americanmcgee
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ALL HAIL Bil'Th'LiLOOORD!
🕑 Added 2021-07-14 01:42:14 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
I was anxiously awaiting the color render of this Bill The Lizard as Boss Fight image from Norm. And Omri delivered this morning. And I just had to rush over and post it ASAP.
IT IS AWESOME.
For the record, here's the briefing from Monday that drove the creation of this image. It provides a bit of background on what you're looking at here and where it will fit into the game.
Art Task Briefing & Background Information:
This is the boss version of Bill McGill while he is in possession of the Brain of the champion.
Explore the boss encounter aesthetic and mechanics.
As this area is BRAIN themed, the idea is that Bill McGill is using the Brain to create massive, distorted and terrifying hallucinations for Alice.
Show Alice encountering one, or all of the following potential encounters:
1. Alice VS a Colossal Ruin from Madness Returns.
2. Alice VS SOMETHING THAT SCARES HER. (what could it be? Radcliffe Representation Subconscious Encounter? Orderlies, Doctors or Asylum themed?
An amalgamation of a Beast Made with Failed Taxidermy Parts? (Her Dad Sucked At Taxidermy? Alice walks in on her dad preparing the family dog or cat for taxidermy. Guts strewn about the table. It scares her? This is what she encounters her after Bill dives into her fears?.... American, let's choose or build on this.)
This encounter will take place in the center of the Workshop, in the Vale of Tears.
Bill and this combat encounter is the last thing standing between Alice and the Brain of the champion.
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Additional Background Information:
The payoff and build-up for this entire encounter, is that at the center of this threatening, and hellish area, is dumb, tiny ol' Bill.
The theme of this section of the game is "Brains" and intelligence and wit.
Bill has none of these naturally, but while in possession of the brain, he has these qualities.
The humorous side of this, is that in fact, Bill is an idiot.
And a completely unassuming and less threatening character in his own right.
Once Bill's illusion and command over the Brain is disconnected, his hallucinations fail, and he resumes his placid stance.
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Art Task Output:
• First, explore and establish Character Designs of Bill the Lizard
• Once Bill's Character Design is established, render a NARRATIVE scene of him atop a throne in the Serpent Temple. Either "wired-in" to the Brain of the Champion, (in a vat behind him, or simply with a massive, oversized brain in a crudely-made cradle).
• Show Bill commanding a TERRIFYING HALLUCINATION against Alice atop his throne.
• Show Alice and Cheshire Cat in Combat against this Hallucination or bracing herself against an incoming attack from it. She is scared.
The boss encounter is the fight against a Hallucination, with Bill commanding it.
Render this scene for the Design Bible.
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Gameplay & Closing Narrative Notes:
To complete the encounter, the player needs to sever Bill's connection to the brain.
Once this is done, he will immediately become an idiot again, and call off the attack on Alice.
He acts like he doesn't know what's going on, and is completely unaware of the carnage he's caused.
He is a sympathetic, friendly character towards Alice, and is not killed. As soon as he loses connection to the brain, he just assumes his dumb ol' Bill guise.
Bill hands over the brain to Alice without any hesitation, and leads them out of the temple once Alice has the brain. He then waves goodbye to Alice and Cheshire cat as if they've just left a tea-party at his house. He wishes them well and thanks them for stopping by.
As he does this, he realizes he doesn't really know what to do next with his life. Oh well.
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Oh well indeed! What now?
Lots more amazing art and design on the way. That's what!
From Shanghai with Awesome Illusions,
-American
Comments
Greyson Kehm
Bill's back, and he's a villain this time!? Oh my word, everyone in Wonderland is getting their chance to try and kill Alice, aren't they? Amazing work, Omri!
That would certainly be scary. A faceless void
I was thinking along the same lines but then thought being alone and forgotten with nothing but distorted memories trying to make you feel weak and alone in an endless expanse of nothing with no way out.
I love the snakes looking at Bill, like who are you? wonderful and fabulous.
Rolan Fox
this looks like that scene from jurassic world with the velociraptors <3
I adore this new artwork, Bill's, never looked so menacing haha.
Can't help thinking that the thing that would scare Alice most, and players alike, is blindness, but maybe blindness that is variously populated with her fears, introduced through the sound they make initially, but becoming more visual as she defeats them, only to be replaced by a new enemy, possibly ending with a manifestation of fire
I love this so much! the whole thing. also, those creepy multi-faced guys
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
I peeped all that, and I was assuming that there was a King of the Reptiles sort of thing going on, although I don't remember that being expressly stated yet. Maybe I missed it, but I did notice him leaning into the snake imagery, and I was sorta wondering as Bill is a newt and these sorts of Snakes are often a predator of his that it might be a powerful statement he is making by subjugating, in particular, the animal among his reptilian brethren that causes him the most grief in his regular weakened state.
American McGee
It clearly spells out the rationale and set up for this area in the lengthy Art Task shared within the post. "The payoff and build-up for this entire encounter is that at the center of this threatening, and hellish area, is dumb, tiny ol' Bill." Set up. Pay off.
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
Oh, I wasn't doubting. I was just curious if there was a larger significance. Don't have any issues with it to speak of.
American McGee
Monitor lizards eat snakes. Also... A tiny lizard cannot kill big snakes, but big lizards can kill snakes. In fact, they do it quite often. Big lizards eat various kinds of small snakes. ... While fighting the snake, the lizard can kill the snake, and after that, the lizard may die due to snake bite. Also, also... Reptiles are turtles, snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles. In closing, Bill has made himself the KING OF THE REPTILES. Therefore he adorns his castle with symbols of his people, his power, and his glory. Can you put your doubting on hold for a week or two? Yeah, thanksSsssss.
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
I have a question regarding the snake iconography associated with this version of Bill. Typically snakes eat lizards like poor Bill, so why does his domicile feature them so heavily?
