Hi everyone,
Alex here with what I believe will be our last big update on the Alice: Asylum Design Bible before we pull the trigger on it for a public release in the coming weeks.
This will come alongside what I expect is some big news we can finally share with you.
But before we do, we’ll need permission to share it in the public space.
Stay tuned. And fingers crossed.
1) Design Bible version 1.0 Updates – Final Stretch:
Concerning the Design Bible, American and I had a close to 2-hour zoom call this morning reviewing the entire document over screen share.
We discussed locking the last pieces into place and what needs to be done to get it over the line. That’s what I’m working on now. We’re almost there.
After that, it’ll be onto proofreading an expected 406+ page document.
That’s 203 double-page spreads. No small task.
Our initial projections were 250+ pages, at approx ~125 spreads.
So… there’s a bit more to review and double-check.
The sheer amount of work, story, art, and design that has gone into this project over the years is incredible. And we’ve tried to catch it all in the Design Bible format.
In our next release on Patreon for the DB, there will be no blank spots.
All narrative. All current game design outlines. All current pitch material.
And some special extras at the end.
There is still room for detailed design specifics and knuckling down on the rest of the game design this year, and that will be our focus with our potential development partner after the DB v1.0 is released.
All of this will be happening alongside seeking funding. On which there is movement.
The art team is currently working on promotional material for the launch, and I will soon be too.
In the meantime, before I jump back into it, here are some DB updates;
2) Health Pickups (Final Design – For now)
I’ve recently completed the near-final version of the health pickups for Asylum.
From our crowd-design discussions, we felt the right spot to land was a fresh take on the Meta Essence pickups from AMA (2000). We’re also using roses from AMR (2011) as “armor” and 1-hit shields, in Asylum, so we’re balancing the best of both worlds from both games here.
We’ll land here for now unless a better solution comes along.
This artwork was made by me combining meta-essence artwork by Omri, and bottle artwork by Joey to form some new item designs.
Speaking of items;
Here’s a freshly completed new page from the DB.
3) Resources & Items (Final Designs & Lineup – For now)
We’ll let the item work speak for itself, but the approach is to balance the old and new in ways that complement the modern gameplay approach and ethos of Alice: Asylum.
The gameplay concept for adapting the runes/symbols that appear on Alice’s dresses have been established in the Design Bible. Some classics making a return, as well as new faces and twists on the oldies.
Let us know if you feel this is the right mix.
4) Alice’s Dress Runes (Passive Buffs & Modifier Concepts)
12x Runes to uncover and collect.
12x Unique Abilities to mix & match to play your way.
We expect some tweaks, adjustments, and balancing in potential development, but for now, this is where we’re landing initially for the concept.
A sneak peek at the system and some of the abilities that could be at your disposal;
Besides unlocking the new abilities, what is the incentive for collecting all 12 runes you may ask?
A pretty big incentive.
5) Alice’s BFG9000 • The Astral Gateway (Secret Unlockable Weapon)
In rewarding the core gameplay ethos of “Curiosity & Discovery” collecting all hidden 12x runes will unlock a secret room-clearing super weapon.
Which is detailed below;
Something akin to the Jabberwock’s Eye Staff from AMA (2000), but with more versatility and danger. The weapon is an application in the arcane alchemy that ties in closely with Alice’s Wonderland.
I wish I may, I wish I might, burn you all in searing light.
6) A Full Inventory Screen (All of the pieces are coming together…)
And lastly, here is a full inventory screen in the Design Bible.
Shown for the first time with everything in its right place.
This sums up exactly where we are right now on this project.
This is right before we leap into the fray for the unknown ahead.
We’re as well equipped as we’re going to be.
Wish us luck as we try to secure that elusive Alice funding.
The work continues.
Launch material and new pitches/corporate documents to come.
And some very exciting news is incoming once we’re ready to share.
American’s words on our call this morning…
“Once we announce this, there’s no turning back.”
We’ll keep you all in the loop as things happen.
MUCH more to come very soon.
Thank you as always for your continued support of this project.
YOU have helped us get Alice this far.
-Alex