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Design Bible - MAJOR UPDATE - April 2021
🕑 Added 2021-04-21 05:00:08 +0000 UTCHi everyone,
Alex here, with an update on the Design Bible and its progress.
[NOTE: The Design Bible PDF is attached to this post and can be downloaded via the link on this page.]
Here are some key points of interest concerning the design bible moving forward.
A few things to note;
1. The PDF attached is a work in progress.
Some areas are tidier than others, others need a bit more work. You'll see everything continue to take shape and become more refined naturally as we continue our work.
Where you see "lorem ipsum" jargon and placeholder text, there is still copywriting and information to be finalized in these sections. Like we said. There is still lots of work to be done.
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2. Inventory, Chapter Summaries and Key item Sections.
I have been focusing on creating templated re-occurring layouts, (Such as weapon summaries, character encounters, etc.) in the Chapter Summaries at the end of each narrative section.
This is designed like a "Pause" screen, that allows you to dive into your progress and additional lore that might not be immediately communicated in the game-play experience.
You'll see blank areas allocated for a running tally of Key Items the player collects on their journey. This is similar to this screen from A:MR; (See below).
Once all weapons and key items are finalized, the UI here will reflect this.
It will gradually be filled as the items are collected in the Narrative, so you'll have an accurate running tally of items and their collection rate as the story progresses.
Areas like the "health / mana / sanity" bars are largely placeholder and signify area allocated to the UI once we boil down the gameplay and mechanics a little more. Stay tuned.
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3. Weapon Quirks / Weapon Summaries.
In the summaries, you'll find conceptual outlines for the weapons and items as they are collected.
After game design discussions, we've landed on;
• Weapon lore;
• Weapon perks (weapon quirks in our game), and;
• Specific Attacks per weapon.
We'll complete these outlines as the information required becomes locked in.
The current text is ideation and conceptual, but we feel they're heading in the right direction.
We're also working on summaries of Key Characters and Enemies encountered, so you can keep tabs on who Alice meets, and who she chops up into meaty chunks.
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4. New Art Tasks Throughout / Narrative Enhancements.
As we're working through the DB, we're noticing room for potential new art tasks, (posted throughout) that will enhance the narrative and improve the reader experience.
As we progress, American and I will be reviewing these potential new art tasks, then if greenlit for resource allocation, we'll be placing them in the workflow for the artists, and continuing as we go to improve the DB.
We want to strike the right balance between pacing, word count, and resource expended with the art team, and so far, I think it's a happy balance.
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5. Moving Forward / Closing Comments.
The design bible by nature is an ambitious document. The process we've built around it is meeting that ambition, and the workflow and structure built around it is sound.
The DB is designed to catch and provide as much information as possible, without it being overwhelming to process for the reader.
Simultaneously, it is meant to also provide high-level entertainment, cohesive narrative structure and supply an outline of the whole game experience that we want to create with Alice: Asylum.
The DB is also a sales tool.
Something we can drop onto the desk of an executive and show them, (in detail), what we've got, and what we want to do. And so far, from what I gather, even in these early stages, it's been received very positively in meetings with the powers that be.
It's a hybrid mix of script-writing, comic book pacing and presentation, a game design document, play-guide, art book, and a sales presentation.
There's a lot more work to go, and we're loving working on it.
I am having a blast making this document come to life.
Expect plenty more content, surprises, and updates as we proceed to completion.
I hope it lives up to your expectations and is something you'd be proud to read and share as a fan of Alice. Let us know how you're feeling about this too!
-Alex
NOTE FROM AMERICAN
Insane Children,
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU, for helping our team bring this document to life.
We'll schedule a Live Stream / Zoom get-together with Alex in the new ~week so we can review your comments and throw some Crowd Design into the mix.
Be sure to share your feedback and ideas in the Comments below!
From Shanghai with Love & Appreciation,
-American
Comments
I’m a little late to this because I hadn’t realized this was a thing! I’ve been obsessed with Alice in wonderland since I was a girl. Being an adult now and being able explore everything Alice is so incredible. ( I like it so much I’ve got a sleeve started on my left arm)I played madness returns 2 years ago and have been playing it over and over. When I heard there was work being done for another game I was stoked! This design bible is so incredible. To see the art and how clear and clean everything looks on just a pdf alone has me stoked! You guys do incredible work and I’m forever great full to you for adding such a wonderful vision on Alice that I will forever enjoy!
This is so amazing
Karma Chameleon
I am sooo excited about this prospect!!! I wish I could play it right now! And I love the art designs for this and Alice: Madness Returns! It is darkly brilliant and riveting to this day!
Awesome! I'm so excited for more updates to this game!
An art book and vinyl releases of the scores would be amazing.
fandomcrazy
question: will there be a art book for this game too? I would love it is possible.
fandomcrazy
I am so so stoked! 1.) I am happy you went with the moon design through voting. 2.) this is all so exciting!
Nicholas Brokaw
On page 15/16, we see Alice falling downwards, but the text describes her as being lifted into the sky. As-is, it kind of throws me off; however, it could just be a matter of perspective that I'm not picking up on where during gameplay we will see Alice's reality "flip" (?). What are your thoughts on this / am I mistaken in how I read these pages?
Nicholas Brokaw
This is incredible! Certainly the best document of it's kind - even while it is just a prototype!
I also like the Veiled Laughter, it looks like it could add an interesting strategic element to the game; Such as enemies you can’t hit from the front, distracting baddies you can’t (in narrative) beat yet and a way to deter large swarms of baddies (divide and conquer).
I really like the work you've done so far. Alex and the art team have a lot to be proud of. I feel like I'm learning a lot myself about how to potentially market a story/idea. The moth dress (like many have said) is truly beautiful, it reminds me of a Bombyx Mori, which can mean forest silkworm or silkworm of death (It is also really cute).
STUNNING. can't wait to see the full spread!
Sarah McKeegan
The dress is beautiful! Love it!! Everything is awesome!!
Omg this is awesome! I am so obsessed, you have no idea.
I sometimes forget why this IP is my favourite - then I see a design bible and I lose my mind. I'm so excited to play Asylum and I'm gonna rerun Alice and A: MR over the next couple weeks. Many thanks American!
This looks amazing, so detailed and really thoughtfully put together! 🖤
Rosuav
I've probably said it before, but I'm REALLY happy that the thrown Vorpal Blade is going to be a thing again. In AMA, that's the ultimate expert's weapon - you get it at the start of the game, it deals quite good damage, but it requires significant player skill to use effectively. It allows a highly skilled player to feel distinctly OP, and I love that :)
Am now simply more curious for the finishing work of the game. Concept looks magnificent. Aside from.prints, will there be a possibility where we can download/ buy wallpapers?
Arcane Kibby
Wow, all this looks soo good so far ! Tho i was wondering, in the weapon hud slots(from the Hud picture you posted), since you think of having it much of the same as Madness. could i maybe come with a suggestion that it also show when the weapon is upgraded? I thought about it the other day when playing madness that it would be really cool if it showed there too the particular upgrade/look i had for the weapon C: I'm so exited for this game ! as i really LOVE the universe you created!
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
There are so many details. I continue to be impressed with how intricate this design bible is turning out to be. The ones I do for my own projects are literally just Word documents. 😅
That slumber dress is so pretty!!!
