poor joung boy named Sjakie, he lives together with his mom and they're both struggling to make a living.
One day Sjakie's mother tells him to trade their cow for a few golden coins so that they can afford food, but instead Sjakie trades the cow with a stranger in exghange for three magic beans which the stranger claims will grow into a giant beanstalk that can lead Sjakie to a magic land.
Once Sjakie returns home his mother finds out what he did and throws the three magic beans out of the window in a fit of rage.
The next morning Sjakie and his mother discover that the three magic beans have grown into a giant beanstalk, after which Sjakie decides to climb to the top of it to see if he can find the magic land that the stranger told him about.
Once at the top Sjakie discovers a castle which is inhabited by two giants and a goose that lays golden eggs. Sjakie then first meets the female giant who tells him that her husband eats humans and that Sjakie should stay away from him.
Sjakie ignores this warning and goes on to steal a golden egg so he and his mother can afford food.
Not long after, Sjakie and his mother run out of money again, after which Sjakie decides to climb back up the giant beanstalk, but this time he takes the goose back with him.
Sjakie and his mother are now rich, but his mother still feels unhappy, so Sjakie decides to climb back up the giant beanstalk one more time so he can steal a magic harp which can make anyone feel happy.
During the heist Sjakie accidentally sets off an alarm and is discovered by the other giant, who chases Sjakie down the giant beanstalk.
Sjakie makes it down to the surface first, after which he quickly chops down the giant beanstalk, causing it to fall over which kills the giant.
Sjakie and his mother are now a rich and happy family, and they lived happily ever after.
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Visualisations of the story:
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this story seems to be taking place during or around the middle ages. There is no mention of any technology, and everything else that is described in the story seems to be fairly old.
It's of course a fictional story, since magic beans that grow into a giant beanstalk which will lead you to a hidden castle up in the clouds full of giants and a geese that lays golden eggs is not something that exists in real life (sadly).
The story also seems to have been made during the middle ages in real life, since this story dates back a very long time.
It's uncertain who made the original story, but it seems to have been spread by people re-telling the story to each other, possibly also changing some details about it along the way due to some possible miscommunications.
It's of course a fictional story, since magic beans that grow into a giant beanstalk which will lead you to a hidden castle up in the clouds full of giants and a geese that lays golden eggs is not something that exists in real life (sadly).
The story also seems to have been made during the middle ages in real life, since this story dates back a very long time.
It's uncertain who made the original story, but it seems to have been spread by people re-telling the story to each other, possibly also changing some details about it along the way due to some possible miscommunications.
Step 2 - Research the Fairy Tale's Underlying Social Theme
For this part of the assignment, we had to research the fairy tale and see if it contained any kind of social theme.
We had to do this in order to make the final product more relatable to our target audience, and so it would also make more sense and contain a certain message of its own.
Here you can see the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
We had to do this in order to make the final product more relatable to our target audience, and so it would also make more sense and contain a certain message of its own.
Here you can see the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
I think this fairy tale has a social theme of trust.
This fairy tale raises the question about the value of trust. It makes the viewers question who they should trust, and why.
Sjakie's mother tells him to sell their cow in exchange for money, but Sjakie instead trades them with a stranger for magic beans, which heavily upsets his mother.
Sjakie trusted a strange person of who he knew nothing about, and it did not seem to pay off at first, which is one of the risks of trusting people who you don't know. And besides that, Sjakie's own mother now has trouble trusting her own son because he didn't listen to her request and instead did something risky, making her think that her son thinks he knows better than her.
This fairy tale raises the question about the value of trust. It makes the viewers question who they should trust, and why.
Sjakie's mother tells him to sell their cow in exchange for money, but Sjakie instead trades them with a stranger for magic beans, which heavily upsets his mother.
Sjakie trusted a strange person of who he knew nothing about, and it did not seem to pay off at first, which is one of the risks of trusting people who you don't know. And besides that, Sjakie's own mother now has trouble trusting her own son because he didn't listen to her request and instead did something risky, making her think that her son thinks he knows better than her.
Step 3 - Research the Fairy Tale's Message
For this part of the assignment, we were asked if the fairy tale contained any possible message for its audience. We had to look deeply into the story to see if it was trying to teach something to the reader, and if we found something, we had to write it down and explain exactly what it is.
Here you can read what kind of internal message I found in this fairy tale:
Here you can read what kind of internal message I found in this fairy tale:
This fairy tale seems to have a message that tries to tell the viewer that those who are in poor living conditions and / or have it bad financially will try to make their own lives better by stealing from those who have a better life and are more wealthy.
If the rich people don't help the poor people, they will stand up for themselves and take what they think they diserve from the rich people, stealing their belongings for themselves so they can get rid of their problems and live a good life.
I think this fairy tale is trying to tell its viewers that people should help each other out, or else bad things will happen toeveryone involved. If we don't help each other out, conflict wil arise and change everyone's lives for the worse.
If the rich people don't help the poor people, they will stand up for themselves and take what they think they diserve from the rich people, stealing their belongings for themselves so they can get rid of their problems and live a good life.
I think this fairy tale is trying to tell its viewers that people should help each other out, or else bad things will happen toeveryone involved. If we don't help each other out, conflict wil arise and change everyone's lives for the worse.
Step 4 - Research Already Existing Expressions of the Fairy Tale
For this part of the assignment, we had to research if there were already any existing ways of expressing this fairy tale, things like movies or books that tell the same story or contrin a reference of it.
Here you can see all of the already existing expressions of the fairy tale that I could find:
Here you can see all of the already existing expressions of the fairy tale that I could find:
Books:
Movies:
Boardgames:
Step 5 - Research the Efteling
For this part of the assignment, we had to do research about the Efteling itself so we could get an idea of how it works, what it looks like and how it's made. We had to research the theme park's functionality and mechanics, the theme park's visuals, and the process in which the theme park was built and how it's being expanded to allow for more attractions to be added or changed.
Here you can see all of the research I did for this part of the assignment:
Here you can see all of the research I did for this part of the assignment:
The Efteling is a big and open themepark, with a lot of walking paths and a middle aged fairy tale theme.
The themepark shows no signs of modern technoligy, architecture, or fashion. All of the lights are discuised as old lanterns or torches, speakers are hidden inside of props and plants, ATM machines are built into the sides of giant treasure chests, and all of the buildings are designed to look very ols and hand made, all in order not to break the themepark's theme.
Things like shops, snack bars or souvenir stores are disguised as little wooden carts on wheels, but this is only a visual thing since it would be very expensive to produce a real riding shop cart, and it would also be impractical to use.
The themepark shows no signs of modern technoligy, architecture, or fashion. All of the lights are discuised as old lanterns or torches, speakers are hidden inside of props and plants, ATM machines are built into the sides of giant treasure chests, and all of the buildings are designed to look very ols and hand made, all in order not to break the themepark's theme.
Things like shops, snack bars or souvenir stores are disguised as little wooden carts on wheels, but this is only a visual thing since it would be very expensive to produce a real riding shop cart, and it would also be impractical to use.
The sections of the themepark that need to be used by its employees cannot be hidden like the rest of the modern things, otherwise the employees could not find their assigned locations to work at, so the designers of the themepark hid those places behind easily moveable wooden walls, which are very easy to spot, but don't break the themepark's middle aged fairy tale theme.
The majority of the themepark consists of stone and dirt walking paths, surrounded by trees. The stone and dirt materials provide a strong and comfortable surface for the themepark's visitors to walk on, while the trees hide any signs of long flat terrain, windmills, cars, planes, or horizons, which could potentially break the idea of a big fairy tale forest.
All of the themepark's attraction are also set apart quite far from each other, this is both so that the visitors are forced to walk long distances, making them feel hungry and thirsty, so that the nearby snack and drink carts become more attractive, and also so that the different looking attractions do not clash with each other and potentially break the themepark's theme, because a big pirate ship sailing through the ocean would not be very close to a giant snake battle or a dessert.
All of the themepark's attraction are also set apart quite far from each other, this is both so that the visitors are forced to walk long distances, making them feel hungry and thirsty, so that the nearby snack and drink carts become more attractive, and also so that the different looking attractions do not clash with each other and potentially break the themepark's theme, because a big pirate ship sailing through the ocean would not be very close to a giant snake battle or a dessert.
In conclusion, the Efteling has a middle aged fairy tale theme, and does not like to show any signs of any modern things. The environments are cleverly designed to hide anything that might break the theme, while also keeping the important things easy to find, and the modern things that are critical to a themepark's success are also disguised to go along with the theme.
Step 6 - Research Already Existing Attractions in the Efteling
For this part of the assignment, we had to research some of the attractions that already exist in the Efteling. We had to check how they were constructed, what themes they already had, how they merged together with the rest of the theme park without standing out like a sore thumb, what they contained, and what they looked like.
Here you can see all of the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
Here you can see all of the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
De Vliegende Hollander:
De Vliegende Hollander is a combination of both an indoor performance, and an outdoor rollercoaster ride.
You start the ride by entering an old building, in which you're shown a performance which explains a certain story to you. Once the performance is finished you enter the next room and get seated in one of the ride's carts, after which you ride around a bunch of turns and twist, ending off with a big splash in a river located next to the old building.
This ride is themed like how things were back in the middle ages, there are no signs of modern technology or other modern things, and where the ride does require modern technology it's usually hidden within the ride's decorations. The ride's middle aged theme also fits well with the rest of the park's old fashioned and fairy tale theme so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
The story of the attraction goes as follows: Captain Willem van der Decken has a lot of greed and is on a quest to find riches, he orders his ship's crew to set sail on the first day of easter, which is illegal, but he does it anyways.
Due to his negligence, his greed, and him breaking the rules, both he and everyone in his crew are cursed to forever sail the seven world seas.
People sometimes get a glimpse of this ship sailing around random places in the world, and they call it De Vliegende Hollander (or The Flying Dutchman in English countries).
You start the ride by entering an old building, in which you're shown a performance which explains a certain story to you. Once the performance is finished you enter the next room and get seated in one of the ride's carts, after which you ride around a bunch of turns and twist, ending off with a big splash in a river located next to the old building.
This ride is themed like how things were back in the middle ages, there are no signs of modern technology or other modern things, and where the ride does require modern technology it's usually hidden within the ride's decorations. The ride's middle aged theme also fits well with the rest of the park's old fashioned and fairy tale theme so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
The story of the attraction goes as follows: Captain Willem van der Decken has a lot of greed and is on a quest to find riches, he orders his ship's crew to set sail on the first day of easter, which is illegal, but he does it anyways.
Due to his negligence, his greed, and him breaking the rules, both he and everyone in his crew are cursed to forever sail the seven world seas.
People sometimes get a glimpse of this ship sailing around random places in the world, and they call it De Vliegende Hollander (or The Flying Dutchman in English countries).
Python:
The Python is a big roller coaster made to simulate the experience of escaping a patient python's rotating stranglehold.
This ride has a ton of loops and twists which are designed to mimic the experience of a python attack in a sort of friendly way. You roll and flip around just like you would if a python were to attack you, but this ride makes it a fun, thrilling and safe experience.
The cart of the ride is designed to look like the head and body of a python, and the track of the ride is designed to look like the rib cage of a snake's skeleton. Both of these design choices fit well with the story / experience of the ride, and it also fits pretty well with the rest of the park's fairy tale theme since it doesn't show any modern or futuristic technology. The ride also makes it look like the passengers are battling a giant python on the remains of an even bigger python.
This ride has a ton of loops and twists which are designed to mimic the experience of a python attack in a sort of friendly way. You roll and flip around just like you would if a python were to attack you, but this ride makes it a fun, thrilling and safe experience.
The cart of the ride is designed to look like the head and body of a python, and the track of the ride is designed to look like the rib cage of a snake's skeleton. Both of these design choices fit well with the story / experience of the ride, and it also fits pretty well with the rest of the park's fairy tale theme since it doesn't show any modern or futuristic technology. The ride also makes it look like the passengers are battling a giant python on the remains of an even bigger python.
Halve Maen:
The Halve Maen is an attraction where you sit in a ship that rocks back and forth, up to as high as 180 degrees, to simulate the experience of sailing over the sea in a heavy storm.
You take place in a random seat inside of the ship, after which you are then pulled back and forth by the ship being rotated around by a giant metal frame.
The ride is themed to look like it takes place around the year 1700. The ship itself is designed to look like an old VOC-ship, which were both founded and became very popular around that time. There also isn't any sign of modern technology or architecture, the boat itself is fully made out of wood and has a giant sail in the middle of it, and its surrounding area is made up of trees, old stone houses, and cobblestone paths, further blending the ride in with the rest of the mark's middle ages and fairy tale theme. The giant metal frame holding the boat does look a bit out of place, but it isn't too big of a problem, it's not too distracting from the rest of the attraction.
The story of this ride is that there lies an old VOC-ship named: "The Halve Maen", somewhere in a Dutch picturesque harbor. The ship used to sail around the world to countless places, but is now being used for other less important tasks.
Only dare devils are brave enough to board this ship, because when it sets sail, it will go over some of the biggest and most dangerouns waves in the world, rocking the ship back and forth, after which it will safely return to its harbor.
You take place in a random seat inside of the ship, after which you are then pulled back and forth by the ship being rotated around by a giant metal frame.
The ride is themed to look like it takes place around the year 1700. The ship itself is designed to look like an old VOC-ship, which were both founded and became very popular around that time. There also isn't any sign of modern technology or architecture, the boat itself is fully made out of wood and has a giant sail in the middle of it, and its surrounding area is made up of trees, old stone houses, and cobblestone paths, further blending the ride in with the rest of the mark's middle ages and fairy tale theme. The giant metal frame holding the boat does look a bit out of place, but it isn't too big of a problem, it's not too distracting from the rest of the attraction.
The story of this ride is that there lies an old VOC-ship named: "The Halve Maen", somewhere in a Dutch picturesque harbor. The ship used to sail around the world to countless places, but is now being used for other less important tasks.
Only dare devils are brave enough to board this ship, because when it sets sail, it will go over some of the biggest and most dangerouns waves in the world, rocking the ship back and forth, after which it will safely return to its harbor.
Sirocco:
Sirocco is a small and rather calm attraction in which you sit in a small rotating boat.
In this ride you take a seat in a small roundly shaped boat and rotate it around by turning a big metal wheel in the middle. It seems to be directed more towards a younger audience, which explains why the intensity of the ride is at a pretty low level.
The ride is themed to look like it takes place around the middle ages, the building around the ride is made out of wood and straw, and the ride itself is made out of small wooden boats with sails on top of them, floating around on water, while a man dressed up in Iranian clothing, who is presumably Sinbad, watches on as chaos unfolds.
There is no sign of modern technology, fashion, or architecture in the ride, everything is made to look like it's old and originates from around the time of the middle ages, which makes the ride fit well with the rest of the theme park's middle aged and fairy tale theme, and id doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
The story of the ride is that you're on a comercial trip with Sinbad, and you encounter stormy weather along the way and must try to survive until the storm settles by steering your boat into the right direction.
In this ride you take a seat in a small roundly shaped boat and rotate it around by turning a big metal wheel in the middle. It seems to be directed more towards a younger audience, which explains why the intensity of the ride is at a pretty low level.
The ride is themed to look like it takes place around the middle ages, the building around the ride is made out of wood and straw, and the ride itself is made out of small wooden boats with sails on top of them, floating around on water, while a man dressed up in Iranian clothing, who is presumably Sinbad, watches on as chaos unfolds.
There is no sign of modern technology, fashion, or architecture in the ride, everything is made to look like it's old and originates from around the time of the middle ages, which makes the ride fit well with the rest of the theme park's middle aged and fairy tale theme, and id doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
The story of the ride is that you're on a comercial trip with Sinbad, and you encounter stormy weather along the way and must try to survive until the storm settles by steering your boat into the right direction.
Fabula: 4D-filmavontuur
Fabula: 4D-filmavontuur is a 4D movie experience where the auditorium simulates certain effects from the movie in real life, such as rain, water splashes, wind, scents, and smoke.
You take place in one of the seats located in the auditorium, and are then able to watch a short movie about a young, grumpy bear, and a brave squirrel, who together learn more about the living worlds of other animals, and how to respect each other, while the auditorium replicates certain effects that are shown in the movie to make the experience more immersive. There are water spraying devices, huge wind blowing fans, foam dispensers, and scent replicators scattered around the auditorium to allow for 4D movie effects, which help to make the whole experience a lot more special and immersive.
The attraction is designed to look like it takes place inside of a forest and a cave, the inside of the attraction is filled with trees, rocks, dirt paths, rock walls, and dirt ceilings, which makes it look like you're walking through an old forest and a cave and are experiencing the movie as if you were actually there.
There are no signs of modern technology, all of the lights consist out of lanterns and torches, all of the screens blend in with their surroundings, the devices responsible for the 4D effects are hidden in the seats, decorations, and ceiling, and the film projector is cleverly hidden behind a wall so the whole experience has the same middle aged fairy tale theme as the rest of the themepark.
The story of this attraction is about a young, grumpy bear, who struggles to get along with other animals. man named: "Klaas Vaak" then comes along, and decides to teach the bear a few important life lesson by giving him a special dream.
In this dream, the bear meets a brave squirrel, and together they visit the living worlds of other animals, and experience a bunch of wolderful, hilarious, exciting and touching moments, which causes the bear to get more eye and even respect for other animals.
You take place in one of the seats located in the auditorium, and are then able to watch a short movie about a young, grumpy bear, and a brave squirrel, who together learn more about the living worlds of other animals, and how to respect each other, while the auditorium replicates certain effects that are shown in the movie to make the experience more immersive. There are water spraying devices, huge wind blowing fans, foam dispensers, and scent replicators scattered around the auditorium to allow for 4D movie effects, which help to make the whole experience a lot more special and immersive.
The attraction is designed to look like it takes place inside of a forest and a cave, the inside of the attraction is filled with trees, rocks, dirt paths, rock walls, and dirt ceilings, which makes it look like you're walking through an old forest and a cave and are experiencing the movie as if you were actually there.
There are no signs of modern technology, all of the lights consist out of lanterns and torches, all of the screens blend in with their surroundings, the devices responsible for the 4D effects are hidden in the seats, decorations, and ceiling, and the film projector is cleverly hidden behind a wall so the whole experience has the same middle aged fairy tale theme as the rest of the themepark.
The story of this attraction is about a young, grumpy bear, who struggles to get along with other animals. man named: "Klaas Vaak" then comes along, and decides to teach the bear a few important life lesson by giving him a special dream.
In this dream, the bear meets a brave squirrel, and together they visit the living worlds of other animals, and experience a bunch of wolderful, hilarious, exciting and touching moments, which causes the bear to get more eye and even respect for other animals.
Step 7 - Research Space and Placement in the Efteling
For this part of the assignment we had to research where most of the Efteling's attractions are located. We had to look if any similarly functioning or similar looking attractions are placed either very close to each other or very far apart and then write down our throughts as to why the people who are in charge of building the attractions in the Efteling would place them at those locations.
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
The Efteling seems to be split in several different areas, each of which is directed towards a different target audience.
The top right of the theme park seems to be directed more towards an older audience, but mostly adrenalin junkies, since that area of the theme park is mostly filled with intense roller coasters with tons of loops, twists and dives, which would not be very fun for younger people since that would be too scary for them.
The top left of the theme park seems to be mostly directed towards a very young audience, there are a ton of calmer attractions, playgrounds, puppet musical performances, but also tons of places to sit down and have a snack which is probably meant for the parents so they can relax while keeping an eye on their kids, but also so that they will be temped into spending some extra money of a few drinks and snacks.
The bottom left of the theme park consists mostly of stage performances and small walk through showcases, here people can cool down for a bit and admire some performances without haing to spend a lot of energy. This area contains a lot of walking paths, tons of nature, and is located as far away from all the big roller coasters so that visitors will not be disturbed by the screams of the people who are riding the roller coasters and so they can have a moment of rest.
The bottom right of the theme park consists mostly of restaurants, souvenir stores, photo booths and a big water fountain / lake in the middle. Here guests can sit down and eat some dinner before leaving the theme park since this area is located right next to the entrance and exit, they can eat some food while also watching a beautiful show unfold over the lake at the same time, then buy some souvenirs and head back home.
This area of the theme park is mostly for people who want to close off their visit to the theme park, visitors will be tempted to eat some good food at one of the restaurants after a long day of walking and excitement and will then also look for a cool souvenir to buy so they can keep a memory of their visit to the theme park.
This area of the theme park is mostly for people who want to close off their visit to the theme park, visitors will be tempted to eat some good food at one of the restaurants after a long day of walking and excitement and will then also look for a cool souvenir to buy so they can keep a memory of their visit to the theme park.
Finally, the middle of the theme park seems to be directed towoards families.
This area is in the middle of the theme park where guests can enjoy some family friendly attractions which are suitable for all ages and then decide where in the theme park they want to go next since everything is the exact same distance away from their current location. There are also a ton of seats and snack bars so that families can also sit down for a bit and enjoy a snack when they want to cool down for a bit, so this place can also serve as a checkpoint since it is also very easy to reach from anywhere in the theme park as well.
All of the attractions in this area are also designed to be used by multiple people at the same time and are pretty low in intensity so that families can all enjoy these attractions together and make some good memories with each other.
This area is in the middle of the theme park where guests can enjoy some family friendly attractions which are suitable for all ages and then decide where in the theme park they want to go next since everything is the exact same distance away from their current location. There are also a ton of seats and snack bars so that families can also sit down for a bit and enjoy a snack when they want to cool down for a bit, so this place can also serve as a checkpoint since it is also very easy to reach from anywhere in the theme park as well.
All of the attractions in this area are also designed to be used by multiple people at the same time and are pretty low in intensity so that families can all enjoy these attractions together and make some good memories with each other.
Step 8 - Research the Style and Atmosphere of the Efteling
For this part of the assignment we had to research the Efteling's style and its atmosphere, we had to look at what kind of theme the whole theme park had, for example: Is it futuristicly themed? Is it modernly themed? Is it video game themed? Is it medieval themed? Is it stone age themed? Etc. We had to see what kind of style guide the whole park follows in order to have a consistent and recognisable style and we also had to see how the design choices of the theme park and its atmosphere make the visitors feel more immersed in the world that its trying to create.
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
The Efteling uses some sort of an old fashioned style throughout the entire theme park, everything is made out of old and natural materials, and all of the props, signs and texts are made out of curly and curving shapes with tons of little characters and creatures integrated into the designs as well sometimes.
There aren't a lot of bright and colorful structures in the theme park, everything mostly just consists out of colors that you'd be able to find in nature such as green, brown, beige, black, etc.
For logos and icons the Efteling uses silhouettes with static colors, the most commonly used colors are a dark brown-ish red and a brown-ish yellow, but in certain cases they can also use white in order not to blend in with the background too much on certain posters.
The Efteling keeps re-using the same curved and curly shapes throughout the entire themepark, all of the entrances of the attractions and signs use these curling shapes as decoration and it also helps to further ehnance the whole magical fairy tale theme.
There aren't a lot of bright and colorful structures in the theme park, everything mostly just consists out of colors that you'd be able to find in nature such as green, brown, beige, black, etc.
For logos and icons the Efteling uses silhouettes with static colors, the most commonly used colors are a dark brown-ish red and a brown-ish yellow, but in certain cases they can also use white in order not to blend in with the background too much on certain posters.
The Efteling keeps re-using the same curved and curly shapes throughout the entire themepark, all of the entrances of the attractions and signs use these curling shapes as decoration and it also helps to further ehnance the whole magical fairy tale theme.
To keep visitors immersed in the theme park's fairy tale theme, the outside world is completely covered by trees, nature and brick walls, this way visitors cannot be taken out of the fictional world and will not get distracted.
There are also animatronics and puppets of fairy tale characters scattered throughout the theme park to make the place feel more alive.
There are also speakers, lights and other electronics hidden within the bushes, trees and scenery props in order to really make the visitors feel like they're in a magical place. Music doesn't just come out of nowhere in real life, and neither does colorful light just magically appear out of the sky at night, so it feels unusual and strange for the visitors to experience these things which will further enhance the theme park's magical fairy tale theme.
Since the electronics are also cleverly hidden visitors will not be taken out of the experience by suddenly seeing some modern technology sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of nowhere.
Other things like stores, snackbars and streetlights are also cleverly disguised to go along with the rest of the themepark's style and so they don't stick out and potentionally take visitors out of the immersion.
There are also animatronics and puppets of fairy tale characters scattered throughout the theme park to make the place feel more alive.
There are also speakers, lights and other electronics hidden within the bushes, trees and scenery props in order to really make the visitors feel like they're in a magical place. Music doesn't just come out of nowhere in real life, and neither does colorful light just magically appear out of the sky at night, so it feels unusual and strange for the visitors to experience these things which will further enhance the theme park's magical fairy tale theme.
Since the electronics are also cleverly hidden visitors will not be taken out of the experience by suddenly seeing some modern technology sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of nowhere.
Other things like stores, snackbars and streetlights are also cleverly disguised to go along with the rest of the themepark's style and so they don't stick out and potentionally take visitors out of the immersion.
Step 9 - Research the Style and Atmosphere of the Fairy Tale
For this part of the assignment we had to research the style and atmosphere of the fairy tale that was assigned to us at the beginning of the assignment. We had to check what kind of style guide it follows, what it looks like visually, and what general vibe it gives off.
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
Here you can see the research that I conducted:
Sjakie en de Bonenstaak, or Jack and the Beanstalk, seems to have a bit of an old fashioned or middle aged style, all of the items, buildings, environments, etc, all use old aspects, for example: The house in which Sjakie and his mother live is fully made out of natural materials such as stone, clay and wheat, and we don't make buildings like that anymore nowadays. Even all of the light sources are just candles and/or lanters because there is no electricity, that wasn't invented yet back then.
There are also never any mentions of modern technology, or any other kinds of modern things, there are no smartphones, no space rockets, no social media, nothing, there are only old fashioned things such as clay buildings, farms, castles, gold coins, etc.
The atmosphere also feels very old and fairy tale like, all of the environments on the surface are just big open fields of grass, forests, or old villages, but above the clouds also lies a big magical land with a goose that lays golden eggs and giants who live in floating castles. These geese, giants and floating castles do not and could not exist in real life, which gives people a bit of a feeling on unfamiliarity, they've never seen anything like this before, and it's also not explained in any sort of way, which gives people a very strange vibe. People become a bit confused if something they see has no proper set of rules or an explanation, if something just exists or does something without a reason it will feel like it comes from another world and isn't from here, it feels like these things shouldn't exist which makes it very interesting at the same time.
There are also never any mentions of modern technology, or any other kinds of modern things, there are no smartphones, no space rockets, no social media, nothing, there are only old fashioned things such as clay buildings, farms, castles, gold coins, etc.
The atmosphere also feels very old and fairy tale like, all of the environments on the surface are just big open fields of grass, forests, or old villages, but above the clouds also lies a big magical land with a goose that lays golden eggs and giants who live in floating castles. These geese, giants and floating castles do not and could not exist in real life, which gives people a bit of a feeling on unfamiliarity, they've never seen anything like this before, and it's also not explained in any sort of way, which gives people a very strange vibe. People become a bit confused if something they see has no proper set of rules or an explanation, if something just exists or does something without a reason it will feel like it comes from another world and isn't from here, it feels like these things shouldn't exist which makes it very interesting at the same time.
Step 10 - Choose and Research a Target Audience
For this part of the assignment we had to choose and research a target audience. We had to choose a specific group of people who are all around the same age and then design our attraction to be attractive to that group.
At the beginning of the assignment our teacher told us that our target audience would be people around the age of 15 to 20 years, but people can of course have different tastes and opinions, so I believe that my attraction would fit best with an audience that is interested in high action packed experiences which gives them a lot of dopamine since most of the ideas I have in mind for the attraction contain a lot of action packed sequences and some pretty scary parts, which would not be very interesting for people who want to take it slow and enjoy some more calmer rides.
People who are around the age of 15 to 20 are often only interested in very action packed or serious things, they think that the calmer things are usually meant for kids or younger people, and they want to stay away from them as much as possible because they are in a stage where they're becoming more mature and are no longer interested in childish things, they think it's embarassing if they go on a ride together with a bunch of younger people, they think it makes them look immature and childish, and they don't want to look like a coward, they want to show that they're not afraid and that they can take on anything. This is why I wanted to make my ride very action packed, this way older people would not get embarassed and wouldn't look immature or childish.
At the beginning of the assignment our teacher told us that our target audience would be people around the age of 15 to 20 years, but people can of course have different tastes and opinions, so I believe that my attraction would fit best with an audience that is interested in high action packed experiences which gives them a lot of dopamine since most of the ideas I have in mind for the attraction contain a lot of action packed sequences and some pretty scary parts, which would not be very interesting for people who want to take it slow and enjoy some more calmer rides.
People who are around the age of 15 to 20 are often only interested in very action packed or serious things, they think that the calmer things are usually meant for kids or younger people, and they want to stay away from them as much as possible because they are in a stage where they're becoming more mature and are no longer interested in childish things, they think it's embarassing if they go on a ride together with a bunch of younger people, they think it makes them look immature and childish, and they don't want to look like a coward, they want to show that they're not afraid and that they can take on anything. This is why I wanted to make my ride very action packed, this way older people would not get embarassed and wouldn't look immature or childish.
Step 11 - Research the Styles and Themes of Already Existing Attractions
For this part of the assignment we had to research the styles and the themes of several attractions that already exist in the Efteling so we could get an idea of how we would have to design, style and theme our own attraction.
Here you can see the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
Here you can see the research I conducted for this part of the assignment:
De Vliegende Hollander:
De Vliegende Hollander is themed to be in the style of an old medieval themed VOC port, all of the scenery is fully made out of stone, wood, clay and other older materials which you can often find in buildings from the medieval ages. There are tons of aspects that point towards this being an old VOC port, such as wooden barrels, chainlink fences, bridges, tunnels, the cart of the ride being designed to look like a boat and the fact that the ride is placed right next to a big lake which is meant to serve as an ocean.
The waiting line of the ride is also in the same theme, you walk through a dirt tunnel which is filled with wooden support beams, lanterns and golden treasures, several medieval/pirate themed apartment buildings, and then finally end up at an old medieval village in the middle of the night where you take a seat in one of the boat carts.
The beginning of the ride itself also matches with the rest of the theme, you go under a few stone bridges and eventually end up at some ship graveyard in the middle of the night where you are then greeted by a few jumpscares right before the cart goes up a ramp and transitions to the second part of the ride, from there you ride over a long steel track which is painted green in order to blend in with the plants and nature that surrounds the ride and not stick out too much, but the overall theme seems to be a bit lacking at those parts. You do go through a few more wooden towers and then finally end up splashing back down in the water of the lake, but that's pretty much it.
The waiting line of the ride is also in the same theme, you walk through a dirt tunnel which is filled with wooden support beams, lanterns and golden treasures, several medieval/pirate themed apartment buildings, and then finally end up at an old medieval village in the middle of the night where you take a seat in one of the boat carts.
The beginning of the ride itself also matches with the rest of the theme, you go under a few stone bridges and eventually end up at some ship graveyard in the middle of the night where you are then greeted by a few jumpscares right before the cart goes up a ramp and transitions to the second part of the ride, from there you ride over a long steel track which is painted green in order to blend in with the plants and nature that surrounds the ride and not stick out too much, but the overall theme seems to be a bit lacking at those parts. You do go through a few more wooden towers and then finally end up splashing back down in the water of the lake, but that's pretty much it.
Python:
The Python is themed to look like you're riding a big snake over an even bigger snake's ribcage. The ride is designed to replicate the experience of being attacked by a python, but in a fun way. The idea is that the loops and twists are meant to replicate the deadly moves that the snake makes when it tries to kill its prey, which will allow for the visitors to get a taste of what it's like to be attacked by a python without it being too scary or possibly containing the risk of injury or death.
The cart of the ride is designed to look like a python, it is a long row of carts each of which have a brown/yellow-ish scale like texture with the cart at the front being in the shape of a python's head, and if everything is put together the whole thing looks like one big python.
The track itself is designed to look like the ribcage or skeleton of an even bigger snake, it's made out of a long steel beam with tons of small hooks sticking out of it, which are all painted white in order to look more like a ribcage.
Surrounding the roller coaster is a bunch of nature and trees which cover up the outside world and prevent the visitors from being taken out of the experience, and the giant ribcage looking track isn't very out of place either since it could represent the corpse of a slain massive beast, which would fit with the rest of the theme park's fairy tale theme as well since giant snakes don't exist in real life.
The cart of the ride is designed to look like a python, it is a long row of carts each of which have a brown/yellow-ish scale like texture with the cart at the front being in the shape of a python's head, and if everything is put together the whole thing looks like one big python.
The track itself is designed to look like the ribcage or skeleton of an even bigger snake, it's made out of a long steel beam with tons of small hooks sticking out of it, which are all painted white in order to look more like a ribcage.
Surrounding the roller coaster is a bunch of nature and trees which cover up the outside world and prevent the visitors from being taken out of the experience, and the giant ribcage looking track isn't very out of place either since it could represent the corpse of a slain massive beast, which would fit with the rest of the theme park's fairy tale theme as well since giant snakes don't exist in real life.
Baron 1898:
Baron 1898 is themed to look like a vintage factory/invention, the whole ride contains tons of aspects that hint towards a vintage theme, such as giant metal gears, tons of long truss beams, curly and curving details all over the place, round yellow-ish lightbulbs illuminating the inside and outside of the factory, brick walls, polished wood and metal beams everywhere. Even the name of the ride has the year 1898 in it, which is around the same time as most vintage stuff and also when big factories with tons of machinery began to pop up everywhere around the world.
The ride starts off inside of an old factory building where visitors are first shown a performance of a few animatronics which are dressed up as rich people from the 1800's - 1900's, after which the visitors can take a seat in the cart.
The cart is designed to look like an invention that has been made by some engineer, it's fully made out of straight and symmetrical metal shapes which were only able to be constructed around the 1800's - 1900's when big factory machinery and productions began to become popular.
The track itself is also designed to go along with the rest of the roller coaster's theme, it's fully made out of steel and metal shapes, and it starts off by going up a high metal tower after which it goes down very steeply.
The whole experience is designed to feel like you're sitting in a newly invented flying machine, your feet are hanging loosely and aren't touching anything, and the cart goes up and down constantly, gets to some pretty tall heights and even flips a few times which is more likely something that a flying machine could do rather than a cart that drives along around the ground.
This ride fits slightly less well with the rest of the theme park's fairy tale theme since most of it isn't really magical or fantasy like, but the cart in which you ride does seem to represent some sort of flying machine, which hasn't been invented yet in real life and thus does make the ride have a little bit of fantasy in it.
The ride starts off inside of an old factory building where visitors are first shown a performance of a few animatronics which are dressed up as rich people from the 1800's - 1900's, after which the visitors can take a seat in the cart.
The cart is designed to look like an invention that has been made by some engineer, it's fully made out of straight and symmetrical metal shapes which were only able to be constructed around the 1800's - 1900's when big factory machinery and productions began to become popular.
The track itself is also designed to go along with the rest of the roller coaster's theme, it's fully made out of steel and metal shapes, and it starts off by going up a high metal tower after which it goes down very steeply.
The whole experience is designed to feel like you're sitting in a newly invented flying machine, your feet are hanging loosely and aren't touching anything, and the cart goes up and down constantly, gets to some pretty tall heights and even flips a few times which is more likely something that a flying machine could do rather than a cart that drives along around the ground.
This ride fits slightly less well with the rest of the theme park's fairy tale theme since most of it isn't really magical or fantasy like, but the cart in which you ride does seem to represent some sort of flying machine, which hasn't been invented yet in real life and thus does make the ride have a little bit of fantasy in it.
Step 12 - Create a Moodboard, a Styleboard and a Reference Board
For this part of the assignment we had to create a mooboard, a styleboard and a reference board in order to determine how the final product was gonna look and feel. We had to gather images on the internet and put each one of them together into three separate collections, one for the feeling of the attraction, one for the art style of the attraction and one for the shapes, colors and materials of the attraction.
Here you can see the moodboard, the styleboard and the referenceboards that I made:
Here you can see the moodboard, the styleboard and the referenceboards that I made:
Moodboard:
Styleboard:
Reference Boards:
Step 13 - Create Concepts
For this part of the assignment we had to create three visual concepts of what kinds of rides we could create. We had to make a sketch of three different attractions that would each fit with the criteria which we had established earlier.
Here you can see the three sketches that I made:
Here you can see the three sketches that I made:
Sketch 1, 2 & 3:
We also had to make sure each concept fits within an area of 20 meters by 20 meters, for this I made a rough model inside of Blender to determine how big everything had to be, what could be left it and what had to be left out.
Here you can see the rough models that I made inside of Blender:
Here you can see the rough models that I made inside of Blender:
Rough Model 1:
Rough Model 2:
Rough Model 3:
I eventually ended up going with concept 1 because that one was the most practical option, and it would also easily fit between the 20 by 20 meter area.
The other concepts, concept 2 and 3, sadly did not make the cut because I felt like they wouldn't fit very well within the 20 by 20 meter area, they were too short and thus weren't too exciting, which wouldn't have matched my target audience very well.
The other concepts, concept 2 and 3, sadly did not make the cut because I felt like they wouldn't fit very well within the 20 by 20 meter area, they were too short and thus weren't too exciting, which wouldn't have matched my target audience very well.
Step 14 - Create 3D Models
For this step we had to create a bunch of 3D models using Blender, we had to stay below 1600 triangles (or polygons) for each object so it would be 'Game Ready', this basically meant that we had to keep all of the models pretty simple so that they could be viewed in real time without any performance issues.
Here you can see all of the 3D models that I made:
Here you can see all of the 3D models that I made:
Step 15 - Texturing / Coloring
For this step we had to add colors to our 3D models, we couldn't use things like image textures because our teachers wanted to give us a challenge where we would try to give something as much detail as possible while also keeping it very simple.
We had to give all of our 3D models colors so that they would match our mood and styleboards, and so they would be recognisable. We could only use 16 different textures in total in order to make the whole scene 'Game Ready' so it could be viewed in real time.
Here you can see the textures/colors that I made:
We had to give all of our 3D models colors so that they would match our mood and styleboards, and so they would be recognisable. We could only use 16 different textures in total in order to make the whole scene 'Game Ready' so it could be viewed in real time.
Here you can see the textures/colors that I made:
Step 16 - Exporting to Sketchfab
For the 16th and final step we had to export our 3D scene to Sketchfab so it could be viewed by our teacher, we had to export the 3D scene as an FBX file, import it in Sketchfab, tweak the materials, add lighting, add post processing effects and publish it.
Here you can once again see my final product inside of Sketchfab:
Here you can once again see my final product inside of Sketchfab:
I chose to create a dropper attraction because I felt like that one would fit the best with the giant beanstalk due to it's massive vertical size. There aren't a lot of good options for attractions that take up a lot of vertical space, I didn't want to shorten the beanstalk so that I could make a shorter but wider attraction around it, and the dropper attraction also mimics the feeling of quickly running down the giant beanstalk like Sjakie does in the fairy tale, so that is why I chose to create a dropper attraction for this occasion.
I tried to add a bit of warm sunlight which is shining down from above in order to illuminate most of the 3D scene since the spot I chose for it would be in a big empty field where there would be a lot of access to sunlight. I chose for this specific spot because it matched the environment that was described in the fairy tale pretty well.
I also added some softer light blue lights shining from underneath so that the ceilings and underground hallways would be illuminated in a colder and darker tone since they wouldn't directly be hit by the sunlight.
Finally I also added a slight bit of ambient lighting from the side to mimic the effect of global illumination. Light bounces around and illuminates the environment around it in real life, which I wanted to try to mimic by adding a third extra light to the 3D scene.
I tried to add a bit of warm sunlight which is shining down from above in order to illuminate most of the 3D scene since the spot I chose for it would be in a big empty field where there would be a lot of access to sunlight. I chose for this specific spot because it matched the environment that was described in the fairy tale pretty well.
I also added some softer light blue lights shining from underneath so that the ceilings and underground hallways would be illuminated in a colder and darker tone since they wouldn't directly be hit by the sunlight.
Finally I also added a slight bit of ambient lighting from the side to mimic the effect of global illumination. Light bounces around and illuminates the environment around it in real life, which I wanted to try to mimic by adding a third extra light to the 3D scene.
I also experienced a few issues while uploading my work in progress versions of my 3D scene to Sketchfab, sometimes the normals were messed up, models were missing, or I forgot to delete certain hidden models.
Luckily I didn't loose too much time because of this, because the purpose of uploading our work in progress versions of our 3D scenes was to find and fix any possible issues so that our final product wouldn't have any.
Here you can see my failed attempts:
Luckily I didn't loose too much time because of this, because the purpose of uploading our work in progress versions of our 3D scenes was to find and fix any possible issues so that our final product wouldn't have any.
Here you can see my failed attempts:
Inverted normals, clipping shadows & missing tower foundation
Conclusion
The final product that I've made is meant to represent a dropper attraction which gives the visitors a temporary feeling of free falling, this increases their adrenalyne and it's pretty scary and action packed which is why I think it would fit quite well with my target audience of people around the age of 15-20 years old.
The ride is themed around the fairy tale of Sjakie en de Bonenstaak (Jack and the Beanstalk), it takes and combines aspects from several different versions of the fairy tale, and its theme is also designed to go along with that of the Efteling itself so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
We were tasked with making our 3D scene "game ready" so it could be viewed in real time, and we were limited to only using 16 different materials without any image textures. My solution for this was to choose for a low poly art style with static colors, that way I could easily stay beneath the 1600 triangle limit for each object, and I didn't have to use any kinds of image textures either since the low poly objects went pretty well together with static colors.
From my research I have concluded that the Efteling has a fairy tale like theme, there are no signs of modern technology anywhere, everything feels new and strange, and there are tons of mystical and magical characters everywhere around the theme park. All of these things combines give the visitors a feeling of unfamiliarity, and they can't explain the things they're seeing, which gives them a bit of a magical feeling.
From my research I have also concluded that the fairy tale of Sjakie en de Bonenstaak has a social theme of trust. The main character, Sjakie, trusts a random stranger and ignores his mothers requests, which gets him into trouble. Sjakie also goes to a strange and unfamiliar place where he doesn't know anyone and also quickly gets into trouble again.
The only place where Sjakie is safe is back home with his mother, she is his family and the only person he can trust, which is why he is safe there.
The message that I think this fairy tale is trying to tell is that you shouldn't just trust random strangers or go to unfamiliar places, you should stay together with the people you can trust and avoid any trouble.
Overall I think this assignment went pretty well, I didn't come across any major issues or obstacles and I was able to fully finish and hand in my work before the deadline arrived.
I'm happy with how my work turned out in the end, I think it is of pretty high quality and it's also fully finished, it's not missing anything important for as far as I'm aware of, and there aren't a lot of things that I'd want to change or improve upon.
The only things that did not go so well were that the deadline became very tight, I sometimes had to stay up for longer periods of time so I could fully finish my work, because I knew that if I didn't that my work would then not be the quality I wanted and it would also miss some important features.
Something else that didn't go perfectly and that I still want to improve upon is the length of my research & process document, I feel like it contains too much text and it a bit too long, but I also felt like that shortening it would get rid of a bunch of important information. I had some trouble with fitting what I wanted to say or explain within a small sentence and sometimes had to make my texts a bit longer so I could fully explain and show off what I had made.
The ride is themed around the fairy tale of Sjakie en de Bonenstaak (Jack and the Beanstalk), it takes and combines aspects from several different versions of the fairy tale, and its theme is also designed to go along with that of the Efteling itself so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
We were tasked with making our 3D scene "game ready" so it could be viewed in real time, and we were limited to only using 16 different materials without any image textures. My solution for this was to choose for a low poly art style with static colors, that way I could easily stay beneath the 1600 triangle limit for each object, and I didn't have to use any kinds of image textures either since the low poly objects went pretty well together with static colors.
From my research I have concluded that the Efteling has a fairy tale like theme, there are no signs of modern technology anywhere, everything feels new and strange, and there are tons of mystical and magical characters everywhere around the theme park. All of these things combines give the visitors a feeling of unfamiliarity, and they can't explain the things they're seeing, which gives them a bit of a magical feeling.
From my research I have also concluded that the fairy tale of Sjakie en de Bonenstaak has a social theme of trust. The main character, Sjakie, trusts a random stranger and ignores his mothers requests, which gets him into trouble. Sjakie also goes to a strange and unfamiliar place where he doesn't know anyone and also quickly gets into trouble again.
The only place where Sjakie is safe is back home with his mother, she is his family and the only person he can trust, which is why he is safe there.
The message that I think this fairy tale is trying to tell is that you shouldn't just trust random strangers or go to unfamiliar places, you should stay together with the people you can trust and avoid any trouble.
Overall I think this assignment went pretty well, I didn't come across any major issues or obstacles and I was able to fully finish and hand in my work before the deadline arrived.
I'm happy with how my work turned out in the end, I think it is of pretty high quality and it's also fully finished, it's not missing anything important for as far as I'm aware of, and there aren't a lot of things that I'd want to change or improve upon.
The only things that did not go so well were that the deadline became very tight, I sometimes had to stay up for longer periods of time so I could fully finish my work, because I knew that if I didn't that my work would then not be the quality I wanted and it would also miss some important features.
Something else that didn't go perfectly and that I still want to improve upon is the length of my research & process document, I feel like it contains too much text and it a bit too long, but I also felt like that shortening it would get rid of a bunch of important information. I had some trouble with fitting what I wanted to say or explain within a small sentence and sometimes had to make my texts a bit longer so I could fully explain and show off what I had made.
