Dear Insane Children, 

Last week I took multiple people + Lulu to the hospital (multiple times) (different hospitals) plus tried to stay on top of the usual business of updates, design work, streaming, etc. All of which meant a pretty insane week with not a lot of time left for all the things on my to-do list. 

This week I’d like to devote some time to catching up on everything so… 

No Design Session and No Live Stream this week! 

That will give me a chance to provide full attention to a number of key to-do items related to moving things forward on our Alice efforts. 

Sadly all of this Business Development work is currently under numerous NDAs so you’ll just have to wait patiently… No juicy updates or interesting tidbits to share when all is said and done. But…

Fear Not! At Least Not for Long!

We’ll be back to our usual schedule the week of the 22nd. 

Expect a Crowd Design Session at the regular time (9AM on Tuesday – Shanghai time). 

And a YouTube Live Stream at the usual time (9AM on Thursday – Shanghai time). 

Links and info on those will go out this time next week.

That is the Final Version of “Surprise Guest” and the one we’ll convert into an art print. 

What do you think?

And a nifty “head in sand” design concept from Jen (who also provided the pixel art of Alice seen above). 

The End of Denial

It’s looking like we’re nearing the end of the tunnel on initial design work for Denial. Next up, we’re moving into Anger. Rawr!

Can’t wait to see what our team (including YOU) come up with for the story, design, and art contained in the Kingdom of the Queen of Hearts. 

Harmony in Discord 

Hey, just because I am taking a week to focus on BD tasks doesn’t mean the Insane Children have to take a rest from Crowd Design efforts. 

Check out our Discord Server and feel free to organize a meeting of the Insane Children to discuss final elements you’d like to see in Denial before we head into the next domain. 

One of the key concepts we still need to nail down is the narrative and nature of the Enemy Characters we’ll deal with in Denial. 

Here are some guidance points… 

It’s probably a good idea that this character be one that makes sense for Denial but can also be used as we continue to progress into later stages of the game. 

One thing to think about in terms of the psychological reality of PTSD is that these phases are rarely divided along perfectly crisp borders. You can suffer Denial and move into Anger only to return to Denial or maintain hints of Denial while also being fully embroiled in Anger. 

From that perspective it would be natural that an enemy we primarily associate with the concept of Denial might continue to follow us through the game – all the way until the end. Of course once we’ve beat “Denial” as a stage we might also have (mostly) mastered the art of overcoming Denial as an enemy NPC when we encounter it in later stages of the game. 

So… a character based on Denial who: 

• Is initially quite difficult to fight and defeat.
• Neatly represents the nature of Denial in shape, sound, and function.
• Is (more) easily defeated once we progress past the Denial stage.
• Feels at home in the later stages of the game as a fodder enemy.
• Establishes a logical arch of enemy design/development as a model we can copy to enemies designed around future stages of trauma. 

Take a stab at that over on Discord and in the Comments below. 

I look forward to catching up with everyone to see what sort of Insane ideas you’ve come up with … next week!

From Shanghai with BD on the Brain, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

For those of you who missed it, here’s THE LINK to yesterday’s Crowd Design Session. 

We had a great discussion around the general topic of the Circus Realm, Denial, The Nile, and more. Many of our Insane Children came up with really interesting, useful, and fun ideas which have a high likelihood of making their way into the game. Yay!

I really enjoy these sessions and hope you do too! It’s great to hear so many creative ideas flow from people who have a clear passion for Alice and her story. 

These sessions are held weekly (at least that’s the goal) and you can join them via our Discord Server. 

For more info on our Discord Server and how to access it hit THIS LINK. 

From Shanghai with Inspiration, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

A quick heads-up for all of you who receive Art Prints from us – either via the 3/$35 Tier, the $75 Tier, or when you order directly from Mysterious. 

As you are aware, these prints are individually signed (by American), quality inspected by Lulu, hand-packed, and then shipped from Shanghai to Insane Children around the world. 

Previously, we rolled the art and then secured it with “individually unique, hand-crafted fastening devices” (AKA white masking tape torn into little bits). These bits of tape tended to come loose during shipping, leaving the art prints semi-stuck in the shipping tube. 

Going forward, we’ll start using Mr. Fancy Pants(tm) Metallic Logo Labels to secure the tubes. Not only do these look better, but they stick like crazy. No more premature print unfurling during transit! 

They’re also an Indicator of Authenticity – along with American’s signature – proving that your art print came through official channels. 

BUT! WAIT!

You’ll need to take care when opening your art prints since these labels are designed to STICK and STAY. 

Don’t peel them off! Slice them in half! Use a knife, razor blade, or best of all a razor-knife… and slice through the label along the edge of the print. 

Like so…

Easy peasy. 

The Greatest Show…

And another quick heads-up regarding the next art print… 

This is the print we’re sending out next (the print for the month of July, for which you’ll be charged in August – don’t get me started on the confusion of Patreon’s current month vs. charge month nonsense!). 

As you can see from the photos, we’re currently prepping all the “Perfectly Unbalanced” prints for shipping this week. Those prints turned out beautifully. And will feature the fancy new sticker-label-authenticity-fasteners. Hence this post. 

PS: The label contains the Chinese character ? (ao – sounds like “oww, I stubbed my paw)  for “mysterious” and “obscure” which, in Chinese, usually carries more than a hint of darkness. 

From Shanghai with Grrrr, 

Quality Inspector Lulu

Dear Insane Children, 

Insane Children around the world are receiving their Certified Insane Tags and sharing their madness online. A few Instagram posts are shared above.

I’m glad to see everyone is happy with the results of this effort. Even more happy that we can celebrate our madness together! It’s such an honor and a pleasure to be engaged with and supported by such a diverse, interesting, and talented group of people from all walks of life, cultures, and locations around the world. Thank you! 

Crowd Design Session + Live Stream Schedule Adjustment 

My wife is roughly ~7 weeks away from D-Day (Delivery Day)! She now appears to be growing visibly with each passing hour. And is finding it increasingly difficult to make her way to work and back. So she’s going on a reduced hour schedule for a few weeks before taking maternity leave. 

That’s all a long way of explaining that for a few weeks, the Start Time for our Crowd Design and Live Stream events will be +1 hour later than the usual. Here in China we usually start at 9AM. Now it’ll be 10AM. For those of you in the US (Shaky Coast) that’s going from 6PM PST to 7PM. 

Adjust your reminders accordingly!

And we will have another Crowd Design Session TOMORROW (per the timetable above) at that time. 

Join us as we continue to explore Ideas/Suggestions from the Asylum Wiki. 

Don’t know how to join? Check out THIS LINK for information on our Discord Server. 

Mushroom Head Swirls

Remember how we had that art print called “Mushroom Head” and there were two versions? One with and one without SWIRLS? And how we voted on which to print – and some of you cheated or something… So the not-swirls version “won?” 

Anyway, the SWIRLS version is now available via Backerkit and at the Mysterious Shop for those of you who wanted the (obviously superior) version WITH SWIRLS!

If you’re on the 3/$35 Tier just keep in mind that this is now also an option 🙂 

Speaking of Backerkit…

Font Lord Update

He says, “Expect Backerkit surveys within the next 2 days – if you were a 3x$35 Backer.” Apparently all the data’s been wrangled and sent off to the guys at Backerkit. 

He also wanted me to mention that around 145 Insane Children have not completed their Tag Survey over on Backerkit. If you don’t complete your survey then you can’t receive your tag. If you recall completing the survey and/or have received an email with tracking details for your tag shipment, then don’t worry. 

If you think there’s some sort of problem with your survey email, your 3/$35 stuff, etc… then please hit THIS LINK and send us a Private Message here on Patreon. 

Cheshire Kitten Update

Before we can properly start the push to promote the Cheshire Kitten Plush Collector Set, I need these things in my hands: 

1) Final prototype of the Cheshire Kitten Plush (DONE)
2) Final prototype of the Nylon Bag (IN PROGRESS)
3) Cheshire Cat Embroidered Patch (DONE)
4) Concept Art of the Cheshire Lair (IN PROGRESS)

Since we’re missing two of the major elements I need to complete the set, I don’t feel comfortable starting the push to unlock this goal. As such, the Goal Amount is still set unreasonably high. 

I don’t think July will be the month we make this push. Safer to assume it’ll start on August 1st, 2019. So, if you’re mainly here for the Cheshire Kitten Plush Collector Set, please keep your pledge at the $1 “Unlock The Rewards” level – or at a higher level if you’re interested in the perks that come with those Tiers. 

August Will be Crazy 

There’s so much going on these days… TONS of stuff behind the scenes that I can’t even talk about. A baby on the way. Massive progress on various projects. I haven’t even mentioned Pirate Jam stuff! Whew boy! 

And pushing the Cheshire Kitten to that month… 

I can just imagine the baby arriving around the same moment we unlock our Kitten goal. Meow! 

See you all on the Crowd Design Session tomorrow! 

Lots more updates coming later this week. 

From Shanghai with MOAR!

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Apologies for being quiet lately – I’ve been playing hospital ambulance driver and nurse for a sick doggo and a pregnant wife. Everyone is doing alright now but Lulu required a bit of minor surgery and Yan’s hospital visits are now becoming weekly. Only 8 weeks left until the arrival of Freedom Gas McGee (we really need to come up with a better name). And Lulu’s recovering nicely. She’s a tough little doggy… 

YouTube Livestream 

Hit THIS LINK to head over to YouTube and set a reminder for tomorrow’s stream!

This will be a 4th of July stream – at least here in China. It’s the usual, 9AM Hong Kong Time – 6PM PST in the US. 

We’ll discuss continuing progress on the Denial Stage of Asylum with lots of art to review and story elements to consider. 

Denial is a Contradiction of Reality

Philip K. Dick famously said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” Denial is a defense mechanism which involves a refusal to accept the reality of a situation. But it is often also mixed with behaviors such as Regression, Sublimation, and Projection. 

In Alice’s case, her mind has engaged a number of protective mechanisms in the stage of Denial. Regression (to an earlier, happier time) and Sublimation (creation of an alternate reality) chief among them. 

The horrible events of the fire are dressed up in costumes to hide their true horror. 

Norm sends along a wonderful cast of characters from the Circus Realm. Actors dressed as a variety of Wonderland characters – each playing a part in the creation of an illusion. I love the fact that two dunces – The Tweedles – are in charge of this production. Because we are being pretty dumb when we deny the reality of our existence and live a life of illusion and lies. 

Modern society teaches us that pain (suffering, sacrifice, effort) is something to be avoided. But the reality is that pain is a teacher. In fact, pain is The Teacher. In its various guises, pain (negative feedback, death, pressure, repercussion, cost) is what gives us impetus. Without the force exerted as a result of our mistakes or misfortunes we’d have little reason to learn, to change, or to adjust our stance towards the world. 

Alice can only exist in Denial for so long. At some point the mask slips and she must confront the reality of the fire and its destruction of the life she had before. Not just her life – but her Self. Only through pain (accessed through the House of Horrors) will she learn and grow. 

Of course before the Reckoning with Reality, Alice will have a chance to enjoy the “fun” on offer in the Circus Realm. And play a part in The Greatest Show in Wonderland!

This realm and its content are coming together nicely. 

What are your thoughts on what’s presented here? Share in the comments below. We’ll address your Suggestions and Feedback during tomorrow’s stream. Yay! 

Font Lord Reminder

It’s the start of the new month. Martin is busy with data wrangling. You should see an email next week (week of the 8th of July) if you’re expecting a Survey for your 3x$35 Art or Chaos Necklace ($75) rewards. 

Cheshire Kitten Note

We’re getting close… As soon as all the final bits are together here in the studio (bag sample, Kitten, embroidered patches, and Early Access artwork), I’ll post a full update to Announce the Kickoff of that as our Patreon Reward. All of that should be happening this week – which means that we can try to hit the Goal this month (July). 

But DO NOT DO ANYTHING YET! We’re going to post Full Instructions along with an easy-to-use $50 Tier for this Reward. We haven’t yet added the new Tier, so don’t go looking for it! 

The reason for the $5 Price Increase (vs. The Plush Rabbit)? Because the toy and bag cost more this time around. The toy price increased due to the increased complexity of the embroidery and design. The bag increased in price because it’s bigger, waterproof, and printed with reflective material. 

Keep in mind that $50 gets you the complete Collector Set plus Free Shipping (yes, to anywhere in the world). That includes: 

• Cheshire Kitten Plush
• Nylon Waterproof Bag (with reflective design)
• Cheshire Embroidered Patch 
• Early Access Code for the Cheshire Lair in Alice: Asylum
• Free Shipping everywhere in the world

But wait, there’s more! No, actually, there isn’t more … but you DO NEED TO WAIT! 

A dedicated post containing all the details, images of the Collector Set items, and instructions on how to quality, will be posted very, very soon. 

Meow!

As usual, feedback and questions in the comments below! We’ll address those things during the livestream tomorrow!

See you all tomorrow!

From Shanghai with Happiness,

-American