Hello people of gta6, this is something I've been working on for a while now, it's my ideal concept for Rockstar Games' future title, Grand Theft Auto VI.
This is a long post however, you have been forewarned.
So, with all that being said, hope you guys enjoy it!
Let's begin with an overview:
Grand Theft Auto VI is the biggest Rockstar title yet, approached with the most advanced systems ever. GTA VI will be released on Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC only, with the online mode (more on that in the next part) releasing a month after release. The game itself takes place in 3 key locations (technically 4):

1. Vice City (Expanded and Enhanced), in the fictional state of Flores (based off Florida)
2. Carcer City, in the fictional state of Garrison (based off Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago)
3. The People's Republic of Del Castillo (Based off of Cuba and Brazil, respectively)
4. Liberty City (VERY linear, certain portions of story playable)

Vice City:

Vice City has been greatly expanded, and now includes 2 other key locations based off of Orlando and Tampa: Mamba and Paxville. Paxville is based off of Orlando, and includes 2 different theme parks: Fun-World & AnimalDome (both based off Disney World/Universal Studios and SeaWorld).
Fun-World is a one-stop shop for having the most fun you can have. From fun-rides to the weird candy the man near the entrance sells, players can ride rollercoasters, take pictures with mascots, and do side-missions from the management and employees of Fun-World.
AnimalDome is a bit more based on SeaWorld and appeals to players that want animals in the game, whether in hunting, fishing, or even exploring. A new side-activity you can do is hunt for legendary animals (all across the map) and donate them to AnimalDome for rewards. It ranges from lost fish in lakes and oceans near untouched waterfalls, all the way to rare birds in forests alike.
The landscapes such as the marshlands are similar to Bayou N.W.A from RDR2, with alligators and crocodiles alike in wetlands, with many other secrets to uncover.
One key icon is the Gator Chain, which is based off the real life Florida Keys, 8 islands pulled together by a single highway.
Another key icon is the Green Pastures, which is based off of the real life Everglades, a subtropical wetland in the heart of south Florida, filled with all kinds of natural society.
A new air force base, Fort Kayak, is also included within the state as well.

Carcer City:

The newest addition to the series, Carcer City is supposed to be gloomy and dark, that of rivaling Vice City's vibrant feeling with the lights shining at night. The roads are narrow and sleek, and are very easy to get lost in because of the grid zig-zag layout. At day, you find old factories blowing out dark smoke, with lower class people getting ready to go work in their old crusty cars. The feeling heavily changes at night when you find the darker parts of the city emerged. Get yourself downtown and on rooftops of buildings, you'll find yourself feeling like Batman looking down at all of Gotham City.

The People's Republic of Del Castillo:

This is solely an island based on the likes of Guarma. On one side, you have favelas in a small, compact, linear city with a mini-airstrip for an airport, while it slowly moves onto tropical forests on the other side of the island. Free roaming is fine, but be careful as there are others who are watching you. Be aware at all times no matter what.
As for Liberty City, a small portion is only playable for certain missions only, incredibly linear.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is similar to that of a mix between IV/V (realism and arcadey-ness). The car feeling is similar to IV when crashing and whatnot, but also contains elements of V's driving. Interaction with NPCs is more realistic and grounded. Walk around in a suit and people ask if you have somewhere important to be, walk around in punk clothing and get trash thrown at you. Red Dead Redemption 2's interaction system with NPCs returns with a new change: multiple dialogue options. Say you choose to greet an NPC and ask if they need help with anything. They might say yes and you could be given with two choices: a) "Sure, I'll help out!" or b) "Alright, well, hope it gets done then!".
You can choose the way the characters are. Aside from antagonizing NPCs, you can pave a path for these characters depending on the way you want.
Wanted levels return, as well as the 6th star. Here is the new way the wanted system would react when given stars:

• 1 Star: Cops Chase You, Ram into Vehicle if needed. Given a ticket ($25, $50, $75, $100, or $125) depending on what the charges were, and the star is dropped.
• 2 Star: Cops use tasers, use batons and whatnot to attack. You can get "Busted" if they catch you.
• 3 Star: Angry Cops chase you and try to take you down, no exceptions.
• 4 Star: Same as 3 stars except more cops are deployed and more aggression is applied.
• 5 Star: NOOSE deployed.
• 6 Star: Military and State-Guard deployed, locking off all airports (unless broken into or in the air already). Very hard to survive.

A new gameplay experience that is added is backpacks or duffel bags. This will not be realistic in the sense where it will weigh down your character and slow them down. You can store different things in either one now, whether it be snacks for refilling health, armor, or other materials you can find. You can find collectibles across the map and store them in there.
Another returning feature is the stats: energy, driving, and flying. Energy encompasses the other stats such as stamina, strength, etc. The more energy you can max out, the more stamina and more health you have. Driving and flying are the same as before.

Story:

In terms of story, I think Project Americas' narrative based off of the leaks seem very interesting, and also makes for interesting scenarios gameplay-wise during the smuggling missions. Another feature I 100% want back is heists. They were done amazingly in V with their setups and then finales where you had somewhat of a variety was fun for the replay ability. The same can also be said for the Diamond Casino And Resort Heist and its diverse offerings.
For characters, in terms of playable ones, I would enjoy seeing 2 protagonists this time around, maybe a male and female if possible.
The game could end with 3 endings, one where our characters become enemies, one where they remain neutral (friends), and one where they begin a relationship or something like that.
Other characters could be possibly a funny crooked lawyer (think Saul Goodman), maybe another Phil Cassidy-esque character as well if we're heading back to Vice (IF that is).
​

Last Topic, Time Period (?):

So, this is the big one. I'm having some trouble picking what time period might fit well for my ideal game.
Normally, I would say the 1980s, but even then some people wouldn't really enjoy it, so I decided to take a look at past games and see where this game might fit well in terms of time period:

1. GTA lll (2001): 2000s (2001 specifically)
2. Vice City (2002): 1980s (1986 specifically)
3. San Andreas (2004): 1990s (1992 specifically)
4. IV (2008): 2000s (2008 specifically)
5. V (2013): 2010s (2013 specifically)
6. Online (2013-2020): 2010s - 2020s (Specifically unknown, speculated 2020)

With this being said, I think one time period that could totally work is the 2000s, but instead of 2008 like IV or 2001, I say mid 2000s: somewhere around 2004 - 2006, with some flashback missions dating back to the 1980s (1984, 1987, or 1989).
Now, the internet as we know it wasn't fully developed like how it is today, but it was still actively rising. Funny internet videos and downloading was the norm during that time. Rockstar, with its satire can actively parody the internet as it did with IV and V.
Instead of using the internet to buy cars, players now actively have to go to dealerships, each with their own specific kind of cars (legendary motorsport with their fancy cars, warstock with heavy vehicles, etc).
Now, for the flashback missions. Thinking realistically, it's almost impossible for Rockstar to create different models and whatnot for two different eras.
Now, what I PERSONALLY can see Rockstar doing, if they do decide to go down the flashback route, I can definitely see them create a VERY linear mission-design for a small portion of the map where a mission takes place, and changing some of the buildings and billboards to fit the era (in this case, the 1980s).
For example, take Vice City for example. There could be a portion of the city where the buildings are abandoned, roads are cracked up, etc. There could be a story mission where it takes place in 1984, in that exact portion of the city, where the roads are freshly paved, and the buildings are lively and booming.
RDR2's jump from 1899 to 1907 is justified, in the sense that most of the map is just environments without as many buildings as GTA.
So yeah, that's about it. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it, I have some more stuff on the way!
If you like to add some new ideas to the existing ones or add on ideas in general, please do so.

…The raging river, pulled them down.
Now they’ll always, be together,
In that Happy Hunting Ground…
- Running Bear by Sonny James
“Snakeyes! New roller, please, next up.” The game runner raked in the dice and chips and ignored the despair in the countenance of the most recent “high roller”. Ted shook his head and other people crowded him away from the dice pit. He was almost out of funds and it was still early. He’d budgeted his, “loss level” carefully to maximize his time at the reservation casino. It was an older one, filled with stereotypical paintings and statues intended to honor the local First Nations Tribes while fulfilling the expectations of rude tourists. He looked around forlornly for a new game to play. He didn’t care for the slots or the drawn-out and ever-shifting card games… ah, Blackjack! There was an opening at the table.
He rushed over before anyone else could snag it and bustled onto the chair. “Okay to deal me in on the next hand?” He interrupted the dealer, who ignored him until he was done dealing out the rest of the players and raking in the chips. He still did not speak but once Ted placed the minimum bet, he flipped a card down in front of him and the game began. Ted immediately started winning the straightforward game. He picked up most of his losses from his unfortunate run at craps and was finally enjoying himself. The couple at the far end of the table had apparently had enough and didn’t care for the new player. Ted liked to talk to new people and thought he was good at it. Before long, the other players had left and it was down to him, the dealer, and an older man, who wore a black cowboy style hat and chain-smoked thin cigarillos.
Ted, grinning heartily at his latest win, glanced over at the man, who had just fired up his next cancer-stick, “You know casinos, and a few bars are the last public places where anyone smokes. I remember when there were smoking sections at most places and my parents told me that there used to be no restrictions. I’ll bet you get plenty of pressure to stop from your family and friends. It’s a pretty bad habit for your long-term health…” Ted usually rambled on past any non-verbal cues that people might give him to stop talking, yet his diatribe came to a screeching halt at the look with which the stern-faced elder favored him.
The older man drew in a long pull on the firestick and then exhaled the stinking cloud into Ted’s face. He coughed a little and gagged at the odor of the raw blend of tobacco and chemicals. The old one removed the cigarillo from his mouth and tapped ashes onto the edge of the table and down onto the floor at his toes, “Sonny, nobody cares. Nobody wants your opinion, and you are not special, no matter what your mommy told you. I’ll do as I please and if you don’t like it, go bother people at another table.”
Ted gaped in shock. In his mind, the man’s words verged on an “assault”. He looked helplessly at the dealer, who just ducked his head and tried not to laugh. Indignant, he rose, took his pile of chips and fled into the depths of the gaming house in search of a friendlier table. He didn’t find one that he liked, so he finally gave up and sat at the bar. The bartender seemed to ignore him in favor of tidying up her workspace. He cleared his throat and received only a glance. He mumbled as much to himself as to her, “I just want a drink while I wait for a table to open.” He wondered at her stony silence, maybe she resents me for being…
His vocal ruminations were interrupted by a feminine voice, “What do you want?”
Ted looked up to see the bartender, mocking smile in place below shining, mesmerizing eyes. Ted simply gaped and eventually worked his jaw uselessly. The bartender shrugged and walked back to the other end of the bar. She spoke with a large man who was clearly part of the security team. He glared at Ted while she spoke. Ted wanted to avoid a confrontation. He’d been conditioned that he should seek authorities if such a situation loomed. Yet casino security was the only available authority here locally. There were Tribal Police on the Reservation, but he wasn’t sure they would want to listen to him. He finally shrugged and decided to go back over to the hotel for the rest of the night. This trip had been very unsatisfying… like all those he’d taken since he moved away from his parents’ home a few years previously.
There was an indoor walkway to the hotel, but Ted decided to go by the outdoor route to get some fresh air and enjoy the natural beauty that the builders had incorporated into the facility. As he walked dejectedly down the sidewalk, local flora pressing in from each side, he heard, from the nearby forest, a screeching wail. It startled him and he had to stop a moment to catch his breath and wait for his heart rate to slow to something more manageable. He realized that it must have been an owl or some other night bird. His father had told him that there were always weird noises “out in the sticks”.
As he plunged his hands into his pockets and determined to go to his room for rest, he caught the faint smell of burning tobacco on the breeze. It wafted over his shoulder from behind and caused him to emit a feeble cough. He looked back in annoyance. In the shadows behind him, he saw a figure. It was dark and stood still in a way that made him uncomfortable. An orange glowing circle of embers hovered around the face and rendered just enough light to illuminate the blue-grey curls of smoke as they exited the tiny conflagration and rose above the brim of a black hat. The ember flared for a moment and then flashed to the ground and was snuffed by a shadowed… foot? It wasn’t exactly clear to Ted; the figure’s lower extremities were... blurred. An even brighter flare, from a lighter or match stabbed into Ted’s eyes as the Smoker lit his next cigarillo.
Ted glared irritation but felt uncomfortable at the unnatural stillness to which the figure returned once the new fire was lit. He coughed once more, this time deliberately in a passive-aggressive attempt to communicate his displeasure and resumed his walk. He strained to listen behind him to determine whether the figure followed. He truly wished to get away from the stink and the threat of cancer or other respiratory illnesses. He slowed to listen, then gave up and looked over his shoulder again. There was no figure in the dark back near the exit to the casino. He turned to resume his walk, but a smoky black form now loomed before him! Its eyes glowed and smoked like large twin cigars as it gaped a maw that emitted pure black smoke and glowed with blue flames within the deep tunnel of the throat. Ted’s consciousness fled his body and found itself in a burning nightmare landscape that extended for as far as he could perceive in all directions.
**** * ****
Darnell, known to his public as “Murder Bush” a deliberate mistranslation of “merde bouche” a.k.a. “Deadly Rapper” for having been a suspect in a shooting back in his youth, stepped up to the dice pit as the geeky dude left. He had plenty of chips and cash to back them. His entourage was there to support him and kiss his backside as often as he wished. He rolled through six passes before he crapped out. He hadn’t over-bet, so he’d won a small amount. He picked up his latest winning chips and handed them to the hostess who had kept him well plied with drinks and snacks. He was sure that for the right price, she would take care of his other needs. He played a few card tables and finished with Roulette.
Each time he won a few chips, he passed them on to the young woman or to one of his flunkies. In the end, they had all received at least some reward for the praises they’d heaped upon him; not for any real accomplishments, but rather to curry favor with the man whom they considered to be wealthy and important: a celebrity. The girl stayed at his side and except for when he asked her questions, she said nothing. He liked that: bitch know her place, he reveled in internal satisfaction. He liked her looks too. She was medium height and a little, “thick”. She was clearly interested but hadn’t gotten in his way when he flirted with other women. He truly liked this one. The more he considered her, the more he wanted to get down to business.
Eventually, he posed the question to her, “How much for the next few hours?” His brazen suggestion that she would take money for sexual favors was the final test. If she grew angry, then she didn’t appreciate his genius…
“Whatever you think is fair. How about we see if I can satisfy you? If I can, then you may want to be generous… as you have been so far.” She hefted the chips so that the pieces clinked in her palm. “If not, I don’t deserve a reward.”
She had passed with flying colors. Might even take this one back to civilization with me, he purred in his mind. He’d always thought of himself as a Big Cat… maybe a leopard or jaguar, definitely something dangerous and sleek. His need grew more intense by the moment. He desperately wanted this woman. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” He husked in a voice grown thick with desire.
They reached his suite, his groupies having been dismissed to their own nefarious pursuits, even his bodyguard. The big man had shrugged, “Your call boss-man.” and then stumped across the hallway to his own room. Now he was finally alone with… her. He stripped off his shirt and flipped his shoes into a corner. She stood by the window and watched. The drinks he’d consumed finally caught up with him before he’d shucked his pants and drawers, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He was excited, which made urinating a challenge, but it had to be done, so that he could maximize his pleasure. When he stepped from the restroom, au natural, he saw that his latest conquest had done the same and now stood, bare to the world and staring out the window, all the curtains on it pushed to one side, so that the night loomed and the light of a single small desk lamp lit the room. He stalked over to her, ready to take her right there at the window in full view of anyone who looked up from the outside. He secretly hoped for an audience. He enjoyed having others watch him take what he wanted.
She turned to face him, her head lowered… no, it had sunken into her body, only her hair remained above her shoulders! A… mouth, gaping and slavering opened on her stomach, a mouth too large for her body and rimmed with rows of teeth like sharpened spikes. She stepped forward to embrace him and the screaming began… sounds that he was accustomed to eliciting from others rather than emitting from his own person.
**** * ****
“Rhino” was unhappy. He didn’t like to leave Darnell unattended. Perhaps now that his boss was in the room, he could go stand guard outside the door. He took care of some personal ablutions as he wolfed down a couple of energy bars and then walked out into the hallway. He started to settle in front of Darnell’s door, when he heard a muffled scream and faint… slobbering-gobbling noises come from the other side. He quickly tried the door, initially too panicked to think of the extra key card with which Darnell had entrusted him. He fumbled for it and soon had the door open. The interior was completely dark. The light from the hallway spilled inward but didn’t seem to reach as far into the room as it should.
He drew his pistol from the holster on his waistband and began to stalk forward, “Boss, you okay? You hurt?” The room was as silent as a tomb, he shivered a little as that thought crossed his mind. Over by the closed drapes, he smelled something awful: fresh blood and spilled entrails… recent death. His feet squelched on wet carpet. He turned around quickly. There had been no noise, but he’d felt a… presence. There she stood, arms spread wide, mouth on her gut spread wider. Rhino wasn’t one to scream or yell, even in extremis, so no others would come to this room to investigate.
**** * ****
Shelly was glad when the rowdy group left the roulette wheel that sat behind her favorite row of slots. The former “one-armed bandits”, that were now, “multiple button digital bandits” lined every available wall space, and in some spaces stood in rows that drew regulars like a dung-heap draws flies. She’d grabbed her favorite machine early in the evening and sat sliding in dollar bills and working up her points. It was called “Buffalo Dance” and featured images of American Bison and feather-bedecked hunters. The theme on the screen matched and she hoped to one day see the “White Buffalo” image adorn the entire set of images… the grand prize view. Despite the fun graphics, it was her favorite because it was near a restroom and a free soda and snack bar. She found herself ahead and on a roll. She absently lipped her dangling cigarette back into her mouth for a long draw. The smoke obscured the screen for a moment, and then she noted a shadow that lengthened across the reflective surface. Someone stood close behind her. Someone who exuded a chilly air. She paused and looked around, “Can I help you?”
There was no answer, though the shadow shifted slightly as if its caster had heard her.
Now she grew annoyed, this is just the sort of thing to break my winning streak! she raged internally. She braced her hands against the machine and worked her buttocks to make the stool on which she perched spin, so she could confront her harasser. She gaped, and nearly lost her cigarette, there was no one standing near enough to cast the shadow. No one even faced her. She chalked it up to excitement, maybe someone stepped too close when passing to go to the restroom, she thought, still a little annoyed and... chilled.
She turned back to her game and continued working the buttons, pumping in bills, and winning, a little at a time, the points now built well above her investment. This weekend is gonna pay for the last two months of losing and breaking even, she thought triumphantly. The shadow loomed across the screen once more, this time even larger, as though the figure that cast it stood closer. The shape was amorphous but hinted at anthropomorphic. She shivered as an icy breeze flowed around her, as though the air conditioning had sent out a short, cold burst, a minor malfunction…
She turned around with more alacrity and determination than the last time, mouth agape, cigarette once more dangling… precipitously and endangering the cleavage she displayed, already baked and wrinkled from years of sunbathing. The frigid air passed, and no one stood anywhere near her, though a customer approached, headed for either snacks or relief. “Excuse me sir, did you just see someone, maybe a large man, standing behind me?”
The man paused and looked at her in confusion. He had clearly been absorbed in his own thoughts, “Er, what? Uh, No. I wasn’t really paying attention, but… no.” He bustled on toward the free fountain drinks machine.
Shelly shrugged, can’t give up now, the pot is even bigger. She checked her points; she was nearing her all-time high. The winnings would pay her space rental fee at the RV park for the entire month. She pressed and played the buttons more fervently than ever, determined to break the bank on straight points or to reach that magical spin that would offer an instant reward of $10,000.00. She set her new points record and reveled for a moment. She reached for the now small stack of dollar bills the rest having been devoured by the machine. She fed in the entire remaining amount, then once more gazed at the screen. It was entirely blackened by a looming shadow.
The temperature of the air around her plummeted and she shuddered with the sudden biting cold. The cigarette was long extinguished, and she’d let the cold fag fall into the ash tray built onto the side of the machine opposite the drink holder. She was so cold, and she wanted to cry out for help, but the darkness closed in around her as the shadow enveloped her and cut off her breathing. Her fingers, paused above the “spin” button, struck and as her consciousness faded, she saw the flashing blue light and heard the blare of the winner’s siren. White Buffalo images filled all nine spaces. I won! The grand prize!
**** * ****
Terry filled his large cup and stood sipping and daydreaming. He’d lost everything he’d budgeted to lose. Yet he knew that one more try would put him back in black for this trip. He mused about what he would do with the prize money. He’d set his limit at $300.00 and had quickly lost it all on slots. Maybe he could risk just a few more dollars… skip a lunch or two until his next paycheck if it didn’t work. He was startled by the jackpot winner’s flashing light and siren that went off just behind him. That bitch! He yelled internally. Figures some old used up skank would win the big prize. He looked over at the nearby machine with anger and envy vying for control of his senses. She was gone!
He stepped over to the machine and looked around in confusion. Maybe she’d gone to the restroom? No, she’d have passed right by me. He shook his head and stepped up to look at the screen. He could still feel the recent presence of a player, the trace of warmth from a human body that might linger in a space for just a moment after the human had vacated the space. He looked around the casino floor, she was nowhere in sight. She’d been wearing a low-cut silver-spangled top that was cut way too low for her sagging, sun-ravaged bosom. She should be easy to spy, she looked like a deflated disco ball that had fallen from the ceiling to play slots. The only thing that came his way was a train of employees, led by a waitress in a skimpy outfit with purple sparkles and carrying a tray with a glass and a dark bottle. She was followed by other employees, who’d formed a sort of conga line: they sang a congratulatory chorus as they approached.
Terry gaped for a moment when he realized that they thought he was the big winner. He’d have to deny it of course. Surely the woman would be back at any moment to claim her prize. The floor cameras would have recorded who had sat at the machine, but it was too late. The group of enthused employees encircled him, and the attractive young waitress poured him a glass of champagne and snuggled up to him. The manager approached and seized his hand for a vigorous shake, “Well done sir! I see that not only have you hit the jackpot, but you’ve raised an additional $3,000.00 in points. A fabulous prize and well played I’m sure.”
Terry was flabbergasted. He’d never won anything like this… I still haven’t, not really, he reminded himself. He rarely broke even on his gambling forays, whether to the casino, or the corner store for lottery tickets and video slots. He allowed himself to be swept into the reverie and led from the machine to the bar. The employees peeled away as they approached, and he soon found himself with only the bottle and a receipt that he could cash out before he left the premises. A sullen-looking woman stood behind the bar, wiping glasses and a large, mean-looking security staffer menaced the far end. He already had his bottle, so he wasn’t sure why the staff members had deposited him with these two killjoys. He shrugged, picked up the champagne and started to walk away from the bar.
“You can’t take that with you. Either drink it here or give it to me and I’ll put it in the trash.” The bartender stated in monotone.
The security officer stood up straight from where he’d been leaning against the far wall, apparently propping up the building. He folded his massive arms in a threatening manner. Silly, thought Terry, folded arms should be a hindrance, but I get the feeling he’s dangerous regardless. He figured that he’d had enough anyway and set the nearly empty bottle on the bar, “You can keep it ma’am. I can afford another at the hotel.” Terry started to walk away from the bar, but a huge ham-like hand seized his shoulder.
Sausage-sized fingers applied painful pressure, “You apologize to the lady.” The wet heat from a mouth placed uncomfortably close to his ear and beath smelling of river bottom, sent a shiver of disgust through his body. The voice was low and deep as the river that ran past the back side of the property.
Terry decided on the better part of valor and head facing forward to avoid the obscene orifice, “Sorry ma’am, I meant no offense.”
The fingers let go and a harsh laugh sounded from behind the bar. “He don’t even know why he’s apologizing, fool. He ain’t worth the trouble, let him go.”
Terry felt a slight shove and he was sent on his way to the cash-out window. There he met with the lead cashier, an older woman in drab clothing, “I’m sorry sir, we give out only these pre-paid cards, we cannot provide cash over $1,000.00. However, you can treat them like a debit or credit card.” the cashier informed him. It seemed he had no choice, so he accepted. Thirteen grand is thirteen grand, he assured himself. He was elated, though he continued to glance around nervously, waiting for the woman in the sparkly fish-scale top to accost him and name him thief. Yet she was nowhere to be seen. The floor was full of players, some laughing, some intense, some dejected or mesmerized by the games of chance in which they’d lost themselves.
He thought about what to do with the rest of his evening. He didn’t have a hotel room; he’d planned to sleep in his station wagon as he always did before the long haul home. Perhaps he should get a room? Maybe they would take him without a reservation… he giggled a little at the unintended pun: a reservation at the Reservation… he shook his head to clear his overreaction to the silly internal joke. He decided that maybe someone on staff could help him. He approached the major domo at the front entrance that led to the interior walkway and the hotel beyond, “Excuse me sir, do you know whether the hotel will accept a resident without a prior reservation?”
The man, single dark braid wrapped in a leather holder and draped over one shoulder, looked at him gravely, “Yes, I know.” He said nothing more and did not smile as though he’d intended to be humorous.
Terry tried again, “Will you tell me please?”
The man flicked his chin in the direction of the hotel, “See the clerk at the desk.”
“Jerk, you’d think I hadn’t pissed away enough cash in this place over the past few years,” Terry muttered as he stumped toward the hotel, ensuring that he was well beyond earshot before he spoke. His head had begun to buzz a little from the champagne. Took a while for it to affect me, he mused. The hallway appeared to narrow, and his peripheral vision grew grey. He felt dizzy and as he entered the main lobby, the large room began to spin. His last view was of the sky-blue ceiling decorated with a few puffy clouds as it faded into darkness like the sun had set.
He awakened to the sounds of voices chattering happily. He looked around, his vision blurred slightly and his head feeling heavy and sore. He soon found that he could not move his arms or legs… they were bound… he was strapped to a table. He saw numerous bodies moving about in the mostly dark space in which he found himself. “Please.” He croaked, throat dry and feeling scraped. “Please, help me, let me loose. Loose me…” his perceptions cleared slowly, and he saw that the bodies that moved around him, now chanting rhythmically rather than babble-chattering, were emaciated. The owners showed as much bone through their skin as would a dead thing, long decayed. He noted spikes above a few heads… no, antlers… The rest wore… masks? Of various beasts… no, the skulls of those creatures, still filled with glistening fangs. Their dance grew ever more frantic, more energetic than they should be capable of performing. Then one of them reached out with a stick, on the end of which was a small claw, taken and preserved from some dead animal. It used the claw to gouge out a scoop of flesh from Terry’s side. He screamed in torment and horror. His screams soon matched the rhythm of the chanting and they went on for a long time before they at last faded when he’d lost too much blood to remain conscious.
**** * **** END PAGE 1 of 2

So it’s been a few days since the update dropped so I think it’s been a good enough to let the update’s content sit and allow us to play around with everything.
To address the elephant in the room, let’s talk about the island: it is very, very, VERY underwhelming. I already made a post explaining the problems with the island, so I’ll just keep it brief: it’s all run down industrial drug manufacturing and no resort town area thingy for the tourists at the party. It’s quite unrealistic thinking about the people there and where they’re going to stay. If they wanted to make the infrastructure of the island undeveloped, then make it be like Cuba, where it’s all old timey buildings with classic cars on the unpaved roads. It’s all off-road areas, which TBH are pretty cool if you wanted some off-road/rally cars to try out BUT OH WAIT YOU CAN’T BECAUSE THE ISLAND ISN’T ACCESSIBLE IN FREEMODE. I don’t know what Rockstar was thinking when they said “an entirely new location.” When you say it like that, of course people are gonna expect it to be in freeroam so they can have fun with their friends and hang out in their cars and whatnot, and no having tiny portion of the island where you can just do what you do in your nightclub and the Music Locker, and that is to just dance and drink and entertain yourself for 5 minutes. If you try to leave the island, the guards stop you and your character automatically walks back toward the party. You can’t even sneak or swim around the guards you are just stuck at the party until you decide to go back to Los Santos. From what some people say, it’s because of the limited hardware, and that the entire island is free to explore in freeroam on the XSX/S and PS5, but very few of us have those consoles, and those who do say that claim is false. It’s just either the game is old or that Rockstar just wanted to be dicks to us, and if they did know we were expecting a map expansion, then I’d like to believe the. They really did do us dirty like that.
The very first prep/scout might be the worst mission in the entire game. All you do is take pictures of stuff you need for the heist, which is fine, except the stuff spawns in random locations and if you wanna fully complete the prep missions and get your crew completely equipped you have to find 4 of the stuff, like the bolt cutters and grapples. I like the idea of posing as a DJ’s entourage then sneaking out scope out the island. It’s cool, except for the fact the mission is goddamn awful. It’s a mandatory stealth mission, which doesn’t sound that bad, then you remember stealth in GTA is just so, so bad. “So what if it’s a stealth mission, just quietly take out everyone in your way.” That’s the problem: you can’t eliminate anyone in this prep mission, not even punch or judo chop or whatever on the guards. As soon as you get too close to any of the guards, you are spotted and instead of dying and respawning, you’re dragged back to the party (or airport, if you’re doing the prep after the first play through) and have to sneak your way back all over again. It gets pretty frustrating after awhile. To make it worse, if you’re spotted too much, you are thrown off of the island and wash up on the shores of Vespucci Beach, which doesn’t make sense geographically, since Cayo Perico is confirmed to be in the Caribbean and LS is next to the Pacific Ocean. After getting thrown off the island, you have to go back to the Kosatka, restart the prep, and do the mission all over again.
The other prep missions are somewhat of a step up from the Casino Heist preps. For one, there aren’t any missions where you have go back twice for any of the equipment; it’s a one and done deal. The missions utilize different interiors from previous updates, like the CEO office, Import/Export garage, etc. and I find that somewhat cool. The missions themselves aren’t that hard, so they should be able to be breezed through.
The heist itself was in many ways a step up from the Casino Heist, in a way. All the different kinds of approaches, entries, methods, setups, etc. made the heist very unique with different levels of replay ability. As annoying as the guards on the island are, it’s good that they spawn randomly, as to encourage more challenge and thought as to how to approach the heist, unlike the Casino where they all have fixed locations, and after a few play through you figure out the formula and breeze through it like no problem. The guards are still ridiculously hard to all kill, even with all the prep missions to weaken them done. They still have aimbot, not surprised there. There’s a juggernaut in El Rubio’s mansion, but it’s not that bad, since there’s only one that spawns, and you can just use explosives. It is a heist that encourages stealth, and is very unforgiving to those who fuck it up. The enemies are fairly weak if you do the preps, but they just swarm you everywhere, especially in El Rubio’s mansion where they flank you at all corners, and if you’re not careful, you can go through all your snacks and armors quickly.
The amount of content released day one is very underwhelming, and the drip feed line up lowkey sucks. Half of the cars showed off in the trailers and promos were actually released on launch but the rest are to be released weekly over the next few months. I get it, Rockstar wanted to artificially extend the lifespan of this update, but did they really have to make us wait weeks for vehicles we can drive around during the heist? If they wanted to drip feed some vehicles from the heist itself, make it like the Manchez scout or that ATV cause no one cares about those vehicles, well, at least I don’t. Leaving out less vehicles from the heist to be released as drip feed would leave room for some more original cars to be added or different versions of cars that need updating, like the ARENA ZR380 PLEASE JUST GIVE US A CLEAN JDM VERION OF THAT CAR. The line up of original non heist cars is actually quite solid, still fitting the theme of the update. Cayo Perico gives off some Cuban vibes, minus the whole communism thing, so it would make sense some of the cars added would be classic cars from the 50s-60s, like the Fiat 500 (Brioso 300), BF Weevil (finally, they added a better version of the Injection), and Slamtruck (if that thing doesn’t allow us to put cars on it I’m gonna get very mad).
The new clothes and outfits are nothing amazing, but there was a change I appreciate so much, and that is we can finally put body armor on other tops like hoodies, service shirts, other utility tops. Finally will I no longer have to use the merge glitch. The new armored vests tho kinda suck, since they’re just designer and don’t exactly fit anything. The new button down tropical shirts do look cool, I just wish we could unbutton them to give more of a casual tourist vibe. I just appreciate we have more ability than variety.
The weapons were ok. The military rifle looks way too similar to the bullpip and advanced rifle, so it’s nothing really special. The Perico Pistol was a cool unlock for a random event that has a somewhat painful chance to get by finding a body in LS and searching it for a key, but the gun itself is just a golden marksman pistol, needing to be reloaded after every shot. I have yet to find the combat shotgun in the heist, but I imagine it’s just a cooler looking version of the pump shotgun.
The music in this update was very meh. Didn’t like the songs on Kult FM too much, maybe because I’m not into rock that much and kinda used to listening to pop songs and some Broadway musicals here and there. Couldn’t really judge Still Slippin since I need to be in a specific area of the map to listen to it, I haven’t been around Mirror Park in awhile, so I just went back to putting the music on mute and turning on blast LMP on Spotify (Owl House fans you know what I mean). It doesn’t really help that Rockstar is drip feeding radios and music too, since Still Slippin won’t be broadcasted to the entire map until a few more weeks. Maybe when it’s finally released for the entire map then I’ll take a listen. That one Moodymann song they played for the trailer goes hard and I’m sure his other works go hard too; too bad no one goes to the Music Locker, which is literally a stripped down version of our nightclubs under the casino. Come to think of it, music and nightclubs are a major part of this update, making me think Rockstar just wanted to do an After Hours Pt. 2.
Overall, the Cayo Perico was had the potential to be one of the best updates the game has ever seen: a map expansion for us to explore, but we were given a heist with ruthless AI and mediocre to subpar content to make up for it. As it stands, it might be one of my least favorite updates, not living up to the community’s expectations whilst being quite content dry.

Got bored and made a country building checklist
General
Where is your country?
How big is your country?
What is the population of your country?
What is the landscrape of your country
Where does mostly the resident lives in? Which part of the country?
What are the main industries there?
Is it easy to travel around your country?
Political
Is your country, safe to travel?
What are your country's threats?
What is the political system in your country?
Who is in power at the moment?
How is your country dealing with the current financial crisis?
What are the leaders of your country is like?
Cities
Where is the capital of your country? Which city?
How would you describe the capital cities and any other main cities?
What special attractions can be found in each city?
Sports and Games
What is the most popular sport in your country?
Are there any sports or games unique to your country?
When is the best time to watch them?
How well your country do in international/interplanet competitions?
Are there any sports that foreign visitors practice in your country?
Is football or soccer popular in your country? If so, which are the best teams?
Weather
What is the weather like?
Is the weather very different in different parts of the country?
Can you describe the seasons?
What is the best time to visit?
Language
What languages are spoken in your country?
What language do you usually hear on the streets?
How many people speak English in your country?
Customs
Is there a particular national costume? Can you describe it?
Are there any special local dances? What are they like?
Are the people generally friendly?
What are some special customs or traditions in your country?
Do your country have an anthem?
Economic
What are the principal economic activites of your country?
What does it export?
History
What is the history of your country?
Did your country gain independence from another country?
Tourism
What are the most popular tourist destinations in your country? What makes them popular?
Are there any hotels in your country?
Are there many opportunities to explore the countryside?
Is it easy to find maps and routes?
Is there much interesting architecture in your country?
Are there many famous artists or authors based in your country?
Is there a wide range of shops in your country?
Is it safe to drink the water?
Animals
Is there a lot of wildlife?
Are there any deer, wild boar, wolves, bears etc?
Can you hunt them?
Are there any natural parks?
Is fishing popular?
Is there any bird species?
What are the most popular animals?
Other questions
What are the regular and severe weather?
Have there or is there an civil war(s)?
What has been major evironmental disasters
What are common allergies do residents have?
Do residents work all week? What is the normal schedule? The normal income?
What are the rules about magic? Is time travel allowed?
Is there space exploration?
What are the seasons? What are they like?
What are the results of breaking the laws?
What are funerals like?
What are major festivals? How are they celebrated?
What are things poisonous to residents?
What is the difference between poor, middle class and rich residents?
What are popular shops and restaurants
What utensils do people use to eat?
Are there street food sellers? Are they legal?
What makes certain areas dangerous?
What are common hobbies?
Are there theme parks? Casinos?
Is gambling legal?
What the normal smells in certain cities?
What are favourite perfumes and deodarants?
Is there tensions between different races?
What are common living arrangements?
How do they deal with old age?
Is there nursing homes?
Is there gyms?
What are favourite exercises?
What do they learn in school?
What are endangered resources?
What are popular landmarks?
What is the work ethic like?
What are common superstitions?
What are considered Controversial Topics?
How does election work? Is there magic influence? What are the political concerns?
How does the justice system work?
Is there conventions that go to your country? Tours?
What are the common scams to watch out for?
What type of pets do residents have? Are there pet shelters? Pet shops?
What type of wild animals and magical creatures are there?
Are there farmers and what type of livestock are there? What type of crops? What are primary crops?
What type of trees, flowers and magical flowers are there?
What are favourite snacks of residents?
How does the flora differ from region to region?
Do the plants have special or magical properties? Are there any dangerous plants?
What are diseases in this country and how do they affect residents and the country?
What type of chronic diseases are there? Does magic affect them?
How does each city choose to represent themselves? Flags? Certain coloured uniform?
What are dangerous weather conditions and how do they affect a day? How does the climate differ in the region?
What are the different languages and which are the main language? Are sign language used? What written languages are there?
How do residents greet each other?
What are considered social taboos?
What type of currency are there? Are interplanet/international currency accepted?
How many food does certain species need?
What are the common building materials?
What are the main technologies and how do residents use them? Are there forbidden technology? Are there certain groups that use certain technology?
What is the greatest knowledge? Is there libraries?
What are the main emergency services?
What are the military assistance and when do they come into the picture?
What are the rescue groups? Animals? Disaster?
Are there younglings scouts? Guides? What ages?
What are the races and species?
What are the international/ interplanet relations?
What are races and species conflicts?
What does the country have, that other countries don't have?
What goods are transported into which cities? How are they transported?
How does the country rely on certain trades?
What would happen if a countrywide blackout was to happen? Dangers? How does certain magic work?
What are the most dangerous technology level is?
What are the laws? What are unwritten rules? Are there specific laws for magic
Are there rural and farmland?
What are mineral resources?
What are natural resources?
What are the most expensive items?
What are the water and food resources? Poor areas? Dangerous areas?
Are there religions and churches?
What cults and sects are there?
How accessible are certain areas? Are there any that you can't accessible? What are the borders?
What weapons do law enforcements use?
What types of crimes are committed?
What are favourite events?
What are Rivals and enemies of your country? Allies?
How much of the world is farmland? Forest? Desert? Mountains? Plains?
What are the limits of magic and why are these limits?
Does any of the flora or fauna collected? Used in food? Spells?
What type of society classes are there?
What type of drugs are there? How are they accessed? What are the legal punishments?
What are the accessable healthcare? What quality of hospitals are there?
Can residents access medications easily? How many residents take vaccines? Are there anti-vaccines?
What are smaller emergency services? Rural?
Will emergency services go to the poor areas? Dangerous areas?
What are the special police? Is there a FBI type of police? CIA? NSA?
Create City maps
What are the architectual styles? Show drawings
What type of disabilities are there? Conditions? Illnesses? Does magic affect these?
What pandemics have there been?
How are disabilities treated?
How are mental illnesses treated?
How are Invisible Disabilities treated?
What disability services are there?
Are there magical conditions and illnesses?
What prisons and mental insituations are there?
What protests groups exist? Why do they protest against these? What laws do they break?
What are the main schools? Universities? Colleges? Daycares? Nurseries?
How are the educational system rated in compare to other countries?
Is it common for residents to have children? Are there limits?
What are the unwritten rules to raising children? How does magic affect this?
What happens if a child was to go missing? Abducted?
How are child abuse dealt with?
What if a resident was to go missing? Was abused? Killed?
What is considered Forbidden Romance?
How are LGBT+ treated? Are they taboo? Respected?
What specism/racism is there?
What are different species diets?
What holidays and traditions are there?
Are the residents track? If so how?
What type of transportation is there?
What type of communication services are you?
What are certain magical spell ingredients and artifacts?
How are research done? Health? Food? Magic?
How does the country handle item recalls?
What type of family units are there?
How are births handle? In a hospital?
What type of legal system is there?
Is alcohol legal?
What different type of uniforms are there? Jobs? Schools
What logos exist for the country? Sports groups?
What type of advertising is there? For TV? Streaming services? Internet?
Is there social media?
Are there preppers? What are they preparing for and what are the changes of it happening?
Where are the evacuation shelters?
What haunted and abandoned places are there?
What man made disasters has there been? Magical disasters? Mass attacks?
What has been the worse accidents?
What popular brands are there? Design brands for the following
Food (healthy, vegan, fast food, restaurants, chocolate etc.)
Drinks (coffee, teas, alcohol- beer, wine, spitzlers; soft drinks, juices, milk)
Clothing, fashion stores
Tv and media platforms (internet, mobile phones, tech, social media, streaming)
Drugs (Tobacco, medical use, medication, diet fads)
Furniture
Decor (for different rooms such as bedroom and bathroom. Kids rooms
Toys and things for children and Babies.
Kitchenware
Household items.
Cars
Airlines, car rentals, booking websites and agents
Trains, trams
Car pick up services, delivery services, post services
Shopping centres, groceries services
Banks, loans sharks
Scams like mlms
Charities
Sports teams and lines
Music lines
Social medias
Stationery items and shops
Arts n crafts shop
Publishing houses
Recording studios
Constructions
Law firms
Disability support and funding
Cinemas
Movie agencies
Theme parks
Festivals
Threatres
Subscriptions services
Gyms, weight loss services
Specific schools, private schools
High elite universities and colleges
Search engines
Mobile games, board games
Smart devices
Online shopping
Government
Celebrities
Activists
Watches
Investors, stock markets
Tv shows, current affairs type of shows

…The raging river, pulled them down.
Now they’ll always, be together,
In that Happy Hunting Ground…
- Running Bear by Sonny James
“Snakeyes! New roller, please, next up.” The game runner raked in the dice and chips and ignored the despair in the countenance of the most recent “high roller”. Ted shook his head and other people crowded him away from the dice pit. He was almost out of funds and it was still early. He’d budgeted his, “loss level” carefully to maximize his time at the reservation casino. It was an older one, filled with stereotypical paintings and statues intended to honor the local First Nations Tribes while fulfilling the expectations of rude tourists. He looked around forlornly for a new game to play. He didn’t care for the slots or the drawn-out and ever-shifting card games… ah, Blackjack! There was an opening at the table.
He rushed over before anyone else could snag it and bustled onto the chair. “Okay to deal me in on the next hand?” He interrupted the dealer, who ignored him until he was done dealing out the rest of the players and raking in the chips. He still did not speak but once Ted placed the minimum bet, he flipped a card down in front of him and the game began. Ted immediately started winning the straightforward game. He picked up most of his losses from his unfortunate run at craps and was finally enjoying himself. The couple at the far end of the table had apparently had enough and didn’t care for the new player. Ted liked to talk to new people and thought he was good at it. Before long, the other players had left and it was down to him, the dealer, and an older man, who wore a black cowboy style hat and chain-smoked thin cigarillos.
Ted, grinning heartily at his latest win, glanced over at the man, who had just fired up his next cancer-stick, “You know casinos, and a few bars are the last public places where anyone smokes. I remember when there were smoking sections at most places and my parents told me that there used to be no restrictions. I’ll bet you get plenty of pressure to stop from your family and friends. It’s a pretty bad habit for your long-term health…” Ted usually rambled on past any non-verbal cues that people might give him to stop talking, yet his diatribe came to a screeching halt at the look with which the stern-faced elder favored him.
The older man drew in a long pull on the firestick and then exhaled the stinking cloud into Ted’s face. He coughed a little and gagged at the odor of the raw blend of tobacco and chemicals. The old one removed the cigarillo from his mouth and tapped ashes onto the edge of the table and down onto the floor at his toes, “Sonny, nobody cares. Nobody wants your opinion, and you are not special, no matter what your mommy told you. I’ll do as I please and if you don’t like it, go bother people at another table.”
Ted gaped in shock. In his mind, the man’s words verged on an “assault”. He looked helplessly at the dealer, who just ducked his head and tried not to laugh. Indignant, he rose, took his pile of chips and fled into the depths of the gaming house in search of a friendlier table. He didn’t find one that he liked, so he finally gave up and sat at the bar. The bartender seemed to ignore him in favor of tidying up her workspace. He cleared his throat and received only a glance. He mumbled as much to himself as to her, “I just want a drink while I wait for a table to open.” He wondered at her stony silence, maybe she resents me for being…
His vocal ruminations were interrupted by a feminine voice, “What do you want?”
Ted looked up to see the bartender, mocking smile in place below shining, mesmerizing eyes. Ted simply gaped and eventually worked his jaw uselessly. The bartender shrugged and walked back to the other end of the bar. She spoke with a large man who was clearly part of the security team. He glared at Ted while she spoke. Ted wanted to avoid a confrontation. He’d been conditioned that he should seek authorities if such a situation loomed. Yet casino security was the only available authority here locally. There were Tribal Police on the Reservation, but he wasn’t sure they would want to listen to him. He finally shrugged and decided to go back over to the hotel for the rest of the night. This trip had been very unsatisfying… like all those he’d taken since he moved away from his parents’ home a few years previously.
There was an indoor walkway to the hotel, but Ted decided to go by the outdoor route to get some fresh air and enjoy the natural beauty that the builders had incorporated into the facility. As he walked dejectedly down the sidewalk, local flora pressing in from each side, he heard, from the nearby forest, a screeching wail. It startled him and he had to stop a moment to catch his breath and wait for his heart rate to slow to something more manageable. He realized that it must have been an owl or some other night bird. His father had told him that there were always weird noises “out in the sticks”.
As he plunged his hands into his pockets and determined to go to his room for rest, he caught the faint smell of burning tobacco on the breeze. It wafted over his shoulder from behind and caused him to emit a feeble cough. He looked back in annoyance. In the shadows behind him, he saw a figure. It was dark and stood still in a way that made him uncomfortable. An orange glowing circle of embers hovered around the face and rendered just enough light to illuminate the blue-grey curls of smoke as they exited the tiny conflagration and rose above the brim of a black hat. The ember flared for a moment and then flashed to the ground and was snuffed by a shadowed… foot? It wasn’t exactly clear to Ted; the figure’s lower extremities were... blurred. An even brighter flare, from a lighter or match stabbed into Ted’s eyes as the Smoker lit his next cigarillo.
Ted glared irritation but felt uncomfortable at the unnatural stillness to which the figure returned once the new fire was lit. He coughed once more, this time deliberately in a passive-aggressive attempt to communicate his displeasure and resumed his walk. He strained to listen behind him to determine whether the figure followed. He truly wished to get away from the stink and the threat of cancer or other respiratory illnesses. He slowed to listen, then gave up and looked over his shoulder again. There was no figure in the dark back near the exit to the casino. He turned to resume his walk, but a smoky black form now loomed before him! Its eyes glowed and smoked like large twin cigars as it gaped a maw that emitted pure black smoke and glowed with blue flames within the deep tunnel of the throat. Ted’s consciousness fled his body and found itself in a burning nightmare landscape that extended for as far as he could perceive in all directions.
**** * ****
Darnell, known to his public as “Murder Bush” a deliberate mistranslation of “merde bouche” a.k.a. “Deadly Rapper” for having been a suspect in a shooting back in his youth, stepped up to the dice pit as the geeky dude left. He had plenty of chips and cash to back them. His entourage was there to support him and kiss his backside as often as he wished. He rolled through six passes before he crapped out. He hadn’t over-bet, so he’d won a small amount. He picked up his latest winning chips and handed them to the hostess who had kept him well plied with drinks and snacks. He was sure that for the right price, she would take care of his other needs. He played a few card tables and finished with Roulette.
Each time he won a few chips, he passed them on to the young woman or to one of his flunkies. In the end, they had all received at least some reward for the praises they’d heaped upon him; not for any real accomplishments, but rather to curry favor with the man whom they considered to be wealthy and important: a celebrity. The girl stayed at his side and except for when he asked her questions, she said nothing. He liked that: bitch know her place, he reveled in internal satisfaction. He liked her looks too. She was medium height and a little, “thick”. She was clearly interested but hadn’t gotten in his way when he flirted with other women. He truly liked this one. The more he considered her, the more he wanted to get down to business.
Eventually, he posed the question to her, “How much for the next few hours?” His brazen suggestion that she would take money for sexual favors was the final test. If she grew angry, then she didn’t appreciate his genius…
“Whatever you think is fair. How about we see if I can satisfy you? If I can, then you may want to be generous… as you have been so far.” She hefted the chips so that the pieces clinked in her palm. “If not, I don’t deserve a reward.”
She had passed with flying colors. Might even take this one back to civilization with me, he purred in his mind. He’d always thought of himself as a Big Cat… maybe a leopard or jaguar, definitely something dangerous and sleek. His need grew more intense by the moment. He desperately wanted this woman. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” He husked in a voice grown thick with desire.
They reached his suite, his groupies having been dismissed to their own nefarious pursuits, even his bodyguard. The big man had shrugged, “Your call boss-man.” and then stumped across the hallway to his own room. Now he was finally alone with… her. He stripped off his shirt and flipped his shoes into a corner. She stood by the window and watched. The drinks he’d consumed finally caught up with him before he’d shucked his pants and drawers, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He was excited, which made urinating a challenge, but it had to be done, so that he could maximize his pleasure. When he stepped from the restroom, au natural, he saw that his latest conquest had done the same and now stood, bare to the world and staring out the window, all the curtains on it pushed to one side, so that the night loomed and the light of a single small desk lamp lit the room. He stalked over to her, ready to take her right there at the window in full view of anyone who looked up from the outside. He secretly hoped for an audience. He enjoyed having others watch him take what he wanted.
She turned to face him, her head lowered… no, it had sunken into her body, only her hair remained above her shoulders! A… mouth, gaping and slavering opened on her stomach, a mouth too large for her body and rimmed with rows of teeth like sharpened spikes. She stepped forward to embrace him and the screaming began… sounds that he was accustomed to eliciting from others rather than emitting from his own person.
**** * ****
“Rhino” was unhappy. He didn’t like to leave Darnell unattended. Perhaps now that his boss was in the room, he could go stand guard outside the door. He took care of some personal ablutions as he wolfed down a couple of energy bars and then walked out into the hallway. He started to settle in front of Darnell’s door, when he heard a muffled scream and faint… slobbering-gobbling noises come from the other side. He quickly tried the door, initially too panicked to think of the extra key card with which Darnell had entrusted him. He fumbled for it and soon had the door open. The interior was completely dark. The light from the hallway spilled inward but didn’t seem to reach as far into the room as it should.
He drew his pistol from the holster on his waistband and began to stalk forward, “Boss, you okay? You hurt?” The room was as silent as a tomb, he shivered a little as that thought crossed his mind. Over by the closed drapes, he smelled something awful: fresh blood and spilled entrails… recent death. His feet squelched on wet carpet. He turned around quickly. There had been no noise, but he’d felt a… presence. There she stood, arms spread wide, mouth on her gut spread wider. Rhino wasn’t one to scream or yell, even in extremis, so no others would come to this room to investigate.
**** * ****
Shelly was glad when the rowdy group left the roulette wheel that sat behind her favorite row of slots. The former “one-armed bandits”, that were now, “multiple button digital bandits” lined every available wall space, and in some spaces stood in rows that drew regulars like a dung-heap draws flies. She’d grabbed her favorite machine early in the evening and sat sliding in dollar bills and working up her points. It was called “Buffalo Dance” and featured images of American Bison and feather-bedecked hunters. The theme on the screen matched and she hoped to one day see the “White Buffalo” image adorn the entire set of images… the grand prize view. Despite the fun graphics, it was her favorite because it was near a restroom and a free soda and snack bar. She found herself ahead and on a roll. She absently lipped her dangling cigarette back into her mouth for a long draw. The smoke obscured the screen for a moment, and then she noted a shadow that lengthened across the reflective surface. Someone stood close behind her. Someone who exuded a chilly air. She paused and looked around, “Can I help you?”
There was no answer, though the shadow shifted slightly as if its caster had heard her.
Now she grew annoyed, this is just the sort of thing to break my winning streak! she raged internally. She braced her hands against the machine and worked her buttocks to make the stool on which she perched spin, so she could confront her harasser. She gaped, and nearly lost her cigarette, there was no one standing near enough to cast the shadow. No one even faced her. She chalked it up to excitement, maybe someone stepped too close when passing to go to the restroom, she thought, still a little annoyed and... chilled.
She turned back to her game and continued working the buttons, pumping in bills, and winning, a little at a time, the points now built well above her investment. This weekend is gonna pay for the last two months of losing and breaking even, she thought triumphantly. The shadow loomed across the screen once more, this time even larger, as though the figure that cast it stood closer. The shape was amorphous but hinted at anthropomorphic. She shivered as an icy breeze flowed around her, as though the air conditioning had sent out a short, cold burst, a minor malfunction…
She turned around with more alacrity and determination than the last time, mouth agape, cigarette once more dangling… precipitously and endangering the cleavage she displayed, already baked and wrinkled from years of sunbathing. The frigid air passed, and no one stood anywhere near her, though a customer approached, headed for either snacks or relief. “Excuse me sir, did you just see someone, maybe a large man, standing behind me?”
The man paused and looked at her in confusion. He had clearly been absorbed in his own thoughts, “Er, what? Uh, No. I wasn’t really paying attention, but… no.” He bustled on toward the free fountain drinks machine.
Shelly shrugged, can’t give up now, the pot is even bigger. She checked her points; she was nearing her all-time high. The winnings would pay her space rental fee at the RV park for the entire month. She pressed and played the buttons more fervently than ever, determined to break the bank on straight points or to reach that magical spin that would offer an instant reward of $10,000.00. She set her new points record and reveled for a moment. She reached for the now small stack of dollar bills the rest having been devoured by the machine. She fed in the entire remaining amount, then once more gazed at the screen. It was entirely blackened by a looming shadow.
The temperature of the air around her plummeted and she shuddered with the sudden biting cold. The cigarette was long extinguished, and she’d let the cold fag fall into the ash tray built onto the side of the machine opposite the drink holder. She was so cold, and she wanted to cry out for help, but the darkness closed in around her as the shadow enveloped her and cut off her breathing. Her fingers, paused above the “spin” button, struck and as her consciousness faded, she saw the flashing blue light and heard the blare of the winner’s siren. White Buffalo images filled all nine spaces. I won! The grand prize!
**** * ****
Terry filled his large cup and stood sipping and daydreaming. He’d lost everything he’d budgeted to lose. Yet he knew that one more try would put him back in black for this trip. He mused about what he would do with the prize money. He’d set his limit at $300.00 and had quickly lost it all on slots. Maybe he could risk just a few more dollars… skip a lunch or two until his next paycheck if it didn’t work. He was startled by the jackpot winner’s flashing light and siren that went off just behind him. That bitch! He yelled internally. Figures some old used up skank would win the big prize. He looked over at the nearby machine with anger and envy vying for control of his senses. She was gone!
He stepped over to the machine and looked around in confusion. Maybe she’d gone to the restroom? No, she’d have passed right by me. He shook his head and stepped up to look at the screen. He could still feel the recent presence of a player, the trace of warmth from a human body that might linger in a space for just a moment after the human had vacated the space. He looked around the casino floor, she was nowhere in sight. She’d been wearing a low-cut silver-spangled top that was cut way too low for her sagging, sun-ravaged bosom. She should be easy to spy, she looked like a deflated disco ball that had fallen from the ceiling to play slots. The only thing that came his way was a train of employees, led by a waitress in a skimpy outfit with purple sparkles and carrying a tray with a glass and a dark bottle. She was followed by other employees, who’d formed a sort of conga line: they sang a congratulatory chorus as they approached.
Terry gaped for a moment when he realized that they thought he was the big winner. He’d have to deny it of course. Surely the woman would be back at any moment to claim her prize. The floor cameras would have recorded who had sat at the machine, but it was too late. The group of enthused employees encircled him, and the attractive young waitress poured him a glass of champagne and snuggled up to him. The manager approached and seized his hand for a vigorous shake, “Well done sir! I see that not only have you hit the jackpot, but you’ve raised an additional $3,000.00 in points. A fabulous prize and well played I’m sure.”
Terry was flabbergasted. He’d never won anything like this… I still haven’t, not really, he reminded himself. He rarely broke even on his gambling forays, whether to the casino, or the corner store for lottery tickets and video slots. He allowed himself to be swept into the reverie and led from the machine to the bar. The employees peeled away as they approached, and he soon found himself with only the bottle and a receipt that he could cash out before he left the premises. A sullen-looking woman stood behind the bar, wiping glasses and a large, mean-looking security staffer menaced the far end. He already had his bottle, so he wasn’t sure why the staff members had deposited him with these two killjoys. He shrugged, picked up the champagne and started to walk away from the bar.
“You can’t take that with you. Either drink it here or give it to me and I’ll put it in the trash.” The bartender stated in monotone.
The security officer stood up straight from where he’d been leaning against the far wall, apparently propping up the building. He folded his massive arms in a threatening manner. Silly, thought Terry, folded arms should be a hindrance, but I get the feeling he’s dangerous regardless. He figured that he’d had enough anyway and set the nearly empty bottle on the bar, “You can keep it ma’am. I can afford another at the hotel.” Terry started to walk away from the bar, but a huge ham-like hand seized his shoulder.
Sausage-sized fingers applied painful pressure, “You apologize to the lady.” The wet heat from a mouth placed uncomfortably close to his ear and beath smelling of river bottom, sent a shiver of disgust through his body. The voice was low and deep as the river that ran past the back side of the property.
Terry decided on the better part of valor and head facing forward to avoid the obscene orifice, “Sorry ma’am, I meant no offense.”
The fingers let go and a harsh laugh sounded from behind the bar. “He don’t even know why he’s apologizing, fool. He ain’t worth the trouble, let him go.”
Terry felt a slight shove and he was sent on his way to the cash-out window. There he met with the lead cashier, an older woman in drab clothing, “I’m sorry sir, we give out only these pre-paid cards, we cannot provide cash over $1,000.00. However, you can treat them like a debit or credit card.” the cashier informed him. It seemed he had no choice, so he accepted. Thirteen grand is thirteen grand, he assured himself. He was elated, though he continued to glance around nervously, waiting for the woman in the sparkly fish-scale top to accost him and name him thief. Yet she was nowhere to be seen. The floor was full of players, some laughing, some intense, some dejected or mesmerized by the games of chance in which they’d lost themselves.
He thought about what to do with the rest of his evening. He didn’t have a hotel room; he’d planned to sleep in his station wagon as he always did before the long haul home. Perhaps he should get a room? Maybe they would take him without a reservation… he giggled a little at the unintended pun: a reservation at the Reservation… he shook his head to clear his overreaction to the silly internal joke. He decided that maybe someone on staff could help him. He approached the major domo at the front entrance that led to the interior walkway and the hotel beyond, “Excuse me sir, do you know whether the hotel will accept a resident without a prior reservation?”
The man, single dark braid wrapped in a leather holder and draped over one shoulder, looked at him gravely, “Yes, I know.” He said nothing more and did not smile as though he’d intended to be humorous.
Terry tried again, “Will you tell me please?”
The man flicked his chin in the direction of the hotel, “See the clerk at the desk.”
“Jerk, you’d think I hadn’t pissed away enough cash in this place over the past few years,” Terry muttered as he stumped toward the hotel, ensuring that he was well beyond earshot before he spoke. His head had begun to buzz a little from the champagne. Took a while for it to affect me, he mused. The hallway appeared to narrow, and his peripheral vision grew grey. He felt dizzy and as he entered the main lobby, the large room began to spin. His last view was of the sky-blue ceiling decorated with a few puffy clouds as it faded into darkness like the sun had set.
He awakened to the sounds of voices chattering happily. He looked around, his vision blurred slightly and his head feeling heavy and sore. He soon found that he could not move his arms or legs… they were bound… he was strapped to a table. He saw numerous bodies moving about in the mostly dark space in which he found himself. “Please.” He croaked, throat dry and feeling scraped. “Please, help me, let me loose. Loose me…” his perceptions cleared slowly, and he saw that the bodies that moved around him, now chanting rhythmically rather than babble-chattering, were emaciated. The owners showed as much bone through their skin as would a dead thing, long decayed. He noted spikes above a few heads… no, antlers… The rest wore… masks? Of various beasts… no, the skulls of those creatures, still filled with glistening fangs. Their dance grew ever more frantic, more energetic than they should be capable of performing. Then one of them reached out with a stick, on the end of which was a small claw, taken and preserved from some dead animal. It used the claw to gouge out a scoop of flesh from Terry’s side. He screamed in torment and horror. His screams soon matched the rhythm of the chanting and they went on for a long time before they at last faded when he’d lost too much blood to remain conscious.
**** * ****

Today, I stumbled upon a YT video from the excellent Nick Crowley discussing the phenomena known as 'the backrooms'. As someone who has spent literal decades savoring the strange, the dark, the occult, the conspiratorial, I have somehow missed out on this particular phenomena/story/concept. Watching his short but intriguing overview of the backrooms, it made my skin crawl. I had a very real, very waking experience, just a few years ago, which took me to a place that is disturbingly similar to these so-called 'backrooms'. Imagine my surprise when the video - and most related content - described this as nothing more than a creepypasta with its roots in 4chan. And while my experience does have a seemingly innocent explanation, the similarities are far too intriguing to ignore. This is all 100% true, as it happened, to the best of my recollection.
For background - I am a professional musician and record producer, with a career that started in 2010. Nowadays I spend my time in the studio, but for many years, I toured the US full-time as a bass player with a wide variety of bands.
In mid 2017, one of the larger bands I toured with - 40 Oz to Freedom, a Sublime tribute act - was hired to play the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. This was an excellent gig, paid great, and we were always treated very well by the staff. The Brooklyn Bowl is a part of the Caesar's family of properties. As such, we were always put up in very nice rooms at one of the Caesar's-owned casinos on the Strip. On the night in question, we had been placed in individual suites at the Linq.
After playing the gig, we all went back over to our rooms. My bandmates were excited to spend the rest of the evening partying it up on the Strip and hanging with fans. However, I had a very early flight out of McCarran the next morning to play with a different group back home in CO. I decided to forgo the offer of a night of fun and just relax in my room until my flight left.
Sometime around 3am, I decided to go down to the lobby for a snack. So I got dressed, put on my shoes, and left my room. I walked to the end of the hall and called the elevator. Getting on, I pressed the big, rounded "L" button - Lobby.
That's when things got strange.
The elevator lurched slightly, as if it didn't quite know what to do with my request. The overhead light flickered out for a split second. But after a beat, as if nothing was amiss, it began its descent without further protest. In the moment, I didn't think much of it. It was late, after all - perhaps it had been sitting for a moment or just needed maintenance.
But when I reached my destination, I knew something was wrong.
The doors slid open, but where there should have been a bustling casino lobby, there was simply a large, empty, white room. A rusted, red-painted metal staircase led down from a landing in front of the elevator to the floor. Opposite the staircase - an enormous red metal door. Above the staircase - a loudly humming, off-yellow florescent light.
Initially, I was baffled. I looked at the display in the elevator. In confirmed this was indeed the lobby. My mind raced to all of the stories and places I'd learned about - glitches in reality, underground cults, human trafficking rings, illicit auctions, Silent Hill. But all of that was just lore. I had to know what I had stumbled on. I walked down the staircase and approached the door. By sheer luck, it was open. I swung it open and stepped through.
Around a sharp corner, there stretched a long, faded hallway, with seemingly infinite rooms branching off in either direction. Aging greenish-yellow wallpaper, patterned with what looked like a leaf or floral motif. Dank, musty, moist carpet. All lit by humming, flickering fluorescent tubes.
A sharp sense of danger and wrongness tingled through me. What the hell is this place? How did I end up here?
I decided to press forward a bit, overcoming the impending sense of doom that had consumed me. I walked up the hallway a short distance, peering into the rooms. Each was dark and empty, devoid of windows, and covered in the same fading wallpaper. There was what looked like graffiti here and there, scrawled illegibly on the walls in black ink.
After venturing past three or four rooms, each step became a dare. I knew I should turn around and get back to my room. Whatever this place was, it was not a pleasant place to be. It made no sense. And so, trusting my better judgement, I turned around, went back through the red door, up the staircase, and called the elevator. After what seemed like an eternity, the doors slid open, and I was whisked without incident back to the plush confines of the Linq.
I had decided that I suddenly wasn't that hungry.
Several hours later, I readied my things to leave for the airport. I got on the same elevator, wondering if it would take me to the same strange hallway. I pressed the large rectangular L once more. No shudder, no flicker this time. And just a moment later, the doors opened to reveal the bustling pre-dawn casino lobby that should have been there all along.
----
Now - as I said at the beginning of this story - there is a partially plausible explanation for this experience. The Linq was established in 2014, after a short 2-year stint under the name 'The Quad'. But prior to 2012, the lot belonged to the aging Imperial Palace casino. The Imperial Palace was built in 1979, and featured an Asian-themed decor. My best guess was that I somehow happened upon a section of the hotel that was simply a part of the old Imperial Palace that hadn't yet been renovated. Descriptions of the interior of this old property roughly match what I saw. However, there are still key elements of my experience that make no sense to me.
The Imperial Palace was destroyed to be rebuilt as The Quad in 2012, 5 years before I was there. How would any section of the old hotel still remain?
Even if there was, in theory, still an untouched portion of the Imperial Palace left after the building itself was torn down, 5 years of renovation renovation were done and 2 name changes occurred, why would this area be easily accessible to guests? And through a strange service entrance, no less?
The elevator took me to the ground floor, yet the area I was in was clearly old hotel rooms. The ground floor of casinos almost never house rooms, only food courts and gaming floors. Rooms start on the third or fourth floors, typically. Why were these rooms seemingly on the ground floor?
The exact button on the exact same elevator took me to the Linq lobby the second time around. Did the elevator massively glitch the first time?
These questions all remain unanswered.
There is one last thing I'd like to mention as well. I hate to be this guy on Reddit - but while I was exploring this area, I filmed it on my phone. I will do everything I can to find that phone - I'm somewhat certain I still have it. If I can, I will happily post the video.
So - did I just find a derelict hallway buried in the bowels of a casino, awaiting a much-needed renovation? Or did I stumble through a strange barrier into the backrooms?
I leave it to you to decide.

List of Nintendo Switch games that went on sale in the last week on eShop:

You can order the list by Metacritic, Price, Discount...etc..

Title	Price	% Off	End Date	Metacritic
#KILLALLZOMBIES	$11.99	40%	11/5	-
88 Heroes - 98 Heroes Edition	$5.99	80%	11/1	65
1979 Revolution: Black Friday	$3.59	70%	11/4	77
AER Memories of Old	$4.99	75%	11/11	73
Aery - Little Bird Adventure	$3.98	43%	11/11	-
AFL Evolution 2	$42.49	15%	10/27	-
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise	$$1.99	90%	11/13	79
Alder's Blood	$9.99	50%	11/6	74
Alien: Isolation	$$19.99	43%	11/3	83
Alien Cruise	$3.60	68%	11/1	-
A Magical High School Girl	$1.99	87%	10/26	-
Anima: Gate of Memories - Arcane Edition	$10.49	65%	11/1	-
Anima: Gate of Memories - The Nameless Chronicles	$6.99	65%	11/1	-
Anima: Gate of Memories	$6.99	65%	11/1	61
ANIMUS: Harbinger	$3.99	50%	11/9	69
ANIMUS	$3.99	50%	11/9	-
Anthill	$3.99	60%	11/1	65
Archaica: The Path Of Light	$4.94	67%	11/2	-
Assassin's Creed III: Remastered	$19.99	50%	11/1	60
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection	$19.99	50%	11/1	80
Atomic Heist	$1.99	75%	10/27	-
Awe	$1.99	60%	11/1	-
A Winter's Daydream	$2.99	50%	11/5	-
Bargain Hunter	$8.74	30%	11/1	-
Battle Princess Madelyn Royal Edition	$3.74	75%	11/9	-
Battle Princess Madelyn	$4.99	75%	11/9	65
Beat Cop	$3.49	77%	10/31	70
Bibi & Tina at the horse farm	$20.99	30%	11/5	-
Bibi & Tina – Adventures with Horses	$20.99	30%	11/5	-
Bibi Blocksberg – Big Broom Race 3	$20.99	30%	11/5	-
Birds and Blocks	$1.99	60%	11/10	-
Blacksad: Under the Skin	$19.99	60%	10/28	60
Blair Witch	$14.99	50%	11/5	59
Bleed 2	$3.74	75%	11/4	79
Bleed	$2.99	75%	11/4	75
Bloodroots	$$1.99	90%	11/2	75
Blood Waves	$4.99	50%	11/5	-
Breathing Fear	$$1.99	60%	11/2	-
Bridge Strike	$$2.09	70%	11/10	-
BringIt to MOM	$1.99	90%	11/1	-
Bubble Cats Rescue	$1.59	60%	11/9	-
Bulb Boy	$2.24	75%	11/5	75
Bullet Battle: Evolution	$7.49	50%	11/9	-
Bunny Adventure	$1.80	70%	11/5	-
Cake Laboratory	$1.99	33%	11/11	-
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger	$11.99	40%	11/3	72
Captain StarONE	$4.99	50%	10/30	-
Card Game Bundle Vol. 1	$3.59	85%	11/4	-
Car Driving School Simulator	$$8.99	36%	11/6	-
Caretaker	$4.79	40%	10/31	-
Cars 3: Driven to Win	$9.99	75%	11/2	59
Chaos on Deponia	$4.99	75%	11/11	-
Child of Light Ultimate Edition	$4.99	75%	11/1	84
Children of Morta	$12.99	41%	10/31	80
Circle of Sumo	$4.99	50%	10/26	53
City Driving Simulator	$$5.99	50%	11/6	-
Clouds & Sheep 2	$2.49	75%	10/29	-
Clumsy Rush	$2.99	40%	8 hours	-
Color Zen Kids	$3.19	20%	11/9	-
Conduct TOGETHER!	$$1.99	90%	11/13	80
Conga Master Party!	$1.99	80%	11/1	71
Cooking Tycoons - 3 in 1 Bundle	$6.49	50%	11/9	-
Crawl	$4.99	67%	11/4	82
Creepy Brawlers	$1.99	60%	11/5	-
Crown Trick	$17.99	10%	8 hours	79
Crypt of the NecroDancer: Nintendo Switch Edition	$3.99	80%	11/11	86
Cube Creator X	$9.99	50%	11/11	-
Curious Cases	$3.99	20%	10/31	-
Curious Expedition	$10.04	33%	11/1	68
Cyber Protocol	$1.99	80%	8 hours	71
Cycle 28	$2.09	70%	10/29	69
Dark Burial	$1.99	50%	10/27	-
Darksiders Genesis	$26.79	33%	11/5	74
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition	$14.99	50%	11/5	77
Darksiders Warmastered Edition	$14.99	50%	11/5	77
Dead Dungeon	$1.99	60%	10/27	64
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today	$3.89	74%	11/1	72
Death Road to Canada	$7.49	50%	11/4	79
Death Squared	$2.99	80%	11/6	78
Debtor	$$1.99	33%	11/2	-
Decay of Logos	$9.99	50%	11/1	58
Demon's Crystals	$4.94	67%	11/1	-
DEMON'S TILT	$11.99	40%	11/1	-
Deployment	$0.99	90%	10/25	-
Deponia Doomsday	$4.99	75%	11/11	-
Deponia	$3.99	90%	11/11	64
Detective Driver: Miami Files	$4.79	60%	11/6	-
Doggie Ninja The Burning Strikers	$5.00	38%	11/6	-
Doggie Ninja The Golden Mission	$2.00	75%	11/6	-
Don't Die, Mr Robot!	$2.24	75%	11/4	72
Don't Starve: Nintendo Switch Edition	$4.99	75%	11/2	78
DragonFangZ - The Rose & Dungeon of Time	$12.49	50%	11/6	66
DreamGallery	$2.99	50%	11/6	-
Drift Legends	$4.99	50%	11/11	-
Drowning	$1.49	50%	11/5	-
eCrossminton	$7.94	47%	11/1	-
Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes	$6.99	65%	11/11	-
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition	$6.99	65%	11/11	66
Eight-Minute Empire: Complete Edition	$7.49	50%	10/27	-
Elden: Path of the Forgotten	$10.39	35%	11/5	63
Escape First	$3.99	20%	10/31	-
Event Horizon: Space Defense	$$2.09	70%	11/2	-
Fantasy Tower Defense	$2.49	50%	32 hours	-
Farabel	$1.99	80%	10/26	-
fault - milestone one	$8.99	40%	10/26	-
Felix The Reaper	$2.49	90%	11/11	67
Fight Crab	$16.99	15%	17 hours	70
FLIP OVER FROG	$0.99	87%	11/10	-
Flipping Death	$3.99	80%	11/1	83
Freaky Awesome	$3.89	70%	11/1	-
FunBox Party	$$1.99	20%	11/3	-
Galaxy Champions TV	$1.29	82%	11/2	65
Gas Station: Highway Services	$$5.99	50%	11/6	-
Gem Smashers	$6.99	30%	11/5	-
GIGA WRECKER ALT.	$12.49	50%	11/1	67
Ginger: Beyond the Crystal	$4.99	75%	11/1	-
Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions	$5.99	50%	11/4	-
Glass Masquerade	$2.99	75%	11/4	-
Goodbye Deponia	$4.99	75%	11/11	77
Goonya Fighter	$0.99	96%	11/10	74
Gothic Murder: Adventure That Changes Destiny	$9.59	20%	10/29	-
Grand Prix Rock 'N Racing	$2.99	70%	11/8	-
Grimshade	$18.74	25%	11/4	-
Gunman Clive HD Collection	$1.99	50%	11/5	-
Hacky Zack	$2.49	75%	11/4	-
Heart&Slash	$4.94	67%	11/1	63
Hello Kitty Kruisers With Sanrio Friends	$20.96	30%	11/1	51
Hexa Maze	$13.99	30%	11/5	-
Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?!	$4.49	70%	11/1	70
Holy Potatoes! We're In Space?!	$4.49	70%	11/1	-
Holy Potatoes! What The Hell?!	$10.50	30%	11/1	-
Hypnospace Outlaw	$14.99	25%	11/5	84
I, Zombie	$1.99	60%	11/6	64
Indie Darling Bundle Vol 2	$5.24	85%	11/4	-
Indie Puzzle Bundle Vol 1	$5.99	85%	11/4	-
INK	$2.24	75%	11/4	68
Invisible, Inc. Nintendo Switch Edition	$14.99	25%	11/2	-
Isoland 2 - Ashes of Time	$2.50	31%	11/1	-
Istanbul: Digital Edition	$9.99	50%	10/27	-
It's Spring Again	$0.99	50%	11/5	-
Jenny LeClue - Detectivu	$$2.99	88%	11/9	-
Jeopardy!	$7.99	60%	11/1	-
Jurassic Pinball	$2.00	33%	11/8	-
Just Dance 2020	$19.99	50%	11/1	74
Kakurasu World	$0.99	67%	11/5	-
Kawaii Deathu Desu	$3.49	30%	11/12	-
Kingdom: New Lands	$2.99	80%	11/3	74
Layers of Fear: Legacy	$3.99	80%	11/5	80
LEGO CITY Undercover	$8.99	70%	11/2	78
LEGO DC Super-Villains Deluxe Edition	$22.49	70%	11/2	-
LEGO DC Super-Villains	$17.99	70%	11/2	75
LEGO Harry Potter Collection	$12.49	75%	11/2	73
LEGO Jurassic World	$11.99	70%	11/2	71
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2	$8.99	70%	11/2	76
LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game	$12.49	75%	11/2	66
LEGO The Incredibles	$17.99	70%	11/2	65
LEGO Worlds	$8.99	70%	11/2	59
Leopoldo Manquiseil	$1.99	50%	11/1	-
Little Triangle	$6.75	55%	11/1	74
Lonely Mountains: Downhill	$14.99	25%	11/5	84
Lost Artifacts: Time Machine	$3.99	60%	11/5	-
Lovecraft´s Untold Stories	$6.89	54%	11/1	-
Lydia	$$2.00	50%	11/7	73
Mad Carnage	$0.29	94%	10/26	46
Marblelous Animals	$1.99	60%	11/1	-
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	$14.99	75%	11/1	85
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered	$4.99	75%	11/2	89
MazezaM - Puzzle Game	$4.12	25%	11/1	-
Mecho Tales	$0.09	91%	11/11	43
Mecho Wars: Desert Ashes	$0.65	93%	11/11	-
Mech Rage	$$1.99	80%	11/2	-
Mechstermination Force	$2.39	80%	11/5	79
Mega Man 11	$14.99	50%	10/30	80
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2	$9.99	50%	10/30	77
Mega Man Legacy Collection	$10.04	33%	10/30	83
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2	$9.99	50%	10/30	60
Mega Man X Legacy Collection	$9.99	50%	10/30	84
Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection	$22.49	25%	10/30	83
MONOPOLY	$9.99	75%	11/1	53
Monster Dynamite	$13.99	30%	11/5	-
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 3	$19.99	60%	11/5	67
Monster Loves You	$1.99	80%	11/5	-
Moonlighter	$8.49	66%	10/31	83
Mortal Kombat 11	$19.99	60%	11/2	78
MotoGP20	$19.99	50%	11/5	-
Moto Rush GT	$0.99	93%	11/9	74
Mushroom Quest	$0.29	90%	10/26	-
My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!?	$2.49	90%	10/26	-
My Universe - My Baby	$20.99	30%	10/28	-
Neon City Riders	$13.99	30%	11/3	61
Nerdook Bundle Vol. 1	$4.49	85%	11/4	-
Neverout	$1.99	73%	11/3	62
Nightmare Boy	$1.99	80%	11/1	61
Ninja Shodown	$2.99	80%	11/1	61
Nirvana Pilot Yume	$2.99	40%	8 hours	-
NORTH	$1.49	50%	11/5	66
Null Drifter	$2.49	50%	11/12	-
Nullum	$1.39	30%	11/10	-
Observer	$8.99	70%	11/5	75
Offroad Racing - Buggy X ATV X Moto	$9.99	50%	10/28	-
Omega Strike	$3.74	75%	11/4	-
OMG Police - Car Chase TV Simulator	$1.99	60%	8 hours	-
One Person Story	$2.00	33%	10/27	66
Oniken: Unstoppable Edition & Odallus: The Dark Call Bundle	$4.99	75%	11/4	-
OTTTD: Over The Top Tower Defense	$0.99	88%	11/1	55
Panda Hero	$7.49	50%	11/5	-
Paranautical Activity	$2.39	70%	11/4	-
Parking Madness	$1.80	70%	11/5	-
Party Crashers	$$1.99	87%	11/12	-
Party Golf	$$1.99	87%	11/12	74
Party Planet	$2.99	85%	11/1	46
Pato Box	$4.49	70%	11/3	74
Perfect Traffic Simulator	$1.99	80%	8 hours	-
Pet Shop Snacks	$0.49	90%	11/9	-
Pipe Push Paradise	$2.74	75%	11/4	-
Pixel Action Heroes	$3.99	20%	11/9	69
Plague Road	$0.99	93%	11/11	-
PLOID SAGA	$2.39	80%	11/6	-
Polandball: Can Into Space	$2.24	25%	10/28	-
Poopdie - Chapter One	$3.35	33%	11/5	-
Project Starship	$2.49	50%	11/12	-
Purrs In Heaven	$2.44	65%	11/5	-
Queen's Quest 3: The End of Dawn	$1.49	90%	11/9	-
Quest for the Golden Duck	$1.99	80%	11/2	-
Rad Rodgers Radical Edition	$7.49	75%	10/29	62
Rain City	$4.45	41%	11/1	-
Rayman Legends Definitive Edition	$9.99	75%	11/1	84
Red's Kingdom	$2.99	70%	11/1	66
Red Death	$2.49	50%	11/12	-
Rest in Pieces	$1.99	75%	11/7	67
Restless Hero	$3.49	50%	10/29	-
Rhythm of the Gods	$2.24	75%	10/26	-
RICO	$9.99	50%	11/1	70
Rift Keeper	$4.99	50%	11/5	-
RISK Global Domination	$9.99	50%	11/1	-
RIVE: Ultimate Edition	$1.99	87%	11/5	82
Riverbond	$7.49	70%	11/2	60
Robox	$1.99	80%	11/5	-
Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX	$2.99	70%	11/8	-
Rogue Bit	$2.49	50%	11/2	-
Rollin' Eggz	$1.99	33%	11/11	-
Rooms: The Adventure of Anne & George	$5.90	61%	11/1	-
Rune Factory 4 Special	$29.99	25%	10/29	81
Scribblenauts Mega Pack	$9.99	75%	11/2	76
Scribblenauts Showdown	$9.99	75%	11/2	47
Sea Salt	$9.89	34%	11/2	-
Shift Happens	$2.99	80%	11/11	-
Shikhondo - Soul Eater	$4.19	70%	11/4	53
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment	$6.99	30%	11/1	84
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove	$27.99	30%	11/1	91
Sigi - A Fart for Melusina	$2.49	50%	11/5	52
Silence	$3.99	90%	11/11	75
Skelly Selest & Straimium Immortaly Double Pack	$5.99	70%	11/4	-
Skull Rogue	$$1.99	33%	11/3	-
Sky Racket	$3.74	75%	17 hours	72
Sky Ride	$0.99	86%	11/10	-
Slots of Poker at Aces Casino	$3.99	50%	11/1	-
Solitaire Deluxe Bundle - 3 in 1	$2.99	80%	11/9	-
Soul Searching	$$3.99	60%	11/7	66
South Park: The Fractured but Whole - Standard Edition	$14.99	75%	11/1	80
South Park: The Stick of Truth	$11.99	60%	11/1	82
Spectrum	$2.39	80%	11/4	-
Speed 3: Grand Prix	$35.99	10%	11/10	-
Speed Dating for Ghosts	$2.09	70%	11/1	-
Speedway Racing	$$4.99	50%	11/12	-
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy	$14.99	50%	11/5	61
Spirit Roots	$1.98	72%	11/2	-
Spooky Ghosts Dot Com	$$2.49	50%	11/2	-
Starlink: Battle for Atlas Digital Edition	$14.99	75%	11/1	-
Starman	$0.99	89%	11/11	-
State of Mind	$3.99	90%	11/11	63
SteamWorld Dig 2	$7.99	60%	11/1	88
SteamWorld Dig	$2.49	75%	11/1	75
SteamWorld Heist: Ultimate Edition	$4.99	75%	11/1	91
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech	$12.49	50%	11/1	81
Stellar Interface	$1.99	85%	11/1	-
STELLATUM	$7.49	50%	11/5	-
Stick It to The Man	$2.39	80%	11/1	74
Stones of the Revenant	$$4.99	50%	11/6	-
Storm In A Teacup	$2.09	30%	11/1	-
STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town	$34.99	30%	10/29	77
Streets of Red - Devil's Dare Deluxe	$5.99	40%	11/1	79
SubaraCity	$2.50	50%	10/30	62
Sunless Sea: Zubmariner Edition	$12.99	35%	11/4	73
Super Arcade Soccer	$2.09	70%	11/8	-
Super Chariot	$1.49	90%	11/4	76
Supermarket Shriek	$$17.99	10%	11/6	-
SuperMash	$1.99	90%	11/4	51
Super One More Jump	$0.98	86%	11/1	81
Super Punch Patrol	$4.49	10%	11/5	75
Super Street: Racer	$17.49	56%	11/1	66
Swap This!	$1.99	60%	11/5	59
Sweet Witches	$$1.99	80%	11/2	-
Swordbreaker The Game	$$1.99	60%	11/2	-
Swords & Soldiers	$1.99	73%	11/5	72
Syberia 2	$1.49	95%	11/4	68
Syberia 3	$9.99	80%	11/4	-
Syberia	$4.90	67%	11/4	76
Tactical Mind	$$1.99	33%	11/3	54
Tamashii	$5.99	50%	11/4	-
Tangle Tower	$13.99	30%	10/25	85
The Adventures of Elena Temple: Definitive Edition	$1.99	60%	11/11	-
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human	$3.89	70%	11/4	72
The Bunker	$6.49	50%	11/5	60
The Experiment: Escape Room	$3.19	20%	10/31	-
The Great Perhaps	$4.99	50%	11/2	-
The Last Campfire	$11.99	20%	10/26	81
The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame	$11.99	70%	11/2	56
The Long Journey Home	$5.99	80%	11/11	58
Them Bombs!	$9.79	30%	11/8	-
Theme Park Simulator: Roller Coaster & Thrill Rides	$7.94	47%	11/1	-
The Mooseman	$3.49	50%	11/5	70
The Office Quest	$3.59	70%	11/5	-
The Outer Worlds	$47.99	20%	10/30	66
The Raven Remastered	$14.99	50%	11/5	74
The Tower of Beatrice	$2.99	50%	11/5	-
They Breathe	$2.67	33%	11/5	-
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition	$2.24	75%	11/4	59
Time Tenshi	$10.49	30%	11/1	-
Toki Tori 2+: Nintendo Switch Edition	$1.99	87%	11/5	84
Toki Tori	$1.99	60%	11/5	82
Toki	$2.95	80%	10/28	66
Tower Climb	$1.80	70%	11/5	-
Tower Of Time	$16.23	35%	11/4	-
Towertale	$1.99	80%	11/5	-
Trailblazers	$5.99	80%	11/1	62
Treasure Stack	$3.99	80%	10/31	52
Trials Rising	$5.99	70%	11/1	78
TRIVIAL PURSUIT Live!	$9.99	50%	11/1	61
Truck Driving Simulator	$$8.99	25%	11/13	-
Twister Road	$$0.99	80%	11/8	-
Ubongo	$9.09	35%	10/26	-
Ultimate Runner	$13.99	30%	11/5	-
Uncanny Valley	$2.49	75%	11/4	-
Underhero	$10.18	40%	11/4	86
UNO	$3.99	60%	11/1	69
Unrailed!	$14.99	25%	11/12	69
Up Cliff Drive	$1.80	70%	11/5	-
Urban Flow Extended Edition	$$6.79	60%	11/13	-
Valfaris & Slain Double Pack	$13.99	65%	11/4	-
Valiant Hearts: The Great War	$4.99	75%	11/1	77
Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York	$11.69	10%	10/29	65
Vertical Drop Heroes HD	$2.49	75%	11/4	-
Viviette	$6.99	30%	11/5	58
War Theatre	$0.65	93%	11/11	-
WeakWood Throne	$$2.99	40%	11/13	-
Wheel of Fortune	$7.99	60%	11/1	-
Wide Ocean Big Jacket	$3.19	60%	11/1	79
Willy Jetman: Astromonkey's Revenge	$6.89	54%	11/1	75
Windmill Kings	$1.99	80%	11/2	-
WordHerd	$1.99	67%	10/25	-
World Soccer Pinball	$2.00	33%	11/8	-
World Tree Marché	$5.99	50%	10/30	-
Wuppo: Definitive Edition	$4.99	67%	10/29	-
Wurroom	$0.99	50%	11/5	-
WWE 2K Battlegrounds	$29.99	25%	10/29	56
Zarvot	$9.99	50%	41 hours	72
Zenith	$7.49	50%	11/1	-

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Thank you to everyone who has followed this series or voted for it's creation. I'm glad you've enjoyed it and I'm always happy to spread the important history of the amusement industry, especially pertaining to the place that inspired me to go into the industry. For parts 1-4 scroll back in this sub or click my profile.
In 1989, Welland Securities, who owned the entire south-west side of the Hill, would develop the final portion of unused land on Clifton Hill. They would become HOCO (Harry Oakes Company) and gain ownership of almost all the attractions on land they leased out. This included Movieland, The Space Spiral Tower and the Cliffside Motel. The only attractions that would continue being leased were Ripley's and Circus World, meaning HOCO not only owned all the land on the South-West side of the hill, they now ran everything between Circus World and Ripley's, as well as the Fudge Factory (in its original spot) and an ice cream stand immediately down the hill from Circus World. They planned to keep everything that was on the hill but build on it.
Movieland was remodeled and the outside was given a more noticeable Egyptian theme to match the lobby. This meant large lion statues and Costello's talking pharaoh. The lobby was remodeled as well. Rather than a cameraman and a director filming Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, they would now be filming Costello's Indiana Jones figure, who lowered up and down on a rope above a fogging pit with a cobra rising out of it. Many of the early talkie-era stars in the hall immediately after the entrance (along with Elizabeth Taylor) were moved to 2 large display cases in the middle of the attraction with multiple figures, instead of each one having their own scene. In their original spot just inside the entrance an intentionally scary scene was created to match the popular Indiana Jones series. Many of the figures Costello had added since he became the museum's artist were slightly frightening, like a lunging alligator or a startling Joker scene with a machine gun sound effect. The museum had been expanded at the end, and a large horror section had been added, with many figures like the mummy being from the same mold as the House of Frankenstein/Castle Dracula mummys. Unlike when it would move to it's current location in 2005, the old location's chicken exit was placed before the horror section rather than the haunted house portion. In fact, there was no haunted house section, many of the figures that would end up in the haunted house section of the new location were simply scattered throughout the museum. Many of the figures in the horror section of the original museum were actually less scary and less animated than the Jurassic park scene or the alligator encountered earlier in the museum. To prevent unsuspecting parents who had no clue what kind of attraction this was dragging their children in and expecting static figures of washed-up movie stars, getting the living daylights scared out of them, then end ending up filing complaints with HOCO's customer service department, an intentionally scary scene was put at the beginning. This let people know what they were walking in to, an experience rather than a museum. Costello designed figures behind plexiglass such as a man upside down in a cocoon thrashing around, a skull that popped up from the floorboards in a scene full of snakes, a man on a bed of spikes that fell towards you, and a scene with spiders on fishing line "jumping" all over a rotting corpse.
The Cliffside Motel was amalgamated into a wing of the Quality Inn, and the driveway into it off the hill was removed as it was no longer necessary because it could be accessed from the Quality Inn parking lot. In the driveway's place was now a large empty space between Circus World and Movieland, with the Space Spiral Tower (with a relatively small footprint) stuck in the middle. HOCO called upon attraction design and layout firm White Hutchison Leisure Learning Group (WHLLG) to design an attraction around the Space Spiral that would use the final undeveloped land on Clifton Hill. And so WHLLG designed Dazzleland Family Fun Centre. Dazzleland was a courtyard of buildings arranged in roughly the same layout as the Great Canadian Midway (for reasons we'll get to later) that sits on the land now. The buildings around the outside of the courtyard were long and narrow, picture a courtyard of carnival game trailers but permanent, appealing buildings. These buildings included a Skee-ball building, a sports game building (basketball games, football toss etc.), a racing game building, a pinball building, a funnel cake shop, and the prize counter. In the back corner, roughly where the XD Theatre now is in the midway, was a larger building: an arcade housing video games and more pinball machines. In the middle of the courtyard was a small carousel, and a small building housing games that dispensed their own prizes (claw machines, prize egg games, etc.) and coin-op kiddie rides.
The Space Spiral was incorporated into Dazzleland, still being accessible directly off the hill. As mentioned in part 3, the tower was exactly where the Fudge Factory now is, as the circular store was once the loading area for the tower. At this time the snack bars beside the tower right on the hill were constructed: a pretzel/hotdog stand and an ice cream stand, both of which are still there. The Wendy's was built on top of Circus World, replacing the mini golf that had formerly been on the attraction's roof. Across the entrance to Dazzleland's courtyard from Wendy's was a Domino's Pizza, roughly where the photo booth just to your right is when entering the Great Canadian Midway now. Between the Space Spiral and the Dominos was a fortune teller machine built right into the wall: "Ask the Brain". The brain still lives on inside Movieland, except now he wants a loonie instead of a quarter. Just up the hill from the Space Spiral, on top of the hot dog and ice cream stand, a small sports bar was built. Very little is known about this sports bar, but obvious remnants of it still exists. The area of Boston Pizza closest to the hill (the back corner near the kitchen, the bar area, and the raised dining area) was the originally the sports bar. It featured a small coin-op bowling lane, arcade games, and food. The stairs in the Midway up to Boston Pizza beside Ghostblasters is the original stairs up from Dazzleland to the sports bar. Additionally, the Boston Pizza entrance closer to the hill (not the one with the big bowling pin, other one) was the main entrance to the sports bar. Little is known about the bar, including it's name. It may not have had one, simply being part of the Dazzleland complex. Many of the areas in Dazzleland didn't have a name, simply having signs heralding "Arcade", "Sports Games", "Skeeball" rather than naming the areas like the "Game Factory", "Sports Zone" or "Strike! Rock 'n Bowl" like in the Midway. For this reason, the bar may have been nameless, simply being part of the Dazzleland complex, but it's unlikely a dining establishment geared at adult nightlife wouldn't have a name.
Because the mini golf on Circus World's roof had been operated by the Cliffside Motel operators, HOCO acquired all the assets from it when they stopped leasing the land out. When the aforementioned Wendy's was built, the mini golf was moved just up the hill from the sports bar. It's entrance was right on the hill, but the course wrapped around the sports bar and ran back behind Dazzleland, between the back of Dazzleland and the parking lot of the Quality Inn. It would now be dinosaur themed and heavily landscaped. WHLLG designed the course and HOCO contracted Costello to build all the fiberglass dinosaurs. It's unknown what it's original name was, but in the early 90s, with the smash hit of Jurassic Park, it was renamed Dinosaur Park and given a similar logo. Up until the 2018 remodel, Boston Pizza had a patio. This patio was the exact location of the entrance to the mini golf, and the reason the restaurant's building curved in such a bizarre way surrounding the patio was originally to accommodate the course. Underneath the sports bar and mini golf and was an underground building accessible from a back corner of Dazzleland's courtyard. This area housed all of Dazzleland's miscellaneous ticket redemption games and 2 shooting galleries. The low-ceiling area of the Midway called the "Game Factory" is this original building. The Bonanaza Company shooting gallery is still there albeit heavily remodeled, but Blasteroids, an early project by arcade game company Lazer-Tron, was removed in 2016. Interestingly, the chase lights along the back wall of the Game Factory are Dazzleland holdovers. Between the shooting gallery and where what's left of the racing games now are is a bank of maintenance doors. If you get lucky and see them open, you'll see a stairs that was originally an entrance to Dazzleland from further up the street, beside Dinosaur Park. This now lets out somewhere in Boston Pizza's arcade (although I haven't been able to figure out where) and is used by staff to get from "a" to "b" faster.
Dazzleland has been the hardest to dig up information on in my research on Clifton Hill. Although I now know what was in each of the buildings around the outside of this "courtyard", I haven't been able to find which one was where. The only things I've confirmed is where the video game building was, what was in the building in the middle, and confirmed that the Game Factory was originally part of Dazzleland. The rest is beyond me and my memories of it have long faded. If anyone worked here or visited it frequently and has any answers, they would be greatly appreciated. Additionally there was a small pool near the front with a Costello dragon figure in it that spit water out it's mouth. I've heard conflicting reports that this was just a fountain, and others saying it was a small bumper boat or RC boat attraction, but my guess is it was just a fountain as it seems like a pretty small pool. The same year, fiberglass dragon waterslides were added to the Quality Inn pool. Although bearing striking resemblance to Costello's dinosaurs and Dazzleland dragon, at least one more of each of the dragon slides exist, all the way down in Texas. It was originally thought this Texas waterpark bought them off HOCO when Quality Inn closed, but one of the Quality Inn dragons appeared on an episode of shipping wars going to Kansas and the other was recently found abandoned on a private residential property in Niagara, proving they are in fact not the ones at the Texas waterpark. This is evidence they may have been mass produced.
By the time Dazzleland opened in 1989, it was the 8th arcade on the hill (after Circus World, Q-Balls Billiards Pub in Quality Inn, the arcade in Ripley's, the arcade in the Foxhead, the arcade in Castle Dracula, Funland in the basement of the House of Frankenstein, and an arcade that had recently opened in the Pilgrim Motel in their gift shop.) These were just the large-scale, dedicated arcades right on the hill. Many others could be found nearby in Maple Leaf Village, the Skylon, the Seagram, Pyramid Place and the Imperial Hotel as well as many mini golf courses and family fun centres along Lundy's Ln. and the QEW. Also, virtually every gift shop on Clifton Hill and Victoria Ave. had a game or 2.
The mix of arcades, haunted houses, fast food, nightlife and stores selling t-shirts and posters had started a well-known rock culture in Niagara Falls among Southern Ontario youth. The epicenter of this was "Rock World", a rock-themed gift shop that had opened in 1983 on Centre St. (the street Clifton Hill becomes just above Victoria Ave.) They would later add a second story and build Rock Legends Wax Museum above it, with all the figures sculpted by the store's owner Pasquale Rammuno. In 1996, Maple Leaf Village was replaced by Casino Niagara, and many of the attractions found new homes on Victoria Ave., including Screamers and Nightmares. The Elvis Museum, Antique Auto Museum, 50s diner nightclub, and arcade all moved to Pyramid Place adjacent to the IMAX pyramid. Screamers prospered on Victoria Ave., and 2 "sequel attractions" were built in the early 2000s: Creatures of the Night on Victoria Ave. and Horror Manothe Zombie Zoo Nightclub on Centre St. Another attraction, Alien Encounter, would open at the corner of Victoria Ave. and Clifton Hill beside the Criminals Hall of Fame. This slightly thematically darker "north of the hill" area with the Screamers chain, the Criminals Hall of Fame, Rock Legends, Nightmares and Alien Encounter became a "main strip" all in it's own.
As mentioned before, since the cabin courts were all town down in the early 50s, nothing had been torn down on Clifton Hill. The only exception was the Houdini Hall of Fame that burnt to ash in 1996. Some of Houdini's Last Words were claiming that anything revealing his secrets would perish in flame, and even though the fire completely leveled the museum, the plywood and fiberglass paneled House of Frankenstein only separated from it by a 2-foot wide alley was completely untouched, leading a lot of Houdini's fans to believe he was conducting some kind of post-mortem practical joke. The metal objects like handcuffs and the water tank could be saved, and were bought by David Copperfield. Ripley's Moving Theatre was built in it's place. Over the 30 years from Tussaud's opening in 1959 to Dazzleland in 1989, Clifton Hill had expanded and filled up the land. However that didn't mean it was time to tear things down. Things were simply moved around or remodeled to keep them fresh, not out of an unwillingness to change, but because these things had become ingrained in the landscape. Examples of this were Tussaud's moving to its current home in the old building of a restaurant that had since moved on Victoria Ave., rather than the attraction shutting down, or the Adventure Dome Theatre oepneing in part of the Honeymoon City's gift shop. In Tussaud's old place was built the MGM walkthrough/store, Pink Panther ride and 4D Ride in 2002. The beer garden beside it was replaced with the WWE building and the Piledriver ride, but the beer area was moved to between the 2 attractions. In 2004 the Foxhead's arcade was expanded and re-themed into the Marvel Superheros Adventure City.
Another great example of re-freshing an existing attraction was Dazzleland. A simple realization was made, more games = more money and higher guest enjoyment. The outdoor courtyard style with it's room for walkways between the buildings was re-designed, and HOCO again called upon WHLLG. WHLLG designed not only a remodel of Dazzleland, but an incredible 5-step plan that would have made Clifton Hill financially on par with a major theme park. Steps 1-3 came to fruition. Step 1 was remodeling Dazzleland into the Great Canadian Midway in 2002. The level, concrete foundation Dazzleland was built on was kept as the foundation of the Midway, hence why it has the same layout. The former video game building at the back became the FX Ride Theatre (now XD Theatre/Wild West Coaster) in the Midway. The funnel cake shop was kept where it was in Dazzleland except now it was in the Midway, between the FX Ride and the Prize Counter. The area housing Dazzleland's ticket redemption games became the Game Factory. The middle building housing the claw games and kiddie rides was demolished, as it was no longer needed because the Midway was fully indoors and there was now a massive space to put games. The sports bar was expanded and became Boston Pizza, so Dinosaur Park was moved to in front of the Comfort Inn. Under the expanded Boston Pizza, Sally Corp. was hired to build the interactive Ghostblasters dark ride. All of Dazzleland's old games made the transition into the Midway, however very few are still around.
With the Midway making serious buck, HOCO went ahead with phase 2 of WHLLG's plan. Movieland was moved to Circus World's former location in 2005, and Circus World's owners moved the attraction to what was then the popular Victoria Ave. area. In Movieland's old home, Cosmic Golf, a blacklight golf was temporarily set up. 2 years later in 2007, the golf moved to it's permanent home in the basement becoming Galaxy Golf and the gift shop that had been formerly in the basement was moved upstairs. Movieland retained all the figures and sets they had at the time of the move, moving them all into the new space. All the scary elements were put in the new "House of Horrors", a small optional haunted house at the end of the attraction.
Phase 3 involved beginning to demolish the only thing that WHLLG's 5 phase plan would have torn down: Quality Inn. In it's place an amusement park would have been built, anchored by Canada's largest ferris wheel. The wheel would be phase 3 and the amusement park phase 4. Though both WHLLG and HOCO recognized the historical value of the hotel, it had reasons to go. The hotel may have been full of your usual hazardous mid-century building materials (however Comfort Inn built by the same firm the same year was found to have no hazardous materials when it was torn down in 2015, so who knows) but the main issue was elevators and the amount of space it took up. Comfort Inn only had 2 wings, one on each side of the lobby, and only 2 elevators would have needed to be installed. This wasn't legally necessary, as no law states that buildings of age absolutely have to be 100% accessible, it was more something HOCO wanted to do. Quality Inn had multiple wings that weren't accessible from one another, so an elevator would need to be installed in each wing. In addition to the elevator issue, Comfort Inn was chosen as the hotel to keep because the building was integrated with Kelsey's, Rumors Nightclub, Ripley's, and Dinosaur Park, all of which wouldn't have been touched in WHLLG's 5 phase plan. Finally, Comfort Inn's land wasn't big enough for an amusement park whereas Quality Inn's was. 2 things would justify the demolition of Quality Inn. One, it's sister hotel, Comfort Inn, would have been kept. The other reason justifying the demolition would be phase 5: a skyscraper hotel and indoooutdoor waterpark in the field between Clifton Hill and the Skylon Tower. The dragon figures from Quality Inn's pool were kept in HOCO's storage for a time for this waterpark. The final vision can be seen here.
Phase 3 would go ahead in 2006, with the lobby, Golden Griddle and Q-Balls Billiard pub of Quality Inn being torn down and the Skywheel built in it's place. For the last year Quality Inn was open, you would need to register at Comfort Inn's lobby. The same year, the Space Spiral was torn down, as 2 observation attractions wouldn't be needed on the hill. However, a new spiral tower would have been constructed during phase 4 in the theme park. The reason the tower would be demolished rather than moved was because a tower manufactured by the same company in Wildwood, NJ, had begun to sway a few years earlier, resulting in it needing to be removed entirely for safety reasons. Phase 4 was set to go ahead in 2010, so in 2009 the remainder of Quality Inn was demolished. It seemed as though everything would fall into place, and with the exception of Quality Inn making it's sacrifice, everything on Clifton Hill that had been there for 20-60 years would be there forever, just greatly expanded on.
Unfortunately, this came at a turning point for Clifton Hill, when the recession was in full swing and tourism had declined since 9/11. Changing technology and interests, but no real nostalgia trend yet, created a perfect storm, and the idea was scrapped. Especially now that there would be no amusement park, a lot of area attractions closed. HOCO now needed to find a new design company to completely re-design the project. The problem was, Quality Inn was already torn down to make way for the amusement park. HOCO reluctantly found a new design company who had no projects under their belt yet, IDS. HOCO was hopeful the Canadian company could help give them a similar vision to their previous 5 stage plan, that would help them re-use many of the already implemented stages and despite scrapping the amusement park, would simply scale down and redesign the hotel. This was done in hopes that the city would be much more likely to approve just another high rise hotel than an amusement park as well. IDS' new plan was much different than what HOCO was looking for. It featured tearing down Ripley's, Comfort Inn, Kelsey's, and Rumours Nightclub and building a Titanic Museum shaped like the boat. It also featured building a large mall within the hotel rather than a waterpark and relocating and expanding Dinosaur Park into Dinosaur Adventure Golf on Quality Inn's old land. While HOCO thankfully chose not to go ahead with the mall and Titanic Museum, they would build Dinosaur Adventure Golf and work with IDS to make a more feasible plan that better suited Clifton Hill.
The new plan featured Dinosaur Adventure Golf and Strike! Rock 'n Bowl as phase 1. It also included removing a lot of the thematic brand identity elements WHLLG had implemented to coincide with their final amusement park vision and replacing Galaxy Golf with Wizard's Golf as phase 2. Phase 3 would feature tearing down Comfort Inn (that never got it's elevators due to it no longer being planned to be kept), building Niagara Speedway in it's place, and removing Rumors Nightclub to accommodate the new Kelsey's bathrooms and Zombie Attack. Phase 4 would feature remodelling Wendy's, Boston Pizza and Kelsey's. Phase 5 would feature a mall (no hotel) in the field between Dinosaur Adventure Golf and the Skylon, but this final phase will likely never come to fruition.
Multiple attractions have closed since the late 2000's, such as the entire Screamers chain, Circus World, The Criminals Hall of Fame, Funland Arcade and Alien Encounter. The Hilltop Motel became the current home of the Upside Down House, and the Pilgrim Motel became Captain Jack's. Ironically, the only part of the building that's not part of the entertainment centre is a Mini Mart at the back that was the original arcade in the Pilgrim. Virtually everything in the Falls. Ave. complex other than Rainforest Cafe and the 4D theatre is gone. Marvel Superheroes Adventure City lost its license after Disney bought Marvel, and it simply became Adventure City. The Hulk Mini Golf became jungle themed, Spider-Man references were (poorly) removed from the dark ride, and X-men referenced were (also poorly) removed from the bumper cars. References to Marvel can still be found in the arcade, such as Spider-Man's face on a tree that was only covered up a few years ago. The WWE Store, after being abandoned since 2012, was turned into the Niagara Brewery Beer Store in 2016, fitting considering the land's history as a beer garden. Planet Hollywood on Falls Ave. closed around 2014, and is still abandoned. The MGM walkthrough was abandoned for over 10 years before becoming a barbecue restaurant in 2019.
The changes in the Falls Ave. complex are an example of good change, replacing abandoned attractions with ones that if anything are closer to what used to be there, such as Adventure City becoming an unthemed arcade again or the Beer Store being where the Beer Garden once was. Another example of this good change would be the long abandoned (and burnt) Adventure Dome that had briefly held a Lego attraction being turned into the Amazing Big Top Mirror and Lazer Maze in 2017. However a perfect example of negative change is the Rock Legends Wax Museum being forced out of business because a YouTube video of the museum was flagged for copyrighted music by YouTube's algorithms. This lead Sony Music to investigate the museum and shut it down last year if it wouldn't pay ridiculous licensing fees, which it couldn't afford.
Another example is IDS' redevelopment plan. HOCO is now locked in a contract with them, even though they obviously have very different ideas on the direction of Clifton Hill. Phase 1 was implemented in 2011, with Boston Pizza expanding their arcade to include Strike! Rock 'n Bowl and Dinosaur Park moving to where Quality Inn was and being renamed Dinosaur Adventure Golf. All of Costello's original dinosaurs (with the exception of the original Pterodactyl) would "migrate" to the new location where they would be joined by dozens of new mass-produced dinosaurs. Interestingly, foundations were built back in 2011 for the original 2 Brontosaurs to appear as if they were coming out of the ponds, but they wouldn't show up until 2019 when they were brought back out of storage to be installed, only to lay on the ground for a few months before going back into storage. Although it didn't use new hand-made figures, this attraction was a change that fits the spirit of Clifton Hill and was a good replacement for the empty plot of land that had once housed Quality Inn, even if an amusement park would have been better. The same cannot be said about the rest of IDS' plan. Many thematic elements installed throughout the hill by WHLLG (especially in Movieland and the Midway) were removed in phase 2 in 2013 simply to fit with IDS's image better, costing HOCO a lot of money. Phase 3 went ahead in 2015, and the 60 year old Comfort Inn was demolished, along with the old HOCO offices in it that if you remember from part 1, was the original nearly 200 year old stable building for the Zimmerman estate. Niagara Speedway was built in it's place, and if you look at the prices to drive it, then watch how many people do, you realize just how much they're making off it. Rumors Nightclub, originally the Queen's Door Nightclub in 1956, was gutted and turned into Zombie Attack and the new Kelsey's bathrooms, as the old ones had been in the Comfort Inn building. Phase 4 in 2018 extensively remodeled Wendy's as well as Boston Pizza, removing the patio.
Ghostblasters is now the final untouched WHLLG era attraction on the land. This is made even more troubling by the fact the signs for it were just removed and replaced with temporary ones, as I said in the post that started the entire discussion on whether or not I should do this series. If the attraction does go, we can only hope that a new interactive dark ride utilizing artistry, dimensional scenes and props much like Ghostblasters does is built, however that likely won't be the case. Triotech is the lead designer of ride through shooting games, that feature a dark ride car that travels through a hallway with screens on each side of it rather than real props. Triotech has dealt with HOCO before, building both the Wild West Coaster and Zombie Attack, so all signs point to one of these attractions replacing Ghostblasters if it closes.
There is still hope that Clifton Hill can retain it's spirit, but it stands at a crossroads. The House of Frankenstein for example, while retaining many original scenes, has had many removed and replaced with nothing, and many areas of the museum taken out entirely. Castle Dracula on the other hand hasn't updated a thing, but hasn't cared for the original scenes either, leaving them to fall into disrepair and only having 7 or 8 of the original 70 still lit, and none of them still functional. There are 2 directions Clifton Hill can go. With many attractions like the ones on HOCO's side being demolished to make way for whatever is trendy and lucrative, and many hanging on by a thread like Castle Dracula or Ghostblasters, the Hill is in real danger of becoming an endlessly overturning and developing area. However, with money recently being poured back into attractions like the Haunted House, Ripley's, and Guinness and attractions being redeveloped like the Falls Ave. complex or the Big Top Mirror maze, there is hope. If people, including the companies that own them, can recognise the historical value of attractions like Castle Dracula, The House of Frankenstien, Movieland, Tussaud's, etc., this can be promoted and the recent nostalgia boom can create large profits if this is played up. Additionally, future developments can still be more in the vein of what WHLLG envisioned for Clifton Hill, or what the Burlands recently did with the well done Big Top Mirror Maze. This is both profitable and economically sensible, as repeat customers that make memories and come to the area for generations with occasional new updates/re-themings (like what Clifton Hill did from the 50s-2010s), is far more profitable than a constantly turning over wave of new developments that cost millions to build that changes with each generation.
Thank you to everyone who has followed this series. Sorry for the length of this, but I promised this would be the last installment, so it has to be longer. If you have any information pertaining to Dazzleland or anything you know that I didn't cover in this series, let me know. Additionally, if you would like me to dig up photos on anything that I mentioned in the series, let me know, as unless it's the Dazzleland dragon, I probably have a photo of it. I will likely post many of them here anyway in time. Thanks again.