The KUNG-FU CAGE is a simulator built to feel like being in a fight scene from a kung-fu action movie, one of those big amazing fights which have nothing to do with real martial arts but are all about acrobatics and doing cool strong moves and kicks and punches.

WHAT IT IS IS:

A 10' tall and 15' wide cylinder made of lightweight plastic, open on the sides and top, with hoops around the top and bottom borders. In the basic game, attackers outside the cage toss projectiles (dodgeballs at first) into the top of the cylinder. The player inside needs to 1) defend herself by not letting anything touch the ground inside the cage and 2) punch and kick these projectiles at targets outside the cage to defeat her attackers.

The Kung-Fu Cage will be a portable performance game, able to be played by all ages, with very flexible levels of audience participation. It works on its own as a standalone game, but will also be used during performances of Kung-Fu Saga (working title), a storytelling system designed to create action/comedy stories with a small cast of actors and players chosen from the audience. I plan to take the Cage to greenspaces and festivals in the city, for people to play with and compete with others, and later run Kung-Fu Saga at a theater in Chicago as an all-ages comedy show.

HERE'S OTHER COOL THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THE CAGE:

1) Set up two-player duels in side-by-side cages, where players block their opponents and launch special attacks by hitting targets and making baskets with awesome moves

2) Adjust the difficulty with the color-coded target zones built into the cage's floor, "flame jet" environmental hazards built into the edges, bumpers and obstacles strapped onto the cage itself, and deadly "laser beams" criss-crossing the playing field

3) Just in general have a great time