Immersive Design in Arcade Games: Luigi's Mansion Arcade

Probably my second favorite game, behind Star Wars Battle Pod, I played at Dave and Buster’s was Luigi’s Mansion Arcade, an arcade version of the GameCube classic of the same name.

The Interior of the Booth / Specifications

The booth, which can seat two players, has a 55” LED screen. The booth contains 4.1 surround sound, as well as various color changing LED lights that are synchronized with gameplay. All around the interior of the booth is artwork and decorations made to look like you are inside the mansion.

Controls

The light gun controller, which is shaped like Luigi’s Poltergust 5000 vacuum. Near the “mouth” of the vacuum is the “Strobulb” charge button, and near the handle of the controller is a trigger button used to suck up enemy ghosts and objects. The start button, which is located on the dashboard, also functions as the “Strobomb” launcher which launches a grenade that stuns all enemies in the room.

The Poltergust 5000 controllers and Strobomb buttons.

When starting the game, players have the choice of choosing between one of two control schemes: Simple, or Normal. Normal controls utilizes both buttons on the controller to play. While Simple controls, which is intended for inexperienced or younger players, allows you to stun ghosts and suck enemies ghosts using only the trigger.

The controller also vibrates while holding down the trigger to suck ghosts, and when capturing a ghost it provides a stronger “jolt” signaling the ghost has been captured. 

For how large the controller is, it is actually quite light, and easy to hold. Throughout the entire time I was playing my arms never felt tired.

HUD Elements

The player's health, denoted by  "Hearts", and player score are listed at the top corner of the screen (left for the left player, and right for the right player). Farther down towards the middle of the edge of the screen are the number of coins collected, number of Strobombs available, and a charge meter showing progress towards capturing a ghost, as well as a red button denoting  the Strobulb button. Whenever a player the Strobulb, the screen flashes white in the direction you are pointing the light gun at. 

While activating the Poltergust 5000 vacuum, the crosshair changes from a circle with an "X" inside, to just an "X" for the crosshair, as well as draws a line from the ghost back towards the Poltergust 5000, on screen, sometimes bending, emphasizing that the player is "pulling" the ghost into the vacuum. 

The Japanese text in blue says "Pull". I couldn't find a good picture of it in English unfortunately. The floating red apples contain hidden difficult enemies inside them. 

If a player is not "pulling" a ghost towards the center of the screen, the game presents players with on screen prompts to “Pull” in a direction while sucking a ghost. 

Dangerous enemies, which are often hidden inside objects, have red circles around them, and sometimes have “health hearts” indicating how long you have to vacuum them for them to be captured. 

Gameplay

The game functions like any other on-rails light gun shooter where players have to defeat ghosts and defeat the final boss at the end of the mansion. 

Players defeat ghosts by flashing them with the Strobulb and then sucking them up with the Poltergust 5000. If the player pulls the vacuum in the opposite direction of where the ghosts are flying towards, they can be sucked up for longer. 

Sucking a ghost for long enough fills up the Strobulb meter allowing players to press the button on their controller to use a "Power Surge" that does extra damage to ghosts that are being vacuumed. Players can also use the Strobomb to stun all enemies on the screen, allowing them to be sucked up. Sucking up multiple ghosts in a row increases a combo counter increasing the player's score and coin count. 

In this image, the enemy ghosts have been stunned by a Strobulb. Allowing them to now be vacuumed in. 

Throughout the level, players can use the "Dark Light Device" by holding down the Strobulb button to discover hidden objects, often containing coins. 

The game has a great deal of replayability, featuring 3 different mansions to explore, all with a variety of diverging paths to choose from, and various hidden items to find throughout these levels. 

Overall ‘Immersiveness’

While not as "action packed" as other booth games like Star Wars Battle Pod, I had a very, very fun time playing the game with my friend. I've always found that co-op games to be a more fun experience than solo games, especially arcade games. Defeating more difficult enemies and bosses required strategy and cooperation, focusing our attention on the game and keeping us engaged in the experience. 

Due to the size of the screen and a combination of  visual effects like Strobulb flashes, air vacuum effects, and particle effects from successfully capturing a ghost and earning points constantly fills the player's visual field. Not only that, but the booth's interior LED lights are synchronized with gameplay, further enhancing the player experience. 

While some games can fall prey to visual stimulus overload (which can break immersion), I found that Luigi's Mansion Arcade had the perfect amount of visual effects such that I was engaged, but not overwhelmed by all the "flashy lights".

The controller which is shaped exactly like Luigi's Poltergust 5000, is a great example of a "Realistic Tangible Naturally Mapped" controller, which is described  as a controller “that directly relates to the real-life activity the game simulates” as well as providing players with a higher sense of immersion. (Shafer, Carbonara, Popova, 2014, p. 272). 

Not only does this kind of controller increase player immersion, its light-weight, extremely easy to use, and just plain fun to aim and feel the controller rumble as you suck in ghosts like you are reeling in a fish. 

Final Thoughts

Luigi's Mansion Arcade is my favorite co-op game to play. For an arcade game, it has a surprising amount of replayability, and I find myself coming back to it every time I go to Dave and Busters. Since it's easy to learn, and not a terribly difficult game, it's my go to suggestion for any inexperienced video game players. I highly recommend you go out and try it for yourself!

I love how Luigi's only stand alone games are just of him alone in a mansion being scared the hell out of. 

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References

Shafer, D. M., Carbonara, C. P., & Popova, L. (2014). Controller required? The impact of natural mapping on interactivity, realism, presence, and enjoyment in motion-based video games. Presence: Tele-operators and Virtual Environments, 23(3), 267-286. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/PRES_a_00193.