americanmcgee
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Heading to Pirate Jam 2020
🕑 Added 2020-02-25 01:23:50 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
I've begun the return trip to the kickoff point at Yacht Haven Marina on Phuket for the start of Pirate Jam 2020. My days leading up to the event have been spent in quiet anchorages off the beaten path where I've done prep work for the event while keeping a close eye on the global coronavirus situation. These are Strange Days indeed.
If you'd like a sobering overview of where the world currently is in relation to the virus, I highly recommend THIS ARTICLE over at The Atlantic. The basic message is that containment has thus far helped to slow the spread but that a global pandemic is now pretty much guaranteed. And that the negative effects of that spread are now mostly a function of how prepared a particular country (and individuals) might be for the inevitable arrival. It's no longer just a "China problem."
For my part... I don't think this is an end-of-the-world scenario but it will most certainly have a global impact on everything - manufacturing, shipping, finance, and more. The world's on-demand supply chain just isn't built for this sort of event.
I'm curious to hear from you - what's the situation where you live? Are people talking about this? Or does it still seem like some distant non-issue?
In The Land Madness - The Insane Child is King
Our team have recently re-worked the concept for The Knave (servant of The Queen of Hearts).
I sent the following directions to Omri:
An Insane Child is just a representation of one of the children from the Asylum… but in Wonderland.
Imagine that the Asylum contains a boy bigger than the others. He’s broken. He’s a bully. Everyone avoids him.
Now he finds his way into Alice imagination (Wonderland) and represents a figure from The Queen’s Court.
So take an Insane Child (use the original game style of them – Ken’s “bobble head” children are dumb). Dress him as a member of the Queen’s Court. Keep the scars and maybe a bit of the head gear (clamps, etc) that define him as someone from the Asylum.
And the result is the Insane Child Knave from Norm (picture above). I really like this character!
What do you think?
Note: Sorry, Ken, for calling your Insane Children bobbleheads "dumb" - to expand on that in a more mature language: I felt like that was a stylistic choice (borrowed from Mark Ryden, etc) which wouldn't age well. There was a period in time when "put big heads on everything" was original and fun... but that time has passed. Am I the only one who thinks this?
There are tons of new bits of art I'd like to share with you but these files are so huge that it's taking 30+ minutes to download even one. I'm hoping that someone on the team will create a collection of these images in a smaller format (keep them less than 1mb!) and link me to those.
A lot of new art from Dario in there and based on the thumbnails everything is looking really amazing. Here's one that I did manage to download and resize...
This is Hatter's laboratory and observatory from the Bargaining Stage. Really impressive!
Arg, Mateys!
Expect to see a few more updates related to Pirate Jam as I switch gears to focus on that event. It runs from March 2nd to the 12th. And I then (hopefully) head back to Shanghai on the 14th.
Once back home I have tons to catch up on. Yan is busy getting everything ready for Mysterious Makeup and I need to give her some support. Lots of Business Development to catch up on. And, of course, getting back into the grove with work on pre-production for Asylum.
I hope all of you are happy and healthy. And I want to thank everyone for sticking around during this strange time. We'll get through this. And the world will get through this. And I hope... well...
Life has taught me that everything comes in cycles. The best experiences, projects, and periods of time are always proceeded by "tests." We set our sights on a goal and put effort into achieving it. But just before we're able to grab the prize, The Universe says, "Are you sure you've earned this?" And it throws one final boss battle into the arena.
I'm trying to view all the turmoil we're seeing right now as the Big Test prior to the start of the next positive phase.
So I hope that we all manage to keep our heads down, our goals in focus and that we weather this storm to come out the other side into a world of blue skies, white puffy clouds, and sunshine. Who's on board?
As pirates are fond of saying: Hold Fast!
From Chaos with Love,
-American
Comments
Love the child knave illustration, the Hatter’s laboratory looks amazing as well. Hope you have fun during your pirate adventures!
I agree with the big head thing. I have always found it very odd. I dont think it looks good. Here in the UK people are freaking a bit depending on the papers they read. Myself I am not too fussed as we have flu that kills hundreds every year and mutates each year so just similar to flu to me. Kung flu as we are calling it in our household. Stay safe out there and i hope your family and everyone's stays safe x
Sarah McKeegan
Glad you’re still healthy and safe!! Love the Insane child design!! And the library is awesome!!!
I really like the Insane Child Knave design, I think it would work very well in the Alice world. As for "The Virus": here in the (very) southern US, it seems the flu is talked about just as much as the Coronavirus. Not sure what that actually means but maybe people are just ignoring it, at least until it bites them in the butt!
Wendy Jaa
That library is looking beautiful! Good luck with Pirate Jam this year! I hope it brings lots of fun and no sickness. Here in the US, in a buttcrack city in Ohio, there's talk of coronavirus. Everyone knows it's coming. Those who have insurance are scared. Those that don't have insurance have either gotten too paranoid to function, or have already accepted the possibility of death (like me). Yay, American healthcare system! Hopefully if/when I get it, I can survive so that I can play Asylum one day!
Good luck Sailor of Chaos
Stay safe out there!
Oh! The asylum knave is wonderful and the library is lovely. I’m in the UK and any time you go to an NHS webpage or turn something on with a screen or listen to the radio they remind you that it is Mandatory to report certain symptoms if you’ve recently visited “listed” countries. I’m specifically a vet student so also almost every class seems to add it as part of lectures (although as it was a virus within the animal population already it was already in a couple, but it seems the professors really stretch to add it to everything now). Can’t go anywhere without seeing some mention of it.
Dario's art does such a great job of creating a vivid sense of place; what a fantastic addition to the art team! As for the coronavirus, despite Boston being one of the few places to see a case in the US, it still seems terribly distant, a sort of "that virus thing that's happening somewhere over there"...though the stock market getting rocked today certainly perked a few ears but it remains down on everyone's list of worries behind getting to work, getting the kids to school, and all the rest of the day-to-day concerns...I sincerely hope it remains that way. But whatever may come here, there, and everywhere else, everyone stay safe and healthy!
These designs look amazing! I like the look of the Hatter's area for bargaining, it has that aesthetic feel that he usually has (if that makes any sense probably not. People where I live are sort of trying to pretend the virus isn't as bad as it is, which I dislike seeing cause ignoring a problem as large as this one is no way to go about it and ends up making things worse. I hope everyone is staying healthy and well!
Jen
In Canada the Corona Virus seems closer to a non issue. I heard on the radio today that there was only one case in Canada at the moment, and that we should be more concerned about the common flu as it's more dangerous.
I'm happy to see new art! I love this little asylum knave ❤ and I love the detail in Darips image so detailed! glad to know your doing ok and that pirate jam is moving forward:) excited to start our meetings again and wish you well!
