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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Roller Coaster Design
No discussion on themed entertainment
would be complete without at least a mention of roller coaster
design. Roller coasters are in many theme parks and of primary
concern to aspiring designers. When asked the question, “If
you could design any ride in a theme park, what would it be?”
Most of us thrillseekers inevitably choose the biggest, baddest,
and most exhilarating ride imaginable. We begin with roller coasters.
Click-clack up the hill it
goes to drop into a death defying corkscrew roll. The machine
has us out of our seat and screaming our confessions so that
this thrill may not be taken away from us. The most famous coasters
are referred to in terms like Scream Machine and given names
such as Atom Smasher, Mind Bender, Cyclone, Beast, Steel Phantom,
Thunderbolt, and Giant Dipper, and with good reason.
In the year 2000, coasters
are being built bigger, faster and more intense than ever. Parks
now have 30 different types of coasters to choose from and are
adding them by the handful.
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Synopsis |
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The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker’s
Guide To Careers In Theme Park Engineering was written by
Celeste Baine to help aspiring engineers decide if they want
to seek a career in the themed entertainment industry. While
the book mostly focuses on theme parks, it also touches on other
entertainment industries such as: museums, science centers, theatres,
etc. Not only does it tell you what to focus on in school; this
book also gives advice on how to break into this popular industry
by becoming an intern and how to choose a company.
The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker’s
Guide To Careers In Theme Park Engineering is divided up into the
following six chapters: Theme Park Design 101, Merging Art and
Science, Create a Compelling Story, Preparing for Your Career,
Roller Coaster Design, and The Future of Themed Entertainment
Design. At the bottom of about half of the pages is a short description
of a company in the entertainment industry and what they do.
Reading all of these could definitely help the aspiring entertainment
engineer choose the company they want to work for. At the end
of the book is a Recommended Reading section that has quite a
list of magazines, newspaper articles, books, and Trade Associations.
The Appendix lists over 50 Themed Employment Companies and over
20 Roller Coaster Design and Manufacturers. All information on
how to contact each company is listed. |
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Review |
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The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker’s
Guide To Careers In Theme Park Engineering book is written in non-layman’s
terms and is extremely easy to read. Celeste Baine suggests in
the book a couple of times for you to pick up a copy of Sim Theme
Park and play it on your PC. This game lets you create and manage
a theme park from beginning to end, including creating and riding
on your own roller coasters. Now, I am not an engineer, but I
am a gamer. I have only heard disappointing things about this
game. On the other hand, Roller Coaster Tycoon (RTC) and RTC
Corkscrew Follies (the expansion pack) are both fantastic and
do almost all of the things that Sim Theme Park does, except
let you ride on the roller coasters.
I rarely read non-fiction, but
since I absolute love theme parks and roller coasters, I agreed
to read The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker’s
Guide To Careers In Theme Park Engineering. I enjoyed this book so much that it made me
wish that I had become a mechanical engineer, like my father.
So, I play RTC every day at lunch and design my own coasters
to help make up for my mistake. I also buy a season pass to a
themed park to ride these coasters and walk around and immerse
myself in the look and feel of the park. But this is only the
end result of a lot of people working together to create something
that all can enjoy.
Maybe you can get in on the ground floor
and help design themed parks and roller coasters, instead of
just enjoying them. If you are serious about becoming an engineer,
and are wondering what part of the industry you want to work
in, pick up a copy of this book and see if you want to entertain
people. It is worth your time and money. Just think, maybe someday
someone will hop off of your ride, slap their forehead, and say,
“That was the best ride I have ever been on.” |
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