SO FAR ZO FUN
Exploring TEKZONE with Zo the fun-loving robot! By bazaar staff
It has only been a few months since Zo, a Zetan from the planet Zeta in the Andromeda Galaxy first arrived through his time traveling portal to Earth, but already he and TEKZONE are the talk of the town! These fun-loving Zetans live to have a great time and Zo has been spreading thrills and joy ever since landing right here in Kuwait. bazaar travelled to meet Zo through the time tunnel in the Forum of The Avenues and were shown around Zo’s favorite TEKZONE attractions, some of which are the first in the world, if not the entire galaxy! Firstly, Zo got us signed in with a personalized account so we could see how many crystals we collected throughout the day on various rides and attractions. The crystals are then exchanged for prizes or for more rides. As well as a huge arcade with over 80 games, there is a Virtual Reality (VR) motion cinema and more physically challenging attractions. Zo encouraged us to go at warp speed on “Magic 84
Bikes”, where the harder you pedal the higher you go and the more crystals you can earn. Because some of the games are scored, we were able to compete against each other or team up to achieve maximum points. Zo got us to push our sensory exploration to the limits in “The Cave Explorer” where we crawled through darkened tunnels with only a helmet flashlight turned on to guide the way. We then went on to experience a virtual yet thrilling 1000m roller coaster ride that we designed ourselves on the “Finger Coaster”. There is no end to the possibilities of dips, loops and drops here. It is VR but honestly you still get the feel of the crank of the cars chugging up the track, the whoosh of the wind as you’re whipped sideways along and the vast 360-degree views from when you’re at the top of the track’s highest hill. For those waiting for their turn there’s a screen where you can actually see what those riding the Finger Coaster can see. Continuing our fun-filled exploration, Zo pointed out the floor and walls which seemed to move! Adding to the exhilaratingly charged atmosphere the physical environment within TEKZONE is always changing. There are three effects to experience; “under water”, “jungle” and “future city”. The moving images are
cast onto the floors by 85 projectors and shown on 70 screens and LED video walls across the park. Out of the corner of your eye you can spot a virtual crab crawling quickly across the floor or look down and realize you are crossing a roped bridge flanked by dense jungle foliage. There is always something to catch your attention in TEKZONE. We loved the target games, as we’re super competitive at bazaar, and battling against each other to win the most points on the “Game Changer” was exciting! This is the first room in the Middle East that rotates 360 degrees allowing you to experience 4 different shooting games during the ride. Zo decided we may need a moment to recover from overloading our senses but the fun did not stop even though we were not running around or shooting at something. We exercised our brains in one of the two multi-media escape rooms. Both rooms are hightech and digitized so you get a futuristic experience. There are three themes here too; “Pirates”, “Ancient Egypt” and “Leonardo da Vinci”. The rooms are sized differently to accommodate smaller or larger groups, 5-8 team members is ideal. Looking after the smaller children in the group Zo took them to the “Toddlers’ Play Area” and “Soft Play