IAAPA Honors goes inside the Creative Enclave of MACK One

Not far from the famed Rhine River, through a small French village, and over a narrow bridge spanning a babbling brook awaits the creative compound of MACK One. With an entrance guarded by a retired ride vehicle from Europa-Park’s Eurosat roller coaster, this dedicated space—purposely removed from the kinetic sights and sounds of Europa-Park—is where ingenuity finds a clean thought pattern.

“We have so many key professionals coming to see us from several Mack companies, that this was a really good experience to show IAAPA what we do from animations to attractions to video games,” says Axel Lamury of MACK One, a senior producer at MACK Interactive.

“Those visiting today got to see behind-the-scenes. We went into detail, shared about the roadblocks we encountered and the solutions we found.”

Surrounded by woods outside of Strasbourg, France, is where what’s next comes to life.  “This is our creative hub where YULLBE and so many digital experiences from Mack Interactive come to life,” says Lukas Metzger, head of operations for Europa-Park.

Both Metzger and Lamury greeted a group of IAAPA Honors attendees on Monday morning who elected to take an EDUTour to the private facility. He showed attendees firsthand how members of different Mack businesses created the new Phantom of the Opera VR experience on Europa-Park’s Eurosat CanCan Coaster.

“Those visiting today got to see behind-the-scenes. We went into detail, shared about the roadblocks we encountered and the solutions we found,” he says. 

The Mack Family’s modern digital think tank is dedicated to family patriarch Franz Mack, one of the visionaries behind Europa-Park located in Rust, Germany. The walls of the conference room are lined with images and a timeline of Franz’s remarkable life as a family man, innovative ride designer, and theme park developer.

Attendees gained hands-on insight on how new products are developed by putting VR headsets on and trying the wireless technology for themselves.

“I’ve done VR before, but this is the first time it was three dimensional and dramatic,” says Adrea Gibbs with Alriginal Productions. “I can see the value of it in terms of being able to change the storyline and use a space that is basically empty, but is filled thematically through the VR.”

The spirit of ingenuity found at MACK One is reminiscent of Franz Mack’s motto: “Keep going … and stay down to Earth.”