Innovation in the Amusement Industry Focuses on Social Connection

Written by: Tonya Dittman, Director of Engagment, The

For more than 3 billion people1, playing games is one of the primary ways they connect and socialize. Interactive social play was a growing trend pre-pandemic and even now, continues to grow. That is why much of the innovation at Bay Tek Entertainment focuses on enhancing social connection, specifically interactive social play.

Here are a few ways we are innovating and integrating technology to meet this social need: in demand, a feature that was of higher importance than originally anticipated. Social connection, especially during a time when people were isolated, grew and that social need hasn’t gone away.

Fully Immersive Experience

technologies have also opened the door to more game plays, or the different ways a player can interact with one particular game. So, for example, more diverse rules, plots, objectives and how to conquer them, as well as a player’s overall experience.

Our family of companies are using technology to deepen family connections and help people bond with their social networks. The evolution of our products recognizes and celebrates this trend.

Bay Tek Entertainment, Inc. is a Village Company.

AR Is

Less About

Technology and More About Bringing Digital and Tactile Experiences Together. Shoot! Score! Connect 4!

Connect4 Hoops is a great example of a tactile game meeting augmented reality (AR). One or two players shoot real basketballs into real basketball hoops and watch as their basketballs magically transform into virtual representations of their team color ball and fall into place on an LED-projected grid. The first player to align four balls on the AR playfield, wins. The game integrates tactile basketball shooting with a digital (AR) element for a deeper social and competitive experience.

Multi-Player Features (same location and on-line)

During the pandemic, family entertainment centers were not operating which meant our organization needed to pivot. With more time at home, direct-to-consumer games were created – including our first in-home Skee-Ball® product and other innovations. Multi-player features grew

Even as in-home entertainment grows, the desire for a fully immersive social experience - one that simply can’t be recreated at home – will exist. Full immersion, or creating an experience where all senses are activated, is a growing trend. We can see that in the evolution of our product components. For instance, color and camera-sensing vision systems recognize game play instead of relying on physical, mechanical components. Digital

Sources:

1. https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/the-gamesmarket-will-show-strong-resilence-in-2022