'Wild, Strange' Live Action Game Opens In Denver
DENVER (CBS4) – The Denver Center for the Performing Arts expanded its reach Wednesday by welcoming "The Last Defender" to their lineup. The interactive game takes ticket holders into a 1980s-themed military command bunker in order to prevent nuclear war.
Completing tasks in short time limits is the only way to prevent warfare.
"It is like you are inside of an arcade game. And, once you tell that to people they realize, 'We are telling the story ourselves, we are part of the story,'" said Sandy Weisz, puzzle designer for The Last Defender. "It's immersive. It takes you over as soon as you get in to it."
The immersive theater experience gives the public an opportunity to be part of the story, while not forcing them in to situations the average introvert wouldn't be comfortable with.
"It's just the silliest goofiest fun. It is a blast," said Nathan Allen, writer and director of the game.
Allen, a native of Colorado, helped launch the game in Chicago. It succeeded in the Windy City for more than eight months before coming to Denver.
"It's a wild, strange, work of art," Allen told CBS4's Dillon Thomas. "It's fun to come back and go, 'I figured out how to make a living doing this nonsense.' It is fun to share with old friends."
The Last Defender challenges the participants, while also offering many moments of laughter.
"It's a live action game where you are the player and the character in the story," Allen said. "It's built by somebody who wants to feel comfortable doing these kinds of things."
The game takes place below the Patagonia Store on 15th and Market Street. The DCPA is offering tickets to the game for two months, with the last mission to save the world scheduled for late July. Tickets start at $25 and a suggested age of 15+ was given by the DCPA.
"At the end of it we see friends, and complete strangers, high fiving and hugging each other," Allen said.
LINK: The Last Defender