Fresh original ideas for scenes in adventure stories

[Lemming]

A few ideas I've had for things that have never been done before:

Wall of Spikes - imagine a wall, but with spikes on it. This "wall of spikes" will move toward the hero, threatening to crush them if they can't escape in time.

Rolling Door Escape - this one's hard to explain, but imagine a large door. Imagine the door is slowly closing, about to seal off the room the hero is in. So the hero has to roll underneath it just before it shuts, or face being trapped forever. I think this scene could be exciting.

Secret Door - very hard to describe this one, but what I'm imagining is a "secret" "door". It could be disguised a bookcase or a fireplace. I think it'd also be cool if the switch for this door was disguised as a candlestick or something, and if the hero's bumbling sidekick discovered it by accidentally leaning against it.

Any other original, innovative ideas for adventure stories?

[bgmnts]

Slowly Filling up with Gas Room - A room where the hero presses a button or, to develop on your moveable book or candle idea, accidentally moves a wall sconce or giant floor chess piece, and the room slowly fills up with odorless and colourless yet lethal gas.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Pretty Woman Has Ulterior Motive

Treasure is trapped

Authority figure giving the heroes tasks is not to be trusted

[Ray Travez]

Bad Guy- like a guy who is motivated toward negative actions- maybe he's a bit mad, or he just can't adjust well to the demands of modern living. Whatever the reason, he spends his time finding new ways to try and attack the adventurer. Like he might point a gun at him for a bit, or attempt to kidnap him for monetary gain. I think this could add drama to the story. Also he could own a bomb and live underwater in a sort of high-tech lair, where he grooms his moustache and wistfully fingers a facial scar.

[Lemming]

Fight Scene - this would be some kind of scene where the hero faces danger posed by another character - maybe the Bad Guy that Ray Travez suggested. I haven't figured out the details but I think maybe the two characters would somehow try to cause injury to each other.

Collapsing Rope Bridge - this would be a crossing over a chasm - think something like the Kildwick Bridge on the A629, but it'd be made of frayed rope and rotting planks. I think it could be exciting if the hero had to cross this, and maybe the planks would even fall away when the hero stepped on them. The director could show a close up of the ropes fraying even more too, to add more tension.

[Ray Travez]

Car Chase- one car is going very fast, and another is also going very fast right behind it. They could manoeuvre through various obstacles, such as a busy intersection, or over the Kildwick Bridge on the A629, which was never designed to accommodate 21st century speeds. Someone could lean out of one car and fire a gun, or they could both fire guns at each other, or maybe a police car joins in and fires a gun at both of them; I haven't fully thought it through, but I think this would add jeopardy to what is already a dangerous situation. Probably the "bad guy" is in one of the cars, or maybe some people he knows who are also bad, or at least inclined in that direction. If there are no cars in the story, the same "chase" could be enacted on horseback, or skis, or in some kind of motorised wheelbarrow.

[shoulders]

Woman has to have sex with a dog

Need I say more

[Lemming]

Pit Trap - difficult to describe, but I'm imagining a sort of "hole" in the ground. The hero would fall in, maybe after triggering a switch or walking over a false floor, or maybe the Bad Guy would put the hero in there on purpose. It'd be even more exciting if there was a skeleton in the "pit", to suggest that someone else fell in and never escaped, so the audience would know the hero was in danger.

Exciting Escape - the hero could be held, or "imprisoned", in a room of some kind. This scene would show them getting out, but there'd be dangers in the way - maybe the Bad Guy would be en route to the room, so there'd be a chance of a Fight Scene if the hero didn't get away in time.

Death-Defying Leap - this scene would have two surfaces with a dangerous gap between them, and the hero would have to "jump" from one to the other. An example would be the Kildwick Bridge on the A629. The hero might have to "leap" from the bridge to the grassy bank below, without landing in the water, which could be replaced by lava or acid. I think this could be combined with the Exciting Escape to make it even more thrilling.

[Gob Shine Algorithm]

Chapter 4-11

As guest / prisoner of Keir Starmer. James Bond 007 has game of poker and cleans him out, hears origin story of his needy-voice disability, interrogation by henchman Angela Rayner leads to penis atrophy and permanent soft-on. During escape, Jonathan Ashworth fed to shark.

[Theoretical Dentist]

I think these stories could really add a lot of depth to their characterisation by featuring a hero with daddy issues. The protagonist could have a complicated and troubled relationship with their father, but be forced for adventure-related reasons to work together. I'm sure initially it would be to the hero's chagrin but perhaps over the course of the adventure they could develop a grudging mutual respect. Maybe the father could even save the hero's life, and/or vice versa, but only if the savee can overcome their resentment and put their trust in the saver.

Also it seems to me that a lot of adventure stories are missing a trick by not taking place in exotic locations. Most of these things are set in places like Crawley or Paterson, New Jersey, which may be representative of where adventures tend to occur, but imagine the images that could be woven – be it by a skilled cinematographer or the reader's imagination – if the story were transposed to a photogenic locale like Thailand or the Caribbean.

[Lemming]

Perilous Situation - I feel like this idea could change adventure fiction as we know it. The concept I have here is that the protagonist would face some kind of danger. A scene like this could really add a lot of excitement to a story, as the danger would pose an obstacle to the hero's adventure. It would be a versatile format for a scene too as the danger could change depending on which Exotic Location the hero was in - for example, sharks in tropical waters, or fast-moving cars on the A629 Kildwick Bridge.

Quicksand Trap - this would involve the hero falling into sand, except the sand would be a deadly form of sand known as "quicksand". It would threaten to "suck" the hero beneath it, and they'd have to use quick thinking to get out.

Questionable Ally - in this concept, the hero would meet another character, maybe some kind of thief or crook. This other character could be a Pretty Woman With Ulterior Motive. It would be exciting because the audience would never be quite sure if she was really on the hero's side or not. There might be a big moment where it looks like she betrayed the hero and was secretly working for the Bad Guy all along, but then it turns out to be a double-bluff and she proves herself to be a true friend of the hero after all.

Travel Montage - this would be a quick way to show that the hero is moving over a large distance. Too many adventure stories stumble from the tired old convention of showing the hero booking a flight, waiting at the airport in real-time for several hours, boarding the plane, going through the entire flight, etc. My idea would revolutionise these sequences as we might simply fade to a plane in mid-flight, or even show a map with a red "line" moving across it to represent the route taken by the hero.

[steve98]

Why is "quicksand", called quick, when really it's extremely slow? Why's it not called slowsand?

[Ray Travez]

Shoot-Out- as we all know, it's been traditional in adventure stories for any difference of opinion between two opposing groups to have been resolved by a ballot- and who can forget the incredible scene in Fat Tony's Kitchen where the eponymous Fat Tony is forced to shut down his extortion racket by a majority vote, despite the mafia managing to pull off several illegal voting tactics. However, despite how satisfyingly democratic this is, I was thinking that maybe it would be more exciting for the viewer if both groups just picked up some really massive guns and fired at each other until all of one of them was dead.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Rooftop chase Instead of just chasing someone along the ground, if you have a location where tall buildings with flat roofs are close to each other, have your character chase someone from flat roof to flat roof. Have it so it looks like they are going to fall at one point, and they are hanging on by their hands. At the end, when the character catches up with the person they should not turn to look back at the roofs they have leapt from and wipe sweat from their brows. The character should either kill the other or lead him/her down the stairs to the police.

Crafty Wank No, your character isn't using tissue paper and Pritt-Stick to masturbate. During a break in the action, they should duck down behind a bar or something while bullets are flying and have a quick tug. Once the semen lands on the floor, they should get back up again and start shooting. The audience doesn't need to know who cleans up the semen.

[Ray Travez]

Going to the Lavatory- perhaps like you, I'm tired of seeing scene after scene of Bruce Willis curling one out after a difficult battle, or one of the hobbit elf things taking a piss behind a magic tree. Sure, it adds realism, but could this not be done in other ways? Perhaps these scenes could be replaced by a shot of the hero smoking a cigarette and looking pensive, or punching a swing-bag really hard.

[Lemming]

Hacking Scene - this would be good in sci-fi movies. A character could type fast on a keyboard, and on the screen we'd see a progress bar that says "DOWNLOADING" or "UPLOADING", with a 3D spinning biohazard symbol. I think it'd be exciting if the character said "I'm in!" when the bar was filled, to help tech-unsavvy audience members keep up.

Love Scene - love and romance are a common part of real life but I don't think they've ever been shown in fiction before. In this scene, the hero would fall in love with another character. We'd have to compress the events somewhat to match with the adventure story's pace, but we could also mix it into the action, like have the two lovers declare their love while Going to the Lavatory in a Pit Trap in an Exotic Location, or during a Rooftop Chase.

Bar Full of Enemies - a lot of adventure movies feature bars, but usually only when the hero walks past them, or goes in and orders a drink uneventfully. My idea would make it so that when the hero entered a bar, there'd be hostile people inside - maybe minions of the Bad Guy. This could lead to a Fight Scene.

[popcorn]

Bar Full of Enemies - a lot of adventure movies feature bars, but usually only when the hero walks past them, or goes in and orders a drink uneventfully. My idea would make it so that when the hero entered a bar, there'd be hostile people inside - maybe minions of the Bad Guy. This could lead to a Fight Scene.

Wouldn't that just be confusing? Why wouldn't the hero simply order a drink and have a quiet sit down?

[Lemming]

Wouldn't that just be confusing? Why wouldn't the hero simply order a drink and have a quiet sit down?

If we make the hero get beaten up by minions of the Bad Guy, we might be able to make the Bad Guy look threatening.

I'm not sure why we'd want to do that, but I'm really interested in the possibilities of Ray Travez's idea of there being a sort of "Bad Guy" in these stories. We could even make it so that the Bad Guy and the hero are actively working against each other. Maybe the hero's main aim would even be to stop the Bad Guy, who could have some kind of Sinister Plan. Not sure if it'd really work but it's an exciting idea.

[popcorn]

Why would anyone ever want to have a Sinister Plan though? That would be awful.

[Ray Travez]

I think you're onto something with this sinister plan idea, Lemming! Maybe the bad guy has a hidden scheme to blow something up; perhaps the Kildwick Bridge on the A629, destroying forever its rich architectural history and aesthetic charm. Why? Well he's a 'bad' man, and he hates English heritage. To this end, he's stuffed the bridge with explosives and hidden snipers all along the A629 to prevent anyone getting near. The hero then has to struggle to abort the sinister plan, as if it succeeds, it will add at least another 20 minutes onto his journey to the garden centre in Otley, where he buys his bedding plants.

[Ferris]

Goodie but they're actually a Baddie - think "The Demon Headmaster" but it's a video game.

[popcorn]

Goodie but they're actually a Baddie

Sorry but I just find this very hard to imagine.

[Ferris]

Sorry but I just find this very hard to imagine.

It's like The Demon Headmaster right? Like everyone goes "oh the headmaster? He must be a goodie" but then you watch another 6 minutes and it turns out: he's the baddie.

I'm not sure how it'd work in a video game, but if devs could watch The Demon Headmaster they'd likely get an idea and maybe try and make that work in a game somehow.

[Ferris]

Like, oh, who's this guy? He's given me a new hat so he's probably a goodie!

But then you could subvert those expectations if he takes that same hat away (plus another hat) at a later part of the game (leaving you net -1 hats overall).

People would say "wait, what the fuck?? He's a baddie! But I thought he was a goodie!!" and that's why I think it might work.

[Ferris]

I've given it a bit more thought, this is a fucking stupid idea. It'd never work. I'm sorry.

[Mr Farenheit]

Escape from lightning

Hero is in a violent storm with lightning strikes. Each time the lightning is about to strike him he rolls out of the way and it strikes the ground beside him. Or he dives in between the legs of a golfer in the middle of a swing and the golfer's struck. Or he points suddenly in one direction and looks in another and the lightning gets confused and changes direction twice before striking itself.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Slowly Filling up with Gas Room - A room where the hero presses a button or, to develop on your moveable book or candle idea, accidentally moves a wall sconce or giant floor chess piece, and the room slowly fills up with odorless and colourless yet lethal gas.

This is good, but does the gas have to be colourless? I think it might be more effective if the gas were green or purple.

[Ferris]

Defusing a bomb but the hero has never defused a bomb before. Could feature string (or coloured wires?) and you cut one of them to test how sharp your scissors are? Could also make the bomb go off but not sure how that would actually work.

[Lemming]

Defusing a bomb but the hero has never defused a bomb before. Could feature string (or coloured wires?) and you cut one of them to test how sharp your scissors are? Could also make the bomb go off but not sure how that would actually work.

This is interesting, ties into another scene idea I was playing around with:

Tense Countdown - most adventure stories have the hero moving along at a leisurely pace with no time constraints, and while this has always worked well for the genre, I feel like there's a missed opportunity here. It could be exciting if the hero were forced to work to some kind of deadline. To build on your example, if there were a bomb on the Kildwick Bridge on the A629, it might have a countdown clock on it, which would make it even more exciting.

Still not sure what would happen if the hero cut the wrong wire or the countdown reached zero, though. Possibly the Bad Guy would gain some kind of advantage.

[Ferris]

I think that makes sense, I just don't know about the actual bomb bit. I mean, how often do you come across a bomb? And I never carry scissors so that's just not realistic.

I know I know, it's fiction but I just don't see the audience going along with it.