Karate Kid RPG Project

[Millie]

The working title for this game is "Karate Kid Chronicles," but that's subject to change.

[Millie]

I'm not sure how feasible it is, but if anyone's a talented animator, I'd love to do some anime-style cutscenes as well.

[TwiNCannoN]

I can't help but be reminded of Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden.

[Zarcath]

IT'S CALLED SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. IF YOU CAN'T SLAM WITH THE BEST, THEN JAM WITH THE REST.

That had me rolling. Sweep the leg should be a dialogue option for every NPC.

[aychamo_aycono]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

is the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique going to be available? :P

Best set of movies EVER!

[aychamo_aycono]

I went ahead and made some sprites. In the first level will there be a part where we get to push start Mrs. Laruso's car?

[Millie]

LOL. This is going to be a lot cooler than the dumb old Karate Kid NES game! I promise!!!

And yes, it'll have the same tongue-in-cheek style of silliness as the Barkley game. I mean, it's going to be totally serious in tone, but because of the subject matter it's inherently funny.

[kegkilla]

what will you have daniel fight in order to level up? if i remember correct the movies were pretty much daniel getting his ass kicked up until the end and then winning one big fight at the end in dramatic fashion. i can't really image what you would have him fighting in between there that wouldn't take away from the actual plot.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by kegkilla

what will you have daniel fight in order to level up? if i remember correct the movies were pretty much daniel getting his ass kicked up until the end and then winning one big fight at the end in dramatic fashion. i can't really image what you would have him fighting in between there that wouldn't take away from the actual plot.

I've thought about that problem, and basically, we're just going to have to take some creative license for the sake of gameplay. There will be additional central villains to fight besides just the "main bad guy" of each chapter. Also, there will be lots of "monsters" in the form of thugs, bullies, martial artists, maybe some evil karate spirits and ghosts, etc.

One option I'm considering is having a dojo where Daniel goes to train and face generic martial artist opponents. It's not really keeping with the spirit of the film, but what else am I gonna do, right? Daniel needs to be able to level up the way any normal RPG character levels up, or it's not an RPG. But I don't want him to do all of his leveling through the dojo, or else gameplay is going to be very repetitive.

Itemization and equipment are also going to be part of the game, just as they would in your typical RPG. I'm just going to have to get creative with "weapons" and such (probably no weapons other than fists, but there will be armor upgrades, technique upgrades, maybe gloves or some other such "weapon" that isn't totally out of sorts with the idea of karate).

I also want to re-stress that Daniel isn't the only playable character. I'm designing the game around having one to three characters in your party at all times, with maybe 10 playable characters available throughout the game. Daniel will be alone for some of the big storyline fights, but most of the game will be party-based and not just based on Daniel. Again: creative license for the sake of making the game fun to play. It's not a scene-for-scene retread through the movies. It's a retelling and reinvention.

BIG TIME SPOILER; DO NOT READ IF YOU LIKE FINDING SECRETS OUT ON YOUR OWN:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Johnny will be able to join your party late in the game, in a manner similar to getting Magus in Chrono Trigger. You'll have to visit an old, forgotten location and do some secret l33t quest stuff.

[Zarcath]

Instead of "fights/death matches" you could simply let Daniel "spar" with a wide-variety of opponents. Heck, you could make every NPC sparrable. If Daniel spars with a weak opponent (like a wheelchair bound senior), not much exp, but if he spars against...a guy in a chicken suit, it could make for some epic fights. Could also let Daniel fight inanimate objects, tables, chairs, trees, post boxes, etc.

As for equipment, forego the entire weapons thing and just focus on clothing. Sweat band thats equippable on head, wrist or ankles. Disco pants, sequence denim jacket, bandanas, make it crazy!

[Burf]

Millie, you realize that as soon as he hears about this, Ralph Macchio is going to want royalties, right?

[Soygen]

You're the best......around!!!!

[Darus Grey]

Originally Posted by Burf

Millie, you realize that as soon as he hears about this, Ralph Macchio is going to want royalties, right?

Just agree to give him 100% of all profits.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by Burf

Millie, you realize that as soon as he hears about this, Ralph Macchio is going to want royalties, right?

Given the current state (or lack thereof) of Ralph's career, he's probably available for voice acting work.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

Instead of "fights/death matches" you could simply let Daniel "spar" with a wide-variety of opponents. Heck, you could make every NPC sparrable. If Daniel spars with a weak opponent (like a wheelchair bound senior), not much exp, but if he spars against...a guy in a chicken suit, it could make for some epic fights. Could also let Daniel fight inanimate objects, tables, chairs, trees, post boxes, etc.

Sounds like an interesting idea. Could be a coding nightmare to make every single NPC fightable/sparrable, though. But we'll see. Ultimately, I'm leaning towards some sort of combination of random enemies and sparring/training. I want there to be random enemies, but I definitely want some element of skill-testing against chosen opponents. We'll see how it pans out. I'm liking the idea of designated "challenge" areas where you can go test your mettle against generic NPCs. Maybe it's high school gym for Chapter I, the Miyagi and Sato family dojos in Chapter II, and the Cobra Kai dojo in Chapter III. Or something like that?

As for equipment, forego the entire weapons thing and just focus on clothing. Sweat band thats equippable on head, wrist or ankles. Disco pants, sequence denim jacket, bandanas, make it crazy!

I agree with this. No weapons (after all, "karate" roughly means "empty fist," as Miyagi teaches us). But lots of clothing and accessory options. I'm going to include gloves as fist "weapons," though. You won't see them on the sprite or anything; they're just there because I know that people will bitch up a storm if you go the entire game without being able to get weapons of some sort. The equipment will definitely veer toward the '80s and wacky, though.