Dear Insane Children,
Here’s an update on the Shadow Wonderland thread from yesterday. Omri sent over a new vision of Wonderland under the rule of Shadow Alice. And it’s beautiful!
We had a quick back and forth…
Of this Omri says:
this is not finished and i need to upscale the art, it’s kinda small. i think i’ll wrap this up and try the next location and see perhaps another style. i answered my own questions and here it is:
?1. Shadow doesn’t consume, it’s- Unlike the ruin, is actually NOT INTERESTED in destroying anything but rather Mimic the existing, replicating. it can replicate things twisted, big, small and darkening everything. Also ?Shadow plays tricks and can hide things inside of it.
?2. perhaps Chess can interpret what Shadow wants but it’s like a cult that’s devoted to shadow/chaos, they can work with it, but it doesn’t mean shadow cares about or can do anything but being itself.
?3. Shadow is not evil, it’s a TOOL. we are not seeing “wondershadow” we are seeing “Wonderland in shadow” a copy of wonderland that is mimicked by the shadow to look the same. shadow/Chaos can try to replace things using it’s own material- black, gooey and shiny.
?4. The first thing shadow will do is kill off any light source in order to keep alive hence i killed all lights BUT added a spotlight around Alice. i think having her walk in a dark but NOT BLACK world with an added spotlight can work.
?5. the Black holes- the more shadow overruns wonderland, the closer Alice is to killing herself. so it’s sort of a black hole. more shadow, the more wonderland is closing in on itself and the worse wonderland is- the worse adult Alice is.
?5A. I think that the holes can be almost static and have the shapes of the buildings and stuff stuck twisted. UNLIKE the infernal train which was hot and energetic this can be cold and slo-mo.
?Sorry for digging a crater in your mind but it helps with thinking.
To which I replied:
This is fantastic, @Omri? ?And it is certainly worth thinking about the nature of the darkness taking over Wonderland. If we talk about it in terms of Alice’s psychology, she’s going to lose her innocence, sense of wonder (the driver of Wonderland), her curiosity, and her positive expectations. An Adult Alice who is ruled by the Shadow Self will “short the future,” ?lower her expectations of life and other people, become nihilistic (nothing matters, nothing is real, nothing lasts forever), be cynical towards the world and everyone in it (“I am worthless, you are worthless, everything is shit.”), and will shut out love, trust, warmth; will stop taking emotional risks or leaving herself open in places where other people could disappoint or hurt her. All of this makes sense for a person who allows PTSD to “win” over them. To destroy hope.
I ?do not know that the “mimic” ?feature is needed. It’s enough that Wonderland is just thrown into darkness/shadow as a result of these changes. Maybe you can expand on what that is necessary?
I ?agree that Shadow does not need to be “evil” ?- it certainly would not see itself as evil. It just thinks that being “shadow” ?is the best way to protect oneself and survive.
I ?like the Black Holes. But I do not think we need to mention the “killing herself” ?aspect of this. Do we? ?Is that thread of an idea still alive? ?We need to discuss this. Maybe?
And, yeah, having the Black Holes around Wonderland would be great – maybe we can use them as Jump Portals between the different realms Alice will visit during this portion of the game? ?You can see other areas of Wonderland through some of them. And some of them can be reached and passed through by Alice.
Great stuff!
And I saw that many of you contributed to the Naming Question from yesterday’s post. Which name ultimately won the popularity contest? Umbraland? We probably need a Poll or something to figure this out.
Let us know in the comment below what you think! And see you on the Live Stream tomorrow!
From Shanghai with Black Holes,
-American