Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak
A New Influx of Zombies
Zombies are once again stalking Knott's Berry Farm.
And Jon Asperin and Jon Cooke are the creative minds behind the mayhem.
Asperin and Cooke co-designed the new interactive maze Black Ops: Infected. Black Ops: Infected, one of the largest mazes ever created for "Knott's Scary Farm", runs through Monday, October 31st.
But, if you're unfamiliar with the way this works: guests won't just be looking at the zombies and screaming. Black Ops: Infected enlists visitors' "help".
The scenario is a continuation of the Special Ops: Infected series, first introduced in 2014. In the 2016 installment, a zombie apocalypse has just occurred. Guests arrive on the scene of a devastated city. Now, their job is to form squads and help fight off the intruders.
At Scare LA's summertime Halloween convention, in Pasadena, Asperin and Cooke talked about the experience of creating the new maze, and offered a preview of what visitors can expect.
On this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear:
How zombies first came onto Jon Asperin's creative radar;
How he and Jon Cooke met and came up with the idea of the "Infected" series;
What the experience is like, premiering the first day of a new "Infected" maze;
Jon Cooke's thoughts on the meeting/collaboration with Jon Asperin;
A "special appearance" by some unexpected scary guests;
What it was like, to develop the "Infected" series;
How Knott's Scary Farm has implemented a new system for attendees;
One of the obstacles Jon and Jon encountered, that helped them grow and develop their interactive maze;
What the experience is like, for "Black Ops: Infected" attendees;
Survival tips, for navigating through hungry zombies in "Black Ops: Infected";
The time factor involved, in creating the new 2016 maze;
Advice for anyone who would like to work full-time designing Halloween mazes;
Jon and Jon's favorite memories of working "Infected" over the past two years.