Alien War
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that originally opened at the Arches in Glasgow in April 1992 themed around the Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
series of films. Created by John Gorman and Gary Gillies, the attraction had a short run as a mobile event at various exhibition centres
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
in the UK (including the Bournemouth International Centre
Bournemouth International Centre
The Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, Dorset, is one of the primary venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England...
and the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre). On 15 October 1993 it opened in the basement of the Trocadero centre
Trocadero (London)
The London Trocadero is an entertainment complex in Shaftesbury Avenue, London originally built as a restaurant but most recently used as an exhibition and entertainment space....
in London. The permanent attraction in London closed after a flood in August 1996 and was never reopened. It made a short return between December 1999 and January 2000 in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in a modified form.
Concept
Xenomorph (Alien)
The Alien is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens , Alien 3 , and Alien Resurrection , two crossovers Alien vs...
Research Facility" which was an immersive dark set in the style of the films Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
and Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
. The Aliens would inevitably escape and menace, chase and sometimes even capture both the colonial marines and members of the public. The adult Aliens were realised by performers in suits and the facehugger creatures were animatronic effects.
The ride started as an acted tour around the facility, when an alarm started to go off indicating some problems. The marine (actor) in charge would then tell the group (around 10 participants) to line up against the wall, with various horizontal tubes running along it. She would insist the participants get as close as possible to the wall. Then the alarm would die down, a long silence would follow. Then, from behind the participants a loud burst of steam (prop CO2) would blow, causing a scare.
Then the participants would be huddled into the back of a corridor. The marine would stand in front of the participants. All the lights would go out in the corridor. They would flicker on, at which moment an alien could be seen at the end of the corridor. They would then extinguish, and by the time they flickered on again it was seen to be much closer. The marine would begin firing at it. It would be seen to be getting closer and closer at every flickering on of the lights, which were switched off for most of the time.
The participants would be hurried through the complex being herded by the Alien who would randomly grab participants but not catch them. The participants would eventually be forced through an egg chamber where the Queen was visible.
Then a sequence followed where everyone was sat in rows of seats in what represented some sort of drop ship waiting area, the marine would defend 1 door for a short time before herding participants in an elevator. Again the lights would flicker and the doors would open slightly allowing the alien to attack. Here somebody in front of the door would be taken by the alien. This was presumably an actor made to look like a participant, who had gone unnoticed.
The marine would end by yelling and pushing the participants to run along a corridor and out a door. As all the participants started running and burst out of the door they would realise they ran screaming and laughing out onto the street outside to the surprise of themselves and bystanders.
Technology
The marines originally carried blankBlank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
firing pistols. For Alien War London, an innovative electronic system called Soundfire was developed to allow the weapons to sound like those used in the film Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
. The system consisted of M41A pulse rifles with infrared transmitters and small strobe lights (to simulate muzzle flash). When the trigger is pulled a signal is transmitted to receivers hidden in the set. A central computer then plays gunfire sound effects to speakers in the correct area of the set. From a participants' point of view these effects were not very impressive. The method of producing the effect was very obvious, and was entirely different from how it would be imagined the weapons would discharge. The strobe lights also resembled blue camera flashes, and did not resemble a muzzleflash. The system also played other sound effects such as the Alien sounds. The system suffered teething troubles in the first months after opening meaning that the blank firing pistols had to be used for most early shows.
The show was seen in various guises and briefly featured an actor dressed as the Predator for a spell prior to it closing in Glasgow.
Alien War 2008
Alien War (now called Alien Wars) opened at its original home at the Arches Glasgow on December 6, 2008 and ran until August 30, 2009 in a modified format that is unrelated to the 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
film series. It opened in Liverpool at Wirral's spaceport and ran until March 2010.