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Prepare for Better Hallucinations
🕑 Added 2019-12-31 03:08:37 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
Here is Shanghai it is New Year's Eve. Woo! 2020 is almost here.
It's been a busy year in which we added Norm and Dario to our art team. We finalized the 2nd proposal for EA and sent that to them back in August - still waiting on a proper reply! And we managed to create some really wonderful physical goods and Asylum related art, design, and narrative.
Heading into 2020 I'd like to see our team drill down on the narrative for Alice: Asylum with a goal of having a complete Design Bible in hand by end of year. This is an ambitious goal for a team as small as ours but one I think we're prepared to tackle - especially with the help of Crowd Design and your support!
Throughout the holiday our art team has continued to produce illustrations and ideas for Hatter's Domain.
Norman sends along new additions to the Creature Menagerie (main images above).
And Dario shares a color illustration of a cottage in Hatter's domain - also my new desktop background!
Schedule For 1st QTR 2020
A number of seemingly unrelated things have combined together such that I'll be away for most of January - and generally very busy (with travel) during the first couple months of 2020.
Normally I would go to Thailand for Pirate Jam route planning in December. And then Chinese New Year sailing in February. And then go to Pirate Jam in April... But my passport was "gone" all of December (visa renewal). And Chinese New Year is in January this year. And we've moved Pirate Jam to March!
So in ~24 hours, I'm flying to Thailand for route planning - 7 days. Then back home for a week. Then back to Thailand for my annual sailing/diving trip. Then back home a few weeks until the start of Pirate Jam 2020.
During that time I'll continue to work and update as much as possible. And our team will still be cranking out art and design. Font Lord is around to provide support. But our usual online Crowd Design and Live Streams are going to be impacted pretty heavily. I appreciate your patience and understanding during this period.
Asylum Plans for 2020
I have my calendar marked to "bother EA" mid-January. This is when I expect most of the people we're dealing with to be back from winter vacation(s). At that time I plan to email not just the BD guy we've been working with but a couple of other parties I know who are interested in seeing Asylum made. We'll try to get things moving - and I'll keep you updated on what sort of response we get.
2020 feels like "The Year" to me - the year in which we finally get things moving with EA. They've had an excellent response to their recent Star Wars (Fallen Order) game. And they'll need more single-player action games in the pipeline for next-gen console releases. We're well-positioned to present them with a compelling argument for why Alice: Asylum should be in the lineup.
On a more spiritual note - 2020 is a Rat Year (Chinese Calendar). And I'm a rat. So is Yan. And my mom. And lots of other important people I love.
Do you know who else is a Rat? Someone born in 1852 on May 4th...
Lots of fun stuff in store for 2020. I'm glad you're along for the ride. And thankful for all the support you've provided.
Let us know in the comments below what you have in store for the New Year. Hopes? Resolutions?
From Shanghai with Eek,
-American
Comments
For the angler fish, it would be best to add glowing dots instead of having his whole entire body dark. Realistically, some angler fish have glowing tipped antenas on their body, so it would make sense. Its best to add them on the angler.
Beautiful new art works, love all the stuff from Norm and Dario. Updated image by Omri is also coming along nicely. My mother and I are also rats, they also happen to be my favorite animal/pet. Hope there new year brings you, Martin and your family great things!
Happy New Year! And I love the creature designs above! Like someone else said, they remind me of a slightly more sophisticated version of the fish people in AMR. I really like the angler and the card guard with wings.
truth_decay
Hey American, I've been practicing 3d modelling. You may receive some messages on twitter with my renditions of some of the art the artists have put together. They might be shit, but I'll do my best. However.... Is there a chance that Martin could do some Martin only streams in your absence? I think he's more than capable, and that might help keeping the momentum in your absence. Just a thought. Plus, who am I going to make obnoxious donations to while you're gone... Please, I need this. :D Martin, lord of the font, lead us to the "content" promised land!
Angel Ellis
Happy new year! Love the designs, creepy, spiney, lovable.
Definitely not Adam Driver
Happy new years! I love the first fish man design, and oh my gosh Dario's piece looks amazing!
my favorite fish footman is the angler...though it can be good to have a variety. the card with scythe is too "rock n roll" but the others are excellent and creepy
Happy New Years!!! These sketches are amazing. They remind me of the murdered fish people the Carpenter hacked up. I can't wait to see how this idea gets incorporated into Alice Asylum. The new art for the Hatter's Domain is stellar. Are we going to use this magenta/purple color scheme throughout the domain? I loved the industrial vibe in AMA and how it merged the mysticism of alchemy into the environment. In AMR, the red/green steampunk color scheme was brilliant as well and gave it such an otherworldly mood. Hatter's domain always had such a dominating presence in the game, and it made the fights grittier and feel more important since little Alice was being dwarfed by the character's presence. I think with Hatters backstory in this game, having his cozy home shattered by the spacetime rift, corrupted and dominated by the aetheral powers beyond him, can truly unnerve the player new or familiar with the Alice series. If this magenta color scheme can corrupt Hatters domain, both in his cozy home and his industrial workshops, we can see how a perversion of alchemy and mysticism traumatizes and consumes this portion of Wonderland. The climax of discovering the Arthurian Crystal Vorpal Blade will be that much more powerful as the magic and mystery of the violation and destruction of Hatters home enshrouds small Alice on her journey through Wonderlands rift.
Nice sketches. Looking forward how they will look in-game.
I'm no rat! I'm a monkey! ;P By the way, Mr McGee, Amid Evil, Arcane Plane, you must see It, it's gorgeous, and with floating islands, as you like!
Cherrie Wu
Glad to know we are all rats here! XD happy new year and all the best in 2020!
Hookboy
Fingers crossed! Hopefully those boneheads pull their heads out of, yeah, and do the right thing.
I was born the year of the rat as well! I hope that this year, I can proceed with moving to California and hopefully getting a small job at the Disney parks. It’s been my dream for a long time to work there. Also, hoping to put together Alice’s circus dress as a cosplay this year.
