Dear Insane Children,
Here is Shanghai it is New Year’s Eve. Woo! 2020 is almost here.
It’s been a busy year in which we added Norm and Dario to our art team. We finalized the 2nd proposal for EA and sent that to them back in August – still waiting on a proper reply! And we managed to create some really wonderful physical goods and Asylum related art, design, and narrative.
Heading into 2020 I’d like to see our team drill down on the narrative for Alice: Asylum with a goal of having a complete Design Bible in hand by end of year. This is an ambitious goal for a team as small as ours but one I think we’re prepared to tackle – especially with the help of Crowd Design and your support!
Throughout the holiday our art team has continued to produce illustrations and ideas for Hatter’s Domain.
Norman sends along new additions to the Creature Menagerie (main images above).
And Dario shares a color illustration of a cottage in Hatter’s domain – also my new desktop background!
Schedule For 1st QTR 2020
A number of seemingly unrelated things have combined together such that I’ll be away for most of January – and generally very busy (with travel) during the first couple months of 2020.
Normally I would go to Thailand for Pirate Jam route planning in December. And then Chinese New Year sailing in February. And then go to Pirate Jam in April… But my passport was “gone” all of December (visa renewal). And Chinese New Year is in January this year. And we’ve moved Pirate Jam to March!
So in ~24 hours, I’m flying to Thailand for route planning – 7 days. Then back home for a week. Then back to Thailand for my annual sailing/diving trip. Then back home a few weeks until the start of Pirate Jam 2020.
During that time I’ll continue to work and update as much as possible. And our team will still be cranking out art and design. Font Lord is around to provide support. But our usual online Crowd Design and Live Streams are going to be impacted pretty heavily. I appreciate your patience and understanding during this period.
Asylum Plans for 2020
I have my calendar marked to “bother EA” mid-January. This is when I expect most of the people we’re dealing with to be back from winter vacation(s). At that time I plan to email not just the BD guy we’ve been working with but a couple of other parties I know who are interested in seeing Asylum made. We’ll try to get things moving – and I’ll keep you updated on what sort of response we get.
2020 feels like “The Year” to me – the year in which we finally get things moving with EA. They’ve had an excellent response to their recent Star Wars (Fallen Order) game. And they’ll need more single-player action games in the pipeline for next-gen console releases. We’re well-positioned to present them with a compelling argument for why Alice: Asylum should be in the lineup.
On a more spiritual note – 2020 is a Rat Year (Chinese Calendar). And I’m a rat. So is Yan. And my mom. And lots of other important people I love.
Do you know who else is a Rat? Someone born in 1852 on May 4th…
Lots of fun stuff in store for 2020. I’m glad you’re along for the ride. And thankful for all the support you’ve provided.
Let us know in the comments below what you have in store for the New Year. Hopes? Resolutions?
From Shanghai with Eek,
-American