A person rides on a flying simulator while playing “Birdly” at The Lab inside AREA 15 Monday, July 1, 2024.
Monday, July 15, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Area15 is arguably best known for its outside-the-box and experiential entertainment options, from an artistic and mesmerizing journey through Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart to the immersive nature of Museum Fiasco or Illuminarium.
And the newest attraction at the venue, which is located adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip and less than 5 years old, is the Lab: a colorful corner space on the second floor filled with a series of technology-based games. According to Chief Operating Officer Dan Pelson, Area15’s mantra is to move guests “from spectators to participants,” and the Lab reflects that.
“So what we want to do with everything that we introduce is make sure that we can have our guests participate in something and be engaged in something — in this world where so many people are kind of disengaged or engaged by sitting on their couch and using their thumb,” Pelson said. “The lab is really about getting people to climb into things.”
Since the Lab opened in May, guests have been able to enjoy “AR Dodgeball,” an augmented-reality version of the classic gym game that doesn’t require you to actually get “hit in the face,” Pelson quipped, another AR game called “Bot Breach,” which was developed by Area15’s own, OZ Ride, Lazer Maze, Particle Quest and more.
“That’s a big part of our way of looking at building an experiential entertainment district is — you just have to constantly innovate and constantly bring more to the consumer,” Pelson said.
Because the Lab dedicates a whole space to the games within it, he said, it’s full of energy as soon as people walk in, allows them to roam easily between each attraction and creates a single, holistic entertainment experience for guests.
While there are a few other attractions at Area15 with participatory games, Pelson said, few require as much physical engagement as the Lab. It allows guests to be hands-on and create their own outcome in a game, he emphasized.
“There’s plenty of AR out there,” he said. “But the … thing is, we tie it all together.”
Part of the appeal comes from the fact that there’s an underlying story to all of Area15’s attractions, including the Lab, he said, calling it the venue’s “secret sauce.” So, as patrons move from one game to another, they feel like a part of the world the venue’s created.
He’s found that, over the years, the more Area15 drives its story into its attractions, the more successful it is, Pelson said. People want the sense of mystery and oddness that it brings, so different from some of the attractions on the Strip, he emphasized.
“And even when you step out of the Lab into the main space,” he said, “you’re still in the world.”
Area15 doesn’t necessarily share that backstory with guests, but it is the basis of how officials design and create the venue’s experiences, said Kevin Reynolds, director of attractions at Area15.
In the story, the Lab, which Reynolds noted is home to seven games total — ranging from single- to six-player — is supposed to be a space where tests and experiments were conducted on the very devices now used in the games.
“It’s a really cool space,” he said of the Lab. “It’s chill — there’s a lot of fun, different things to do in it. … Before, we had (the games) all throughout the building, so people had to kind of explore and find each individual one to figure out what they wanted to do. But here, it’s a cohesive area where they come in, and whether they want to do everything … or if they just want to do one, or they can choose, now they know their options a lot easier.”
He emphasized that the audience for Area15 spans ages and cultures, and the Lab is no exception.
The people exploring the new attraction on a recent Monday at Area15 seemed to prove that, with the young and the old waiting in line to don AR goggles or lock in for a game, shouting in frustration or victory and laughing as they watched others take their turn.
Among the crowd of people milling between the different games was a group from Houston, Texas, who played “Birdly” — a virtual reality game in which participants can embark on an avian flight — and Grand Prix Racing Sims — where players drive on a virtual Formula One circuit.
One person in the group, Nina Urquieta, said AR experiences are often very expensive, and Area15 removes that barrier to an extent.
“It also gives you a lot of great experiences just within the realm of AR, that you wouldn’t be able to experience somewhere else without adding so (much) additional equipment on top of just purchasing the AR goggles and whatever,” she said.
Kari Urquieta, also visiting from Houston, added that the Lab was a good way to escape the Las Vegas heat.
“It’s nice to be inside, you know, step away from the Strip for a little bit,” she said. “And just experience something new that’s not really found in a lot of places.”
The Lab is just one aspect of the growth at Area15, which also debuted Netflix’s Army of the Dead VR Experience this year, and Pelson said will soon add a “John Wick” experience through a partnership with Lionsgate, and even more new and unique attractions.
He attributed the appeal of Area15 to how it naturally builds community, for locals as well as tourists, especially as people increasingly recognize the importance of connection following the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s kind of been beyond our wildest dreams,” he said of Area15’s evolution. “When we were a business plan in a deck that we were showing people, they would look at us like we were crazy. … Like, ‘What does this mean?’ They couldn’t even understand, like ‘Is it a mall? Is it a theme park? What is it?’ And we were really creating a new category.”
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