Bid'i Kunuku
A roleplaying game where you try to build a self-sufficient kunuku on Boneiru — picking up the culture along the way.
Bid'i Kunuku is a game. Honestly: not fun yet, so not yet a good game. But the idea behind it is big, and that's what I want to share — to see if there's interest in developing it further.
For me it's mainly something to mess around with alongside work. But it could be a fun way to share and support the culture of Boneiru.
Does this interest you?
Voting is the main way to help me — it tells me where the interest is and where to put my time.
The idea
It's a roleplay game: you make a character who comes to live on Boneiru, and they have to do basically everything we have to do — eat, work, entertain themselves, meet people, work on a house, build up a kunuku (the countryside plot). The goal is to get your own kunuku, set it up, and make it self-sufficient. And like in real life: everything works against that.
To get a kunuku you first have to file an application with the government. Maybe it goes well; maybe your application gets lost. Once you have a kunuku, you can start building.
The idea is that you don't have to be behind the screen all day for it. Almost all actions run automatically — you mainly give direction.
You fight against your own character
Your character has their own personality, and it isn't yours. You can say: "today work, then water the plants." But then after work a friend comes by who suggests going to the bar. Character says yes, plants don't get watered, and your harvest comes up short.
Along the way things happen that you have to think about. An old lady asks if you'll help her cross the street. Do you help, or do you keep going to work? Those small choices adjust your character's personality, and that in turn changes the choices that get made next time.
Gossip and information
There's a system where information spreads automatically. What you see you can pass on to others — depending on your personality. Seen someone steal something and your character likes to talk? The next person you run into will hear about it too. That's how information goes mouth to mouth.
Animals
Kabritos, donkeys — you can catch them, sell them, do whatever you can come up with.
Crafting & recipes
Want to make money? You can just go work, but you can also go make something. Karbon (charcoal), for instance:
- Find a mondi where there's wood.
- Chop it, work it.
- Build a fornu. Don't know how? Find a kompader who does.
- Wood in, light it, wait — it takes a while, and smoke is involved. People may walk by and complain, or think: "nothing wrong, they're just making karbon."
- Done: sell at the market or a shop.
The same idea goes for other things — Piska Salu, Yórki, and so on. By baking these recipes into the game you learn along the way what the steps are to make something in the Bonairean tradition.
Minigames
Something like Mario Party in setup — small games — but tied to the culture of Boneiru. One example is Chi ku Cha: the two tools you use to build a cactus fence. "Chi!" or "Cha!" is called out, and you click on the right tool — and not on the cactus. Players learn this way which two tools you use for what.
Social
In the game you can talk with people who are nearby on the map. Make plans: "Friday in the game at Boka di Onima" — and then you can meet up there with friends. For people who maybe don't easily run into each other in town, but do in the game — to buy karbon from each other, or just to chat — it can bring a little cohesion.
What I need
A lot is already in the logic. What I'm stuck on now:
- Art — what does everything look like? How do I capture the vibe of Boneiru? How do I make it educational?
- Programmers — I'm always looking, and I never find any. So I built the whole engine to be easily extendable with Lua and your own SVG graphics. So you can build your own minigames and load them into the game. Maybe that's also a good way to help people learn to program.
Does this interest you?
Voting is the main way to help me — it tells me where the interest is and where to put my time.