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Exploration of the Unknown
🕑 Added 2022-02-17 23:08:36 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
LOTS going on these days but I've neglected to provide you with an update! First, we had a Live Stream last week. Here's a link to a recording of that over on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuwJxIQPO8s
In that, we discussed the Alice TV deal, progress on the Design Bible for Asylum, and new work being done on Oz: Adventures. Check it out!
A New Adventure
I mentioned during that live stream that most of my work (related to story) is finished on Alice: Asylum (at least as it pertains to pre-production). That means I have time to start work on a new story - and so I've turned my attention back to Oz: Adventures.
The main image above is from Gareth and depicts a scene where the Conquestidors survey the site of their shipwreck. This is currently outlined to be the first episode we'll see in Adventures... with the following episodes introducing new storylines from other adventurers trying to survive the wilderness of Oz. *Note: The narrative will provide an equal-opportunity portrayal of mankind's cruelties - it doesn't just single out the Spanish as history's only bad guys. Oh, no.
And while I have a basic understanding of some of the specific tales I want to tell... Conquistadors, WW2 Pilots, modern-day tourists, etc... I'm still working on (struggling with?) finding the overarching theme linking them together - and in making Oz the place where their issues are properly investigated and challenged. All this while exploring a backdrop of Oz's own cultures, politics, and conflict.
Very happy to have Gareth guiding this journey through excellent visuals.
Check out those Flying Monkeys! A lot of great details - elements of the culture, work, and lives of these characters.
The Flying Monkeys will be the first characters that we also render in 3D. Those assets will be placed into Unreal - and we're hoping to have a tech demo showing some ideas of how Oz: Adventures might work as a hybrid game-graphic novel (more on that later).
But, yeah, because we are not constrained by EA ordering us NOT to turn on a game engine (as is the case with Asylum), we WILL be turning on Unreal and building some prototypes in that engine for Oz: Adventures. Yay!
And a scene depicting the Conquestidors' first encounter with signs they are in Flying Monkey territory.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of all this new exploration - and if you have ideas on the sorts of themes you'd like to see explored in this new narrative.
Meanwhile, In Wonderland
Omri is working on a revision of the Insane Children / Orphans. This is an exploration of an update on the style you saw in Madness Returns.
Of this design he says:
i thought to make the signs into the middle part of the body for all of them
and make the dolls into different kinds of dolls. i don't want them all to look porcelain and "The Same". i think each of their trauma is specific and unique so their design and materials should be as well.
So let him know in the comment below - what do you think?
And Joey is working on a scene where Alice explores the memory of her visit to Radcliffe's office.
Of this Joey says:
Exploring Redcliffe's office. It was dark and Alice is walking around with caterpillar talking to her, then she saw her otherself standing right next to the desk, asking for the rabbit from Redcliffe(happened in AMR), the tone of the room started to change, little by little, soon to taht afternoon/or moring, when it really happened. I rendered 2 images with one lineworks, so this takes me some time:)
This room is not excately the same as in AMR, I moved the clock into the room, while in AMR, the grandfather clock was at the end of the asil, outside the room. I also played with some furnitures, hope that's ok. We don't have to make the room 100% like we showed in AMR right?
Let her know in the comments what you think!
That's it for today's update. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. And we'll be back next week with more great art, story, and design updates.
From Shanghai with Monkeys,
-American
Comments
Saleh Abu-Rashid
This is tough. I love it!
Greyson Kehm
Good idea with the doll versions of the orphans. Personally, I think that when revisiting scenes from earlier works, one should try to be as true to the original as possible, but that's just me. Edit: I missed the last livestream due to car trouble. Of course I miss the one where Martin reads three of my comments on earlier posts.
I like the icy blue office!
Sarah McKeegan
Love the oz ideas and can’t wait to see the outcome! The dolls of the orphans look awesome!! I like the different types! Really enjoy the changes to the memories.. I agree with the above comment that memories aren’t perfect.
I do injoy how the dolls look broken but still gives off the character from the look before , also with the one pic is that supposed to be ice or is it lil dust parts but as a broken memory like how when u blue crystal dust
It actually makes me think 🤔 what do you think the story would have been if Dorothy REALLY knew that her shoes had unlimited power. Would she have exploited it for pleasure and her own benefit? Do humans have a natural inclination to evil? And did The witch realize that telling Dorothy that she is essentially standing on a pair of magical atom bombs would have twisted her fate and the fate of oz? Gives you alot to think about really.
Especially if the what or who they are willing to sacrifice are unwilling to give up. I've also noticed that there is this narrative played often where humans squander all thats magical for their own personal benefit. Tons of examples in media and why if it does exist magic stays hidden from those who would exploit it.
American McGee
Yeah, I think there's a great "what are will you willing to sacrifice?" story in there somewhere - people who just want to get home; protect what they love; save their way of life; etc. And when those goals are at odds and those people are willing to sacrifice everything to achieve them... we'll, then we've got some serious problems.
Wendy Jaa
On the subject of Oz, I'm so glad that some focus is being shifted over! And the fact that things are already being planned in Unreal? How exciting! I love the thought of people from different time periods being in the same place. I get a feeling the conquistadors will be my favorite group! On the subject of Alice, I love the designs for the orphans. That broken face with the dark void inside... absolutely nightmarish (in a good way). The art of Radcliffe's office is amazing, and I think it would be fine to change things around. Memories aren't perfect, after all. I have always wondered though- why does Radcliffe appear to be wearing pajamas?
Death of Ink
It is only a memory, and memories can't be played out perfectly as they happend in real life after all.
Karma Chameleon
Love love LOVE the doll designs. The different doll types are genius.
I'm imagining that in the human pursuit for dominance over the planet humans lost integral parts of their humanity like empathy for others. And destroyed the world slowly. Oz refuses to allow this to happen. The reason humanity was booted from oz is simple. Greed. Ripping resources up by the root to get what they need as soon as they can. That's what id like to see explored.. Oz refusing to give into the whims of selfish unfeeling monsters.. aka the human race.. As for Joeys rendition of Alices memory. I like that it isn't Exactly like the original game. Human memory isn't always exact and in wonderland I think Alice is allowed to have a little bit of leeway on how she remembers things. I love Omris idea to make the kids into different kinds of toys and not just the same sort of doll. Everyone has different kinds of trauma like he said. I'd like to see more of this exploration! It's really cool.
Juan Romero
Maybe it could be related to human crisis, humanity at its lowest, as if the universe was aware of so much wrong-doing and reacted in consequence, by space-time warping events, like a body reacting to a virus?
American McGee
Of course!
Juan Romero
And you are thinking about some narrative “glue” to stick it all together, right?
American McGee
Something like that. The idea is that we'll see several different individuals or groups (like the Conquistadors) arrive in and then try to survive Oz. Like Fantasy Island meets Running Man (not really but... well, kinda). Ha. And they all arrive in different ways - usually having to do with large weather events (I think)? So a ship at sea in a hurricane; a passenger jet in a storm; etc.
Juan Romero
Looking great! Is Oz going to be some kind of a Bermuda Triangle?
