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Steve Carli spotted the enemy planes. Two MiGs at 3 o’clock and he was closing in fast. Barrel rolling right, Carli snuck up on the enemy fighters. The roar of his F-14 engines rumbled his seat as the MiGs finally came into missile range. Fire one! Fire two! Carli heard the missiles engaging from the wings, hissing loudly as they passed the nose of the plane, then growing quieter as they honed in on their target. Suddenly, an explosion rocked his cockpit. A direct hit! Then another! With pulsing heart and sweat beading on his forehead, Carli had extended his bonus round.
Wait… bonus round?
Roughly scribbled crayon on this Casino ceiling suggest scorch marks from F-14 engine. Click to zoom
Doctored image of F-14 engine attributes fighter to slot machine manufacturer. Click to zoom
Steve Carli wasn’t actually flying an F-14. He was playing a TOP GUN™ slot machine.
It’s part of the revolutionary Sensory Immersion Gaming player experience developed by WMS, a leader in gaming machine innovation. “This new player category offers an unrivaled multi-sensory player experience,” gushed a WMS executive.
The game was first introduced at the G2E tradeshow, and earned rave reviews from the operators who took a sneak peak. They were impressed by the mind-blowing sound and vivid animation. But what really re-created the experience of flying an F-14 was the innovative gaming chair, which features a new sound experience using the BOSE® 3Space™ audio system. “They’re not actually flying a fighter jet,” clarified the WMS executive. “It only feels that way.”
“I sent my general manager out to G2E, and he comes back in a trance-like state, telling me, ‘We have to get that F-14 on our floor… have to get that F-14 on our floor,’” said one east coast casino operator. “Pretty soon, half my staff thought we were actually installing an F-14 onto our casino floor, and everyone was clamoring to be the first to ride in it.”
Such conversations became commonplace, with one over-exuberant contractor even going so far as to call a city permit department to identify requirements for importing the recently retired fighter jet onto his floor. “I had the perfect floor plan,” the operator said. “We would’ve had to clear out the dining area, but when you’re flying fighter jets, you really don’t have time to eat anyway.”
While the rumor seemed ridiculous on the surface, the technology behind the game made it seem at least somewhat understandable. The technology platform powering TOP GUN, called CPU-NXT2™, represents the evolution of gaming machines. It features a high performance Intel® CPU, ATI® powered 3D, real-time graphics, enhanced BOSE® audio capabilities, expanded memory and high-speed streaming video culminating in a robust operating system that performs at ten times the throughput of the average home PC.
With the TOP GUN game, WMS showcases its Sensory Immersion Gaming product line, based on Paramount Picture's classic feature film, TOP GUN, but the experience isn’t limited to wartime themes. “Every 6-8 months, we’ll have a whole new theme in which players can immerse their senses,” said the WMS executive. “They’ll just have to follow the yellow brick road…”
Sounds like the beginning of another rumor.