Storytelling and Interaction Paths with Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
The Halcyon crew was immediately interrogated by Lt. Croy and stormtroopers of the First Order as soon as our muster began.
It’s the adventure of a lifetime: whisked away to a galaxy far, far away and immersed into a story set in Star Wars. As I journeyed into my most interactive and immersive vacation yet, I could not stop thinking of the user journey mapping that went into it all and the interaction design that shaped my 2-day adventure.
The Imagineers behind the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser crafted the ultimate journey map for multiple stories, for scoundrels, villains, heroes, and lovers alike. There was a path with potential intersections ideally for a fan to get a taste of many stories, which is groundbreaking in the world of vacationing and immersive theatre. In fact, the “hotel” had a panel at the Game Developers’ Conference.
Truly, the Imagineers behind the Halcyon have crafted an incredible, intersectional experience that merges modern technology with imagination. From the moment you board, you feel like your escape is beyond that of a traditional resort - you’ve left the world you knew to be a part of a larger, more beautiful story set in an unimaginable world. The Magic Band continues to reign supreme has one of the greatest innovations in UX, allowing guests to do everything from unlock their cabin door to receive messages from characters for trying to access “confidential” spaces. The immersion is unprecedented, and the technology working behind the curtain is truly crafting a brand new UX of entertainment.
The Atrium of the Halcyon is the central location of storytelling. Characters can be found wandering here, as well as even the halls or the Cargo Hold room to begin your adventure.
The datapad is the core host of engagement for the Galactic Starcruiser, and all transmissions from the Halcyon crew reach your phone through that experience. You get about two transmissions ahead of your voyage about your onboard activities, such as when lightsaber training is booked. And additionally, once you’re onboard, you get messages from characters periodically to push you to complete tasks at consoles or meet with them in exclusive, secret meetings. It’s truly a foundational personalized experience that few other than Starcruiser guests have experienced.
Directives from the Datapad
On my Batuu excursion (a trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios), I received Comms messages from our incognito Resistance-aligned cruiser director, Lenka Mok. Each of her tasks would lead me to more interactive elements hidden throughout the park.
The gamification merged with the in-person immersion kept the momentum of the experience. At times, I wondered if cast members were truly messaging me from hidden locations aboard the Halcyon in real time. As I spoke to specific characters like Captain Keevan, I would return to my device to find a message from her not long after. It’s impressive because once the experience registers a path start, you’re on it and the story responds to you. Between this and the AI of the in-cabin droid D3-09, everything about the adventure feels like it could’ve been crafted on the spot for you as a real-time adventurer.
D3-09, an Alexa-like AI assistant, answers questions, provides secret missions, and even sings lullabies to cabin guests.
Believe me, I had an absolute blast. I’ll be going back as soon as I can earn some more credits (Hey Hondo, do you need anyone to uh… design your coaxium thievery plans?).
There are some pieces I could see evolving as the Starcruiser experience matures. As a UX-er, it’s kind of impossible for me not to listen in on feedback from my fellow travelers and brainstorm further enhancements. I loved while on board the ability to intersect stories and get a taste of a few paths, but I would’ve loved to have been guided further as a user. You see, I align with the Resistance and Jedi stories, and I identified areas of opportunity to ensure that I would be on the story path I’ve dreamt of while saving up my credits.
Post-Cruise Messaging
Each of the characters provided a “farewell” message on the final morning of the Starcruiser… before our datapad were wiped by 11 a.m.
As a sort of primer, guests would benefit from messages from the main cast members ahead of the cruise to “get to know” their motivations. Meaning, if you’d like a Force sensitive journey, you begin “talking” to the secretive Saja and get an idea of who to look for once you arrive. Or if you’re a scoundrel looking for a heist score, you can choose to engage with the elusive Raithe Kole to get in on his good graces early on. Then once you’ve been briefed on board, you can immediately scout out the ideal journey for yourself and maximize your journey.
Additionally, once on board, the ship could use a few more consoles and places to “scan” into your journey (similar to the different rooms with scan access) would be helpful to trigger more hints. Consoles were required to “hack” into the ship’s manifest and schematics, which would aid in either sleuthing as the First Order or protecting as the secret Resistance.
The power of the Magic Band could truly become limitless with additional scans throughout as well. Perhaps a scan in to the Climate Simulator, which appears to also function as a Jedi Meditation chamber? Or the elevator “escape pods” to tease which characters may have passed through. This would be a nice to have, but truly, I just love using my Magic Band any chance I can get.
The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience (definitely not a hotel, way more than cruise) is truly a marvel and changing the game for how we define vacationing. And it’s innovating the way that we can utilize user experience in storytelling and immersion. I’m already saving up my credits for another voyage to a galaxy far, far away.
What do you think of the applications of UX in immersive storytelling? Do you have questions about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser or want to learn more about my UX perspective? Reach out to me directly at a.starling92@gmail.com.
This is not a review of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. All Lucasfilm properties belong to Disney and Lucasfilm. I’m just a fan girl who loves to look at everything through the lens of UX.