Laser tag

Laser tag

Soldiers of the 2e REI training with laser tag equipment
Highest governing body	International Laser Tag Association
Nicknames	lazer tag, lasertag, lasergames
First played	1984
Characteristics
Contact	No physical contact between players (contact can result in penalties)
Team members	Varies depending on game format and level of play (recreational or professional)
Type	Indoor or Outdoor
Equipment	Laser guns and targets worn by players

Laser tag is a team or individual sport or recreational activity where players attempt to score points by tagging targets, typically with a hand-held infrared-emitting targeting device. Infrared-sensitive targets are commonly worn by each player and are sometimes integrated within the arena in which the game is played. Since its birth in 1979, with the release of the Star Trek Electronic Phasers toy manufactured by the South Bend Electronics brand of Milton Bradley, laser tag has evolved into both indoor and outdoor styles of play, and may include simulations of combat, role play-style games, or competitive sporting events including tactical configurations and precise game goals.

Laser tag is popular with a wide range of ages. When compared to paintball, laser tag is painless because it uses no physical projectiles, and indoor versions may be considered less physically demanding because most indoor venues prohibit running or roughhousing.

History

In late 1970s and early 1980s, the United States Army deployed a system using infrared beams for combat training. The MILES system functions like laser tag in that beams are "fired" into receivers that score hits. Similar systems are now manufactured by several companies and used by various armed forces around the world.

The first known toy to use infrared light and a corresponding sensor was manufactured and marketed in 1979 as the Star Trek Electronic Phaser Guns set.

In 1982, George Carter III began the process of designing an arena-based system for playing a scored version of the game, a possibility which had initially occurred to him in 1977 while watching the film Star Wars. He opened the first Photon center in Dallas, Texas on March 24, 1984. George Carter was honored by the International Laser Tag Association on November 17, 2005 for his contribution to the laser tag industry. The award is engraved "Presented to George A. Carter III in recognition for being the Inventor and Founder of the laser tag industry".

In 2010, a news article appeared claiming that Lee Weinstein developed and opened the first commercial laser tag facility. In June, 2011, the ILTA posted the results of a public record request from the City of Houston showing the opening date for Star Laser Force to be April 16, 1985.

In 2011 - 05/07/11 Darren Steele will feel a discomfort feeling as Gareth Calkin the master of laser, will mount a victorious defeat of the man of Steele in what looks to be a battle for the title of the Blackwoods laser tag war master.

In 2011, the International Laser Tag Association developed a webpage dedicated to its museum and the origins of the laser tag industry.

In 1986, the first Photon toys hit the market, nearly simultaneously with the Lazer Tag toys from Worlds of Wonder and several other similar infrared and visible light-based toys. Worlds of Wonder went out of business around 1988, and Photon soon followed in 1989, as the fad of the games wore off. Today there are laser tag arenas all over the world bearing various names and brands, as well as a large variety of consumer equipment for home play and professional grade equipment for outdoor laser tag arenas and businesses.

Arenas, playing fields, and organizations

There are dozens of different manufacturers of Laser Tag equipment, such as DarkLight Developments, Ltd. (UK), Delta Strike Laser Tag, VEQTOR, Laser-Blast, Laserforce, LaserGame, LaserStorm, LaserTrek, LaserTron, Laser Quest, Laser Skirmish, Q-Zar, Ultrazone, etc. Each system has somewhat different equipment design, mechanics, game play, and rules. Most of these systems are sold to facilities.

Arenas typically are large dark rooms lit by black lights with many walls or other obstructions to clutter the field. Many are multi-level or themed to look futuristic or like an urban jungle or other design. Laser Tag also exists in an outdoor incarnation played on fields similar to paintball.

Game mechanics

Laser tag systems vary widely in their technical capabilities and their applications. The game mechanics in laser tag are closely linked to the hardware used, the communication capabilities of the system, the embedded software that runs the equipment, the integration between the player's equipment and devices in the facility, the environment, and the configuration of the software that runs the equipment.

The resulting game play mechanics can result in anything from the highly realistic combat simulation used by the military to far fetched scenarios inspired by science fiction and video games.

Rate of fire, objectives, effects of being tagged, the amount of lives, and other parameters can often be altered on the fly to provide for varied game play.

Specialty games

Along with standard team or solo matches, where one team or individuals try to tag the members of the other team or players repetitively, many laser tag venues will feature specialty matches. These matches vary based on equipment manufacturer and the level of technology of the system. Often they have various objectives and missions and demonstrate the technological capability of each system.

Specialty games include:

Capture the flag – This where a player steals the opponents flag and takes it back to their own base in order to score a point or win the match (depending on score system).

Protect the VIP – The team with the VIP must hide and conceal him for a set length of time while the opposing team tries to eliminate the VIP within the given time limit.

Stealth or Invisibility matches – Where the lights indicating a player's target sensors are deactivated.

Base-centric matches – where a team must defend a base while simultaneously attacking the opponent's base.

"Borg" matches – where players on a team share a pool of commonly held resources.

Elimination matches – where a player can become eliminated if tagged a certain number of times.

Domination Matches – where a player gains points for possessing a field target for certain lengths of time.

Role-playing or Character Class Matches – where each player's equipment performs a different function.

Equipment and technology

At their core, laser tag systems typically use infrared signaling to track firing of the laser. In indoor play, a visible laser combined with theatrical fog typically provide the visual effect of firing, while having no actual role in transmitting the fire signal.

In all but the most basic of systems, the infrared signal sent by the laser when it fires is encoded with information such as the identity of the pack from which it originated. This coding allows for scoring and may also act to discourage interference from unauthorized devices in the playing area.

Indoor equipment

Indoor laser tag is typically played in a large arena (may be dark or may not) run by a commercial laser tag operator. The packs are tightly integrated with the devices inside the arena. The arena devices, and the packs themselves may be linked into a control computer for scoring and control over game parameters using radio equipment or infrared links. The game computer often serves to control other game effects and to manage player scores.

The dimensions of an indoor laser tag arena makes for close quarters, so there is a large design focus on performance and game play under these conditions.

Outdoor equipment

Outdoor equipment requires different design concerns from indoor equipment. The equipment is generally expected to function well at longer ranges, even in daylight, so higher output power and specially designed optics are often a requirement. Operators typically either run games like indoor laser tag where you count the number of times you tag other players, or scenarios often approximate real-world combat, or a laser tag version of paintball games. Many paintball fields are adding laser tag to attract and groom players who are too young to play paintball. Some theme parks are adding outdoor laser tag facilities.

Competitions and Tournaments

Competitions and tournaments are staged for local, regional/state, inter-regional, national, bi-lateral international, and international levels.

International

Zone World Laser Tag Championships 2009 - Team Australia shirt; front with Southern Cross star motif, and back

The Second Zone World Laser Tag Championships were staged at Megazone in Tampere, Finland over 30 May - 4 June 2009, with teams including Australia, Sweden, USA, and the host country, Finland.

Results:

• Team
  • 1st - Legends (USA)
  • 2nd - Finland 1 (FIN)
  • 3rd - Finland 4 (FIN)

• Team Eliminator
  • 1st - Legends (USA)
  • 2nd - Finland 1 (FIN)
  • 3rd - TAPSA (FIN)
  • 4th - Aus Boom (AUS)

• LoR ("Lord of the Rings")
  • 1st - Snoopy (USA)
  • 2nd - DoT (USA)
  • 3rd - Sevron (USA)
  • 4th - Replay

• Doubles
  • 1st - Plaag & jor (FIN)
  • 2nd - Cyber & Slick (USA)
  • 3rd - Homicide & Punisher (USA)

• Solo
  • 1st - Assassin (USA)
  • 2nd - 1-Plaag (FIN)
  • 3rd - Sinclair (AUS)

Bi-Lateral

Bi-lateral international championships have included:

• ching yong v Australia
• Australia v south africa

National

National tournaments are conducted in various countries, including:

• Australia
• USA
• Sweden
• Finland

Regional and local

Individual Laser Tag systems often develop active tournament scenes. Unfortunately, due to the business practice of manufacturers not owning sites, these scenes tend to last only a few years and are player-organized and run. Ultrazone, when it had corporate-owned sites, ran tournaments up until about 2000. Laser Quest, with corporately-owned sites across North America, have operated the North American Challenge (or NAC for short) since 1995 and many local tournaments throughout the year. LaserForce has also maintained an international tournament scene for many years. LaserTron has also supported a tournament program for the past three years.

LaserStorm may have the most successful tournament scene, as they have regularly held ongoing regional tournaments in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Kansas, California, Wisconsin, and New York for the past decade. The "LaserStorm National Championship" has also been played for over a decade, with the best teams from those regions traveling to one chosen host site every summer for a week long tournament to crown the yearly National Champions, and the best player in the country. The most recent Laser Storm National Tournament took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in August 2009, with Pennsylvania team "Dump Shuttle" taking the 1st place title. This was the 13th annual national-level Laser Storm tournament. Darkzone (the Australian name for Ultrazone) has recently had its 10th annual National tournament also cementing it as one of the most stable competitions running in the world.

Armageddon, a multi-system tournament has operated since 2000 giving players of many diverse systems the opportunity to play against each other in 10 or more different systems to see who is the best "cross-system" player. The tournament was founded by Ricky Vega in Dallas, TX and changes location every few years. In 2000, 2001 and 2007 the tournament took place in Texas, in 2002, 2003, and 2006 it took place in Maryland, in 2004 and 2005 it took place in Ohio, New York and Canada, and in 2008/2009 it was held in the NY-NJ-PA region. Armageddon will take place in the OH-KY-IN region in 2010. U.S. Armageddon takes place every year on the week of July 4. 6–8 teams of 8 players per team compete over a four day period on these different systems. Armageddon is now also held yearly in the United Kingdom and in Sweden. Many Armageddon players frequently play in international, national, regional, and local tournaments for multiple systems and may travel to the multiple Armageddons through the year.

Non-Commercial Clubs & Events

Around the world clubs have come and gone with the different eras of one brand or another becoming popular and then fading again. The early Worlds of Wonder, or 'WoW', Lazer Tag brand gear sparked up clubs around the world and inspired development of other gear that is still in use today. Laser Challenge and Electronic Survivor Shot also inspired many clubs to form in the US. More recently the Lazer Tag Team Ops gear by Hasbro sparked multiple clubs across the United States. Home made or "Do it yourself" DIY gear has also been popular. In the U.K. the WoW signature is still in use by many clubs today, however much of the gear is manufactured by club individuals from scratch. In the US, Miles Tag was created as a DIY gear which was adopted by other clubs such as the Australian group that calls their gear FragTag. Although many clubs, and there events, there are a few events that have become large enough to stand the test of time. Among these are:

• TagCon, UK - Annual event bringing together multiple clubs together for skirmishes and workshops.
• Dropzone, UK - Annual event, with themed Live Action Role Play adventures where the storyline is the key element and Laser Tag gear is used as a means to resolve conflicts.
• LaserStorm, AU - Annual themed event that has multiple days of military simulation.
• TagCon Midwest, USA - Annual event hosted by clubs from the midwest with the backing of Steradian Tech.
• Tagfest Northwest, USA - Annual event that draws in mostly members from clubs all over the northwest and other alumni members from as far away as the country of Bermuda.

There are Laser Tag groups across the globe in many countries. Most clubs have some sort of site taking advantage of tools on sites like Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and Meetup, and a few have websites of their own. The largest most international website in the community is LaserForums.com. There is also a community wiki site, appropriately named www.lasertagwiki.com.

German law

In May 2009, Germany announced it would ban games such as laser tag and paintball, claiming that they trivialise and encourage violence. It retracted this assertion a few days later.

See also

• Airsoft
• Paintball

External links

• Template:Dmoz
• Where to Play at the International Laser Tag Association