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Writing Notes - Denial to The Queen
🕑 Added 2020-04-21 06:49:51 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
A sneak peek at what's going on behind the scenes with tasks related to getting the Design Bible off the ground. My notes for continued progression through the early narrative of the game.
Denial to The Queen (4/21/2020)
Still working on the exact sequence of transitions from Alice in her Circus Cage to An Audience With The Queen to Hatter’s Domain but here are a couple of bits and pieces.
The Circus Realm is - subconsciously - a function of Denial. How does one get past denial (as a stage of grief)? We’ll come back to that later.
The Circus Realm is - to the eye - a place to keep Alice endlessly entertained. It would have started off as a wonderful place for a little girl to spend her day. Full of curiosities, delights, thrills, and mysteries. As Alice moves through it, these aspects should still be on full display. Fire breathers, bearded women, unlikely animals, flying trapezes, and a sense of constant surprise. It’s also important that The Show Must Go On (CONSTANTLY) - everyone’s in a hurry, everyone’s late, no one has time to stop, sit, and think. “Must remember my lines, must perfect my flying somersault, must not be boring.” There are Ringmasters who crack the whip and keep everyone in constant motion (Tweedle Dee and Dum).
The Circus Realm is - in reality - a prison. A place of frantic order, scripted reality, and the invisible cage of never having enough time to do anything but practice and perform. Its design is the handiwork of The Queen of Hearts, the current ruler of Wonderland. She who sits on the throne in the Realm of Hearts; the place in which The Circus occupies a distant (preferably forgotten) little corner. This prison needs no bars because no one ever has time to escape.
The Circus Realm has become - in recent days - a bore. Alice has attempted to escape a thousand times. Being a precocious and curious child, she’s always in search of something more. She craves deep mystery, proper puzzles, and an unscripted adventure. Problem is, The Moon. He floats above Wonderland day and night (mostly at night?) watching and waiting for Alice to run. And when she does he’s there on her heels singing a gentle lullaby. Before she knows it, Alice is fast asleep. And when she awakes, she’s back in The Circus Realm. And, like a dream, her memory of running away and all the days before is foggy and unclear. So she writes herself notes to remind herself of what’s come before. And from those notes, she knows she’s been trapped in this place for a very long time. And that her only hope of escape is a confrontation with The Queen.
During her last attempt at escape, she came back with a souvenir - a Crystal Vorpal Blade - the meaning of which is not yet clear. A mystery. Good!
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Running Away From The Circus
Leaving the “cage” she shares with the Mock Turtle (it’s not a cage… it’s a tent, a dressing room, a dollhouse - something a little girl would like to live in) Alice is push-pulled into a typical Circus Day.
We can use this opportunity to continue the sequence of tutorial steps we began to introduce during the intro. The circus provides an excellent place for advanced mechanics - trapeze stunts, lion taming, knife throwing, shrinking and growing, etc…
An opportunity presents itself - an opening in the circus tent, leading to a tethered hot air balloon - and Alice once again escapes! But this time is different because she’s got the Vorpal Blade and she means business.
First step: Disable The Moon. The hot air balloon will get her where she needs to go. And the moon turns out to be a clockwork automaton filled with gears, levers, and steam pipes - a Hatter Industries invention apparently. Alice fights her way through The Moon and hijacks it for a ride towards the Queen’s Castle.
A rough crash landing just short of the castle. A sneak battle through the Queens’ hedge mazes.
The Knave is encountered somewhere in here. An Insane Child - modeled on a child Alice knew from The Asylum - who pledges to help Alice get to The Queen. Claims he’s tired of “all this order and perfection” - and will risk the Queen’s wrath to help Alice.
Battle through the lower levels of the castle. Do we see The Sun held prisoner - used as an energy source - in the bowels of the castle? We need to think about the concept artwork done for “Judgement” and how that plus the resulting punishment (deadly croquet) fit into all of this (or does that all come later - the next time Alice “visits” the Queen’s Domain)?
An Audience With The Queen
The Knave and Alice are captured. Alice confronts The Queen. “Why am I your prisoner?” The Queen explains that she’s only trying to protect Alice. There’s a force - A Chaos - threatening to destroy Wonderland. And the only thing keeping it at bay is The Queen and her insistence on Order. There are dangers lurking in the wilds of Wonderland - no place for a girl to go poking around.
“Why can’t I wake up?” Reveal: A giant bloody drill bit spinning slowly has pierced the wall of the castle. The Queen explains that Alice, the little girl who would like to wake up, is no more. She was done in by the Asylum (a lobotomy). And that this corner of Wonderland is all that remains. Beyond this is oblivion. The Knave gravely confirms this fact (he’s in the dog house so he must be telling the truth).
Hatter was assigned a task: Perform alchemy on Chaos - turn Chaos into Order. But the Queen’s heard no reports of any progress for weeks now. Alice must venture to Hatter’s Domain - she’s looking for an adventure, isn’t she? - and find out what’s happened. The Queen asks Alice to carry a gift to Hatter. “Be sure not to open it. Curiosity killed the cat, you know?”
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Note: How does one get past Denial? The next stage (Queen Domain) represents Anger. You get past Denial by a descent into Anger. Rage must propel Alice out of The Circus and into the next stage. How should we represent rage? Now that she’s got a Vorpal Blade the most obvious way would be for her to pull it out - a shock to those who would keep her captive - and use it in bloody fashion. Slice her way through whatever too stupid or too slow to get out of her way. A murder spree. Does that work?
Note 2: Queen holds Alice’s Rabbit hostage. Why? Alice doesn’t want to follow orders? She immediately rejects The Queen’s version of reality (denial again - fractal) and becomes angry (again fractal) so the Rabbit is taken prisoner. The Queen is convinced that The Hatter will set Alice straight. He knows The Truth.
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More notes as they are created... feel free to share your feedback in the comments below.
From The Circus,
-American
Comments
Death of Ink
I'm loving this story more and more as it's developed! This beginning segment feels very good for the starter half of the game.
Huuhuu :) I See your work going on,its beautiful! So I have one question, because i looking for denial, and Postings of 2019 vs 2020 for The process... And i had thinking about Postings of last year that The horror house in denial The way is to Queensland, because Alice must be Go to The fear, or The pain, The horror, for breaking Out of The Cage of denial. But now she will flying with The balloon to Queensland. Was that The Plan before and i just missunderstanding The Story? Before there i Thing The Horror is The Last Station in denial,and there she will driving inside The "Horrorhouse" to Queensland. And before she Go in The botanic Garden for her vorpal knife... Because maybe need Alice The knife in The Horrorhouse... And when i dont had missunderstanding postings of 2019, why for The end in denial The balloon of The moon and Not The Horrorhouse to The end of The chapter? I Love your textes behind The story and your Text of The Horrorhouse and what must Alice feel in The way of that was really good. Please dont missunderstanding me, i loooove The balloon of moon and humpty dumpty :) i just confused and need a Background... Maybe i twist everything ^^
I need help my peeps. Has anyone had luck finding frames to fit the prints??? I have a stack of tubes mocking me and not a frame in sight. Any leads appreciated.
Angel
What a lovely display of colors in the curious realm. I love how bright and vibrant the colors are outside of the tent, but the depictions of the advertisements and inside of the tent are grim. Hope the nut cracker has some sort of dialogue
I forgot to mention that the character is ditsy because of Alex's question and American's answer of Alice liking to clean up messes. I was thinking of something like Alice waking up and the Mock Turtle telling her that her friend has made another mess again.
I have a couple ideas for this section of the game. One has to do with Alice turning to Anger, another has to do with the mystery, and there are some random ideas sprinkled in. In the circus, Alice meets a ditzy character that requires protection for it to survive (maybe it’s a representation of Alice’s innocence?) As they are hijacking the moon, Shadow Alice steals the ditzy character and sets it on fire in front of Alice. (Option 1) Alice has no reaction, showing her detached emotions in the beginning of the game. (Option 2) The character was the first good relationship Alice had in a long time. Alice is distraught and feels something deep in her heart, something she should be remembering (the fire). She’s getting very emotional and she doesn’t know why. Whatever happened doesn’t matter now, all Alice wants to do is kill Shadow Alice. (Option 3) A combination of the first two options. Alice doesn’t want to admit it affected her, but it did. This, combined with her emotions of being locked in a cage, easily throws her into anger and rage. It’s a little on the nose, but I think it gets the emotion across. I really liked the comment from Gregory who brings up the classic saying of “running away to the circus,” and how it contrasts with Alice’s situation of “running away from the circus.” Maybe have a flashback of Alice and her sister joking about running away to the circus. Or, just have a mention of her family going to the circus in Slumber or Shock. (Maybe just a family photo?) If Alice meets Cheshire in the circus, maybe have him mention that he’s tried helping her multiple times. (Maybe he’s the one that gets her the vorpal blade? Then, maybe the Queen or the Tweedle’s find out and keep him out of the circus. This could explain her having the vorpal blade and the Cheshire’s absence.) If Alice meets Cheshire later on, then there should be a reason for his absence earlier in the game. (Maybe, because the Queen wants Alice to stay in the circus, there is some sort of barrier that keeps everything more “realistic” on the inside and keeps Cheshire out.) (If the book’s stories occurred before this then the Queen of Hearts would already be on bad terms with Cheshire for ruining her game of croquet.) I have a lot more ideas for different parts of the game and was wondering where would be the best place to post it? I've been going through all the patreon posts and Asylum videos to make sure I don't sound redundant or go over ideas already explored. It also helps with taking in as many ideas as possible. If you guys end up reading this, thanks for taking the time. I love everything you're doing.
Sarah McKeegan
Love it all!! Sounds awesome!!
Austin Hanson
This is a prequel to the 1st Alice game correct? Does that mean we will get an explanation of how Alice originally acquired the Vorpal Blade as her main weapon?
So excited to see this all in action, I just love the way things are developing as we get further along in development between both the art and story.
Hex
I really, REALLY like where this is going! The concepts for the first (tutorial) and second stages of the game - i.e. denial and anger - seem very well thought it. The circus and moon themes fit well at the start of the story and the transitional travel to the Queen's well sounds like an exciting journey. In short, this sounds like a great introduction to the story with interesting foreshadowings and stakes (impending chaos, Hatter's experiments etc.)! Can't wait to hear more about the overarching plot and will continue my support. This is exactly the kind of content that made me subscribe in the first place <3
American McGee
It's a mix of cut-scenes and gameplay. The idea is to wrap a bit of tutorial (movement, controls) into the early sections where Alice is moving through the scene in Chaos (the burning house).
American McGee
Glad you like it :)
American McGee
Great stuff here, Greg. Will keep all this in mind as we continue to evolve the narrative.
I do like that idea and I understand it but does that mean the characters in the snowglobe world understand that they are a made up land in a child's head?
American McGee
IMPORTANT NOTICE: As everyone reads through what's written going forward - keep in mind I am writing the story as it would be presented IN GAME. That means two things: 1) Spoilers! Don't read this stuff if you don't want the mystery and suspense destroyed. 2) Mystery, suspense, and misdirection is built into the narrative. As an example: THE QUEEN IS LYING TO ALICE. Alice has NOT had a lobotomy. But the Queen would like her to think she has. It's great that you're reacting this way and that you're asking these sorts of questions! It's exactly the response I hope we'll get when people play through the game for the first time. "WHAT?! Alice has had a lobotomy!?!? Oh no! What does this mean!?!?!?" Anyway, please keep these things in mind as we move forward in this process. Thanks!
I love the idea that the Queen drops the "you've had a lobotomy" bomb on Alice but I'm curious to know how that effects the story? How much awareness do the characters in wonderland have to their existence and Alice's existence as well? Does that now change the Hatters goal in discovering how he came to be?? I think that needs to be established a bit. Because I do love the idea if Hatter trying to Understand his existence and his creation but if he is aware of where he is then perhaps instead he is trying to figure out why he is and what his existence in her mind and in that world could mean? Maybe he goes as far as to wonder about other universes and what not. Sorryyyy long lol but I found myself a bit confused and wanted to have that clarification of there is one to give:)
Great notes, I really enjoy reading them. One last thing, the hot air balloon is there all along and she hijacks it? Or some White fluffy ally presents it to her?
Very exciting to see the evolution of the story into a more fleshed out state! Some ideas, thoughts, and suggestions about “Denial” that occurred while reading this and pondering: -the Vorpal Blade could leave a crack in the “sky” of the snowglobe where it was yeeted through, something the Moon can’t reach to hide/cover up when the next day “resets” thereby triggering Alice’s curiosity to investigate this in particular -this all seems to play with the idea of “running away to the circus” as an old childhood threat juxtaposed against “running away from the circus” -the Vorpal Blade could still be found in the greenhouses as per early concept art, would be a location that would draw an aspiring naturalist, relate to the leaf patterns on the blade, or perhaps explain how they got there -maybe when the Vorpal Blade is picked up the “glamour” of “Denial” could be cut away, the circus goes from a childish place of forced joviality and bright over-saturated colors (as in “UnHappiness”) to something grimy, dark, and blood soaked, its true ugliness unveiled -building on the above, perhaps up to this point enemies are defeated with a bonk on the head from the toys in her arsenal (through which the tutorial functions) and once she grabs the Vorpal Blade it becomes obvious that no, they’re not all just sleeping… -could the shock of this change, or perhaps finally having a way to fight back, is what causes a spree of killing that starts “Anger”? Does something of Adult Alice’s memories sit within the Blade and seeing all of that sends Child Alice into a rage?
Anger makes us see things differently and it often leads to taking actions that we later will regret. What if Alice scapes The Circus being very mad and with the Vorpal Blade but is yet too afraid to use it at its full potential. Then, when she encounters The Knave she starts losing her composure because the mazes seem to never end, in her desperation she kills The Knave and that is the first act of Rage she performs. Then the Queen captures her and her White Rabbit and sends her to the Hatter's Domain. When she finally gets there the explosion happens and The Queen blames her for it, that is when she will be put on trial for her various crimes against the Queen and put to death because her Rage is too dangerous to let loose.
I assume based on the above notes that most of the beginning part is either a cut scene or a short tutorial level, then we "wake up" as Alice with the vorpal knife as she puts the pieces together and we start the game proper. Or, alternatively, finding the knife is actually part of the tutorial level and once gotten, we get put to sleep by the steam-powered moon, waking up and then starting the game proper. Either way, it's all a very interesting layout! I like the symbolism of the drill penetrating into Wonderland from her real life experiences... or at least her perceived real life experiences. I was a little confused with the asylum portion of AMR, I wasn't sure if it was a flashback or she was back in the Asylum for having fainted in front of the police station. But her head is shaved and she's obviously not all there based on her expression and her movement. Then there's the scene with the drills as well. If she is/was lobotomized, is everything a dream to her now? Is she really even Alice? Another mystery! As for one getting past Denial, the first step is accepting that you're in it. Of course, she's not ready to do that yet, so she's going to retaliate. Maybe "murder spree" isn't the correct wording but I get the idea. She's attempting to break free of her restraints, perceived or otherwise, and she'll likely defend herself violently. If she happens to kill a few things along the way, the ends justify the means at least to her. And as Alexander pointed out, that leads to its own set of issues. The rabbit being hostage is another form of control, something that Alice will obviously reject along with the Queen's version of reality. The Queen is obviously hoping not only to stay in power but thinks that distracting Alice with Hatter will help, maybe even incorrectly. In AMR, she does realize that if Alice is doomed, so is Wonderland. Perhaps the Queen hasn't learned that yet... or maybe she doesn't believe Alice is mature enough to understand it.
Alexander
Also the Rabbit may be the real goal of the game: AMA begins with the rabbit plush being put in Alice's hands, so AA and AMA will be connected. Symbolism? In this variant, the Rabbit-prisoner may mean the lost freedom (like bird in cage but rabbit in cage) and, I believe, a lack of determination, lack of clear answers of what to do and why to do. So, releasing the Rabbit, Alice can get freedom at least - to fight with the Queen again and to kill for sure (what is happened in AMA)
Alexander
Bloody/Angry solution of Denial seems reasonable because it represents frustration climax and readiness to destroy hateful old Order, the Queen's Order. Also, that way of solution may betray Alice in the Queen's Domain: for example, the Queen is much stronger and clever, it's very easy for her to win predictable furious child - and, to punish her, the Queen sends Alice to the Judgement The main idea here is to show: rage is pretty simple way to solve problems but it cause other problems needed another methods and ways. In that case, from my point, a murder spree is the neccesity
I feel that since the queen has the rabbit, and Alice is being forced back all the time she would get her wit about her and just start to get mad about it. I think the term "we're all mad here' should deff be in her anger stage because it would be awesome. You are doing wonderful! I love reading more about this.
Love this piece of writing! The way to transcend very smoothly from denial to anger I think, is by realizing that your whole world is a lie and everyone was in on the betryal. could see that sending Alice into murder spree, succumbing to chaos. I consider the end goal to be for Alice to find babance between chaos and order in her life, and for my personally, I've always jumped from one end of the spectrum to the other, before slowly finding my balance. Another thing is recognizing extremes and realizing that neither is inherently good or bad, but that both have value and uses, which justifies chaos mode, if that hasn't been abandoned, and I think this is a good origin story for it.
Waoh ! I love the Red Queen Design, and the white rabbit plush in a cage is fantabulous Idea !
American McGee
Wait - why would you believe anything the Queen says???
Sarah Heist
Amazing stuff as always though
Sarah Heist
Wait- how do you come back from a lobotomy???
Rosuav
A hot air balloon and a Vorpal blade - I'm reminded of Alice: Otherlands. Can there perhaps be a tiny reference or call-forward? In Otherlands, Alice cuts the balloon from the basket and drops (with Verne) into the ocean. Perhaps have her look at the balloon and be afraid of what would happen if she fell? "Leviathan" is all about exploring fears.
