Dear Insane Children,
If you watched the last livestream then you’ll know I was meant to show a FINAL version of the King of Planets outfit and failed miserably. Omri sent a horde of paid assassins to the studio and I was severely punished. Aside from all that we had a good time and I’m pleased were were able to have all our EU-zone Patrons and fans involved in a live discussion. Lots of fun!
The outfit presented this week (in its final form) is something Alice might wear going into battle against the Jabberwock. We’ve talked a bit about this battle and how it might be presented as a false goal which Alice strives towards, realizing too late she’s gone down the wrong path. When she extracts herself from this misguided attack… she’ll have to face inward to go forward.
Though this outfit is “wrong” (in that it’s part of Alice’s misguided mission) it’s still beautiful. I love the idea of stars spinning in Alice’s hair, of portals into actual space embedded in the design. I can imagine Alice trailing stars and meteors as she moves around in this suit. What do you think? QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS in the comments below!
NEW GOAL
We’re now at 2,225 Patrons (as I write this) and I suspect we might hit 2,500 before end of month. I’ll send out another MailChimp (spam) and do some other marketing this week to help us reach that goal. So… let’s start planning our NEXT GOAL! I’m thinking about something simple and fun… another set of Embroidered Patches.
The last set of patches was really well received… and I think we’ll copy/pasting that setup. Unlock Patch Set #2 at 3000(Is this the right Goal Number?) Patrons and for all Patrons at $5 and above? Thing is…
This is a sample of shipping costs… We included shipping last time around and that by itself is a minimum of $5 (going to the US) and $6.40 (going to Canada) and lots more going to other places… upwards of $10+ to some distant locations. That’s not even including the cost of the design, manufacturing, and packaging of the patches. So…
Would everyone be OK if we set the limit at $10 and above?
I’m trying to keep the Patron rewards + shipping as close to our cost as possible (as was done with the first patch set and the Chaos Coin). Thoughts on this? Trying to be as transparent as possible on this stuff and avoid surprises and upset. QUESTIONS and FEEDBACK below!
BTW, the GOAL of the Goal is to maintain our Patron numbers and avoid a massive overnight crash in numbers once we’ve gone past end of August. Keeping our total number of Patrons high sends a clear signal to potential investors and publishers that there’s a rabid fanbase willing to put their $ where their desires are. This is critical.
So, if you’re reading this and thinking, “I’ll jump ship once I’ve got my Chaos Coin” please consider sticking around at $1 going forward. The $ is helpful but the total Patron count also has a very positive impact on our efforts. Thanks!
WIKI / DISCORD CONTRIBUTORS
We’ve just launched our Discord Server and linked it to Patreon. If you’re a Patron and already have a Discord Account, then you should have automatically been added to our server when it launched earlier today*. If you don’t know what Discord is – don’t worry – I sorta didn’t either until a few minutes ago! It’s a lighter/faster version of Skype or TeamSpeak. Basically a chat and messaging service we can use to share ideas, coordinate our efforts, and manage the Asylum.
We’re also going to leverage it to help organize our thoughts in the Asylum Wiki. The wiki is where we want to outline our vision for Alice: Asylum. If you’ve not yet heard – we’re doing something we might call Crowd Designing (ala crowdfunding, etc) of the new game. You’ve already seen this in action if you’ve been part of our Patreon community or watched our live streams. One of our Inmates will put forth an interesting idea and we’ll say, “yeah, that sounds great” – and it becomes a part of the thing we’re building.
First thing I want to stress about this: We have NO IDEA what we’re doing. I’ve made a lot of games and worked with a lot of teams all around the world over the past 25 years… but I’ve never engaged directly with the fan base to design and write a game. That’s OK because I like to think I have no idea what I’m doing even around those things people think I’m an expert at. The moment you say you know something you stop learning…
I digress. Point is, we’re going to learn and create something new together. A community, a game, a way of designing a game, a way of producing a game. All that stuff. I’m glad it’s like this because otherwise I’d be bored! 😉
If you are interested in directly contributing to the setup and management of the Discord Server or in helping to collect and organize the ideas creating over on the Wiki then please check out this SurveyMonkey Page.
Think of it as a sort of application / filter Martin and I can use to sort through all those interesting in contributing and making some informed decisions about the shape of the initial group.
WHAT’S NEXT
Over the coming weeks we’ll start to drill down into specific chapters, story beats, and other narrative elements which will help to define Alice’s journey in Asylum. Behind the scenes I’ve already started work on this with RJ and will share our progress with you in upcoming Patreon Posts, YouTube Livestreams, Wiki entries, and Discord Discussions. Whew! Lots going on!!!
Please, take your time going through this post. There’s lots to absorb and think about. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Help me shape our next steps in a way that YOU like. What do you love about what’s outlined above? What’s missing? What can we do better?
Looking forward to your thoughts…
From Shanghai with Love,
-American (and Lulu)
*If you weren’t automatically added to the Discord server then PM us or leave a message in the comments below. We’ll work to get you sorted out as quickly as possible. You patience while we learn this new tech is appreciated!