Dear Insane Children,
Inmate Alyssa asked in the comment section of the previous post about weapons – and I told her she was going to LOVE the next post. And, hey, that’s THIS post! So… get ready because… incoming!!!
Joey’s been working on a series of weapon designs per our “toys as weapons” design direction. Her designs combine elements of what we’ve seen in the past two games with several new and original ideas. The result is a toy chest full of things that go BOOM (or PO!) in the best way!
The Jack Bomb (image at top) will be familiar to all who played the first two Alice games. At this point it’s probably a requirement that we include it in future Alice games. And not just because it’s visually appealing, fun to use, and deadly – but it’s also overloaded with functionality. I like when our weapons are also tools – and the Jack Bomb has proven itself capable in both categories.
Next up is the flamingo – another concept we’re familiar with. As for the design implementation this time around – I think it would nice to see (as we’ve seen before) the option for a ranged and melee attack. Might also be fun to give the weapon a bit more character – perhaps it can be made to squawk and drive away easily frightened enemies? Could it carry Alice through the air – either gliding or rising up into the air? What other uses can you think of for the flamingo?
Next up is an idea similar to the Demon Dice in the original Alice game. I have to admit that was NOT my favorite weapon – the idea that your own weapon might attack and damage you… Yeah, not sure what I was thinking when we came up with that one. But we shouldn’t throw the dice out with the dumb demons. Joey’s new presentation of the idea suggests using the random nature of the dice to randomly summon a variety of attacks. It’s one of those ideas which sounds good on paper but in the heat of a battle… Well, what do you think?
What’s not to like about a turned off / turned on toad? Beyond the offensive and defensive concepts presented here I can also imagine using the Toad Top as a lasso – perhaps to swing across chasms or grapple objects at a distance. There are some proper Spinning Top Ninjas to be found in the parks around Shanghai – anyone seen anything similar in other parts of the world?
And last but not least…
One of these days Alice, POW, ZOOM, straight to the moon! Perhaps this shouldn’t be a pistol but a rifle and we call it the Ralph-el? Ahem… I’ll show myself out.
I used to have a semi-thought regarding Alice and guns. It’s been a long time but I feel like I wasn’t the biggest fan of her using anything which looked like a conventional gun-type weapon. Not because I have anything in particular against guns (the cause for some lengthy debates with some of my friends) but that guns seem to lack imagination. One of the primary motivations for my originally wanting to design a game around the Alice universe was that I was tired of guns in games. Four years of BFG’s, gibs, and non-stop death-match at id Software did that to me.
Seems this “gun” is sufficiently creative we could let it pass. What do you think?
As usual leave your feedback in the comments below. If you have a specific question you want read during the next livestream please mark it as “QUESTION: ” so Martin doesn’t struggle trying to find it among all the other bits of text.
Housekeeping Notes
For those of you who ordered an Asylum License Proposal Booklet from Mysterious…
That’s nearly 150 orders signed, sealed, labeled, and out the door. Usual delivery time is 20 days. If you absolutely must have a tracking number then please wait until ~25th of August then write to inquire (via the private message function here on Patreon).
Our Patron count is at 1719 as I write this. That means we need to add around 9 new Patrons per day for the month of August in order to unlock the Chaos Coin Patron Goal. You can help us reach this goal by spreading the world to your social channels and friends. Let them know that for as little as $1 a month they can help support the creation of all this great artwork, story, and design. Every little bit helps and every voice has a place in the discussions taking place here.
I look forward to your feedback and QUESTIONS: in the comments below. And I hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend! I spent all day today (Sunday) packing those boxes but it’s the sort of work that leaves me feeling thankful for having the opportunity to do it. Your trust, support, and contributions to our efforts here always fill me with gratitude and wonder 🙂
From Shanghai with Love,
-American