ASIA 324: Literature of Hong Kong – Creative Project
“Rules of an Epidemic”: A Game Inspired by Hon Lai-Chu’s “Notes on an Epidemic”
By Mukyeung Cheung, Nina Melwani and Chloe Ng
“Since Hon Lai-Chu’s ‘Notes on an Epidemic’ deals with roles, power dynamics and daily life, we have done an abstractadaptation of the text into the popular game Werewolf (similar to Mafia). The source work is absurd and focuses on an epidemic. We rework the game to reflect on how power dynamics are depicted through the absurdity of an epidemic and how they influence individual identity formation. […] The outcome of the game is thus irrelevant, urging us to consider the individual effect of such dynamics. By the end of the game, players should mirror the feeling of the narrator at the end of the text. They should understand that while they now all look at each other as if they are monsters, they are truly seeing their own distorted reflections, unable to recognize who they have become.” — Project Rationale
