Dear Insane Children, 

Just checking in really quick to let you know that there won’t be a … well, I mean you can read the headline. Heh. 

But we WILL HAVE a Live Stream next week. And I’m hoping we can get Alex on there via Zoom. That way, we can talk in depth about the Massive Design Bible Update we posted last week. 

So… got questions? Feedback? General comments of support and love? Share those below! And we’ll address them on that special Live Stream next week. 

Image above… is from Omri. It’s Work in Progress. But still super beautiful. 

Hope everyone is doing well. 

Love from Shanghai,

-American

Posting this 3 days early for our Insane Children. The rest of the world can open it on Halloween! Happy Halloween, Insane Children!  -American

Hi everyone,
Wishing you all the spookiest Halloween!

Alex here with another big update on all movement on the Alice pre-production project.

Lots to get through in this one, heavy spoilers inbound. Let’s go!

First up:

Design Bible – New PDF WIP Update

A new PDF Download for the Alice Asylum Design Bible is available on this post (download link at the bottom of the page).

To download it, scroll to the bottom of this Patreon post, find the underlined text, and hit download. The PDF is best viewed on a desktop computer.

Let’s talk about the Design Bible progress.

1. The ENTIRE story is available in the current PDF download.

You can experience the vision the team has created for Alice’s third adventure in Asylum from start to finish, alongside all the gorgeous artwork and design notes we have created.

2. Almost all the Enemy Outlines have been added and populated, so you can now understand how the enemies will behave in Asylum. More work is needed on this aspect, (I’ll talk more about that in a future post) but it’s a big step in fleshing out the intended experience for the Design Bible.

3. Almost ALL the artwork for the Narrative Portion has been completed. The team and I are still working on slotting in the last pieces of the puzzle, and you’ll note the grey boxes dotted throughout that act as placeholders for work to come.

Here are some new spreads from the current WIP of the Design Bible.

So, what’s next for the Design Bible and Alice?

Recently, American, Adam (our tech guy) and I sat in on a high-level meeting with a potential development partner and all of their heads of department to talk about the scope and budgeting to create the Alice: Asylum game from a development perspective.

We can’t say much, but this development team is as professional and capable as they get.

AAA all the way. You’d already know the games they’ve worked on.

In their own words, we now know the Design Bible and the Game Design Spreadsheets we supplied to this team are “…efficient for directions and estimation for budget/schedules.”

And, their team is “…studying the content…” with the mind to supply us with a “…definite budget and schedule.” The first pass is slated to arrive in our inboxes sometime in November.

So, with that, we wait and see.

With the narrative portion nearing 100% completion, my work (and by extension the team’s) will shift focus to rounding out the intended Game Design aspects of Alice Asylum until we release the completed Design Bible.

I believe the logical approach is to keep all the information available for Asylum in one place so that it can all be readily accessed, referenced, enjoyed, and evaluated by all parties interested in the project. (Fans, development partners, investors, etc.).

We intend to get as much information, art, and design notes in the final DB as possible.

I expect we’ll hit a 90%-95% complete DB by the end of the year, with a bit of time in early 2023 to polish or refine points we’ve missed in the first pass.

We’re looking good.

We’ll keep the momentum.

——

Art & Design Updates

Let’s talk about Guilt. Adam and I have been working on bringing Alice’s Guilt to life and putting blades in its hands.

The image at the top of the post is Adam Narozanski’s refined pass, and the above are the initial sketches I completed.

Here’s a snippet of the design brief;

“The “bad-guy” and what Alice faces here is a manifestation of her guilt. Something that is inside the heart of the Shadow, and a driving force in what created “Shadow Alice.

Alice’s guilt has many faces, so it would be natural that at some point in the fight, this boss would have Bumby’s face or appearance, perhaps Lizzies, perhaps even Alice’s face throughout the fight.

The fight was intended to be against a hollow, sharp and lethal shape-shifter, popping in and out of the “water” around the arena. Made of the liquid in the arena.

Here’s a concept I came up with today (Pictured Above), inspired by the Last Boss of AMA (2000) and the aesthetic of the Shadow. I imagine Bumby’s face or features would appear in the “Hollow” of the head, or, as a mask, that would float, and swap into the head.”

Spooky? I can’t wait to fight that thing.

Next up, Ice Wands and Ice Bows.

Beautiful art from Joey, of Hatter gifting Alice the ice wand in a key story moment.

In designing the weapons for Asylum, American and I wanted to establish familiar tropes and then build on them in new ways that fit.

In the need to satisfy a “long-range precision weapon” for Asylum, (and the desire to have Alice wield a wonderland-Esque bow) here’s how I saw that taking shape.

The ice cracking, then reforming into the concept above by switching the Ice Wand weapon between firing modes so Alice can get her Hawkeye/Katniss on.

There is more work to visualize the attacks and freezing mechanics (to come soon), but I think this new addition fits well and satisfies a “precision long-range sniper” weapon in Wonderland.

Level Design

More from Adam Narozanski, who is talented at making his concept art look like a screencap from the game itself.

Adam’s penchant for making the game “come to life” in his concept art is a valuable asset to the project, and I can’t help but get excited every time I see his artwork of this nature.

More to come!

SPOILERS! Alice’s Family – Reunited by Memory

Omri is working through the penultimate chapter artwork, featuring the reveal of Alice’s Mother and Father and the roles they play in this story.

In writing the narrative for Asylum, one of the biggest core themes American and I created as co-writers was gently following the path of bringing Alice’s story and journey back to her family, her past, and her loss.

The resolution and understanding of her trauma are key for her future.

Despite the bracken exterior and wonder of the game themes, and the tragic darkness of the story, I believe bringing it all back to a real human and emotional anchor is all part of the magic of Alice.

These scenes are beautiful. They are also sad but fit in confronting the realities of loss. I hope the story we’ve crafted, and the artwork represent the care and effort we’ve all put into this.

I can’t wait to see more of these scenes as Omri continues his work.

Lastly, a question of Health

At time of writing, Joey, Omri and Myself are discussing the right choice for Health Pick-ups in Alice Asylum.Joey supplied these “Potion Bottle” concepts last night. I think these are cool, but don’t believe they are the best possible choice.My feedback was;

I think from a design perspective the right choice for recognisable “health” pickups amongst all the other pickups is still up for debate.

I personally think “meta essence” is the best choice for the current gameplay style we’ve mapped out, (recognisable, retro, heart shaped and iconic) but health vials like these are cool too.

With bottles like this, I think it would be hard for a player to distinguish “amounts of health” from the same size bottle with different amounts of liquid.

I’d say full bottles of red liquid, but different sizes and shapes of bottles would be clearer in-game.

More health = bigger bottle.
All bottles, full of red liquid.

This is great o include in the DB Joey, but if you want to have another pass, some different full bottles of health would be perfect. (Small, medium, Large, and Full health variants).”

Joey is now working on some bottle concepts of varying sizes.

Omri suggested “syringes” or “toys” but we discussed the implications of Alice as a child using syringes is problematic for drug-use purposes, and toys are already weapons and ammo, so it clouds the item identification a tad.

So, what do you think?

Here’s the original “Meta-Essence” artwork from AMA. I’d say variants of this design are the right choice for restoring Alice’s health.

And, we are already using “roses” from Madness Returns as 1-hit protection shields in Asylum.

I’d like to see a combo of the previous games Health Pickups return for Asylum, but is this the right choice? Are we missing something obvious here? Are there any other options that fit?

Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Hoo boy, that’s a big post!

Thank you as always for your continued support of the Alice project. If you have any feedback, please drop your thoughts in the comments.

Exciting times are ahead, and there’s still some great work from the team inbound.

Did someone say… weapon skins? Stay tuned.

Happy Halloween everyone, we’ll catch you next time in the design discussions as we near completion on the Alice Asylum Design Bible!

Stay safe. Stay spooky.

A new PDF Download for the Alice Asylum Design Bible is available on this post (download link at the bottom of the page).

Take care of yourselves, and each other.

– Alex

Dear Insane Children,

Font Lord here with your reminder that the next print we’re doing (October Patrons charged in November) is a fantastic double-print as we do every year at this time. Yay!

The header image of this post shows the prints in all their glory.
I don’t think they have names yet though, I’ll have to ask American, and yes, they are two separate prints and not 2 pictures on 1 print.

So if the double print month tickles your fancy, make sure to be at the $75 level BEFORE THE END OF OCTOBER. There’s no reason not to make the change now since you won’t be charged until early November anyway, so waiting until 11:59pm on Oct 31st to change is unnecessary.

A couple of other things of note.

1) If this will be your first time ever at the $75 level, we’ll also send you a Hysteria Rabbit + Bag. 

2) These two prints will be going into the Mysterious Store and also the 3x$35 Tier choice as well in November, but only as single prints, not a double offer.

3) Yes, you can change your tier again to whatever tier you like after you have been successfully charged the $75 in November.

And that’s all there is about the 2022 Double Print for Patreon, but speaking of ‘Double Prints’…

We have had to make some more space on our art shelves in the warehouse, and as such 4 older prints have been permanently removed from Mysterious and the 3×35 tier selection and the remaining stock has been combined into the following 2 products.

CHAOS ALICE + GUILT DRESS (10 remaining at the time of writing)

https://mysterious.americanmcgee.com/collections/new-products/products/double-print-chaos-alice-guilt 

COLLAPSING CHURCH + TEA PORT (5 remaining at the time of writing)

https://mysterious.americanmcgee.com/products/copy-of-double-print-collapsing-church-tea-port?_pos=2&_psq=double&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Hope you’re all doing well.
Big hugs from Shanghai   🙂 

– F0ntL0rd 

Hi all,

Alex here with some updates on special state outlines as we flesh out the Design Bible.

Here is our first take on building out the special states for Alice: Asylum.

The first is; Inferno (a brand new special state) and the second expands on Hysteria (from Madness Returns). 

The approach is that each end of the gameplay spectrum (success and failure) are rewarded for keeping you in the game by rewarding your playstyle. You choose one to aim for.

If you’re a gun and want to bank on consistent combat success, Inferno is for you.
If you’re playing it close to the knife edge and expect a death save will help, Hysteria is for you.

One or the other is selected.

Not both.

Let’s start with Inferno.

This special state was created as a necessity to reward skilled play.

In design discussions, one of the gripes we had discussed playing Madness Returns was that a player’s skill went unrewarded if they kicked butt in combat. 

You progressed, but if you were great at the game and didn’t suffer any damage, you could effectively run near the whole game without ever activating Hysteria, thereby missing one of Madness’s coolest and most iconic mechanics.

The rationale from the Design Bible is below;

“Unlike Hysteria, where Alice triggers the state automatically when her health is low, Inferno is a “super meter” that builds by chaining large combo hits and defeating enemies in repeated, rapid succession. Inferno acts as a reward for highly skilled combat performance.

The Inferno Bar is sustained only through specific item pick-ups or increased successfully via continued, perfect combat execution.

Once the bar is full, Alice can “trigger” the Inferno attack state whenever she chooses.

When triggered, a special high-damage fire-based burst attack is initiated, and then the Inferno bar will drain, allowing for a limited time “Super State”. During this time, Alice has access to special buffs in combat and exploration for a short time.

Each time Alice is hit fails a dodge or doesn’t instigate a successful attack after a short amount of time, the Inferno Bar level will drop, and eventually, disappear if not used.”

Conceptually in action, Inferno has three phases.

1. Burst/Activation Attack – What happens when Alice triggers Inferno?
2. Passive/Limited Time – How is Alice affected as the meter runs out during Inferno?
3. Completion/Extinguish – Special state expires. Alice returns to normal.

In the spirit of accessibility and “playing your way” we’ve given you a combination choice for how Inferno phases could sync with your preferred playstyle.

On activation ([L1 + R1] button press or similar) A high-damage, fast, quick attack is unleashed. Options for Burst attacks are;

1A) Burst/Activation State: Hail of Fury

Unleash a rapid fire storm of flaming vorpal blades for a short duration in front of Alice. Long Ranged attack. Flaming vorpal blades explode on impact and can set foes alight. Can be aimed while in use, but not stopped.

1B) Burst/Activation State: Scorching Blade

The Vorpal Blade turns into a large, two-handed great-sword variant, and Alice quickly cuts a vertical slice ahead of her, then to the side in a wide arc, forming a flaming cross. Medium-range melee attack. Highly damaging, effective in 180 arc ahead of Alice. Cannot be aimed. Enemies catch alight and suffer DPS over time if not destroyed by the initial attack. Quick Burst attack in battle.

1C) Burst/Activation State: Firestorm

Alice erupts in fire and fury, sending a massive flame shockwave around her. A flaming crater forms around her, causing a large fire trap that damages any foe inside of it. Close Range burst attack. Extreme damage, but short range. AOE is 360 degrees with Alice at the center. Enemies catch alight and are knocked back by the blast.

Next up, we have the Passive States;

Once activated and the activation attack is completed, the super bar/meter will deplete, allowing for a short, limited time frame in which Alice’s abilities are buffed.  Options for Alice during this state are:
2A) Passive/Limited Time State: Speed Demon

Alice’s movement speed is significantly buffed, and all attacks are faster (Melee and Ranged attacks). While Alice moves, she leaves behind flaming trails that can damage foes or set them alight. Alice will not suffer any damage from these trails while Inferno is active.

2B) Passive/Limited Time State: Molten Steel

Alice’s vorpal blade bursts into flames, and all her standard attacks receive a significant buff in damage (x1.5) and all heavy attacks now cause an explosive knockdown effect. Causing smaller foes to explode when they are knocked down with strong attacks, or when they collide into other foes, or the ground. Each exploded foe leaves behind a small flaming crater, that can damage other enemies if they step inside them.

2C) Passive/Limited Time State: Phoenix

Alice sets alight, and her health constantly regenerates during the special state duration. If Alice suffers damage from attacks during this phase, her combo string is protected, and any bonuses will not be affected. Alice is not “invulnerable” during this stage, but her constantly recharging health improves survivability greatly.

DESIGN NOTE: Kills or large amounts of damage inflicted during these special states slightly recharge the depleting special/super bar, giving the player more time to use the ability.

Low health and near-death state of health required. (Approx~ Between 1%-20% of HP/health remaining). PRESS [L1 + R1] to Trigger Hysteria once the damage threshold is met. Super Completion State: After the Inferno special state is completed, and the super bar is empty, Alice will be “extinguished” and return to her normal appearance. All Inferno active buffs will cease until activated again. What would you run?

I’d be leaning towards some Scorching Blade with Molten Steel to deal some serious damage in a heavy combat scenario. Maybe if I were in Boss Combat, I’d unleash a Hail of Fury from a distance, then enjoy Phoenix as the time decreases, adding survivability during some intense boss fighting. Mix and match, play how you want.

Let us know if you enjoy this design approach.————On the other hand, Hysteria is, in effect, a death save. It keeps you in the game if you are near death, and can offer some flexibility if you are a player who enjoys high-risk, high-reward scenarios. We’ve kept true to the effect from Madness Returns, but added a few spicy new attacks for this iconic special state in Asylum. Hysteria – Activation State Requirement:

1. Scream

On activation ([L1 + R1] button press or similar) A high-damage, fast, AOE attack is unleashed. Alice will scream, and the game-world will turn black and white and skewed. Alice’s scream emits a shockwave ripple effect, that damages and knocks back all enemies it touches. If killed by the AOE wave, enemies will explode into meaty gibs. Shockwave travels a medium distance, with Alice at it’s centre point.

Once activated, the following special Hysteria buffs will activate for Alice.  • 2x Damage Buff on Melee All Attacks. Slicing melee attacks (vorpal blade) have a chance to cause evisceration, carving off limbs and foes into chunks. Heavy impact melee attacks (hobby horse) have a chance to cause obliteration, smashing foes into a fine red mist. All heavy attacks have “Guard Crush/Shield Break” properties.

• Limited Invulnerability / Health Regen For a few seconds after Hysteria is activated, Alice will be impervious to all attacks. This effect does not last for the full duration of the special state however, and Alice can be damaged once her Health Starts flashing again. If her health falls to 0% during Hysteria, she will die as usual.

The main purpose of Hysteria is for Alice to slay her foes. Her health will regenerate commensurate to her bloodshed. More Kills = More Health restored.

• Vorpal Blade Attack Buffs

Special Attack 1 – Dark Orbit Holding down the “Throwing Knife” attack button causes the Vorpal Blade to fracture, and create a rapidly swirling orbit of broken vorpal blades around Alice. This attack will cause massive damage if it connects with enemies. Once released, the blade orbit shoots off in all directions, before reforming as the blade in Alice’s hands once again.

Special Attack 2 – Jagged Edges Attacking with the Vorpal Blade in mid-air after jumping will cause Alice to spike her blade into the ground. In front of where she strikes the ground, massive, jagged Vorpal blades will spike out from the ground in front of her in a random arc, inflicting massive damage on all enemies the quake of blades connects with.

————

And that’s what we got so far. What do you think?

I think this is a fun discussion to have, and one we’d like your thoughts on.

As always, these outlines are purely conceptual, early, and 100% subject to change should development be greenlit or the mechanics on paper not align in-engine if developers and playtesters one day work their magic.

However, we feel these are interesting discussions and a good direction to start with by outlining them in the Design Bible. Drop your feedback and comments below.

More to come, cheers!

-Alex

Hi everyone,

Alex here again. If you dived through the spreadsheets in the last post, you may have seen some new iconography designs dotted amongst them.

The icons are graphic visual elements to enhance the data they represent; namely;

• Enemy Attack Behaviors

• Weapon Attacks – Alice’s Primary and Alternate Fire Modes

• Weapon Perks – We’re calling them “Quirks”

I want to use these visuals where I can to give a consistent visual cue whenever a particular game design element is mentioned, either in the DB or in the spreadsheets.

These are early first passes for each icon, and may be slightly reworked if I have the time.

I want to introduce more contrast, maybe some white or another shade of red… but as the project is largely a “work-in-progress” here’s some more of that to share.

Let me know what you think.

Detailed explanations for the information these icons represent are mentioned in the spreadsheets in the other post.

These will appear in the Design Bible (along with a lot more) in the big Halloween update.

Back to it!

Cheers,

Alex

Dear Insane Children, 

Just a quick reminder there WILL BE a Live Stream this morning. Martin is in the house, the live stream computer is up and running, and all systems are GO! 

So, please join us over on my Twitch Channel… 

twitch.tv/americanmcgee

You can also tune in via YouTube (probably) but note that you can’t win prizes there: 

youtube.com/americanmcgeeofficial

Prizes? Yes! There’s always prizes!

And we’ll go through new art, details from the Massive Update yesterday, BD updates, and more!

Amazing bit of art (main image above) from Gareth. The description for this… 

What we want to see, is grisly aftermath of how this Queen will look beheaded.

Corpse on ground or slumped in front of throne.

Alice, Knave and Rabbit plush are all mentioned in the narrative section that accompanies this new image.

It takes place after the image of the Rabbit and Alice spinning image you just completed.

Love it! 

See you in the live stream SOON!

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American