Dear Patrons

Hi there, it’s Martin here, not American.

As many of you know, American is currently off doing PIRATE JAM which kicked off yesterday, so be sure to subscribe and/or keep an eye out on our YOUTUBE channel for when the vlogs start to get posted up   🙂

However, I wanted to pop along and tell all you lovely people who pushed us past 1000 Patrons what happens now in regards to the embroidered patches.

The patch designs you will have seen are now currently at the factory and we are awaiting a prototype so we can make sure everything is up to scratch in terms of quality.

We’re also looking into different materials for some of the patches and seeing if any make sense (furry, rubberised, etc..)

Not only that but we also have our guy, Alex working on the actual design of the packaging card inlay too.

Here’s a first draft/mock-up. What do you think?
(inlay with and without patches attached)

Then once we’re happy with what we see in terms of patch quality and packet design, we can finally give the thumbs up to the factory to mass produce them and, in short order after that, they’ll be ready to be shipped out. Yay!

We’ll probably be finalising the shipping list in 2 to 3 weeks, so please make sure your addresses are up to date and your accounts were successfully charged this month   🙂

—–

So what’s the next goal?

Well, we haven’t crunched the numbers yet to find out what the next number target should be, but I can tell you that we’re very keen on doing a set of enamel pins (this seems to be a very popular request across our channels).

So, be sure to keep an eye out for details on that soon.

—–

And finally, before I go, I thought you all might like to see these initial sketches from Joey. These could either be stand-alone models, or indeed part of the collectors versions of the retail game box. Would any of these take your fancy? Or perhaps you’d prefer a different character?

Alex will also be turning his hand towards these in the not too distant future too, for fully realising them in their boxes complete with packaging designs.

From Shanghai, looking after Lulu

– Martin

Ahoy Insane Children! 

A large component of my pitch to EA revolves around the idea that the Alice license should result in the creation of tons of physical goods – collector game boxes, toys, jewelry, clothing, etc. This was always my desire – going back to the “invention” of the franchise… but something I wasn’t able to fully execute on because various portions of the IP were being controlled by different parties. This time around I hope to capture full control of the license and IP – making it possible to coordinate the production of game, physical goods, book, film, and more. 

I’ve recently teamed up Alex and Joey so they can collaborate on product mock-ups for Asylum physical goods. Alex is really great at design/layout of logos, presentations, books, etc. Joey does really excellent “organic art” – characters, locations, etc. So I’ve asked Alex to work on logo treatments and box designs while Joey focuses on the physical goods contained within those boxes.

The logo above is Alex’s work. Wonderful stuff! 

And Joey’s starting work on physical goods… like collector toys which will be contained within the game box.

It’ll be interesting to see the sorts of fantastic products these two are able to create together. 

What do you think? Logo working for you? Want to get your hands on a little mini-Hatter toy? 

Leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments below. 

Pirate Jam 2018 kicks off on April 1st, 2018. I’m heading to Krabi tomorrow (Sunday in Shanghai) to do a bunch of pre-event prep. I’ll post updates via Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. And I’ll also check back in here on Patreon from time to time with new Asylum art and design stuff. 

I’m back to Shanghai on April 15th, so expect business as usual after that point. Until then I doubt I’ll be able to manage a live stream – but we’ll continue playing “American McGee’s Alice” once I get back. 

Martin and Lulu will be in Shanghai and online to hold down the fort while I am gone. 

From Shanghai with Insanity, 

-American

Lots of questions, confusion, and whatnot about goals and rewards. Please read this before posting anything further on the topic. And let’s collect additional question/responses in the comments below so that everyone has a place to go for the latest news and info. 

The Inmate Certificates

As of 21 March, 2018 (morning) these are at the printers. We expect to pick them up in the afternoon. I will then sign them. Then we’ll send them to the logistics partner for shipping to Patrons around the world. 

Shipping is done via the same service we use for items ordered from Mysterious. A tracking number will be assigned and that tracking number should be emailed to you. If you do not receive a tracking number via email (1+ week after we’ve said the Certificates have gone out) then you can message and ask for us to manually send it to you – but please don’t do this unless it’s in some way critical. 

Shipping usually takes 4 weeks to most places in the world. But shipping times can increase as a function of national holidays, storms, alien invasion, etc. We’ve seen it take as many as 8 weeks for deliveries to “strange places” – like Mexico, Romania, and Guam. (Ok, ok… these are not strange places, but places where the postal service is slow or otherwise dysfunctional). 

Items are shipped as “gift” but this does not guarantee that your local customs people won’t stop the package and demand VAT. We have no control over this. On that note, it’s always good to check with your local post office to see if they have your package – as packages which need VAT paid on them can end up stopped at the post office. 

(All this stuff about shipping will also apply to the Embroidered Patches – when we are finished with those and start shipping them… as of right now, we’ve not yet hit that goal).

Eligibility

For the certificates, if you were at $2 and above the month we hit the 555 goal (January 2018 – AKA Patrons who were charged in early February), then you are eligible to receive a certificate. Unfortunately, because these were exclusive rewards attached to that particular goal, if you missed it… well, you missed it. I cannot sell or otherwise provide you with a certificate. 

When the certificates are printed, signed, and have been sent to shipping, we’ll post that news here.

For the Embroidered Patches, you need to be at $5 (or above) when we process pledges for the month in which the 1000 Patron goal is hit. That might be this month (March) or next month (April). Hard to say right now (March 21st). The exclusive part of this reward is a 10th (not shown) patch which only Patrons will receive.  

The Embroidered Patches

If you miss out on this goal/reward then we’ll also offer the patches for sale at Mysterious. I’m guessing the price for the set (without the Patreon exclusive patch) will be around $20 (plus $5 shipping)… dunno yet, but certainly more than the $5 required to grab these here on Patreon. 

Again, the shipping stuff above also applies to shipping for the Patches. If you want to be certain that you receive the Patches then set your pledge at $5 (or more) and wait until we hit our goal and process payments for that month. 

It will take 30~40 days from the Goal for the Patches and backing cards to be manufactured and put together… though we’ve actually already started this process. Pirate Jam is going to slow things down by a week or two. We might safely assume delivery of Patches to Patrons around the world in… late May or early June? 

Conclusion

I hope that clears up everything. If you see someone asking questions about this topic, please help me point them to this post. Thank you!

Also.. suggestions on future Goals and Rewards?

Questions and feedback in the comments below. Yay! 

From Shanghai with Arrrg, Matey,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Back today with a couple of beautiful images from Joey to share. These are refined versions of the images we previously shared. A lot of great detail emerging in both… 

One of the things I really like about developing inside Wonderland is the malleability of scale. Alice can shrink and grow and the world is occupied by creatures who are often too big or too small relative to the world around them. A 50-foot tall Mock Turtle? I’d shell out for that.

We all know what happens when you follow the White Rabbit… but we’ll have to wait and find out what happens when you chase the Glowing Golden Bunny. ? ? strange!

With only 10 days remaining until the end of the month I wonder how our goal of 1000 Patrons will turn out… if it arrives before the end of the month then that’s it – all current Patrons for the month (at $5 or more) will receive the collection of Alice Inspired Patches. If we fall short… then that provides another month for new Patrons to arrive and join in the fun. What do you think? Will we hit our goal before April 1st? 

Several new Patrons have asked about the Inmate Certificate. They’d like to grab one of their own but weren’t in the Asylum when the 555 Goal was reached. Unfortunately, I can’t hand out more of those (or sell them separately) since they were offered as an exclusive reward for those who were here within the time limits of the reward. Sorry about that – but fret not! There will be plenty more interesting Goals and Rewards on offer. 

Speaking of which… Up next we’ll likely do enamel pins since so many have been asking for those. Do you have other ideas for Rewards? Let me know in the comments below. 

A lot of excitement building for tomorrow’s Live Stream of “American McGee’s Alice” as played by yours truly. I just hope I don’t suck! Just doing a quick test-run brought back a flood of memories. It’ll be interesting to have you all along for this floaty, stabby journey down memory lane.

Hit THIS LINK to set a reminder and join the fun.

From Shanghai in the Rain, 

-American

She’s baaaack! Alice in her original format, trusty Vorpal Blade in hand and shady Cheshire Cat by her side… We’re going to play “American McGee’s Alice” during the next YouTube live stream! We’ll talk about conception and creation of the first game – from the initial pitch to the final frantic months of development. 

Do you have questions or feedback about the first game? Be sure to share them in the comments below! Martin will read and I’ll respond while Alice fights her way through Wonderland. Yay!

Be sure to join us via this YouTube LINK. You can hit that link now to set a reminder or tune in at 5:30PM PST on Wednesday, March 21st (09:30AM Hong Kong Time, March 22nd). See you there! 

Progress is being made on the embroidered patches. The patch designs themselves are “done” but a few are being re-worked for materials and stitching… we might have a few of them produced as rubber patches. Samples will be shared via the next live stream. The background card on which they’ll ship is also taking shape (at least in terms of dimensions). Art treatment for that coming soon! 

Not far now till we hit out 1000 Patron goal. Help spread the word. You don’t want your friends to miss out on their awesome Alice reward!

But, hey, we’re getting ahead of ourselves! 

What about the previous goal – the Inmate Certificate!? Well…

Behold the final design! These were delivered to the printers this morning. We’ll pick them up tomorrow afternoon – and then begins an epic autographing marathon. After that they’ll be sent to Hong Kong where our logistics partner will package them up and send them to YOU! (Where YOU = those of you who were with us when we hit out 555 goal). 

Expect some beautiful new Asylum art in the next update. Don’t be late!

From Shanghai with Brrrrr (go away winter!), 

-American & Lulu 

Dear Insane Children,

You did it! Went completely insane and helped us reach our previous Patreon Goal, unlocking a numbered and signed inmate certificate for all Patrons (who were in the Asylum when we hit that goal). Yay! 

Check out Alex’s work thus far…

I’m talking with him about the back of the certificate and have suggested: 

A semi-copy of the format seen here, but with space for a number, name, and my signature. That would fill the card back from side to side (as opposed to the offset presentation seen on the “Alice” side of the card). 

What do you think? 

And… would you be OK if I *didn’t* write individual names on each card? Asking because, well, that’s a lot of names to write! Simply numbering and autographing is going to be a multi-hour task. Also trying to transcribe names while ensuring accuracy and legibility… 

Let me know what you think. Name and number… or is a number acceptable? 

While we’re on the topic of Patron Rewards… great progress is also being made on the next reward – Embroidery Patches inspired by Alice! Check this out… 

These will be produced as physical embroidered patches and presented on an illustrated card back-plate. A special 10th patch exclusive to Patrons is also in the works, so you’ll receive the 9 shown above plus an extra that will be exclusive to you here on Patreon. 

In order to be eligible for these patches you’ll need to be at the $5 (or higher) pledge level during the month when we hit the 1000 Patron Goal. We’re currently at ~770 Patrons, so we’ve got a little ways to go… but you can help us hit the goal more quickly by spreading word of this via your social media channels and among all your insane friends and family. 

Go crazy!

Live Stream Alert! Martin and I will be back with a new Live Stream on YouTube on Wednesday, March 14th at 5:30PM PST (0930, Mar 15th, HKT). You can set a reminder and join the conversation via THIS LINK.

We’ll take a look at all the latest artwork and answer your questions and comments. Don’t be late! 

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American