The c a v e™

Context

When the Engineering for Fun class at Rice, term one 2019, had to design roller coasters, one group came up with something so good, so extreme, and so well presented, it deserved its own TIPwiki page.

Restrictions

The c a v e™ is a roller coaster so extreme that there are very strict limits set on who can ride it. These limits include:

• To ride you must not:
  • Be between the ages of 0 and 100
  • Be a man
  • Be pregnant
  • Be a woman
  • Be alive
  • Be unwilling to come back to life from adrenaline and then die again from stress

• In summary, you must be non-binary, 101+ years old, and dead

Description

The building the coaster is in is carved out of a hill, as that is the only way a building large and dark enough could be constructed. The hill helps add to the theme as well. The carts the riders are in are themed like moths, and in the center of the building is a giant light bulb, the only light source. The coaster starts at the top of the building, and then immediately drops into a loop providing enough G’s to bring everyone riding it back to life. It then promptly goes down another large drop and through a corkscrew. It wraps around the building like this several times. Then, it goes up to the top of the building and drops through a tunnel in the middle of the lightbulb with enough speed to kill the occupants again. It coasts slowly to the end of the coaster where the corpses can be properly disposed of.

Advertising campaign

As part of the mini project the class had to do, an advertising campaign had to be planned for the coaster. The slogans used to advertise The c a v e™ were eerie, creepy sayings, including:

• “It is here.”
• “Come.”
• “Fun shall occur.”
• “They await.”
• “Your God is not your own.”
• “Arrive.”
• “Soon.”
• “Death is imminent, and has already come”
• “Do you fear the dark my child? You should.”
• “Fear is a mortal emotion.”
• “Testing.”
• “A ride.”
• “...rollercoaster.”
• “Speed is vital.”
• “Fear the light.”
• “Ascend into the dark, my child, and reap its rewards.”
• “The c a v e™ awaits™.”
• “No one can save you.”
• “The choice is not yours.”
• “Feel the moss™.“
• “You plummit.”
• “Find the light.”
• “Your life is forfeit.”
• “You've entered her domain.”
• “One day you will have to answer to a God less merciful than us.”

A note from Alix, a witness to the God-tier presentation and near sole writer of this page:

I swear they spent more time prepping the slogans and presentation than designing the coaster. I don’t even care, it was amazing.