The game starts off with a breaking news report that people from a small African country has contracted a new disease called Hypnolaria. It’s a 3 stage disease. The first stage causes people to come down with exitied delirium, hallucinations, and insomnia. The second stage occurs when the symptoms stop and go into a hibernation period. During this time, immunizing the victims is still possible. The third stage appears when the person becomes very ill and dies. During this final stage, the illness is airborne and will likely cause a pandemic that will wipe out the worlds population. By this time, there is no cure,
The problem is, most of the people of that society are against any form of western medicine and prefer witch doctors and traditional spiritual healing practices that won’t work. The major powers of the world is getting nervous and are even planning a scorched earth bombing campaign in those regions in order to save the world unless the tribespeople agree to immunization. Which they refuse at all cost.
You play as a doctor in America who has been working to change immunization attitudes in that country. You was born there and have strong ties to the area. You migrated to America when you was 23. You don’t want the population that you love to be wiped out by war. You come up with a novel idea…..the Vax Gun
The Vax Gun is a two solution pistol that fires non lethal darts into the infected who are unwilling to get treatment. The dart is more than a tranquilizer that will knock them out for 24 hours, but also carries the antidote to cure them from there illness. You will take 3 people along with you – a medic, a former UFC fighter for protection, and a scout. You can order them to do things like patch you up if your wounded, peacefully subdue people who are trying to attack you, carry people off to safety and scout out the area.
As you immunize and subdue the people in there very aggressive zombie like state with your Vax Gun, they try to attack you at all angles so you must evade. Also during this campaign, the modernized half of the country starts doing airstrikes on villagers. You, the humanitarian uses a Heartbeat Locator in order to find victims and order the strong guy to pull them from the rubble.
So what do you think about this idea so far? I want feedback and don’t hold back. It’s a very rough draft.
8 comments
This is a fantastic concept!
I have one suggestion…how about it be in the near future and America no longer believes in modern medicine because the idiots won the argument (insert ignorant political figure here, take you pick, there really is an ani vaccine movement in american right now and it is very real, and it is middle class educated people who are leading the charge).
Anyway, staging it here in America will give it a wider audience and not cause backlash about Africa, people get really testy when they think anyone (and I mean ANYONE) insinuates that another country may be xyz bullshit bullshit.
Keep these ideas coming! Research CDC some, also the ebola event that just happened is a textbook case on how to stop the spread of an infectious disease You could use that as a model of how to win the game. Just some thoughts. I seem to have a lot of this right now.
Most likely I’m cycling up into manic. Joy.
Thanks for the advice. The anti vaccine movement in America is very small and not widespread enough to gain a viable storyline for that region. I was actually inspired by the Ebola outbreak when I wrote this idea. I still got to iron out the details. I want to make the scenario as realistic as possible. As for Africa, the anti vaccination movement is very widespread in many parts. This is why it’s so hard to cure polio in Nigeria for example.
Also have you thought about the ways the disease can spread? Like plane, train, walking. You could map the entire globe and have alerts like… Sandy Sampson just got on Virgin airlines headed for Japan and she is asymptomatic…and you could stage an intervention at Tokyo international airport…
Then there could be another alert…”oh no anit immunization protesters got to her first.” And now you have to launch the Tokyo branch of WHO and the Tokyo health department and police task force to assist…but then you get another alert that WHO is short staff because of the even that is happening in Sydny Australia….
the possibilities are absolutely endless!
Yes there so many things I can do with this story. I want it to be more personal between the doctor and his country of origin. The disease will be a superbug unseen by the medical community or WHO. the virus will originate from a pond in the community, spreading it that way at first. The first stage of the illness is non contagious until the third stage. This is weird because it puts a new twist on how it works. The third stage is so airborne and contagious that it will spread rapidly though Africa than the world.
So if even one of your population converts to Stage III it’s all over, you lose the game right? Or do you get the option of isolating that area and firebombing it?
United Nations should love that.
The incubation period of the second stage can last for years. I’ll iron out the details and get back with ya.
This idea is absolutely rad. I’d play it. I especially love the idea of saving victims from the rubble using the Heartbeat Locater.
Do you have any idea on who the civilization/nation in question would be? If it takes place far enough in the future, maybe it could be a recently “civilized” uncontacted people group, like the Sentilese. Or maybe someplace in Africa, and the disease evolved from Sleeping Sickness?
I forgot you said it takes place in Africa, sorry!