We’ve mentioned again and again how important it is to be a registered member of the forum.  Too often, you will wind up missing something crucial and important such as a little note that was sent out earlier today.

This message has already been found by many and decrypted, if you can imagine.  It begins the next chapter of our Game, even though we’re still a little short of all of pieces you needed to complete the prequel.  That is no one’s fault, surely, since we’re positive that you have enlisted the help of your friends, family members and distant colleagues in helping the Facebook page reach its goal of 10,000 fans.  If you were wondering about the other challenge of making sure that thewhiterabbit has 5,000 followers, there’s a different kind of treat attached to that one.  Here’s a hint:  You already got one piece.

What’s that?!

The time is drawing closer for even more luscious information to be revealed about Alice: Madness Returns, and there are numerous ways in which we will ensure that your every (reasonable) curiosity is satisfied.

However, in the spirit of that, we’d like to know what YOU would ask if you could sit down with our developers and creators.  We will be conducting interviews very soon, and while we will be covering the general range of questions that are burning in everyone’s mind (who’s doing the music, why the Unreal 3 engine, which characters will be returning), there has to be something else you’d like to know.

Remember that we’ll be speaking with every department from programmers to level designers to sound design and beyond.  You can ask about nearly anything (though immensely personal questions probably won’t make the cut), and the best questions will be included in the interviews, and we might even mention your name.

Time is running out, however.  Get your questions submitted soon in the comments here or take part in the discussion on the forum.

You may have noticed that there’s a new puzzle available here.  You’ll also be glad to know that no interns were employed in the creation of this puzzle, despite much whining and pleading.  (Those of you on the forum will actually get that joke…)  Yes, it contains another clue.  And, no, I still am not making it easy.  Because I’m evil.

In other more friendly news, Gamasutra put out not one but TWO articles yesterday of great interest to us.  The first was an excellent interview with American and RJ about how the Alice: Madness Returns project came to fruition, and it includes a few suspicions we’ve had about American’s mysterious time at Maxis.

I know you two have been working together for quite a long time. How did you start? Have you been working together ever since?

American McGee: I had been at EA for several months at Maxis, when they were working on The Sims. The Sims team finally ejected me because I kept suggesting ways to kill the Sims in horrible ways [emphasis is ours], so I came over to Redwood Shores.

I was, shortly thereafter, introduced to RJ, and we were told to get to work on an original IP. We finished the Alice project, and then for a while we went out separate ways, then came back together again when I got to Shanghai to start up this studio there called Spicy Horse.

The last three years have been a very, very focused effort working together on new projects.

You can read the rest of that article here.

And in a related article, there’s a slightly different discussion about how the fans have responded to this interpretation of Carroll’s work:

“But this Alice that we did has taken on a life of its own. You see it in, for example, the tattoos fans have gotten — people take hold of this not just as a game but as a version of Alice in Wonderland that’s as vibrant as any that’s ever existed,” McGee adds. “We feel very lucky that we’ve managed to uncover this direction, and we’re going to continue to be true to it.”

You can peruse that one over here.

This may or may not have anything to do with what you’re looking for.  In fact, it probably doesn’t.

But it is time to reveal a slightly larger view of what you think you might be doing.

No task is without purpose.  Even the smallest morsel is meant for consumption, though one should be careful not to overwhelm the appetite with trifles, spoiling the enjoyment of a main course.  Appetites, after all, are meant for managing so that they may serve you the best, lest you be the one served up instead.  And you know very well what comes after that…

Rather, it could be better to entertain yourself as our dear friend has been known to suggest with a nice cup of tea.

But… are we really only nothing but weak-tea-partakers, those of poor constitution?  We suggest you might fancy something a little more exotic, something more exciting, something… daring.

If you so chose to follow these directions, you would probably begin by finding a nice muslin bag of respectable size, and you might collect most or all of the following in said bag.  (Cloth for extracting whey from cheese might also be employed, but it tends to make the result greasy if not washed properly.)

• 3 or 4 whole peppercorns
• at least a 1/4 of a teaspoon of the seeds of a fennel
• 4 or 6 whole cloves
• 4 or 6 pods of cardamom
• a stick or two of wood bark cinnamon from Champa, near Siam
• a few corns of cracked allspice
• an 1/8 to a 1/4 teaspoon of rough-grated nutmeg
• a slice or two of fresh ginger root, for the adventurous
• a bit of cracked shell from a vanilla pod, as per those heathenous Inuits
• a star or two of anise if you prefer your potions to waft of reviled Ostara confections

In another sac of muslin – or mesh or wire if you so desire – place four tablespoons of a fine, rich rough-cut Darjeeling (although an Oolong or other poorer black-leaf would do for the monstrously desperate).

Once your raw components are suitably secured within the muslin, crush them gently between your palms so that the scent becomes evident, and then add this brutalized sac to a quart of fresh, clean water.  Bring  to severe agitation and let it remain for at least a sixth of an hour (or as long as a quarter, if you prefer your potions of considerable strength and bitterness), and then remove from heat.  At this point, add the Darjeeling (because, of course, that is what you’ve decided to use) and let it sit away from the fire for another twelfth of an hour.

Sweeten with your preferred nectar, though not too much, and add only enough rich dairy to lighten the color slightly without losing too much of the heat.  While civilized folk take their exotics hot along with a light curry, some of bohemian inclination have been known to lose all heat altogether and imbibe over ice.