How Mass Effect was transformed into gaming’s newest theme park attraction

If there’s one entertainment frontier that gaming’s biggest franchises haven’t quite cracked yet, it’s the world of licensed theme park attractions. But as the Great America theme park in Santa Clara, Calif., re-opened its gates for the 2016 season this week, it also showcased an all-new attraction for parkgoers to experience: Mass Effect: New Earth.

New Earth — or its full title, Mass Effect: New Earth: A 4D Holographic Journey — is based in the universe of Electronic Arts and Bioware’s multi-million-copy-selling role-playing epic. The ride, which uses a technologically advanced 3D LED display, puts attendees into the roles of tourists visiting the colonized world of Terra Nova on a tourist ship via Mass Relay. A live actor plays the role of the tour conductor (whom fans of the game might recognize as Conrad Verner), who finds himself awkwardly forced into a proactive role as things go horribly wrong and a Reaper attack strikes Terra Nova in mid-tour. Attendees, wearing special 3D glasses, are treated to an exciting thrill ride as they soar through land- and space-scapes; see familiar Mass Effect characters, structures, and locales; and get up close and personal with some scary (and surprisingly stinky) Reapers.