Dear Insane Children, 

While Alex has provided you with some excellent updates on the progress he and the team are making on the Alice: Asylum Design Bible, I wanted to give you an update on Oz and Life in Lockdown. 

(Alice views the Little Black Book of Radcliffe – WIP from Omri) 

Lockdown 

Shanghai these days is strange. For the sake of pandemic control, the city of 26 million people has been split in two – East (Pudong) and West (Puxi). And each area is being locked down independently for 5 days. We live on the Pudong side and we’re almost finished with our lockdown. Tomorrow (Friday) at 5 AM, we’re set free and the other half of the city goes into lockdown. 

Life in lockdown is pretty boring. We still get food deliveries so we’re not going to starve. But we’re not supposed to leave our homes. And certainly not able to leave our ?? (xiaoqu). Depending on where you live, you may be able to actually go outside and walk around inside your ??. We’re fortunate to have an actual yard – and to live in a place with relatively low population density so that walking around inside the ?? is allowed. 

The notion of a ?? is something core to why China has been able (so far) to control the pandemic so well. And I think more people outside of China should be made aware of this idea so here goes: 

A ?? ?xiaoqu) – pronounced “shaow chu“) translates to “community” in English. But that hardly captures the reality of the word in Chinese. It would be better to say “housing community” or “micro-district” or even better, “gated community.”

Almost everyone in the major cities of China lives inside a gated community. Basically, a bunch of villas or apartment buildings contained within a single development and surrounded by an exterior wall (that wall often being an integrated line of shops, cafes, and other businesses that service the interior community).  

Every ?? has guarded gates that provide the only way in/out of the community. 

And that’s where the “magic” of China’s pandemic control comes from. Those gates (and guards) that you normally view as keeping non-residents OUT… are quickly and easily made to keep residents IN. So during these waves of pandemic control, we are all effectively locked into our micro-communities. 

Now, I bet a lot of you westerners (especially Americans?) are freaking out at that idea! 

And fair enough. This sort of thing certainly does not jive with the “give me liberty or give me death” individualist mentality so cherished by the world’s most freedom-y people.

I am not here to tell you “this is the way” or to convince you that this is even better. It’s just how things are done here – and people living here *like* this and are happy with it. So you let them have their ?? life and you keep on breathing your Freedom Air(TM) and loving it.

Thought you all might like to know more details related to how China is handling pandemic control. 

Meanwhile, 99% of the cases being reported here are “asymptomatic” so it’s not even clear what it is that they are controlling. A virus they can detect only when they test for it? In a population that’s 99% vaccinated? Personally, I am unsure why they continue to fight it… but here we are. 

Meanwhile in Oz

End of the day, lockdown (in whatever form) doesn’t really bother me or my family. We work from home anyway. And we have a yard for Lucky to play in. And, as I said, food and supplies are still delivered. So we just keep our heads down and work. 

And I’m working on Oz! Trying to tease out the heart of the narrative. That’s slow work but I am making progress. Watching all these characters come to life. This is a much more complicated writing process than what’s done with “Alice” – a story where most of the characters are in fact only one of the characters (Alice and her psychological representations). With Oz, every time I sit down to write, I end up with MORE characters and MORE characters and… whew. 

Gareth continues to crank out amazing art – like the image (above) of the Conquistadors riding into a Munchkin village. 

And there’s work being done on 3D models… Like the Spanish Captain: 

And do you want to see something in interactive 3D? How about this monkey… 

Well, download the Marmoset viewer! It will allow you to rotate and zoom in on the model. Link to download marmoset viewer is here:

https://marmoset.co/toolbag/viewer/

Link to marmoset monkey file at the bottom of this post.

Check it out! He’s really beautiful to look at in 3D. 

This is Necahual. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with her… Here are some notes:

She enters Oz with the Spanish as a powerless slave. Kidnapped from the Aztec empire. With her child (a 5-year-old boy) in tow. The Spanish leverage this connection to control her. But she will escape her captors. She’ll use her skills to survive the wilds of Oz. She will befriend a race of beings (monkeys? winkies? munchkins?). She will receive training in magic. She will be given a unique weapon or vehicle (wand, hat, broom)? She will directly confront her captors – Spanish Conquistadors – and defeat them. She will then go on to battle the Dark Wizard. And at the end of her story, she will have ascended to being the most powerful witch in Oz.

But She’s lost everything – family, home. She saw it all destroyed. What does she want? Initially, her only concern is to protect her child. But she sees the child murdered before her eyes by (? probably the Dark Wizard). Now she’s lost everything. And now she wants total revenge. But how can she have that when she’s powerless against magic and technology?

As an Aztec, she decides it’s in her fate to destroy the world and bring about the 6th turning. 

Once she gains power in Oz, she resolves to use it to bring forth the end of the 5th sun. This pits her against the Dark Wizard and Spanish Captain and many of the inhabitants of Oz.

She is a “Dorothy” without a home and because she refuses to transform (to accept Oz as her new home), she is ultimately overcome by evil. What do you do when you have nowhere left to call home? 

— 

There’s a theme emerging from the characters as I sketch them out… related to “progress” or the spread of “civilization” and which side these characters stand on. Tradition vs. Progress. 

I’m not sure yet if Necahual should be allowed to go on to destroy the world. 

In some of the notes I’m working on… the Spanish Captain ultimately redeems himself by transforming himself into someone capable of the empathy and sacrifice necessary to stop Necahual and save Oz (and Earth). 

But by tomorrow evening… maybe he’ll be back to a standard bag guy? Maybe Necahual won’t destroy the world? 

Anyway, I don’t expect you to find any easily identified heroes in this story! Ha. 

In Other News

Excellent progress is being made on all the TV/game developments we’re doing with Radar: Alice (TV series); Akaneiro (TV series); and Oz (game/TV series). 

David continues to refine his TV pitch for presentation to the streamers (Netflix, etc)

A writer has been brought on to develop Akaneiro for TV – he’s great; really clear vision for that project. I assume Radar will make some sort of announcement about him soon. 

And Radar just introduced a really strong animation partner for Oz – a team with an amazing track record and existing ties to Netflix.

I kinda feel like 2022 is going to bring a lot of excellent news on all of these projects. 

YAY!

And, as always, we could not have done any of this without YOU. 

As we announce more progress on these projects… I will do everything I can to involve our Insane Children. Can’t promise so much on the Alice TV stuff (I have a lot less control/leverage there). But for Oz and Akaneiro – I’ll be sure to bring you all into the inner circle as much as possible. 

Whew! That’s a lot going on. 

Let us know in the comments below what you think. 

From Shanghai in Lockdown, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Font Lord here with the usual quick monthly reminder of what print is next.

As you can see above, it is the rather dynamic “Jabberwock Battle”.
This is for March Patrons charged in April.

So you have 2 days left to change your tier if you like the look of this print, and yes, as usual, it will also become a choice for the 3x$35 tier patrons too.

That is all   🙂 

– Cheers 

Dear Insane Children, 

Font Lord here again with a follow up to the jigsaw post from a few days ago.

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions.
We’re already doing some of them and looking into others, while also asking for a sample from the factory and all the usual good stuff we do before making a product.

We have compiled a selection of prints we think would be good below.
Please vote for what you think would make a good jigsaw.
(Also please note that some of the images would need to be adjusted to fit in the 70cm x 50cm template we have to use)

Again, we have no way to moderate how many votes you cast, but please choose your top THREE only.

And as usual, we reserve the right to use this as a guide only and make a decision ourselves should we determine that be necessary. 

– Cheers 

Dear Insane Children, 

Thank you to everyone who downloaded and commented on the “Gates of Rutledge”.
I am blown away by the response, and it’s a special thing to share these experiments in sound with you all.

We’re going to keep sharing more of these soundscapes as we go, so please stay tuned.

I’ll see you in the next post!

Cheers,

Alex

Dear Insane Children,

Hello again everyone, Alex here with more Design Bible updates.

This time, we’re sharpening our Vorpal Blade(s) and discussing a HUGE subject, and one that I feel is among the most important aspects for any prospective Alice game.

Combat.

Before we get into it, who else really wants to see Alice dual-wielding blades after seeing this image from Omri above?

High-resolution downloads for all of the art and content in this post are available at the bottom as a ZIP folder if you would like to zoom in and see everything in detail.

Or, simply watch the video infographic explaining the core ideas on American’s YouTube channel here.

Let’s go.

Combat Loop Foundation – V1.1

There is a lot covered here in this new DB content, but the core I feel is the pinnacle of the Combat Loop being the Vorpal Blade. We want to be looping you back to combat with the blade at the most critical points in gameplay. 

Ranged weapons can trigger stuns, do some damage on larger foes, and are great for strategy and crowd clearance, or may be required to initiate a Damage Phase on a Boss, but at the end of it, we want you up close and personal with enemies, hacking and slashing when it matters most.

A dynamic mix of close-range priority combat. Dashed with ranged attacks to level the playing field or satisfy certain criteria in combat as they arise.

As far as presenting these ideas go, we want to be presenting them in a concise way that shows the thought, care, and potential in the concept. Without overwhelming you in the presentation and execution.

Suitable to digest and enjoy for a fan. Clear for an investor to comprehend. And understood from a potential developer’s perspective from a technical standpoint.

A base understanding and a good pitch are what we’re making here in the Design Bible.

And that base information can be refined and explored fully if we are greenlit in development.

Within the diagram above on the first page, you can see how this combat system could potentially flow.

Each phase triggers in any order. And links to any other phase in succession. 
For example;

Example of a Combat Encounter A;

An enemy attacks Alice. The player dodges the attack, watching for enemy tells and weak spots as they strike. Alice lashes out with her Vorpal Blade. The enemy is slain, and Alice replenishes her ammo from spawned items dropped.

Phases: (1. Evasion/Defend, 2. Observation, 3. Vorpal Core Combat, 4. Replenish.)

Example of a Combat Encounter B;

Impact. The player is hit. Get out of harm’s way to avoid another attack, and Alice notices another threat incoming. She repositions herself for safety and continues the fight.

Phases: (1. Evasion/Defend, 2. Observation, 3. Evasion/Defend, 4. Observation, 5. Evasion/Defend.)

Example of a Combat Encounter C;

Alice staggers a distant enemy with a suitable attack, then fires a shot into a bunch of enemies for crowd control. Alice disengages, then gets up close with the survivors to do damage with the Vorpal Blade. More dodging as enemy blows rain in. She tries to parry an attack in order to stagger an enemy. But… {FAIL} YOU’RE HIT! Time to find health, time to restock ammo, re-assess, more baddies flooding in. What do you do next? How do you react?

Phases: (1. Ranged Attack/Exploit, 2. Ranged Attack, 3. Evasion/Defend, 4. Vorpal Core Combat, 5. Evasion/Defend, 6. Evasion/Defend, 7. Replenish, 8. Observation.)

The system above is created using the parameters outlined in the Combat Loop. It can bounce around these phases and decision processes as many times as needed to complete a combat encounter.

Far fewer decisions to make, and more time to do so on Easy difficulties.
More choices to make, and higher stakes in quick succession on Harder difficulties.

Add in the Rune/Modifier abilities, (currently, 12x at time of writing, equip any 2x in game-play), plus limited special states of Hysteria/Inferno and their individual mechanics, plus the arsenal of ranged and melee weapons, each with primary and secondary modes… not to mention combo attacks and melee combat inputs at the core with the Vorpal Blade…

Alice: Asylum on paper has a massive potential combat tool kit.

These ideas are either narrowed or expanded when we use that combat toolkit in the landscape of the Gameplay Difficulties we mentioned in earlier posts.

Lower difficulties = unlimited ammo and less aggressive enemies. (Spam, have fun).

Harder difficulties = Git Gud or get rekt. PS; watch your ammo. (The fun is in the challenge).

Again, accessibility and broad appeal is American’s preferred approach to Game Design.
So we’re taking that on board in every facet as we move forward with the Design Bible.

We give you the choices.
You choose how you want to play.

There’s a LOT more to go to design and capture the full Combat Loop on paper, but it is definitely all coming together cohesively, one piece, and one gib at a time.

I am very excited to share more potential violence with you all as we go.

Next up, I am deep-diving into presenting each of the weapons, modifiers, and potential attacks in the supplementary combat systems in the Design Bible as we go, alongside the key narrative content. A big one to work on, so it might be a while until the next post.

But for now?
I think we have a solid foundation to play with and present here and plenty of good discussion points.

Let us know what you think.

Sound off in the comments.

—–

Dear Insane Children, 

Font Lord here letting you know what we’re going to do next and asking for a bit of advice from those in the know.

We want to do a jigsaw puzzle.
It’s looking like a 1000 piece jigsaw that will be 70cm X 50cm when complete.

But this isn’t really something we’ve done before, so we just wanted to put the feelers out and ask if there might be anything we’re overlooking or any subtleties we need to take into consideration.
So those of you who are avid puzzlers, what do you think?
Do you have any pearls of wisdom to share?

Also, any ideas for the actual jigsaw picture?

American thinks the above picture would be pretty great, and I agree.
But it would be nice to hear if there’s any fantastic suggestions we might have overlooked.

Once this is all sorted out and made, the idea is to do what we did with the Calendar previously.
Simply put it into the Mysterious store and then all Patrons get a discount code.  
(Jigsaw price and discount code percentage not yet finalised)

So please, sound off in the comments.

Big Hugs from Covid Lockdown in Shanghai!

– Cheers