This post is a branch-off from my previous post, about water park awards.
I understand that achieving a water park award would involve not just coming up with an idea, but actually making the idea a reality. However, what I think is that as long as there is a cool, viable blueprint to build a waterpark on, an idea alone would let me have a good shot at achieving the Leading Edge award.
This is where I want to introduce my hypothetical water park theme – Wii Sports Resort.
What is Wii Sports Resort?
To give a quick overview, Wii Sports Resort is a sports simulation game published by Nintendo in 2009. Players are able to participate in 12 different activities, ranging from kendo, to frisbee, to parachuting, in a fictional in-game world called Wuhu Island.
A snapshot of Wuhu Island, the setting of Wii Sports Resort.
Why I think Wii Sports Resort would be a viable theme
Allegedly having sold over 33 million copies, it’s the 18th best-selling video game of all time. In order to even be considered by the water attraction industry, my idea would need to be grounded in some sort of evidence that there would be consumer demand to guarantee some level of commercial success – but I think this would be of little concern as Wii Sports Resort has already cultivated a large fanbase worldwide.
Additionally, ideation for a water park centralized around this theme would be a relatively simple process. With a range of activities to choose from and a map of Wuhu Island that can act as a starting point for the park layout, Wii Sports Resort already provides a good foundation for what kind of fun it can provide its visitors.
Activity & zone ideas
1. Wuhu town
Right off the bat, as most water parks come in distinct zones – I think at least one zone dedicated to recreating a portion of Wuhu Town, the capital of Wuhu Island, would look amazing. It’s not just the idea of being able to go to water park to enjoy the recreation of a town – this area comes with a basketball court, which would be extremely fun to engage with should it be equipped with typical water park infrastructure, such as ground sprays. Buildings do not have to be recreated one-for-one, but rather, if the buildings were made to be miniature and water should spray out of the windows or something, I think it would be an amazing time.
2. Sword fight arena
Based off of perhaps the most iconic sports from the game, I think one of the central attractions of the water park should be an arena surrounded by deep water where visitors can duel each other with swords – not real ones, of course, but perhaps made out of foam, similar to pool noodles.
There is a large issue with this idea, however, as there are many, many safety risks that much be considered before this could become an even remotely viable idea.
I think the first issue would be the pure idea of people dropping backwards into the water. I do not at all think that the drop should be as intense as portrayed in the video game; but because being able to dive off the arena into the deep water is half the charm of the swordplay game, I do think the fights should still take place above the water. Additionally, in order to alleviate the risk of someone slipping while on the ground and hurting themselves, I think the floor should be made of soft material.
3. Maka wuhu
https://wiikipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Maka_Wuhu?file=Maka_Wuhu_crop.png
https://wiisports.fandom.com/wiki/Lava_Monument?file=2024-02-15_032550.png
As the main attraction for the park, I think a pool zone that recreates the volcano on Wuhu Island would be an amazing attraction. Not only would the exterior be iconic, as it is the main trait of the island, but making the interior glow red, like an actual volcano, would really make the experience unique for visitors. Because this mountain is tall and wraps in a circle, I also think there’s a possibility for a water slide to wrap around it. Perhaps there may need to be a dedicated lifeguard inside this area, as a closed-off space might be a safety hazard – but I think without the volcano, our hypothetical water park would simply not pass as Wuhu Island.
Final thoughts
As I brainstormed what this waterpark themed after Wii Sports Resort might look like, I realized that the some of the activities in the game have not been brought to real life for a reason. There are far more safety risks to bringing this game to real life than I thought, but this is just the very early stages of planning this water park. I think if I decide to go along further with studying the mechanics of a safe water park, I’d be able to come up with an extremely viable plan to convert the game into a real-life attraction.