americanmcgee
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Happiness in Contradiction
🕑 Added 2019-07-03 02:30:28 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
Apologies for being quiet lately - I've been playing hospital ambulance driver and nurse for a sick doggo and a pregnant wife. Everyone is doing alright now but Lulu required a bit of minor surgery and Yan's hospital visits are now becoming weekly. Only 8 weeks left until the arrival of Freedom Gas McGee (we really need to come up with a better name). And Lulu's recovering nicely. She's a tough little doggy...
YouTube Livestream
Hit THIS LINK to head over to YouTube and set a reminder for tomorrow's stream!
This will be a 4th of July stream - at least here in China. It's the usual, 9AM Hong Kong Time - 6PM PST in the US.
We'll discuss continuing progress on the Denial Stage of Asylum with lots of art to review and story elements to consider.
Denial is a Contradiction of Reality
Philip K. Dick famously said, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Denial is a defense mechanism which involves a refusal to accept the reality of a situation. But it is often also mixed with behaviors such as Regression, Sublimation, and Projection.
In Alice's case, her mind has engaged a number of protective mechanisms in the stage of Denial. Regression (to an earlier, happier time) and Sublimation (creation of an alternate reality) chief among them.
The horrible events of the fire are dressed up in costumes to hide their true horror.
Norm sends along a wonderful cast of characters from the Circus Realm. Actors dressed as a variety of Wonderland characters - each playing a part in the creation of an illusion. I love the fact that two dunces - The Tweedles - are in charge of this production. Because we are being pretty dumb when we deny the reality of our existence and live a life of illusion and lies.
Modern society teaches us that pain (suffering, sacrifice, effort) is something to be avoided. But the reality is that pain is a teacher. In fact, pain is The Teacher. In its various guises, pain (negative feedback, death, pressure, repercussion, cost) is what gives us impetus. Without the force exerted as a result of our mistakes or misfortunes we'd have little reason to learn, to change, or to adjust our stance towards the world.
Alice can only exist in Denial for so long. At some point the mask slips and she must confront the reality of the fire and its destruction of the life she had before. Not just her life - but her Self. Only through pain (accessed through the House of Horrors) will she learn and grow.
Of course before the Reckoning with Reality, Alice will have a chance to enjoy the "fun" on offer in the Circus Realm. And play a part in The Greatest Show in Wonderland!
This realm and its content are coming together nicely.
What are your thoughts on what's presented here? Share in the comments below. We'll address your Suggestions and Feedback during tomorrow's stream. Yay!
Font Lord Reminder
It's the start of the new month. Martin is busy with data wrangling. You should see an email next week (week of the 8th of July) if you're expecting a Survey for your 3x$35 Art or Chaos Necklace ($75) rewards.
Cheshire Kitten Note
We're getting close... As soon as all the final bits are together here in the studio (bag sample, Kitten, embroidered patches, and Early Access artwork), I'll post a full update to Announce the Kickoff of that as our Patreon Reward. All of that should be happening this week - which means that we can try to hit the Goal this month (July).
But DO NOT DO ANYTHING YET! We're going to post Full Instructions along with an easy-to-use $50 Tier for this Reward. We haven't yet added the new Tier, so don't go looking for it!
The reason for the $5 Price Increase (vs. The Plush Rabbit)? Because the toy and bag cost more this time around. The toy price increased due to the increased complexity of the embroidery and design. The bag increased in price because it's bigger, waterproof, and printed with reflective material.
Keep in mind that $50 gets you the complete Collector Set plus Free Shipping (yes, to anywhere in the world). That includes:
- Cheshire Kitten Plush
- Nylon Waterproof Bag (with reflective design)
- Cheshire Embroidered Patch
- Early Access Code for the Cheshire Lair in Alice: Asylum
- Free Shipping everywhere in the world
But wait, there's more! No, actually, there isn't more ... but you DO NEED TO WAIT!
A dedicated post containing all the details, images of the Collector Set items, and instructions on how to quality, will be posted very, very soon.
Meow!
As usual, feedback and questions in the comments below! We'll address those things during the livestream tomorrow!
See you all tomorrow!
From Shanghai with Happiness,
-American
Comments
sumblinker
Get well guys. <3 That name is terrible., You should make a poll or something. XD
Suggestion: Bacon McGee
truth_decay
Here... I thought American McGee couldn't be topped. Then I heard of Freedom Gas McGee and my whole world shifted. I think it's perfect. :D
I believe the 4500 was put in place to allow time for the Cheshire plush to go through his various stages of development. Now that he's ready, the goal is likely to be re-evaluated.
Kizu
I'm not sure that we'll can reach 4500 goal in July =( but I hope and try to agitate to subscribe my friends interested in this х)
I have 2 questions: 1) do we really stick with the uncatlike face that has no depth and no nosebridge? If so: very dissapointed! 2) if the ches plus comes in a separate tier of $50 does it still count for the 3x$35 pledge towards a poster? If not, again: very dissapointed, cause we could do it with the rabbit plush!
You're the savior people need and deserve, I'm glad to see Humpty in the game even if it's just a tiny role, I shall most definitely go all in on Ches for I will be getting a tattoo of him and the plus would make a perfect gift for my baby sister
Brotchen
I guess I got caught up with reading in general that that slipped my mind sorry!
American McGee
Kiss delivered!
American McGee
Lulu is a strong girl. But I will admit that I was a little worried. Thank you, for the kind words.
American McGee
Katy, I apologize that Patreon doesn't have a GIANT font and Super Bold option or I would have used that when I wrote above that you should not do anything yet. Silly me, I thought the ALL CAPS would work! ;)
Brotchen
so should I change my thing to $50 from $45? just asking cause I'm hyped for the plush
Cherrie Wu
The Cheshire plush looks so good! I'm super excited for it
Melissa Chanyarlak
I will have to catch up on the rest of this post tomorrow, but I just had to say I’m so glad that Lulu is okay and recovering! My dog just had a major surgery and the recovery process is taking so much out of me so I can imagine how busy you are with everything going on. I’m super excited for the Cheshire kitten!
I love the Cheshire cat plush and all the art. That's the reason I bought the first game long ago. I'm honored and grateful to help with some money, and receive items from this game.
Chaussette
Poor Lulu! Norm's Sketches are amazing - I think that these "actors" suit the narrative of this game very well. I also love the pretty swan boats, sounds very Victorian to me. These circus posters are great, how about making many different ones and having a collecting mini-game with them? Like, scatter them around the circus tents (or the flower maze) and the player has to collect them. It makes exploring really fun!
Wendy Jaa
Give Lulu a kiss for me! I love all the work being done in Denial, and I love this new show poster. You guys are all doing amazing work and I'm glad to have the best set of artists working on this project. 😁
