americanmcgee
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G.T.B. (Grand Theft Balloon)
🕑 Added 2020-06-01 01:19:55 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
American here... feeling a bit recovered after last week's battle with Massive Migraines of Mayhem. I think I've identified the cause - my computer monitor setup + staring at said monitors for too long every day. But I'll get my MRI results tomorrow... so fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, our team continues working on Design and Concept Art Work for Alice's escape from Denial.
Omri Writes:
Attaching concepts and references.
thought of making it a humpty dumpty inspired Balloon but when it will "hit" the moon it's like 2 faces who are kinda identical in concept and it looks not creative.
1. I think that the classic hot air balloon but with wings to control the movement and with icecream colors can work well.
2. the bottom, i think a gravy bowl with a broken or a full one- handle can work. it's like the moon "drinks" Alice visually.
3. Should someone work the Balloon? will there be a secondary character?
4. i don't know where it will be placed in map so how things will look next to it yet, but theoretically it should work with the look of the general tents and rides. i think it should LOOK like a broken/Closed ride so it's naturally planted in the realm.
To Which I Replied:
Since the balloon is not designed to be (or planned to be) something that interacts with The Moon - let's not add elements where the two things are made to interact. Having the balloon basket be something that looks like it's designed for The Moon to drink from... no.
Keep in mind that my idea here is Grand Theft Balloon + Grand Theft Moon. She *steals* a balloon and tries to use it to escape. The Moon, in his duty as Alice's Prison Guard chases after her but they end up crashing into each other. The crash should be violent, unintentional, chaotic, and dangerous. And it provides Alice with a dramatic shift in expectations... "That's not a moon... it's a flying contraption!" At which point she'll board it and fight her way to the control room - much like Pirates of Ye Olde Times.
This is a prison break. It's a multiple high jacking. And it's turning all the orderly, beautiful, purpose-built things in Alice's world upside down. "Toys become weapons!" and "Little girls become pirates!"
So...
Let us know in the Comments what you think about everything presented here. Should the Balloon be based on Humpty Dumpty? How do you feel about Alice as a Sky Pirate?
More updates, art, and design this week - plus we'll announce the Live Stream (usual time on Thursday, Hong Kong Time).
PS: Thank you, everyone, for the kind wishes and understanding in response to my situation last week. I hate feeling ill and hate when I am unable to post updates and keep everyone in the loop.
PPS: To all of our Insane Children in the USA... Holy Sh!t... stay safe over there! I can barely make myself look at all the crazy stuff being shared across social media. I sincerely hope everyone comes through this alright. And my heart goes out to everyone impacted by what's going on.
PPPS: I have lots of opinions on the political and societal issues underlying these upheavals... but the strongest statement I can make is this: I left the US back in 2004 in response to injustices and disparities - within the borders of the US and through its actions abroad - because I felt I could no longer be part of what I saw as a broken system. As we talk about when discussing Alice: Asylum, I believe that the first stage of true transformation is "solve" (dissolving) - and perhaps that's what we're finally seeing in the US. If that's the case, then I hope it leads to rebuilding around principals of fairness and equity for all. And... That's what I have to say about that! Apologies for the political aside!
From Shanghai with Relief (from migraine pain),
-American
Comments
I may be insane (see what I did there?) but I think I recall Humpty being in the hub area for "Caterpillar's Plot" in AMA; sitting next to one of the archways cracked open. Plus I also think he's in the sequel book "Through the Looking Glass" so it makes total sense to me for him to show up here again!
Heck yeah, Sky Pirate, lemme get out a Alice and FF12 Balthier fan art XD Also, as an insane child from the US, I can attest to the alchemy and chaos from my side of the states. In fact, we had about 2000 people gather, protest, and march organizing at my workplace (a massive city park)! The energy was electric and humbling. We almost had a Charlottesville situation happen when marchers returned, one of my friends was hit by a car by someone angry at the protests. Thankfully, she and no one else were seriously hurt and the driver was arrested. So far, our local cities have been supportive of protesters assembling and the marches have been peaceful. Just wanna say we have positive protests in my region and I just wanna illuminate how people are positively assembling. Also, every single marcher wore masks and socially distanced. It's been an amazing thing to behold. Hope everyone stays safe and healthy! ^-^v
Sarah McKeegan
I like the idea of humpty being the balloon and I could see it cracking like an egg each time it gets hit until it’s completely broken.
Stephanie Groth
I think the Humpty Dumpty idea is brilliant! It has me thinking of Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. Would more nursery rhymes be an option? I always thought they were creepy.
Absolutely love the idea of Alice as a sky pirate!
Sky pirate Alice sounds amazing. I also agree that bringing Humpty Dumpty in as the moon is a great idea.
Saleh Abu-Rashid
moon baloon
Catheryn Alice North
Yayyy for feeling better ^_^ re balloons, I really like the gravy boat thing, but that might be more to do with the wings than anything else ^_^ really not sure about a humpty dumpty balloon though.
Anna Lepper
Very scary when your head hurts, I put on an old pair of glasses and had a bad headache earlier this week. Hope you can find a solution American! As for the balloon, Humpty seems too similar to the Tweedles for me. The Aeronauts just came out on Amazon Prime Video recently (set in 1862) and just a hot air balloon would've been spectacle enough for Alice! My city has been put on curfew and had the national guard called in, so I'm praying...Solve et coagula.
Glad your doing better, hopefully you’re back to 100 soon! For the balloon, I think the wing attachments would be cool if Alice (the player) was actually controlling it or would control it in the future, but it sounds like she’s just going to crash it. I’ve never made a game so idk, but I think it’s a bit much for animation and everything if it’s just going to be a short segment. And, not trying to be a negative Nancy, but I’m also not completely sold on the Humpty balloon. It’s a bit “too much” for me, but it’s subjective, and it might look better to me in-game. I really like the idea of Alice being a Sky Pirate, but then I’d hope that the balloon, or some version of it, would be accessible later. But that would be opening a can of worms in terms of gameplay. And as someone living in the US, and near Seattle, I agree with your “political aside.”
The words "Sky Pirates" will always be linked in my mind to "TaleSpin" and "Skies of Arcadia", formative entertainment of my youth that made me want to grow up to be a pirate until I learned that was not a viable career path in the 21st century. My disappointment was immeasurable. Hope you feel better soon, the "Asylum" does give a good escape from the madness of the world. I'm always interested in having discussions and debates on political issues, especially with somebody who feels strongly enough to take a stand as it were...but who wants to get wrapped up in political asides when there's balloons to crash into the moon?
I like the visual of Humpty and the Moon crashing into each other violently. I picture it as a face to face collision. Being that it is a Humpty Dumpty inspired ballon would it crack like an egg?
Adam Kay
Alice as a Sky Pirate does sound interesting. More so if she tries (and fails) at a pirate accent and lingo at least once.
American McGee
I'm a bit... "on the wall" har. I just came here to say that :P (Actually, I also like the idea but by crashing him into the Moon we're effectively killing him... which does seem to be his lot in life. And it might be interesting ammo for The Queen to use against Alice, "Your violent actions led to the DEATH of Mr. Dumpty!")
Wendy Jaa
I hope it's just your computer causing you pain, and there's a way to solve it! I actually kinda like the idea of a humpty dumpty balloon. It's cute, but also horrifying!
