Dear Insane Children, 

We don’t often post gated content (stuff exclusive to our Patrons) but when we do… 

We’ve made an exception with this beautiful track from Alex. 

Not only is he doing incredible work on the UI/UX graphics (and underlying design concepts) but he’s also providing these haunting soundscapes to really set the mood.

Enjoy!

Hi everyone,
Alex here (Lead Designer, Co-Writer, + misc.) with another meaty Design Bible update. New video content above. I’ve also got some news from the Project Management side of the Alice: Asylum pre-production phase. Plus, we also have a Free MP3 Download at the bottom of this post for all our beautiful Patreon supporters. 

There’s a LOT to cover here, so let’s get into it.

1. Combat and Gameplay Loop – Gameplay Modifier Concept Update
We’re sharing a new video and some stills here that show the Gameplay Modifier concepts in action.

In design, visuals always speak louder than words.
View it on American’s YouTube here.

The idea is to; add optional functionality to Alice’s iconic Alchemy and Astrology symbols featured on her petticoat pockets. 

You might have seen similar concepts in modern games, where “runes” or pickups are able to be mixed and matched to allow for a mixture of gameplay modifiers.

I’m currently working on these concepts in much more detail, (more to share later as they come together in the DB) but for now, you can see how these could potentially be equipped, activated, and examined.

Stills for the loose concepts are below;

Theoretically, more experienced players could go through a whole game without equipping these, but we want the option there for those who want to mix it up a bit or lean into a certain aspect of their own gameplay style.

American and I have recently have had a discussion about Accessibility and Player Choice. A huge design principle to consider, but one we’re happy to elaborate on.

2. Gameplay Design – Accessibility and Customization
When it comes down to a gameplay experience, what we envision for Alice: Asylum is giving you, the player, a TON of viable options and tools.

We want to give you the sandbox and the ability to play how you want.
Weapon choice. Attacks. Difficulty. Gameplay. HUD choice.

Want a chill gameplay experience slo you can enjoy the experience? Sure thing.

Want a hardcore, super difficult, perma-death mode? Not a problem. 

If ever you’ve watched a playthrough or speed runs of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild, or more recently the incredible Elden Ring, you’ll notice that every new playthrough, by every different player is wildly different.

While each player will meet the same challenges, the process in how those obstacles are overcome is unique to the player’s journey.

While both these game examples are wildly complex, detailed, and also open-world, a key difference in the Alice: Asylum game concept is that our game experience concept is linear.

An added mix of God of War might also be a more accurate description of Alice’s ideal journey in Asylum.

Meaning, at certain points, the game moves you forward, but how you do that, is up to you. Ay other points, the player will be funneled into a specific door, battle a specific boss, or need the specific key in order to progress.

See these DB excerpts below for more information on Gating;

We think this covers a good middle ground for explaining how the game will take place in a linear fashion while allowing a good level of flexibility in the experience. 

3. Presenting the HUD and Concepts in the DB
The early HUD designs shared previously shared in my last post received a ton of positive and valuable critical feedback.

Thank you to everyone who commented, either here, on the socials, or on American’s YouTube channel.

While I expect these HUD concepts will be tweaked before the DB is completed, (for instance; 8x weapons instead of 12x weapons allocated to the Quick Select Wheel) for now, I am pressing forward on other areas of our work, and putting a pin in these to come back to. 

Here are some updated mockups for how these static versions will appear in the DB as they stand today.

You’ll also notice, we are linking video content to the DB PDF pages via buttons and URLs, so there will be an interactive element to the DB.

I will try and include motion and animated concepts as much as we can to enhance clear and engaging presentations of our ideas in the Design Bible.

4. Scheduling and ETA’s – Incoming
Speaking of the Design Bible; here’s a preview of a full 2022 schedule for the art and design work I’ve just created.

This has been reviewed, approved and greenlit by myself, American and Omri.

We’ll go into more detail on this in another post, (good luck zooming in on that now) but this is another big subject and we’ll walk you through all of this soon so we’re all on the same page for expectations in 2022 for our work within the team.

5. Free Stuff!
If you’ve come this far; congratulations, here’s a free MP3 music download from the song in the latest YouTube video above. (Note from American: I will create a Patron-Only Post containing this track from Alex). 

As we’re creating all this stuff, we want to share everything we can with you all, as you are the ones supporting us, while we all try and work our hardest to make this happen.

Without your financial support this project would not be happening, so if you are supporting us now, know we all appreciate it immensely.

So thank you. Let’s stay the course together.

Mad props to you if you’ve read this far.

Drop any feedback you want us to consider moving forward.

I’ll see you in the comment threads! Back to it,
– Alex

PS From American: I’ve attached the art/video content shared in this post as a .Zip you can download (below). An MP3 of Alex’s music will be shared in a separate Patron-only post. Enjoy!

Dear Insane Children, 

Well, much as I predicted… the lockdowns have arrived in Fengxian! We could see the wave rolling towards us over the past few days – all of Yan’s friends around Shanghai one by one reporting that they were being locked down. 

Btw, stop trying to click the Play Icon on that picture… it’s a screengrab of a video. Haha! If you want to see the video – it’s not very interesting – click HERE. 

So… nothing to be worried about. We can’t go in or out of our housing compound for a few days. They’ll test everyone during that time. And assuming everyone becomes back “negative,” they’ll open the gates again. In the meantime, we have plenty of food. And if we need more stuff, we can always order from outside. 

Not a big deal for my family since we work at home anyway. And the neighbors I’ve talked to this morning aren’t really bothered. This is just life in Shanghai these days. 

From Shanghai in Lockdown, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Things here in Shanghai are crazy. I wasn’t here during the Jan-Mar period of 2020 when Covid first kicked-off, so I can’t compare it to that… but certainly for the time since then, this is the most serious period of virus and lockdowns that I’ve seen. Tons of areas around Shanghai are in lockdown. All parks, public spaces, government offices, schools, etc are closed. And there’s mass testing going on all over the place. 

As you might imagine that means there will still be no live stream this week. Non-residents aren’t even allowed to enter our housing area at this point… so Martin would just be stuck outside the gate!

But that doesn’t stop our art team from producing beautiful illustrations… 

The main image (above) is from Adam for this scene described in the Narrative Outline: 

Narrative Excerpt:

A FINAL INTERMISSION (HUB-WORLD)

MAD HATTER’S DOMAIN (BARGAINING REALM) – HATTER’S WORKSHOP

Tick-tock.

Alice steps from the Hall of Doors and quickly returns to Hatter’s Workshop. Alice now knows the secrets of the darkness, and what has created it.

Hatter is in a distant state of mind. He explains; Only 1 Moon remains. Tick-tock.

The chaos clock in Hatter’s workshop is nearly completely consumed by the shadow. Everywhere Alice looks in his workshop, darkness is seeping in, through window sills, under doorways. All other entrances and exits from Hatter’s workshop are blocked.

Alice has everything she needs. All that is left to do is complete Alice’s quest and assemble the fragments she has collected and find her way home.

Hatter reveals a sarcophagus, emblazoned with winged beasts.
A mighty Gryphon is carved on its hull.

A final puzzle to solve; Hatter and Alice lay the pieces she has collected into a stone slab with numerous apparatus and machinations. The Eyes, Brain, her inner compass, and tears, all slot into place. In the end, the puzzle cannot be completed. After all other puzzles are solved, a secret panel presents itself. A single, heart-shaped slot remains empty.

The final slot of the puzzle; the clockwork heart, is still beating within the rabbit.

A cut scene plays;

A pause. Hatter reaches for the rabbit, as Alice’s tiny friend shudders in fear behind her.

Alice

No don’t!

Hatter stays his hand. His voice is stern but steady.

Hatter

This might be a difficult choice Alice, but this piece is required. If we do not have the heart in the right place, what we create to get you home will be without one. I cannot guarantee your success, your safety, or what comes next, without it in place.

Tick-tock. Chaos is barely restrained at every crevice of Hatter’s laboratory. It is overflowing.

Hatter continues;

HATTER

We are out of time.

Alice looks down to her rabbit, and to the machines, and to Hatter. Her eyes land on her tiny friend. Hatter awaits Alice’s choice, as she turns to address the scientist.

Alice

…my heart is exactly where it needs to be. With or without one in place in the machine, I know we’ll face whatever comes next, together.

Hatter smiles.

The Rabbit hops in a circle around Alice. He hugs her boot.

HATTER

So be it. Sounds like you indeed have enough heart to spare.

An engaging click and a whirr, as heavy gears churn and spark, initiating the machinery in Hatter’s laboratory. The sarcophagus glows, the power sparks surge from white, to red… then green.

Hatter furiously tries to operate levers and keep the wild sparking power controlled within.

The winged Gryphon effigies on the sarcophagus change and morph to… something else.

Still winged. But wicked.

Horrible, snarling, beastly noises are heard from within the sarcophagus. Smoke streams from its cracks.

The Chaos Clock chimes. Time is up.

***

Alex will be sharing a big post with details about the work being done in 2022 to get the Design Bible done. Expect that next week! 

We’re also making great progress on art and story for Oz: Adventures. Here’s an illustration from Gareth where you can see the Spanish Captain leading an expedition into the heart of Oz. By his side is a kidnapped Aztec guide – who will rise to play a very important role as this narrative develops. 

Let our artists know what you think in the comments below! 

From Shanghai in Virus Madness, 

-American 

Dear Insane Children, 

Well… Shanghai is experiencing a wave of new Covid infections. You can read the local news about it here: https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2203092893/ 

The result is that a ton of places are getting “locked down” – meaning residents can’t leave their homes; people have to stay put (for days) in their office buildings or schools; and everyone is encouraged to avoid crowds, unnecessary travel, etc. 

In the area where Martin lives (called JingAn), there are new cases popping up all over the place. Out where I live (called Fengxian) there aren’t so many cases but there was one at the swimming school where we take Lucky – and we only missed getting caught up in that mess by a few hours (those people went swimming *after* us – thankfully). 

So… (mainly for this reason, we’re going to cancel the live stream this week. It’s just not a good time for us to be traveling around the city. Best to wait for this to pass. 

But wait! There’s more! 

There’s another reason too! The house right next door to me… yeah, not the virus. But they are using jackhammers to knock down (concrete) walls. That house recently sold and the new owner is doing renovations. In China that starts with a week+ of jackhammering. So… it’s SUPER NOISY here at the moment. 

Not an ideal setup for doing a live stream. 

So, yeah, no live stream this week. 

Sorry about that. But we will be back next week? I hope… 

Starving? 

The image above is from a friend of ours who is in lockdown somewhere in Shanghai. She sent this to my wife as an example of the food delivered to everyone in lockdown. This stuff is sent daily and for free. 

I share this because I’ve seen quite a few news stories recently that suggest people in China are starving; that people in lockdowns are jumping out windows because they have no food; etc. 

Absolute nonsense. 

The only thing we hear of people complaining about here locally? The fact that they see their friends sharing these pictures on social media… and then complain that the meat they got sent doesn’t have the right amount of fat! Haha. Basically, people complain that their neighbor got a better tomato or something. 

So, yeah, be careful when you read news about China. 

The pandemic control system here has avoided a ton of deaths. And it has effectively contained the spread of the virus for all this time. And people are well taken care of within the system. 

Interesting question – how much longer will they maintain this level of control? How many months (or years?) before China declares the pandemic “over” for the country? 

Feel free to speculate and share pandemic stories in the comments below!

From Shanghai with(out) The Virus, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Woo it’s busy around here. In the last week, I’ve been to the hospital for migraines and the dentist for a painful tooth; Yan’s been to the hospital for pregnancy checkups; and Yan’s mom is off to see her brother in the hospital – meaning increased Lucky duty for myself and Yan and Lulu. I’ve had a bunch of meetings related to Alice (TV series); Akaneiro (more on that later); and Oz: Adventures. There just aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week!

But fear not! TONS of progress still happening even if I can’t find the time to share it here on Patreon. 

For example – check out the main image above! 

Alex is working on design and UI/UX for Asylum. That includes defining things like Difficulty Selection, Gameplay Balance, and Combat Loops. 

He’s sent me a bunch of documents to review… 

And while I’ve not had time to fully review and comment on these ideas… I thought we could open this up to Crowd Design!

So I’ve ATTACHED the ZIP File Alex sent me to this post. You can download it and examine all the design materials contained within. Then send your feedback to Alex via the Comments below!

Of this material, Alex says: 

1. A Full First Pass on Resource, Economy and Weapon Attack Data 

This contains a few PDF Spreadsheets containing;
1. Full Ammo, XP, Health, Pickups and Resource Economy for Alice: Asylum.

2. Full Outline for all primary and secondary firing modes for all weapons in Alice: Asylum.

This information is presented as data at this stage, but will be typeset and placed in the “Pause Screen/Inventory” pages between the Narrative along with visuals.

I’ve included an early pass on the Vorpal Blade using this information and structure. 

—–

2. Conceptual Layouts for Selecting “Hysteria/Inferno” Special States

I’ve made some Conceptual Layouts and some Animated UI mockups that explore;

1. Using Alice’s Necklaces for Different Abilities we’ve outlined in the Narrative. (Rage/Inferno & Hysteria).

2. A new concept that I wanted to explore that uses; The Alchemy Symbols/Runes on Alice’s Dress Pockets, as Gameplay Modifiers that can be equipped by the player to adjust playstyle.

This allows for 2x different Equippable Alchemy Symbols for a player to mix n’ match secondary abilities. These abilities could enhance, or lean into their preferred attacks, weapons or abilities. 

Struggling in combat? Buff Alice’s Combat with a Rune.
Want to focus on Ranged Weapons and Sniping? There’s a rune for that too.

The idea is to build on Alice’s ToolBox, and offer these runes in the Gameplay areas as items that can be found in secret areas or unlockable via challenge spaces in one of each of the 12 worlds.

They’re not game-breakers, and the idea is a very skilled player could finish Alice without ever equipping one, but these offer some fresh versatility and open up the experience largely with the different combinations available. 

It also adds practical meaning and gameplay purpose to something that has been a staple of Alice’s look since 2000. These symbols I’ve chosen and abilities could all be edited, and changed to suit their true “Alchemical Meaning” but I’ve had a solid crack at finding that balance in the first pass.

The Content I’ve attached, will all link up and reference one another when looked at in detail.

—-

3. Difficulty Settings and Intended Gameplay Experience

See page layout and content attached that explains these in the DB.
Any edits required, let me know.

—-

4. Game Design Ethos / Soft Gates and Hard Gates

Another DB layout that explains a scenario and how a player might tackle a situation in game. Flexibility and encouragement to get creative with Alice’s abilities in Soft Gated areas.
Focus and objective-based achievement to progress in Hard Gated areas. (ie: Kill a boss, defeat all enemies, solve puzzle etc to proceed.)

Any edits required, let me know.

—-

Gameplan moving forward is to wind most of this supplementary Game Design content in the earlier chapters and the content for the “Pause Screens” near finalized by end of March. I’ll continue typesetting the Narrative and pages as I go.

The next DB update I expect will be a PDF snapshot of all of this coming together in the DB layouts alongside Narrative Content and Script. So a WIP sample of the real deal.

Thanks, Alex! 

There’s a lot to consume and comment on… and that should keep you busy until the Live Stream later this week. 

That’s right! We’re back with another Live Stream this week. Usual time and place. 

And we’ll have plenty of time to discuss Alex’s design proposals (and your comments during the stream. 

You can find links to Twitch and YouTube via: https://linktr.ee/americanmcgee 

See you soon!

From Shanghai with Medium Difficulty,

-American