Dear Insane Children, 

For those of you interested in Narrative Crowd Design, here’s a little teaser… which I hope to use to test out how this process works prior to sharing the Alice: Asylum narrative outline. I mentioned in a previous post that I want to share the Asylum outline with some holes in the middle – so that there’s a place where YOU can engage with Crowd Design and help fill in the details. 

But before we go down that particular Rabbit Hole… 

I’ve attached the Oz: Adventures (game) synopsis that I sketched over the weekend. 

This document is a response to a request made by [REDACTED] as we continue to go through their Due Diligence process. 

The basic question behind this document is: “We [REDACTED ]need something to describe the game for our internal discussions, and to explain how the episodic structure + playing as different characters would work.” 

So I’ve described the basic narrative for 4 episodes. But also left some bits blank or [TBD]. And I’ve left Episode 4 really blank… because one of the things we’re trying to sell in this pitch is that narrative will emerge as we develop the game, as players engage with the game, and as a part of the Crowd Design process. 

I kinda think we don’t want to know just yet what happens in Episode 4. We shouldn’t try to write that until we’ve delivered at least Episode 1 & 2… and then build Episode 4 around the feedback those generate. 

Think about the Crowd Design goals while you read the episode outlines. 

And let me know if you see openings for interesting character development, plot twists, etc, in what’s written so far. There are some obviously marked [TBD] areas where you might suggest interesting connections to the characters and locations of Oz. 

And just let me know, in general, do you “get it” – as a game divided into 4 pieces, delivered episodically, but ultimately stitched together into a cohesive final product that spans 8+ hours in length? 

Finally, let’s use the back and forth on this to define how best to manage Crowd Design around Narrative. 

From Shanghai with Kalidahs, 

-American 

Dear Insane Children, 

Our team of 7 artists continues to crank through a pile of tasks related to defining all the major scenes, characters, and elements that define the journey Alice takes through Alice: Asylum. If you’ve watched the live streams, you’ve seen me scrolling through all the tasks and discussions contained inside the management software we use (called Monday). As I go scrolling through Monday this morning (on a Sunday) I’m finding a ton of great updates… 

Let’s start with the Rutledge Asylum concept image from Joey (main image above). Of this Joey says: 

There are high bars around the asylum for sure, this image is inside the bars, where the building and the trees can be seen clearly.

And I replied with a bit of feedback: 

Looks like a proper and horrific Asylum! @Omri and @Joey

I don’t know if we need to deal with this next comment right now… but do we know where Rutledge Asylum is located? I kinda thought it was actually in the city of London… in which case, it would not look like this sort of “out in the country” massive building.

This image can still be marked as finished and we can use this for now… but we might need to revisit this later depending on the answer to the question above.

Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on the location of Rutledge Asylum. Does this new image do the old story justice? Are we retconning the location? Or does this image need to be updated so it’s more in line with what was previously established? 

Next up, Adam shares some concept sketches for The Lullaby Machine. This is the device used by The Moon to put Alice (and others) to sleep…  

These designs were inspired by a description I wrote: 

The Dream Machine should feature some sort of “mining” or “milking” section where we see Cute Little Creatures (chicks – cheeping; kittens – purring) behind vacuum chamber glass, creating some aspect of the sound that the device makes. It needs to be a giant Rube Goldberg type contraption where there’s a clear formula for “sugar and spice and everything nice” being funneled into a speaker and directed towards a target (Alice).

And of Adam’s concepts he wrote: 

Here are my sketches for the Lullaby Machine, the last, biggest one is the most recent evolution with the everything-nice-containers located around the machine, which Alice might need to break open in order to defeat the machine. Another weak-point would be it’s glowing eye with an iris in the shape of the moon, I’ve also given it eye-lids so maybe most of the time it’s closed and it only “wakes up” after a cage has been broken?

What do you think of the Lullaby Machine? 

Omri also shares a final render on the Scene in London where we see Alice handing her Rabbit Plush to a street urchin girl… 

This is a critical scene in the narrative that we’ll see at a point around 65% through the narrative – at or near the start of the 3rd act of the story. Still think we might find a way to weave this scene together with the Londerland variation… 

Though in terms of the way this fits into the narrative flow… I’ve not yet figured it out yet. Still thinking… 

Omri also did a quick update on the Pieces of The Champion… to have the Eye parts look more like what we know the Jabberwock Eyes to look like in the first two games (which we see clearly when looking at the Jabberwock Eye Staff). 

And Omri finalized the look and feel of the area we run through in The Circus… 

And some quick sketches of the fight sequence we’ll engage with as we play through this area… 

Adam also turned in some more final sketches from The Courthouse… 

In other words… There is a LOT of Collective Insanity going on inside The Asylum these days. 

And as many of you are aware, I am working through writing on several major deliverables… The Alice: Asylum overall narrative outline, The Oz: Adventures game synopsis (for REDACTED), and documents related to Oz: Adventures TV Series pitch (for REDACTED 2). 

For those of you interested in Narrative and Story… I’ve been thinking about opening up the mid-section of the story outline for Alice: Asylum to Crowd Design. I’ve got the Beginning and End basically finished. And I know roughly what needs to go in the middle – but I think there’s room there for YOU to get involved with filling in the blanks on the places Alice goes and the characters she meets. 

So… my hope is that in the coming week (23-27th of November), I’ll share the Alice: Asylum Story Outline (full of spoilers!) for everyone to read. And then invite the Insane Children to help fill in the details of the middle part of the adventure. I know there are a few of you who would really enjoy something like that, right? 

A BIG THANK YOU to our Insane Children for making all of this work possible. You’re directly supporting a team of Seven Whole Artists – and giving them to time and space necessary to create all of this amazing content. Woo!

Hope everyone is having a Wonderful Weekend.

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Yan is working with Jen on a new Plushie Dreadful design – Scruffy Bumps!

A prototype based on initial sketches by Jen arrived a few days ago:

There are several issues with the first pass which include: 

1) He’s too plump (round and fat). We want Slender Man-style creepy.

2) He’s too happy. He’s meant to be scary; not a furry Forest Gump. 

3) His nose is wrong. Needs to be black and have a distinct shape. 

4) His ears are too small and not pointy enough. 

5) His eyes need more expression. More malice. 

Speaking of Eyes

Which do you prefer? There are three choices: 

A) Angry Open (main image above)

B) Scar Eye (image below)

Or 

C) Slender Pupils (image below)

Let us know in the comments below which Eye style you prefer! A, B, or C! 

And behold Yan’s re-shaping edit… 

This more or less captures the end goal we’re heading towards. 

Of this edit, Jen says, “Makes me think of something that would crawl up the walls and hang from the ceiling and wait for you to wake up and look up.”

Again, let us know in the comments below what you think. 

Is he scruffy, bumpy, and creepy enough? 

A few other things to note: He’s considerably larger than the rabbit plushes. And his feet and tail are filled with weight (sand) so they flop around more meaningfully. He’ll also feature some sort of “Mysterious” or “Plushie Dreadful” brand label. 

Yan and Jen are waiting for your feedback! Yay! 

From Shanghai with Cat Scratch Fever, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Just a quick note to say that I am not dead. But I am dead busy. 

If you’re waiting on Art Prints (in the mail) then I’m the reason… As I’ve been playing catch-up on getting everything sent out. Today, I finally cleared out the last of the previous month’s art prints that were in the system… except for 10 stragglers that I’m waiting on a restock of prints for. Did you know that every art print you get has to pass through my hands, get signed, packed, and sent out… all from our home in Shanghai? During a normal month, that’s 200~300 art prints. And that’s a lot of work!

Also on my task list is a ton of writing… Alice: Asylum story outline; Oz: Adventures game narrative synopsis; and Oz: Adventures TV-series questionnaire. 

That later document I’ll share with you in this post. It’s a series of questions sent to me by [REDACTED 2] (that’s the production company in Hollywood who are exploring the idea of turning Oz: Adventures into a TV series ala “Game of Thrones” or “Wheel of Time.” 

Anyway, I thought you all might like to read through the thoughts I shared in response to a series of questions meant to explore the direction that series might take. 

Aspiring writers of the film/tv variety, take note. This is a pretty typical series of questions – I’ve seen similar in the past – that you get when/if a production company takes interest in your idea. 

Here we go… 

What are some TV series analogs that you think would be comparable to this series?

Fantasy Island + Lost + Black Mirror + Twilight Zone

What TV series do you think are particularly well written? (Doesn’t have to be analogs, just what you like)

I loved the first season of Westworld. Ozark. Game of Thrones. The Mandalorian. Stranger Things. Castle Rock. Rick and Morty. 

 What directors/filmmakers do you like?

Christopher Nolan. Tim Burton, Guillermo Del Toro, Jordan Peele, Mike Flanagan, Drew Goddard, Clive Barker.

How do you see the tone? Leaning more to horror, leaning more to action/adventure?  

Different episodes (or tales told across a series of episodes) can lean towards horror or action or adventure… depends.  

A scientist who intentionally travels to Oz so he can harvest the essence of Eternal Life from the people of Oz… leans in the direction of horror. Especially as we explore the lengths to which he’ll go to collect his gruesome samples, repair his travel device, and get back to Earth.

A pirate sea captain following a treasure map to wealth and glory… feels more like an action/adventure. We then discover that he was formally a slave aboard the ship that carried him to Oz and that he seeks treasure only to buy freedom for his people back home. His dilemma increases further when he must choose between saving the people of Oz from enslavement or returning home.

 What are some preferred narrative threads (plots, arcs, storylines)? For example: are there some that are of particular interests to you, your team, and fans?

I like fairytales as an exploration of philosophy, morality, The Confrontation with Chaos, and psychological transformation. Trauma – preparing for it, encountering it, dealing with it, and using it as a means to transform oneself; these are themes that feature heavily in the stories I like to tell. Many of my fans say they are attracted to the characters I create because they ring true in relation to how they deal with trauma. 

Oz is a crucible of trauma and transformation. Dorothy’s adventure started and ended with murder… though she was too cold-blooded to recognize herself as a force for chaos. She ultimately learned nothing aside from “There’s no place like home.” Tell that to all those dead bodies you left behind! 

The people who end up in Oz do so mostly by accident. Most want to escape – to get home. Some decide they want to stay; some to rule; some for love; some because they feel they’ve found a home. Some are there to plunder the wealth and magic of Oz – to steal its resources (people, minerals, magic) and return those things to Earth. 

So we tell the story of these visitors, most of them having goals that are at odds with reality. Few are actually able to escape from Oz. Because the price of escape is to be destroyed, transformed, and reborn in a way that allows the journey. 

I think we might want to explore the notion that Oz is a place where people are sent to be tested. Its collective spirit and its people are (subconsciously?) aware of this – they live in what the books call an “uncivilized” place (which is why magic still works there). People coming into Oz from the “civilized” world aren’t there by accident – it’s like a Bermuda Triangle of Testing by Trauma. Those who pass the tests are transformed (rewarded). Those who fail the tests can look forward to being trapped in Oz for an eternity of trauma. 

 What core or interesting characters will be explored? Any familiar characters (Scarecrow, Tin-Man, Cowardly Lion), less familiar Baum characters (Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok, Nome King), and original created characters?

First, the timeline question: I think (?) it’s best if this series takes place after Dorothy and the familiar tales. The reason is that it avoids retconning classic characters – and pissing off Oz fans. But it’s important to note that life is eternal in Oz – everyone lives forever unless they are actively killed or murdered. That means we can have many of the classic characters make appearances in the new stories. So, yeah, Nome King, Tik-Tok, Pumpkinhead are all still around. 

There’s also an opportunity to create new variations on well-known characters. The Tin Man is a good example. The way in which he originally came into being can be reused to bring new “Tin Man” type characters into the world. Imagine our Pirate Captain (from above); he arrives in Oz with all his limbs intact but subsequently loses them one by one. Fortunately for him, losing limbs in Oz ins’t a big deal so long as you can have someone craft you new parts. So we could watch him transform over a series of stories into a Pirate Tin Man… but with Mad Max-style improvements… a sword arm, a gun hand, etc.

In describing your take on the Oz world: how is American McGee’s “Oz world” different than all previous Oz takes and incarnations?

I don’t know because I tend not to consume media related to the fairy tales I’m turning into new stories. I’ve only ever watched the original MGM Oz movie (years ago) and read the books. I know there are other variations on the stories out there but I’ve not consumed them. I do this because I don’t want to be influenced by or (writing) blocked by knowledge from those other variations on the stories. 

But I don’t think (?) that anyone has ever leveraged Oz as a place where a series of adventures take place as a result of all the “visitors” who arrive and interact with the world and its characters? 

Similarly, where does your story take place on the Oz timeline? Does it take place pre/post-Wizard and Dorothy, etc.?

Answered in #6. 

—

As usual, let me know in the comments below what you think of the outline for Oz: Adventures as presented here.

From Shanghai with Keyboards for Hands,

-American

Dear Insane Children,

Font Lord here.
How are you?
I hope you’re all doing well   🙂  

I have a little bit of info for you and also some questions.

We are thinking about making a commemorative coin for the start of the new year.
A sort of ‘good riddance’ to 2020 and ‘good luck’ to 2021 kind of thing.

What do you think of that idea?
We have experience of making these types of coin before as you might have seen the Chaos Coin we did…

And also the Pirate Jam doubloons from the beginning of this year turned out particularly awesome too.

Obviously at this stage, we have no designs or ideas about what each side of the coin would look like yet, but we just wanted to put the feelers out and see if that might be something you would be interested in?

Sound off in the comments if you have any ideas about the coin design, but as for the poll, we are curious if we made the coin, how would you prefer to obtain it?
There are basically 2 ways…

1) Be at the correct tier at the correct month and we will send you one.
2) Put the coin into the Mysterious shop for everyone to buy, but Patrons get a discount code (like we just did with the calendar)

There are ups and downs about each option, but here are some negatives you might consider…
For point 1, this does require that Patrons ‘pay attention’ to the rules and if they are at a lower tier, they need to remember to change their tiers for the month of the promotion.
For point 2 this might make the coin feel less special somehow if it’s available for everyone to purchase?

Again, if you have any feelings or opinions about this, pop them in the comments below.

I look forwards to getting all your feedback   🙂

– Cheers

Dear Insane Children, 

Biz Dev is one of the constant processes that happen in the background on an almost daily basis – emails, phone calls, quick messages, strategy chats, spreadsheet building, document editing… that isn’t very interesting to record, share, or talk about. But it is critical to our success – because all the amazing art and story in the world will not self-fund its way to a published game. 

I do try to provide some insights into what goes on in the Biz Dev space… it’s not special, magical, or difficult to understand. Though there are tons of little things you learn over the years about how the process works – it’s a constant negotiation. Every bit of info you reveal during BD talks can and will be used against you later – to bargain down some aspect of a deal, or to force some concession among a list of contested issues. 

Sharing this stuff publicly while it’s still an ongoing process, therefore, presents some unique challenges that we don’t have with, say, sharing concept artwork. 

One thing you’ve no doubt noticed is that I am unable or unwilling to share the names of the parties with whom we’re negotiating. This is sometimes because I am not allowed – as a function of an MNDA (mutual non-disclosure agreement). NDAs exist for many reasons but one simple one to think about is…. in the case of a publicly trading company (say, EA for example), conversations about potential investments into new products need to be kept confidential because they can have a dramatic effect on stock prices – and someone could use that sort of info to manipulate prices for an (illegal) gain. 

In other cases, you might have someone try to “poach” your deal – as in, “Oh, hey, American is pitching to [REDACTED], which means that publisher/investor is looking for new titles, let’s go over there and talk shit about American and his team while also pitching our concept for a new game!” That’s not nice. And it happens all the time! 

Anyway, all of this is a long way of saying… 

Attached to this post is a Document containing some of the back and forth that we’re having with [REDACTED]. They read and liked our PDF we previously sent. And our chats have continued mostly online, using WeChat, since delivery of that document. But as they bring more people into the conversation, they’ve asked us to re-present most of the info contained in the “pretty” documents we’ve sent… in simple text format. Hence the document I’ve attached here. 

That document will be at the center of a conversation we have scheduled for This Morning – about 3 hours from when I am typing this. Cross your fingers that it goes well! 

And in the document, you can see the sort of “drilling down” that a potential investor/publisher does in the process of exploring and vetting a deal. 

So, have a look. You might learn a few things about how we position ourselves and our pitch. And about the sort of information that publishers ask for when reviewing a team, game concept, and overall deal. 

On The Road Again

A quick note that I will be away from my desk from this afternoon through Wednesday evening. We’re going back to Yan’s hometown for the wedding of her cousin. I’ll probably post a few pictures of that trip over on my Instagram if you’re interested. 

While I am away I’ll find time to make at least one more design/narrative post – because I am sitting on a couple of beautiful concept images. Woo! 

Speaking of concept images, the two you see attached to this post are from Dario. He’s exploring the scene where Alice flies the balloon trying to escape from The Circus. High in the clouds, she’s confronted by The Moon. And in response to his images, I wrote: 

…we never said if this happened during the day or night. But now that I am thinking about it…. it would be really cool to see the Big Top Fight Scene happen during the day – and Alice and the White Rabbit rise up into the sky above the Circus during the day… Then as they pass through the clouds, rising higher, it quickly transitions to dark skies and night time! Then the moon comes out and… fight time! 

So, I like the night scene. 

We need to remember that The Moon is coming to “attack” Alice and put her to sleep. So there need to be some frames where The Moon is facing Alice and trying to sing her to sleep. In all the images you’ve rendered… The Moon appears to be running away. 

Let us know in the comments below what you think of Biz Dev. And what you think of the concept art of The Moon. 

PS: Thank you, Lucky Dragon for providing a quick source for Oz “stuff” that could be pasted into the BD answers. Saved me a bit of typing there 🙂 

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American