How mixed reality game design drives Valo Motion

As Valo Motion celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026, it's an opportunity to look beyond the products themselves and highlight the people behind them.

Few have had a bigger impact on that journey than Lead Game Developer Lauri Lehtonen.

Lauri joined Valo Motion as employee number eight and became the company's first dedicated game developer. Over nearly a decade, he has helped shape experiences across ValoJump, ValoArena, and most recently, the expansion of Groundfall into a standalone product.

Before Valo Motion, he earned a master's degree in game design and production from Aalto University and worked at Rovio, the Finnish studio behind Angry Birds. But it was the opportunity to combine gaming and physical activity that ultimately drew him to Valo Motion.

We spoke with Lehtonen about how the company creates active gaming experiences, why intuitive play matters, and what separates a memorable experience from a technological gimmick.

High standards come first

Successful game design begins with a surprisingly simple test.

"If it's not fun for us, we don't want to launch it to hundreds of customer locations worldwide" - Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

The philosophy reflects the rigor the team brings to the design process. Every game is developed with the goal of creating experiences that are easy to learn, rewarding to master, and engaging enough to encourage repeat play.

"I think the correct approach is always that you make a thing that you enjoy yourself."

For Lauri, that enjoyment is one signal that the team is creating something with real staying power. The challenge is pairing that enthusiasm with a deep understanding of the audience to create experiences that appeal broadly, encourage multiple plays in a session, and give guests a reason to come back again. 

"I think it's easy to take a perspective of, 'Here is the target audience, now make something that's good enough for them,' and completely ignore, 'Is it something you would ever play yourself?'"

The strongest attractions bring those perspectives together. They are built around the needs of the audience while also reflecting the passion, curiosity, and high standards of the people creating them. For operators, that can translate into experiences that feel approachable on the first play, but offer enough depth to keep guests engaged over time.

The science behind active play

Creating broad appeal starts long before a game reaches players. 

Behind every Valo Motion attraction is a remarkably methodical process. 

Lehtonen describes the team this way: 

"Our team is full of people who have master's degrees in game design and game development. We take games very seriously. We have an academic approach to how we design games."

Before a platform becomes a product, the team studies the movement itself.

Whether it is climbing, jumping on a trampoline, or running around inside an arena, the process starts by understanding what makes each activity naturally engaging.

The objective is not simply to create a game. It is to understand the building blocks that make an activity fun, social, and rewarding across a wide range of ages and skill levels.

That experimentation can last months, and sometimes more than a year, before a final direction emerges.

"We are really good at taking an activity, dissecting it into little bits, to fully understand the nature of movement and what could be done." - Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

READ: How play value impacts your digital attraction's real ROI

Why trust matters

Trust is a concept Lauri Lehtonen returns to repeatedly.

"I think of it as the game building trust with the user."

For operators, that trust starts the moment a guest approaches an attraction. Within seconds, players begin deciding whether they understand what to do and whether the experience feels intuitive.

If interactions feel delayed, unreliable, or confusing, they quickly disengage.

"As soon as the player first sees the game, that's where it starts."

This philosophy also explains why intuitive gameplay is so important. The goal is not to eliminate challenge. It is to make players feel confident enough to begin. 

"The fun is the path to being successful at the game. It's not being successful at the game."

When players immediately understand how to participate, they are more likely to stay engaged, play again, and recommend the experience to others. 

As Lauri puts it, intuitiveness is simply "the first step to get you on the path."

"I think of it as the game building trust with the player." - Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

"The fun is the path to being successful at the game. It's not being successful at the game." – Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

Groundfall and the value of experimentation

Perhaps no product better illustrates Valo Motion's process than Groundfall.

The inspiration was universal: the floor is lava.

The idea was simple. Making it fun was much harder.

The team experimented with moving lava, rising platforms, and different gameplay loops before eventually discovering the formula that would become Groundfall.

"I think Groundfall was the final discovery of our experimentation process." — Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

What players see today is the result of countless discarded ideas, experiments, and prototypes.

That willingness to test, refine, and sometimes abandon ideas is central to how Valo Motion develops attractions. The goal is not simply to create something new. It is to create something people want to play again and again.

Today, Groundfall has become Valo Motion's newest standalone product. Inspired by the familiar "floor is lava" concept, it expands on gameplay concepts first explored within ValoArena and transforms them into a dedicated mixed reality experience for families, groups, and high-throughput environments.

Sessions last just three minutes, accommodate up to 10 players, and dynamically adjust difficulty in real time so younger children, teenagers, and adults can play together.

Like many Valo Motion products, Groundfall was designed to be intuitive for guests and efficient for operators. The attraction runs without headsets, handheld controllers, or dedicated staff, creating a social experience that encourages repeat play and fits naturally into a variety of entertainment venues.

READ: Which Groundfall size fits your indoor entertainment venue?

Curiosity is part of the culture

Lehtonen also credits the company culture.

"I think everyone has a lot of individual freedom to explore their ideas and to pitch in on areas that might not be their core expertise."

Developers participate in game testing sessions. Marketing teams seek feedback from developers. Employees regularly contribute outside their primary disciplines.

"It's a very flat, very encouraging environment."

That collaborative spirit creates a steady exchange of ideas across the company.

Serious about fun

For all the sophistication behind the products, Lehtonen says the company still feels remarkably human.

"We are very child-minded people, but we also take our professions with pride."

Everyone may approach their work seriously, but there is also a shared passion for games, sports, and movement.

That balance shows up in the final products.

"We are very child-minded people, but we also take our professions with pride." – Lauri Lehtonen, Lead Game Developer

Looking ahead

Lehtonen is particularly excited about Groundfall's future.

The standalone attraction creates opportunities to expand the experience beyond its original format, introducing deeper mechanics and new discoveries over time.

He describes it as an "endless temple of mysteries."

Ten years in, Valo Motion is still experimenting, exploring, and discovering new ways to bring movement and play together using technology.