Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Water-ghost Maze

Maze with roaming "ghosts" created by water fountains
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Picture the scene: it is a warm, sultry night. You are exploring a maze, dimly lit by fairy-lights in the hedges. You start walking down a long avenue, when suddenly, at the other end, appears an 8-foot tall watery shape, glowing an eery blue. It rushes towards you. You turn and run, but the beast is too fast, and before you can reach a corner, you are engulfed in a surge of foaming water. It sweeps off into the maze, looking for other victims, and you are left soaking. You just lost the Water-ghost Maze Game - your wet clothes will mean that when you finally reach the centre of this maze, you will not get to choose a small furry toy as a prize.

That's the basic idea, a maze with water-ghosts that rush around inside. How is this done? The floor of the maze is covered with thousands of variable water fountains, quite closely packed. These act in a similar way to pixels on a computer screen. By activating a group of them, with the ones in the middle spurting higher than the ones at the outside, you get a sort of domed cylinder effect - think of the shapes of the ghosts in Pac-man. Each water jet also contains a blue light. When the jet is activated the light is also activated, and since the water is aerated, and so scatters the light, the water seems to glow blue.

By activating consecutive water jets, you can make the "ghost" move anywhere you want in the maze, and at any speed. The aim of the game is to get to the centre of the maze dry, so you can only enter the maze if you are wearing dry clothes. Not swimming cossy. This is to generate a sense of suspense about getting soaked, which is half the fun of the game.

The ghosts are controlled by a computer algorithm, similar to the one used in Pac-man. I imagine them moving at a brisk running pace, so if you see one you've gotta turn around and RUN LIKE HELL, while screaming like a girl. Or you get wet.

spacemoggy, Apr 27 2004

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       Great for a water park!
DrCurry, Apr 27 2004
  

       Wow sounds great. I'd pay to use this!
britboy, Apr 27 2004
  

       Boy is this a great idea! +
phundug, Apr 27 2004
  

       Silly and expensive, eh? Perhaps the gentlemen who run the Las Vegas casinos would be interested in the venture.
justaguy, Apr 27 2004
  

       You're going to get your croissant's all wet.   

       Similarly, footswitches at various locations cause the ghosts (liquidators?) to run the other way, back to the central area.
If the walls of the maze are made of water, as in the watermaze, then footswitches could be randomly programmed to open hidden entrances, shortcuts or blocked passageways between you and the ghosts.
Ling, Apr 27 2004
  

       Silly and expensive...good point and therefore +.
half, Apr 27 2004
  

       Boo,! or is that whoosh? +
skinflaps, Apr 27 2004
  

       This would go really good with simonj's water maze.
yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 27 2004
  

       Excellent. With enough pressure, the ghost could even pick you up and carry you off...screaming like a girl.
ldischler, Apr 27 2004
  

       getting the ghost to scream like a girl may pose some serious technological difficulties
joking victim, Apr 27 2004
  

       // you can only enter the maze if you are wearing dry clothes //   

       Get rid of this requirement - it eliminates repeat business.
waugsqueke, Apr 27 2004
  

       //ghosts are controlled by a computer algorithm//   

       If you make these patron controlled, different people could play both sides of the game. The ghost controlers would need to be limited to make it fun for both sides.
Laughs Last, Apr 27 2004
  

       //Like Pac Man //   

       Could there be a button that you press that turns the ghosts pink, and now instead of being chased, you chase them? Perhaps if they're pink and you step onto the same pad that they're at, the fountain there would turn off.
RayfordSteele, Apr 27 2004
  

       Would girls doing this maze have to scream like girls as well?
Silly and expensive - very good.
hippo, Apr 28 2004
  

       Thanks for all the croissants. So happy. Dream come true.   

       Re [Rayford Steele]'s point about chasing the ghosts: participants could be issued with a little cell-phone like device, whose position the maze can detect somehow. Then there could be "pills" scattered about the maze: a single jet, on a very low setting, glowing yellow. If you put your device next to it, the jet dissapears, and you have 90 seconds of ghost-killing power! Your device will play a little tune while you can kill ghosts. While this is playing, if you get within a few feet of a ghost, it will turn pink, and run away. You can kill it by pressing a button on the device, or just chase it around the maze, terrorizing people. But be careful when the time runs out...
spacemoggy, Apr 28 2004
  

       Nice one!
cromagnon, Apr 28 2004
  

       Bring on the summer sports. +
k_sra, Apr 28 2004
  

       Pacman never got 90 seconds of ghost killing power.
yabba do yabba dabba, Apr 28 2004
  
      
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