Kung Foo!, the snarky new offering from Perfect World International, went into closed beta yesterday. At first glance, the free-to-play game is yet another clunky, anime-styled fantasy game full of ancient Chinese cliches, so what makes this one so different?
Product Manager Craig Beers and Guest Writer Devin Grayson spent some time discussing this with MMORPG.com, but if you've seen the trailer, you already know the answer: Kung Foo! takes everything you recognize as standard-issue for most MMOs and satirizes it. "You name it, we make fun of it," Grayson says. For longtime MMO players, the game promises to be a fun twist on the same old tank-healer-nuker-fight-the-monster-and-move-on style that we've all grown used to.
The interview gives a look at the thought processes behind the creation of Kung Foo!, and a few hints on what you can expect from the game. Take a look at the full interview here.
Reader Comments (6)
Posted: Jan 6th 2010 4:56PM DevilSei said
"Kung Foo! takes everything you recognize as standard-issue for most MMOs and satirizes it"
Sooo... Asian version of Dungeon Runners...? Eh...
Sooo... Asian version of Dungeon Runners...? Eh...
Posted: Jan 6th 2010 6:54PM MewmewGrrl said
Actually it's just a game that already exists with the text changed. I don't know why nobody points this out. The original name of this game is Wulin, with English versions named Q-World. Q-World has been out a few years in English actually, tho not a very good translation, and it's more known in Southeast Asia than in the West. So far there is NOTHING different in the game at all except for the text, such as quest text, NPC names, etc. You go on the exact same quests, only they put in different text and try to be funny about it. The gameplay is 100% the same. This isn't a game that was made to be a parody, they took an already existing game and just changed the in game text and names to try to make it seem like a parody.
Posted: Jan 6th 2010 7:30PM DevilSei said
Yeah, I actually read the mmorpg.com article after the comment, and trust me I'd take that comment back. Saying that actually disgraces DR.
Which only makes me sadder that Dungeon Runners was canceled...
Which only makes me sadder that Dungeon Runners was canceled...
Posted: Jan 6th 2010 10:18PM MewmewGrrl said
Oh that's okay, most of the articles going around make out like it's some new parody game. I thought the same thing because of the articles, they made it sound sort of like a Dungeon Runners parody. I was like "Oh wow cool" because I liked Dungeon Runners. In reality this is a game that's been out for years in English already, isn't really even that good of a game, and they are just taking the game and putting in new text and NPC names, trying to make it "funny" that way (but it doesn't really work so far). I just read the MMORPG article too, I hadn't before, they mention Wulin2 but not how it's been in English as Q-World for years through Cubizone. It's really a sort of bland basic anime RPG with basic gameplay that doesn't go forward in any way with changed text... It doesn't belong in the same category as Dungeon Runners at all. They aren't even really making the story or quests very funny so far, but it's just CB so there hopefully are lots of changes to come. But anyway most articles make it sound as if it's some new parody game, which is so misleading and untrue. I'm sure they will handle their English version of the game better than Cubizone has theirs for the past few years, but it still doesn't change that it's the same exact game...
Reply
Posted: Jan 7th 2010 7:04AM (Unverified) said
Once again it's a bunch of MMO players being snobs on Massively. Surprise!
I've been playing Kung Foo and I think it's pretty funny and clever so far. Characters referencing themselves as NPCs. Starter pets being accidentally referred to as if they were starting level Pokemon. A character who talks about his past by rapping to the opening of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Not every MMO has to be a serious affair. Just learn to laugh.
I've been playing Kung Foo and I think it's pretty funny and clever so far. Characters referencing themselves as NPCs. Starter pets being accidentally referred to as if they were starting level Pokemon. A character who talks about his past by rapping to the opening of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Not every MMO has to be a serious affair. Just learn to laugh.
Posted: Jan 7th 2010 9:03PM MewmewGrrl said
Once again some fanboi has to make a comment without even reading the facts of what was being said. Surprise!
Like I said, I've played this game before, it's not a new game, it's the same old game that has been run in English for years named Q-World. That is a fact, that's not being a snob.
The game has the same generic gameplay as it's always had, the only thing that's been changed is the text, and it's not funny to me at all. Especially having played the game before, I'm seeing the exact same quests with just different names. Maybe them renaming the "Inn Lady" to "Inn Chick" is a big laughing hoot to you, but I don't find it that humorous.
Anyway, the whole thing I was saying was how this is a game that's been out for years in English. It's not a new game they created to be a parody, nor a game that doesn't have an English version already. They just took this already existing game and changed the text. That is a fact. Nobody mentions this in all these previews, that's another fact. Tho MMORPG did get it hinted to them, as they were told about Wulin2 (which was the Chinese version that Q-World, the existing English version was translated from).
Maybe you will find the already existing version of this game more fun or funnier than the PWE version of the game.
Nobody even said it had to be serious, we both said we loved games that were parodies. Did you read any of the text before you commented?
Reply
Like I said, I've played this game before, it's not a new game, it's the same old game that has been run in English for years named Q-World. That is a fact, that's not being a snob.
The game has the same generic gameplay as it's always had, the only thing that's been changed is the text, and it's not funny to me at all. Especially having played the game before, I'm seeing the exact same quests with just different names. Maybe them renaming the "Inn Lady" to "Inn Chick" is a big laughing hoot to you, but I don't find it that humorous.
Anyway, the whole thing I was saying was how this is a game that's been out for years in English. It's not a new game they created to be a parody, nor a game that doesn't have an English version already. They just took this already existing game and changed the text. That is a fact. Nobody mentions this in all these previews, that's another fact. Tho MMORPG did get it hinted to them, as they were told about Wulin2 (which was the Chinese version that Q-World, the existing English version was translated from).
Maybe you will find the already existing version of this game more fun or funnier than the PWE version of the game.
Nobody even said it had to be serious, we both said we loved games that were parodies. Did you read any of the text before you commented?







