Trivia / Dream Park

• Creator Thumbprint: The Dream Park books have a lot of references to martial arts, physical fitness, and (of course) gaming, all major themes of Steven Barnes’ solo work. Word of God says the books were plotted and edited together by Niven and Barnes but that Barnes always wrote the first draft.
• Defictionalization: A fan-created corporation intended to establish such a park went bankrupt in 1999. However, the MagiQuest live-action adventure franchise is similar to Dream Park's concept. The current craze for live-action Room Escape Game experiences offers the boutique-sized version.
  • The novels' game-regulating organization, the IFGS, actually has been Defictionalized into a LARPing club that stages its games outdoors.
  • A few Game Show franchises, some adult and others for kids, feature a mixture of brain-teaser and athletic challenges similar to those of the Crystal Maze from California Voodoo.
• The Merch: In-Verse example: The Games themselves aren't profitable, but the sale of Game-based films, tie-in books, home-holoprojector versions of scenarios, and so forth makes them a cash cow for Cowles.
• Recursive Adaptation: Almost this trope, as an actual role-playing game was based upon the book series, which was about and inspired by role-playing games.

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