With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Step and Play is a giant interactive keyboard from Technically Creativ
What does Technically Creative do? We create the ultimate in immersive experiences. Our team is dedicated to providing captivating visitor experience installations, large or small. Think of us as your one-stop all in-house experience provider.
Which sectors do you work in? We work with theme parks, family entertainment centres, retail and visitor attractions. Anything fun!
What type of projects do you take on? We create VR attractions, software modelling and interactive games, as well as immersive retail experiences, interactive mini-golf centres and F&B environments. Other areas include lighting, show control and digital audio installations, projection mapping, bespoke exhibition stand tech, electronics, and installations.
Who are your key clients? We work with a range of different clients to create attractions all around the globe. From private attractions, theme parks and FECs, creative design studios to museum and retail contractors.
What services do you offer? As a one-stop-shop experience provider, we currently offer the following services: concept design, interactive environments, lighting, interactive software, audio visual, show control, electrical/electronics and project management. We’re also extremely excited to have launched a range of off-the shelf Technically Creative products, including Magic Sand Pit, which brings imagined landscapes to life; The Town Planner, an interactive VR landscape creator; and Step and Play, a giant interactive keyboard.
Where in the world do you work? We can work anywhere! All our installations are designed and built at our headquarters, before being installed on site. Our dedicated team have worked all over the world, completing projects such as the Xplore Family Entertainment Centre in Athens, and the Madagascar Mad Pursuit attraction in Dubai.
What’s your company mission? To be a one-stop shop for all attraction technical requirements. We love guiding our clients from their initial idea right the way through to project completion and aftercare.
What makes you special and different? We’re a one-stop-shop for all interactive attraction needs. That means we can take your initial idea through concept, R&D, design, production and finally through to installation. We also offer aftercare and maintenance packages to ensure your installation continues to bring joy to guests for years to come. Another key factor that separates Technically Creative from the competition, is that every member of our team has installation experience, even those who are desk-based. This means that our team constantly has the end goal in sight, and we all pull in the right direction to ensure we deliver an outstanding installation.
What’s your working process? Firstly, understanding the client’s requirements and budget is key to creating the attraction they desire. We then work closely with the client on concept development. Our talented designers then produce creative concept visuals. The next stage is production design, before we build and test our work, on-site at our headquarters in York. The final stage is installation, where we get to see the idea come to life.
From where do you draw inspiration? Many childhood experiences serve as the inspiration for the work I do. From the age of five I was already creating fantasy gardens and learning about electronics. I find that children have a very simple view of the world, and often some of the simpler ideas are more exciting with endless possibilities.
Which projects have you worked on? One of our most exciting recent projects was the Xplore Family Entertainment Centre in Athens, Greece. We worked on this project for over six months, creating interactives for 20 different zones across three sections: The Exploratorium, Adventureland and The Oceans. For the Exploratorium, we created and installed a laser harp, motion graffiti, and a giant piano. In Adventureland there’s a Laser Maze, or you can design and service a car, or even have a go on our racing simulator. This area of the centre also features a new interactive we’ve created, called Virtual Village. Similar to SimCity this is a totally interactive installation that allows players to build a virtual village in real-time using our live rendering software. We also installed all the lighting, show control, electrical control systems, audio and PA systems throughout Xplore Athens.
How do you see the industry changing? Since the outbreak of COVID-19 a lot of attractions have had to change the way they operate. This will influence the business feasibility of operators and suppliers. I can see a future where visitor dwell time is factored into the design of attractions to help account for social distancing, for now it is positive to see more projects resurfacing, and we look forward to seeing the sector thrive once again in the coming year.
The core team
• Marc Broadbent
Founder, owner, and creative director
• Clare Sims
PA to Marc Broadbent & project manager
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 1
Editor's letter: Doing better
The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged museums professionals to ask testing questions about their role in reparative history and the way we display and interpret racist and colonial collections
People: Brent Bushnell
Two Bit Circus has pivoted to an innovative online model aimed at keeping its community in touch
People: Michel Linet-Frion
After decades creating for Disney, Grévin and Center Parcs, Linet-Frion has launched his own consultancy
People: Anthony Rawlins
The Digital Visitor CEO explains a new whitepaper on how attractions can survive 2021 and beyond
Interview: Sarah Roots
Warner Bros’ Sarah Roots shares exciting details of the second Harry Potter Studio Tour, set to open in Japan in 2023
Inspired: Alone with Vermeer
The Mauritshuis in The Hague has allowed visitors one-to-one time with Vermeer’s <i>View of Delft</i>, ‘the most beautiful painting in the world’
Aquariums: Into the deep
Merlin and the Sea Life Trust share the highs and lows of the epic journey to get two whales to their new home in the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland
Innovation: Sea change
Edge Innovations’ incredibly
life-like robot dolphins could spell the end of marine mammals in aquariums, says CEO Walt Conti
Interview: Bob Rogers
As BRC Imagination Arts celebrates 40 years in business, its founder celebrates his team’s achievements
Sponsored: Technically Creative
With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Sponsored: Fun Spot: Providing turnkey solutions
Industry innovator, Fun Spot, is on a roll, with a new EMEA
office and a range of innovative new products to help operators
deliver excellence to the family fun market. We find out more
Interview: Phil Hettema
The Hettema Group president on weathering the pandemic and creating powerful experiences
With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Step and Play is a giant interactive keyboard from Technically Creativ
What does Technically Creative do? We create the ultimate in immersive experiences. Our team is dedicated to providing captivating visitor experience installations, large or small. Think of us as your one-stop all in-house experience provider.
Which sectors do you work in? We work with theme parks, family entertainment centres, retail and visitor attractions. Anything fun!
What type of projects do you take on? We create VR attractions, software modelling and interactive games, as well as immersive retail experiences, interactive mini-golf centres and F&B environments. Other areas include lighting, show control and digital audio installations, projection mapping, bespoke exhibition stand tech, electronics, and installations.
Who are your key clients? We work with a range of different clients to create attractions all around the globe. From private attractions, theme parks and FECs, creative design studios to museum and retail contractors.
What services do you offer? As a one-stop-shop experience provider, we currently offer the following services: concept design, interactive environments, lighting, interactive software, audio visual, show control, electrical/electronics and project management. We’re also extremely excited to have launched a range of off-the shelf Technically Creative products, including Magic Sand Pit, which brings imagined landscapes to life; The Town Planner, an interactive VR landscape creator; and Step and Play, a giant interactive keyboard.
Where in the world do you work? We can work anywhere! All our installations are designed and built at our headquarters, before being installed on site. Our dedicated team have worked all over the world, completing projects such as the Xplore Family Entertainment Centre in Athens, and the Madagascar Mad Pursuit attraction in Dubai.
What’s your company mission? To be a one-stop shop for all attraction technical requirements. We love guiding our clients from their initial idea right the way through to project completion and aftercare.
What makes you special and different? We’re a one-stop-shop for all interactive attraction needs. That means we can take your initial idea through concept, R&D, design, production and finally through to installation. We also offer aftercare and maintenance packages to ensure your installation continues to bring joy to guests for years to come. Another key factor that separates Technically Creative from the competition, is that every member of our team has installation experience, even those who are desk-based. This means that our team constantly has the end goal in sight, and we all pull in the right direction to ensure we deliver an outstanding installation.
What’s your working process? Firstly, understanding the client’s requirements and budget is key to creating the attraction they desire. We then work closely with the client on concept development. Our talented designers then produce creative concept visuals. The next stage is production design, before we build and test our work, on-site at our headquarters in York. The final stage is installation, where we get to see the idea come to life.
From where do you draw inspiration? Many childhood experiences serve as the inspiration for the work I do. From the age of five I was already creating fantasy gardens and learning about electronics. I find that children have a very simple view of the world, and often some of the simpler ideas are more exciting with endless possibilities.
Which projects have you worked on? One of our most exciting recent projects was the Xplore Family Entertainment Centre in Athens, Greece. We worked on this project for over six months, creating interactives for 20 different zones across three sections: The Exploratorium, Adventureland and The Oceans. For the Exploratorium, we created and installed a laser harp, motion graffiti, and a giant piano. In Adventureland there’s a Laser Maze, or you can design and service a car, or even have a go on our racing simulator. This area of the centre also features a new interactive we’ve created, called Virtual Village. Similar to SimCity this is a totally interactive installation that allows players to build a virtual village in real-time using our live rendering software. We also installed all the lighting, show control, electrical control systems, audio and PA systems throughout Xplore Athens.
How do you see the industry changing? Since the outbreak of COVID-19 a lot of attractions have had to change the way they operate. This will influence the business feasibility of operators and suppliers. I can see a future where visitor dwell time is factored into the design of attractions to help account for social distancing, for now it is positive to see more projects resurfacing, and we look forward to seeing the sector thrive once again in the coming year.
The core team
• Marc Broadbent
Founder, owner, and creative director
• Clare Sims
PA to Marc Broadbent & project manager
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2021 issue 1
Editor's letter: Doing better
The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged museums professionals to ask testing questions about their role in reparative history and the way we display and interpret racist and colonial collections
People: Brent Bushnell
Two Bit Circus has pivoted to an innovative online model aimed at keeping its community in touch
People: Michel Linet-Frion
After decades creating for Disney, Grévin and Center Parcs, Linet-Frion has launched his own consultancy
People: Anthony Rawlins
The Digital Visitor CEO explains a new whitepaper on how attractions can survive 2021 and beyond
Interview: Sarah Roots
Warner Bros’ Sarah Roots shares exciting details of the second Harry Potter Studio Tour, set to open in Japan in 2023
Inspired: Alone with Vermeer
The Mauritshuis in The Hague has allowed visitors one-to-one time with Vermeer’s <i>View of Delft</i>, ‘the most beautiful painting in the world’
Aquariums: Into the deep
Merlin and the Sea Life Trust share the highs and lows of the epic journey to get two whales to their new home in the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary in Iceland
Innovation: Sea change
Edge Innovations’ incredibly
life-like robot dolphins could spell the end of marine mammals in aquariums, says CEO Walt Conti
Interview: Bob Rogers
As BRC Imagination Arts celebrates 40 years in business, its founder celebrates his team’s achievements
Sponsored: Technically Creative
With clients including the Xplore
Family Entertainment Centre in Athens,
Technically Creative provides a one
stop, in-house solution to create
memorable and magical experiences.
We talk to CEO, Marc Broadbent
Sponsored: Fun Spot: Providing turnkey solutions
Industry innovator, Fun Spot, is on a roll, with a new EMEA
office and a range of innovative new products to help operators
deliver excellence to the family fun market. We find out more
Interview: Phil Hettema
The Hettema Group president on weathering the pandemic and creating powerful experiences
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
