Kung Fu

This is a game project to explore the idea of "having non-traditional negative feedback for abusing one's power in a game."

The idea is to make a game loosely based off of one of my previous projects based on a story similar to Kung Fu, the televisions series starring David Carradine. Mainly I want to put together a game where the player has essentially unlimited power but abusing these abilities is discouraged in unusual ways. Rather than taking damage and dying, since a good Shaolin priest wouldn't be susceptible to these things, I want to set up situations where the player is temporarily restrainted, innocent people get hurt, or maybe even a melancholy-meter meter comes into play and has an effect on the player to help balance out dominant abilities.

I will probably be fleshing out more ideas here as I have the time.

Progression and Story

While not the core of the game, I think that tying story into the negative-feedback mentioned above will be the key to making this project worthwhile. Here's a rough idea of some of the things I'd like to consider.

Some of the first episodes of the television series go something like this:

• Caine stumbles upon a railroad-building crew worked like slaves. He is captured and waits for the right time to overcome the oppressors.
  • This seems like it could just be a brawl to minimize casualties.
• Caine meets a child and a widowed ranch woman but must leave them when a bounty hunter threatens everyone's safety.
  • If it's going to be possible to build up interest in secondary characters, this could simply transfer vulnerability from the player to those that are close to him.
  • Lead the attacker away from these innocent people. Stop him before he hurts anyone. Things like this could be the goal. If any of the secondary characters die, make a big deal about it.
• Everyone is greedy over gold. Caine helps a preacher when he is blinded, and the preacher helps Caine by convinding his grandfather to speak to him.
  • This could be a side-mission while fending off attackers.
• Caine hears that his friend is missing, but no one in the town will speak about it. Caine keeps asking questions and resisting trouble to find the truth.
  • Ask enough questions / the wrong people and they go and attack an innocent family out of racism? Ask the right family and the attackers come after the family?
  • This could be another defend the family type mission.
• Vengence is sought by a woman who was raped, her brother, her father, and friends of the rapist. Caine finally ends it by denying the father.
  • Any generic "chain of vengence."
  • Possible solutions would be to remove weapons, kill one person and then defend yourself, block attacks until everyone gives up, ...
• Caine runs into trouble at a ranch where his brother once worked. A man is threatened for defending Caine's life. Caine saves the day by proving that he has no fear.
  • I like this one because it might be a fun goal to require the player to abuse invincibility to make a point.
  • Walk through a pit of snakes.

Negative Feedback Ideas

• Need something from people in the town - food, information, ... passage to the next town
• Repeatedly thrown in jail.

Possible ending - a trial?

• Everyone you've affected could show up and speak for/against you.
• Make it as emotional as possible.
• This is the final kick to clinch the "no, you couldn't die, but you did well or poorly" aspect of the game.
• Even if you do well, it should be somber.