Dear Insane Children, 

Now that we’ve got some idea of what Alice’s face looks like…

We need to start work on her body. 

But first – Why are we doing (or re-doing) this work now? 

Because we have an opportunity to engage a professional 3D Model Builder to create a next-gen ready 3D model of our Alice from Alice: Asylum. 

And we can then use that model as part of our pitch to publishers/investors. And make quick animations as you see here: 

Sample 1 

Sample 2 

I Am Not My Body

Take a look at the concept images sent over by Joey. They show the main character of our game (Alice) in a relaxed A-Pose. These are the kind of images our 3D Modeler will use to create a high-detail 3D model of Alice. 

As with the face, these images come with some caveats: 

First, we’ll never see an in-game Alice undressed in this fashion. The a-pose image here (top) is used as a reference to understand the underlying form, bone structure, and musculature of Alice. These bits of information help to inform how she rests, bends, stretches, moves, and reacts. 

Second, as with her face, the image of Alice we see here is a mental representation – the way in which 23-year-old Alice sees (recalls) her 13-year-old self. It is in some ways idealized, in others a sort of caricature. Try to examine the way in which you recall and represent your younger self. Then place that representation upon a mental landscape. That’s what we’re going for.

Beyond that… we’ll need to decide which dress we want to use for this Standard Model. My feeling is that we go with either the Ash Dress or the Classic Dress. But I’d like to hear your thoughts on that as well… 

So have a look at the dresses and drop your feedback into the Comments below.

Keep in mind that this model will be used as a  Sales Tool going forward. And that we may not have the ability to continue adding dresses – so we need to put our best foot (dress) forward. 

I’ve got my own thoughts and feelings about the artwork… but I am going to sit on those for a while. I always find that my initial reactions are less valuable than my thoughts a day or two later. 

But be sure to put your feedback into the Comments below and we’ll discuss during the next live stream. 

From Shanghai in an A-Pose, 

-American

PS: The title is borrowed from a quote by Eduardo Galeano:

“The Church says: the body is a sin.

Science says: the body is a machine.

Advertising says: The body is a business.

The Body says: I am a fiesta.”

? Eduardo Galeano, Walking Words

Dear Insane Children,

Yes. Lobsters. Yes. In Space. 

If you want to know what that’s all about – that probably means you missed our Live Stream over on Twitch yesterday. Sad? Well don’t be! 

Here’s a link of the recording which we’ve posted to YouTube: 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLmq55plJOE 

Now you can watch as Martin and I laugh until we cry about 3-PPO and discuss Lobsters in Space. 

From Shanghai with Claws, 

-American

(in a low whisper)

dear insane children, 

it’s 5:40am in shanghai but i just read an email that i have to share even though i am not supposed to. it’s from someone we recently brought onto to project to help move things forward on the dealmaking side. 

he wrote this morning to relay important news. a big movement forward in a critical place. 

that’s really all i can say. but this is great news. and it means that larger gears are turning. this puts us back on the path towards our goal. 

super yay! 

now, be like lucky and pretend you didn’t hear any of this. 

more updates when i am able. i promise. 

keep your fingers crossed. and THANK YOU (oops, shhhh) for your support and trust so far. 

we’re getting there!

from shanghai with secrets, 

-american

ps: this is a patron only post and will not unlock to the public. please do keep it quiet. thanks.

Dear Insane Children

Font Lord here again, wanting to pick your brains and wrangle some information from out of the deepest, darkest depths of your mind.

When it comes to the calendar we are looking into making, do you think that ‘wall hanging’ or ‘desktop flip’ would make the best choice?
(FYI, the desktop flip calendar would be monthly, not those ‘daily’  ones you see)

Like these examples…

Please let us know by taking the poll below   🙂

– Cheers

Dear Insane Children, 

If you’ve seen the relevant section in “The Art of Alice: Madness Returns” you’ll know that the development team really struggled to define the look and feel of Alice’s face. Ken Wong directed a multitude of studies by various concept artists and illustrators – trying on different art styles (painterly, photo-realistic, caricature) combined with various facial expressions, themes, and “modes” (asylum, London Streets, Wonderland). 

This was a protracted and frustrating process for everyone involved. Mainly because many of the people involved had very different ideas about what Alice should look like – and why she should look that way. For many, it was a chance to stamp their impression (brand, name, style) on the game’s most visible asset. For others, the issue was simple: Make her Alice. 

After months of false starts, barely any glimmers of progress, lots of weird-arts “stuff” getting made, I felt that the wider team’s frustration levels had reached a plateau. Calls for sensible exploration were being ignored. Lots of time was being wasted. And lots of processes being held up because we didn’t have a solid definition of our main character. Enough! 

I put my foot down. I seem to recall making a pretty serious ultimatum on the topic… basically a “my way or the highway” moment with one or two of our key art staff. After that, things improved. 

All of that is meant to explain the critical nature of the decisions we’re now about to make. I don’t know if it has to be difficult. But I do know that it’s important – and for good reason. 

What does Alice look like in Alice: Asylum? 

A couple of points to keep in mind before pondering this any further. 

First, we’re seeing Alice through the lens of her own mind’s eye. Everything happening in Alice: Asylum happens inside the mind of Adult Alice (the same Alice we see walking away from the train station at the end of Alice: Madness Returns). How would 24-year-old Alice view her 13-year-old self?

Second, 13-year-old Alice is the ‘avatar’ of Alice’s adventures in Asylum. This is the Alice of 1865. She’s spent a year “nearly comatose” in the hospital. And is now at Rutledge Asylum. Between 1865 and 1873, Alice will remain in a coma – shut off from the real world. This is the period in which “Asylum” takes place. (No, we will not see Alice age or grow physically during this period). 

Third, we need to define Alice now so that progress can be made on other aspects of the design and art which link to her body, face, and overall look. There’s an opportunity for us to generate a hi-res 3D model of Alice – something we could use for our sales pitch and marketing. That may even help open the door to building an actual playable demo (more on that later). 

Lastly, it might help to keep in mind the story of Asylum – especially the fact that she’s been living in a false reality of illusion and denial. When you imagine yourself, do you see an idealized version or something less than? Given her state of mind, who do you think Alice might see herself?

So, with all of that in mind… 

Think about the shape, proportions, style, and “feel” of the concept images provided by Joey. Don’t be bothered by the lack of hair – that’s just a technique for clearly defining the shape of her head. Sit with the images for a while. Maybe you’ll print them out, as I did, and hang them on the wall. Live the images for a while and form a meaningful impression. 

Once you have some thoughts, share them in the Comments below. We’ll read those during the Live Stream this week. 

Live Stream

Same routine as always. 7PM on Wednesday for those of you in PDT. 10AM on Thursday for us here in CST.

We’ll host the stream over on my TWITCH CHANNEL (hit the link to visit and subscribe). 

 https://www.twitch.tv/americanmcgee 

If you miss the stream live you can always watch the recorded show over on my YouTube Channel.

 https://www.youtube.com/americanmcgeeofficial 

NOTE TO EU PATRONS: We know we need to host a stream to fit your time zone. We’ll do that soon… it’s just difficult for me these days because I have to get up at 4:30~5AM each day to take care of Lucky. And am usually in bed (no joke) by 8PM. An hour of reading and then it’s Zzzzzzz… 

PS: This post’s title is borrowed from “The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

From Shanghai with Eyes, 

-American

Dear Insane Children

Font Lord here with a question for you all.
Which are your favorite prints that we have done?    🙂

This year, we’ve remembered early enough that we can do a calendar for 2021, so we’re looking into that now. Checking out suppliers and seeing who can make the bestest and most awesomest quality ones.

But in the meantime, we have a tricky question.
How to choose only 12 pics from ALL the amazing ones we’ve done so far?
Let us LEVERAGE THE POWAH OF OUR PATRONS !!!

Please click HERE to be taken to the survey and let us know what you think.
(Yes I know Patreon allows for polls, but there seems to be no way to allow for a specific number of choices, same with Google Forms. So I went with SurveyMonkey)

If your choice is not on that list, there is an option to write your own choice too.
Wheeee !!

Disclaimer = We still have final choice on what goes into the calendar and this poll is just to strongly point us in the right direction   😛

Webcomic Copyright Cameron Davis 2011