Dear Insane Children, 

It’s Monday here in Shanghai… heading into another “Live Stream Week” – there will be a livestream at the usual time this week – with TONS going on.

The Asylum Team continues their work on design, art, and story for Alice: Asylum. I’m working with Alex on the narrative; the Art Team is creating illustrations of the story; Alex is cramming all of that into the Design Bible; and we’ve got some interesting Biz Dev work happening on the rights… Cross your fingers for that last bit. It could be the key to everything! 

The Plushie Dreadfuls line over at Mysterious is going Bonkers. Hard to say exactly what happened but excitement for our Rabbits has recently exploded. We can hardly breed them fast enough to keep up with demand. That means we now have a small team (Yan and Jen) working on branding, planning, and other aspects of managing and growing that brand. That’s another win for Crowd Design, our Insane Children, and Patreon in general. Yay!

And we’re busy prepping materials for more Oz: Adventures meetings. With [REDACTED], we have a big meeting scheduled for the middle of this month (March 2020). Plus the TV/Film meetings being run by Radar are just starting to ramp up. Alex is building a new PPT, I’m planning our meeting strategy, etc, etc. 

So… busy but good. 

Animated Alice 

Omri sent over the main image above where we see Alice fleeing/fighting through a battle in front of the Queen’s Castle.  

Of this image, he says, “I’m coloring it in but I’m not sure on the coloring style.
we had this in Madness- this half flat kinda animation feel world but I can push this towards realism. any ideas what’s best?”

So let him know in the comments below what YOU think. Any ideas about the style to go with here? Animated? Realistic? What appeals most to you? 

Raawwr The Jab Lab!

The Jab Lab sounds like the place where they are concocting the vaccine for the pandemic. But it’s actually where Hatter is retrofitting the Jabberwock to save Wonderland. I think I’ve not yet shared this image here on Patreon… If I have, I apologize. 

This is a work in progress from Adam. It depicts the scene when Alice finally comes face to face with “The Champion.” She’s been told this is what will save Wonderland from The Chaos. 

The idea is to create an area where Alice can see The Champion is being built – but where she can’t actually see The Champion… until it’s too late. 

I said of this on Monday: 

This is fantastic. I really like the idea that the Jabberwock is hidden behind some sort of symbol-covered vault door before he emerges from the process. Partly because it’s like a butterfly from its cocoon and is unexpected for the same reason – from a tiny cocoon is born this creature many times larger than imagined.

This gives us a chance to really build up the idea that what’s contained inside is noble, graceful, and looks like what everyone expects a “hero” to look like… but The Dragon emerges instead. It’s also a good metaphor for Alice aligning herself with The Dark Side in order to move forward in her transformation.

Very excited to see this illustration fully rendered. I’ve also had some thoughts recently on the manner of the ‘twist’ in the reveal of this character and this scene in general. Will share those via the narrative soon. 

Ok, I’m going to continue my running… but will be back later this week with more updates. And a Live Stream! 

Art Print Update

Oh, and Font Lord asked me to tell everyone who might still be waiting on Art Prints: They are on the way! And I’ll add to that – Yes, there is a backlog (especially for the 3-for-35 folks). And that backlog is entirely my fault. Despite the fact that I start work at 8 am every day and work into the evenings… I am still struggling to find time to sign, pack, and ship all the Art Prints. This is especially true with the ones that require me to hand-pick and sign one-by-one… the monthly “bulk” prints are easier because they can be done in one big batch. The ones you manually select with the 3-for-35… harder because they require individual handling.

I apologize. And ask that you please be patient. Lots of juggling going on around here… And some days I just don’t have the time (or energy) to tackle that task. Rest assured, it is very important to me and I am chipping away at it as quickly as I can. Your understanding is really appreciated. 

With Busy Legs from Shanghai,

-American

Dear Insane Children,

We want to give a huge thanks to all our supporters that are already making 2021 an incredible year for the Plushie Dreadful line on our Mysterious store.

https://bit.ly/plushiedreadfuls

This year we want to add to the Plushie Dreadful roster with the “Emotion Rabbit” plushies, and, reach out and ask what you think about this idea?

Take a look at the rabbit image and sound off in the comments as to which one/s you like the best or even if you have other thoughts and opinions about the Emotion Rabbits.

Also, other than rabbits, 2 more creepy friends that will be arriving with us in the coming months are the insanely popular Scruffy Bumps and Hammibal Lecter’s nemesis, Wolfinswine!

– Cheers

Dear Insane Children, 

I’m working with Alex to push the Asylum Narrative towards the next stage of completion. This has involved fleshing out backstory and motivation for the cast of characters surrounding Alice (in Wonderland and London – past and present). Radcliffe, The Queen (of Hearts), and Shadow Alice have all had the spotlight shined on them. And we’re also working through the areas beyond those explored in the previous Narrative Document that you saw. 

Once we have a few more bits tied together, we’ll share another draft with you for comments, feedback, and Crowd Design. 

But first, a quick peek into what’s going on these days (and some Crowd Design)… 

1. Depression Realm – Vale of Tears / Alice Retrieves the Brain / Frozen in Time Show Alice Collecting the Brain from the Vale of Tears.
How is it protected? Perhaps trapped in a prison of falling water? Or Rocks, that are impassable unless time is restored and they fall aside? How can this be shown visually? Discuss.
Brain in an Alice Statue? Confirm.

AM: With “Eyes,” we found Dormouse and Hare were using this Piece because they had no eyes of their own. And they were using The Eye to thwart the functioning of the mining colony (Shadow Alice thrives on viewing terrible scenes from the past). The Brain will be used similarly… and it links into the fact that everything in this area is frozen. Frozen as a result of overthinking. “Your mind (overthinking things) is your own worst enemy” – that sort of thing. That raises the question: Who is using the Brain to freeze the Vale of Tears?

Aside: There’s a scientifically proven connection between crying and the release of brain chemicals useful in alleviating the effects of trauma. Crying is a form of healing. Also… “As they pass through the valley of tears (Hebrew: ????? ?????????), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools” – biblical. Meaning that you must first pass through tribulations before ascending to heaven (eternal peace).

Who doesn’t want us to cry? Who doesn’t want us to pass our tribulations? Shadow Alice. Who does she position to control The Brain so that it stops crying in The Vale of Tears? Who makes it so Alice cannot pass through?

—

This is an example of a back-and-forth between myself and Alex. He’s posed some questions about “The Brain” (one of the Pieces of The Champion). And I’ve gone in and outlined some of the thinking about this area and that particular Piece. 

Right now, we’re mainly focused on the area beyond Vale of Tears. A section tentatively called “Abyssal Station” where we’ll find March Hare and Dormouse up to some nefarious business. But we need to fill in this bit about The Vale before going too far forward.

The description and gameplay for the area beyond the Vale of Tears begins… 

VALE OF TEARS (DEPRESSION REALM) – Abyssal Station

We’re all scared (blind) here.

Alice steps from the Hall of Doors into Abyssal Station. Before her eyes is… darkness in all directions. There are specks of light flickering in the distance. Fires? Eyes? Faint voices whispering something about The Man in The Moon.

Like an explosion, The Infernal Train screams past Alice lighting the scene around her – a morbid Subway Station made from bits of dollhouses and decorated with a collection of broken doll parts and toys. The station windows look out on… dirt. Arms and legs and heads of dolls buried in layers behind the glass.

The sign overhead reads: Lookingglass Railway: Abyssal Station

“Welcome to the Abyss, Alice! So glad to seeee you. We’re so glad you’ve not forgotten us… yet.” Behind one of the windows sits March Hare, screaming into a microphone, waving excitedly at Alice. His eyes are crudely stitched shut. March Hare and Dormouse are the foremen/workers in charge of this area. They throw a series of obstacles at Alice to thwart her progress and block her escape.

We PLAY as Alice navigates the scene heading towards the direction indicated by her Inner Compass. There are several exits from the station all leading through roughly cut holes in the walls of the station. These become dirt passages descending into a vertical cave-like structure.

Alice enters a Termite Mining Colony buried beneath the Memory Tree of Alice’s mind.

Alcoves and chambers, filled with fungi and mushrooms, dug out of the rotting material of Alice’s memories. Giant Termite Drones fly through the air overhead carrying bundles of dirt to and fro. Mechanical conveyor belts and rusted hulks of mining machinery whir and grind throughout the scene. Here, fragments of Alice’s past are half-revealed in a vertical catacomb of detritus. This is where memories go to be recycled into the fertilizer that feeds imagination.

—

We’re working along a theme of the Five Pieces being used to block Alice’s ability to integrate her trauma, reconnect with the Inner Child, and transform into her future self. 

CROWD DESIGN

And here’s a chance for YOU to join in the narrative fun! 

What wonderland character do you think would fit into the role I’ve outlined for The Vale of Tears and the “Keeper of The Brain?” 

As stated in the task comments above… 

Who is using the Brain to freeze the Vale of Tears?

A couple of prompts for this exercise: Aside from Hatter, who comes to mind when you think “Wonderland’s Biggest Brain?” Or what character would be the last one to cry in an emotional situation? Who in Wonderland is the most emotionally “stopped up?” 

We might also want to think about character motivation… What Wonderland character would have reason to overthink everything to the point of getting stuck? Or would WANT to see everyone stuck? In this case, we might have to invent that motivation out of thin air (but hopefully with some reference to the previous games). 

Well, if you can make sense of all of that… let us know in the comments below your thoughts on The Brain in the Vale of Tears. 

From Shanghai with Lots of Thread, 

-American 

Dear Insane Children,

Font Lord here with another poll for you to take part in.

As you might remember from the recent poll where I asked what art prints we should be doing this year, the next one we have lined up (for those charged in April) is the one below, the orangey floating castle.

However, with all the great new art we have rolling in, we do think about swapping out some of those choices, as we said we might.

American would actually like to adorn his walls with sakura now that Spring is right around the corner, so has suggested we swap out the orange print for the blue image with pink sakura leaves.

What do you think?

We will bow to the will of the masses and do what our Patrons suggest, no matter even if it makes American cry.

Cast your vote below for what you think the next print should be!

– Cheers