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Devil In A Box
🕑 Added 2020-10-26 04:02:05 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
It's the week of Halloween! YAYAYAYA!!! The best week of the year!
And what better way to kick off this week than with an exploration of themes and styles for the re-imagined Jack Bomb weapon in Alice: Asylum?
The team is working through a variety of ideas led by Alex's concepts for a redesign. At the top of this page (main image) is the "original" redesign idea done by Joey a while back.
Alex did an initial redesign which took the weapon in a much more sinister direction. This was prompted by the fact that the Jack Bomb will be introduced to Alice through a Boss Battle with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. This is also where she acquires the Jack Bomb for her own use.
Of his redesign Alex says:
I'm unsure if this concept I've created is better suited for use ONLY in the Tweedles Boss Fight. Perhaps when Alice collects it after the Tweedles are defeated, it changes into a more child-like version, like Joey's original design?
Food for thought also; it's pretty common place to have unlockable aesthetic skins for weapons.
Could we have a "default" skin for each weapon, and some other variants that can be unlocked or achieved via in-game objectives?
I see this a lot in other games, and I think those levels of player customisation are welcome additions to any title.
And though I like the design for its own sake, I asked Alex for some adjustments...
The design concept and art look good, @Alex Crowley but they also feel like they come from the game Twisted Metal more than from the Alice series. The issue is they are "pure dark" without much in the way of whimsy, madness, or "twist." To be twisted they have to feel like they still retain some elements of the original underlying design that Alice's mind would have started with.
Yes, these could be some sort of End Stage skin or Rage Box Version. In that context, they'd be perfect. As the starting point of the weapon - and one of the first weapons she's given... a bit too dark. And that's coming from someone who likes it dark!
The result is something I think fits a lot better in the Alice universe and within the scene we'll find this weapon.
Alex also suggested another twist...
Of which he said...
I'd like each weapon to have secondary fire modes, so primary is remote detonation of AOE effect explosion damage. (Like Rabbit Bomb in Madness). Secondary is a perimeter guard, or stationary turret deploy. Get too close, tentacles lash / whip and do damage, or constrict / restrain foes, and once a damage threshold is hit, the death scene is getting consumed by the box. Maybe with a tasteful burp and blood spray from the box. In the pile for consideration.
And who can say no to tentacles? It's like my all-time favorite movie monster the Face Hugger from Aliens. Woo.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of our Devil In a Box.
There will be a special Halloween Live Stream later this week (usual time/place) over on Twitch. Details on that in another post later this week.
Any guesses as to what costume I am going to wear? What about Font Lord... I have no idea what he has in store but knowing Martin, I'd say it is another Anime character. What do you think?
Anyway, should be a fun stream. Hope to see you all there!
From Shanghai with Boo!
-American
Comments
Stephanie Groth
I agree about the box lacking whimsy.
This is such a cool idea!!! 🥰
That box, will it as in AMR also attract monsters?
Sarah McKeegan
Love it!! Definitely creepy!!
That box looks wicked..love the eating tentacles as an upgrade.
I really really love the first box skin, but I prefer the re-do of the Jack itself lol. I do like the idea of unlockable skins for weapons, especially since Alice gets different dresses. They obviously don't need to be related, but some could be. And I love the tentacle use here. It's surprising and fits the game
Wendy Jaa
Reminds me of Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
Juan Romero
I like the mix between childish and dark bettet, and in general for the game, it's more visually interesting and fits the story better. @american You mean the Face Hugger from "Alien", because "Aliens" is a worse movie full of American Marines, guns and explosions, just like Jim Cameron always loves!! joking (not completely though)
St. Thomas
I really love the idea of the tentacles and pulling Alice inside the box, that's going to be funny!
Sarah Heist
Dayum that thing is freaky! I love it. Can't wait to play with it 😈😈😻😻
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
I think there should be a tentacle weapon but for it to be the jackbomb seems a bit incongruous. Perhaps a weapon earned in the Chess Realm where the tentacles have taken over would make more sense.
Alex Crowley
Thanks! I'll try and explain the design rationale and why I went this way with the concept. I hope it puts you at ease :) Keep in mind; it's a loose concept that internally has been received well, so we're sharing here for feedback. This tentacle version is a secondary fire, "perimeter guard" mode. We're still sticking with an exploding bomb variant as the primary use. I created this loose tentacle concept to gauge the reaction on secondary firing modes, which, so far, sounds positive. The "sentry/restraint" concept could be easily achieved by the character reaching out and grappling an enemy, then physically pulling them back into the box. But, this sounds a bit tame. Plus, the spring would have to extend to a silly point. (trip hazard?) Having tentacles spawn from the Jack Bomb's mouth like this is a cool aesthetic. It's versatile, will allow for some cool animations, and keeps us on brand. Flesh, combined with mechanics or inorganic material, is always a fun mix to explore visually. In Asylum, Chaos is heavily represented by "Tentacle Corruption." Working on the story with American, to my knowledge, tentacles will be pretty prevalent in this game. So, we'll be seeing a bit of them. This weapon idea is also born from "utilizing" tentacles. We want to see familiar elements from the Alice series in new ways we've not seen before. Both for the player, in the gameplay, and the narrative. So, we're exploring applying tentacles to new areas to see if it fits. And here, I think it fits. It might not be a final version of the weapon yet, (still, some tweaks to go), but right now, I think we're on the right track for an initial, well rounded, and well-suited weapon concept. Keep that feedback coming. Thank you!
Rosuav
Ahh, the Alice 1 Jackbomb. A good friend of mine. We have set fire to oh, so many card guards and tiny insects....
Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’
I like the newest version of the design, but actually think the tentacles are a bit much. We don’t want to be overusing them do we?
