Plaza Premium Lounge Brings Interactive Gaming to MCO’s Terminal C with edgefactory Partnership

By Aaron Pressman, Director of Operations at edgefactory

Orlando International Airport’s new Terminal C is heading into its fourth month of operation and is winding down from a busy holiday travel season. This state-of-the-art facility adds an additional 1.3 million square feet to the airport, providing much-needed space for the growing number of travelers passing through the facility.  Terminal C is set to serve 12 million passengers annually and allows the airport to raise total passenger capacity to 60 million per year. The new terminal features a wide range of new amenities, one of the most recent additions being the new flagship Plaza Premium Lounge—currently the only lounge located in Terminal C. 

The Plaza Premium Lounge opened its doors to travelers making their way through terminal C at the end of November. This new lounge is 10,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 223 guests, offering a wide selection of amenities, such custom-designed seating options, quiet zones, semi-private workspaces, showers, dining options and more. 

Since Orlando is known as a family-friendly destination, the lounge was designed with families in mind. The design includes a dedicated family-friendly zone with an interactive gaming area for kids. This is the first Plaza Premium Lounge that includes such a zone. The interactive gaming experience was brought to the space by edgefactory, a technology-focused, creative digital media production company based in Orlando, in partnership with X Studios. 

Plaza Premium Lounge approached Orlando-based edgefactory with the goal of designing a kid-friendly and focused experience— the target demographic being those aged 5-11 years—but also one that could be enjoyed by those of all ages. Using different creative elements like motion graphics, layered design and animation helped make for engaging gameplay. The team at edgefactory worked to create a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that would help to break up the monotony of spending time in the airport, as well as getting kids active, moving and connecting with each other and the virtual environment via the gameplay.

The game—Tasty Turtle Treats—is a one-player interactive game in which the player controls a turtle character using an advanced interactive camera that uses the person as the controller. Turtle food falls from the top of the screen, and the player moves left to right to gobble up as much seaweed as they can in the designated time limit. Players simply stand on the starting sport, signaled by a decal on the floor, and their game session will begin automatically. 

Wanting to mold the experience to its surroundings and pay homage to Florida’s nature and landscape, the turtle character in the game is modeled after the Green Sea Turtle. Florida actually hosts one of the largest grouping of green turtle nests in the western Atlantic.

All of the creative content design and animation for the game was worked on by edgefactory, partner, X Studios, handled the interactive component, and Pro Sound installed the digital signage. The creative and motion graphics team at edgefactory worked closely with the software engineers to render 3D pieces that could interact with players in the physical world. Previously, edgefactory has designed interactive interfaces, but what made this different was the use of a wireless control method. Allowing for players to use the game without touching any surfaces. A feature that may be appreciated by the more hygiene conscious, as many of us are in the wake of the pandemic. 

“We are proud to be a part of the newest terminal at our flagship airport in Orlando. It’s exciting that hundreds of families will get to interact with our content on a daily basis within the lounge” said edgefactory’s Director of Production, Chris Laneve. 

The interactive game is displayed across six screens with a 6K resolution, powered by a high-end gaming computer and a Microsoft Azure Kinect camera. This new technology paired with the latest Unity based game engine, utilized a massive screen for a real-time rendered interactive experience. This allowed for an even more seamless pairing of the digital world and the hands-off gameplay. 

Features like the interactive game at the Plaza Premium Lounge fit in nicely with Terminal C’s commitment to innovation and functionality for travelers. The terminal features several other large format displays and digital art installations for travelers to enjoy. Incorporating interactive experiences and gaming into the airport experience has seen increased popularity as of recent years. The interactive gaming component of the Plaza Premium Lounge serves as a great example of how this technology and media can break up the monotony of the airport experience and boost traveler engagement and experience.