Dear Insane Children

Font lord here once more to give you all a little update on Pirate Jam 2020

Well, I say update, it’s really just some videos for you to watch   🙂

Each year, the quality of these videos just goes up and up and really makes me wish I was also shivering my timbers and walking various gangplanks.

Still, check out what has been happening already.
There’s orientation, bags, canoes, traffic lights and surely much much more to come over the next 4 or 5 days!

Day 2 = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHvEckGksYs 

Day 3 = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO4L3AvTKek 

Also be sure to keep an eye on American’s Instagram as lots of cool pics are posted there frequently too.
https://www.instagram.com/americanmcgee/
Such as…

Let’s all hope for continued fair winds and smooth seas and hope everyone can make it home safely soon   🙂

– Cheers

Dear Insane Children

Here we go again.
Our monthly giveaway to 5 lucky Patrons no matter what tier you’re at, as long as the gods of RNG are smiling upon you.
This month, each of the winners will get… hmmmm… let me think…
How about an Inmate Property Bag.

Here we go, and the winners are
*drum roll*

– Bryan Diehl    
– Charlie Grosman
– Evelyn Mörder
– Crystal Escalante
– Thomas Wagner 

Congrats to all of you   🙂

And of course, to round things off and avoid a picture-less post.
Here’s a very regal looking Lulu.

– Cheers

Dear Insane Children

Font Lord here with some facts and info for you about the new Enamel Pin Goal this month.

All Patrons at $35 or more for the month of March 2020 (meaning you’re charged in April), will receive the Enamel Pin Set mailed anywhere in the world (free shipping) and with tracking.

The Enamel Pin Set contains the following items: 

* 4 Standard Pins
* 1 Patreon Collector Pin (will not be for sale at any point in the future)
* A bag of 5 locking clasps
* Free Shipping everywhere in the World

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

Very simple

If you ARE a Patron already, you fall into one of two categories.

1) You’re already at $35 or above.
Well, that’s fine. You don’t have to do anything. You’ll get an email about getting the pins after being charged in April. Wheee!

2) You’re currently pledging between $1 and $34.
You also don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to mess around with changing your tier.
We are introducing a new system where you can simply make up the difference by paying on Backerkit in April.
So, for example, if you’re at the $10 tier on Patreon, you can then pay $25 on Backerkit and you’ll get the pins.
Simply follow the instructions you’ll get in an email in April on how to do this.
FANTASTIC !!!
(Although to be clear, if you do this method, you will NOT get the benefits of being at a higher Patreon tier, you will still be classed as being at a low tier, NOT the $35 level.)

If you’re NOT a Patron yet, the easiest thing for you to do is join our Patreon before the end of March 2020 at the $35 level or higher.
Not only will you get the pin set, but you’ll also get the benefits of being at the tier you choose for this month, such as the incredible art print this month at the $75 tier.  
Then when you’re charged in April, you’ll receive email instructions on how to get the pins. Once you’re charged, you can then choose to stay with us or leave, or even adjust your pledge level.  
Just MAKE SURE YOU’VE BEEN CHARGED by checking your profile before altering/canceling your pledge.

By the way, what is this month’s print?

It’s this one right here…
“UnHappiness” by Omri Koresh.
Simply amazing, and a fantastic reason to bump up and be at the $75 tier this month to get the Enamel Pin Set AND this signed print. Has there ever been a better deal? No, no there hasn’t !!

  

Why Become A Patron? 

As a Patron, you’ll gain Early Access to Patron-only posts, artwork, design discussions, and more. At $5 a month you can also access our super-secret Discord Server where the Insane Children gather to discuss all the insane things!  That’s also where we host our weekly Crowd Design Sessions! 

And your support powers our team of artists, designers, and writers who are busy creating the Design Bible for Alice: Asylum. We are 100% Fan Funded!

Join the Asylum! You’re mad if you don’t. But you’re insane if you do! 

  

Questions? Send a Private Message!

If you have a question or concern, Please PM US! That’s the BEST WAY to get your question answered quickly!

We can’t promise to see and answer every comment you leave on this post. 

Here’s how to PM us on the Patreon Mobile App: 

And on the Web Version of Patreon, just hit the “… More” Button and click on Message.  

———————-

The Fine Print

This offer is only available for the month of March 2020. After that, you will still be able to purchase the Enamel Pin Set at the Mysterious Shop for an increased price and without the Patreon Collector Pin.

Patreon Pledge Charges are like a utility bill. You pay for this month’s Rewards or Perks next month. For example, a January Reward or Perk is paid for on February 5th. If you pledge this month, it counts for this month, but you’re not charged until next month on the 5th.

Cancel or adjust your pledge at any time after the Reward Pledge is paid. No further fees or obligations! But you must manually cancel or adjust your pledge.

You are responsible for VAT, import duties, and/or additional delivery fees imposed by your local government or postal service. 

Enamel Pin Sets are already manufactured and ready for shipping which we will do mid to late April. After that, delivery takes 15~35 Business Days to most places around the world.

During the manufacture process of Enamel Pins, there can be slight imperfections in the product. We also have no control over the backing card for the pins being bent in delivery.
These small issues are not covered by our return or refund policy. Have a major issue? Send us pictures and we’ll sort out a replacement or refund. 

Our full Terms and Conditions (returns, refunds, etc) can be found HERE.
—

THANK YOU, for all your love and support! It’s fans like you that make all this possible. 

From Shanghai with Love

– Cheers 

Dear Insane Children, 

I’ve begun the return trip to the kickoff point at Yacht Haven Marina on Phuket for the start of Pirate Jam 2020. My days leading up to the event have been spent in quiet anchorages off the beaten path where I’ve done prep work for the event while keeping a close eye on the global coronavirus situation. These are Strange Days indeed. 

If you’d like a sobering overview of where the world currently is in relation to the virus, I highly recommend THIS ARTICLE over at The Atlantic. The basic message is that containment has thus far helped to slow the spread but that a global pandemic is now pretty much guaranteed. And that the negative effects of that spread are now mostly a function of how prepared a particular country (and individuals) might be for the inevitable arrival. It’s no longer just a “China problem.” 

For my part… I don’t think this is an end-of-the-world scenario but it will most certainly have a global impact on everything – manufacturing, shipping, finance, and more. The world’s on-demand supply chain just isn’t built for this sort of event. 

I’m curious to hear from you – what’s the situation where you live? Are people talking about this? Or does it still seem like some distant non-issue? 

In The Land Madness – The Insane Child is King

Our team have recently re-worked the concept for The Knave (servant of The Queen of Hearts). 

I sent the following directions to Omri: 

An Insane Child is just a representation of one of the children from the Asylum… but in Wonderland.

Imagine that the Asylum contains a boy bigger than the others. He’s broken. He’s a bully. Everyone avoids him.

Now he finds his way into Alice imagination (Wonderland) and represents a figure from The Queen’s Court.

So take an Insane Child (use the original game style of them – Ken’s “bobble head” children are dumb). Dress him as a member of the Queen’s Court. Keep the scars and maybe a bit of the head gear (clamps, etc) that define him as someone from the Asylum.

And the result is the Insane Child Knave from Norm (picture above). I really like this character! 

What do you think?

Note: Sorry, Ken, for calling your Insane Children bobbleheads “dumb” – to expand on that in a more mature language: I felt like that was a stylistic choice (borrowed from Mark Ryden, etc) which wouldn’t age well. There was a period in time when “put big heads on everything” was original and fun… but that time has passed. Am I the only one who thinks this? 

There are tons of new bits of art I’d like to share with you but these files are so huge that it’s taking 30+ minutes to download even one. I’m hoping that someone on the team will create a collection of these images in a smaller format (keep them less than 1mb!) and link me to those. 

A lot of new art from Dario in there and based on the thumbnails everything is looking really amazing. Here’s one that I did manage to download and resize… 

This is Hatter’s laboratory and observatory from the Bargaining Stage. Really impressive!

Arg, Mateys!

Expect to see a few more updates related to Pirate Jam as I switch gears to focus on that event. It runs from March 2nd to the 12th. And I then (hopefully) head back to Shanghai on the 14th. 

Once back home I have tons to catch up on. Yan is busy getting everything ready for Mysterious Makeup and I need to give her some support. Lots of Business Development to catch up on. And, of course, getting back into the grove with work on pre-production for Asylum. 

I hope all of you are happy and healthy. And I want to thank everyone for sticking around during this strange time. We’ll get through this. And the world will get through this. And I hope… well…

Life has taught me that everything comes in cycles. The best experiences, projects, and periods of time are always proceeded by “tests.” We set our sights on a goal and put effort into achieving it. But just before we’re able to grab the prize, The Universe says, “Are you sure you’ve earned this?” And it throws one final boss battle into the arena. 

I’m trying to view all the turmoil we’re seeing right now as the Big Test prior to the start of the next positive phase. 

So I hope that we all manage to keep our heads down, our goals in focus and that we weather this storm to come out the other side into a world of blue skies, white puffy clouds, and sunshine. Who’s on board? 

As pirates are fond of saying: Hold Fast!

From Chaos with Love, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

It’s been a strange couple of weeks. In exile from my home in China. Floating around the Andaman Sea. Waking each morning to read news of what might be a global pandemic… only to come back to a place somewhere between resignation that it’s the End of the World vs. the comfort of intentional ignorance in which I think everything’s going to be fine. 

There’s another option: Maybe it’s the end of the world AND everything’s going to be fine!

As an example, consider two recent headlines from the epicenter of the outbreak in China: 

“Hubei reports steadily decreasing new cases of COVID-19” – Yay!

“Hubei takes delivery of mobile incinerators” (the conspiracy theory subtext being that these are for the disposal of bodies) – Not Yay!

Between headlines like these and the general “fog of war” surrounding the situation, it’s hard to know what the future has in store for us. Then again, maybe that knowledge has always been an illusion? 

Back home, Yan and Lucky report that they are doing well. Yan’s resumed work on her makeup line project and the factory says they’re prepping to resume work again soon. Font Lord says “everything’s fine” but then he rarely goes outside anyway… so what would he know?! Lulu says, “arrrrg” which means she misses her daddy and wishes winter would go away.

Several people who plan to attend Pirate Jam 2020 in 12 days have voiced concerns. One attendee has, under pressure from her family, decided to drop out. This has put me in the uncomfortable position of needing to make an executive decision as to whether or not we continue with the event as scheduled. So I spent several days consulting with sponsors, crew, and experts… before decided that, yes, we should go ahead. Pirate Jam is meant to be an adventure. Albeit one in which we’ve made solid plans and properly equipped ourselves for the journey. 

Thailand is eerily quiet since all the Chinese tourists went home. The beaches are empty, there are almost no longtails and speedboats zipping around, and all the usual tourist spots are deserted. A silver lining I suppose. 

So, despite the chaos and uncertainty, we carry on. Which also happens to be what our art team are doing… 

Norm continues to explore various ideas for Card Guards. I feel this latest revision is closer to the final version I can imagine we’d see in-game. These manage to capture necessary elements of the AMA and AMR Card Guards. 

Omri also delivered some new ideas. The main image above “How Fine You Look When Dressed In Rage” will eventually be an Art Print. He says of this: 

i’m going to go a bit anime with it. i’m wondering where it will “land” style-wise.

I asked my followers on Instagram if they think it’s OK to make a revision of the red dress or keep it as it “will be” in the actual game. they said mostly that it’s cool.

this will be more avant garde than the regular  “alice” cannon style.

Sounds good to me! Look forward to seeing the final version. 

Omri also sent over an idea for the presentation of the Chaos Coin collectibles in-game. Of this he says: 

 thought to make the chaos coin in parts, still looking like a coin but “alive” i think looking at a floating coin is looks like Mario and not Wonder. having the parts swirl and move should make it look magical enough to detach it from the concept of a regular coin.

What do you think of this idea for the in-game representation of the Chaos Coin?

Notes

Our logistics partners in China say that they are starting to resume shipments. That means if you ordered something from Mysterious or are owed a Chaos Coin (from your Patreon Pledge) that those things will start moving again soon.  There are significant delays in the shipping systems – so expect to wait until April for all this to go back to normal. 

Font Lord is busy working with Backerkit on web functionality to enable super-easy Pledging for the Enamal Pin Goal. And he’ll post an update with more news and dates soon. 

That’s it for now! More updates coming soon!

From Thailand with Love,

-American

Dear Insane Children,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope everyone is getting all the love and roses they deserve. 

I thought I should share a situation update along with some new Asylum artwork. 

First up is the “Rage” sketch Omri just started work on (pictured above) which he titled “How Fine You Look When Dressed In Rage” and will eventually be one of our poster art prints. Look forward to seeing the Final version of this illustration soon.

Meanwhile the team continue to work on other concepts and designs. Alex sends along a re-design of the Boojum enemy we met in AMA. This illustration also goes towards the work we’re (slowly) doing on a Tarot Deck based on the Alice characters. 

In Jail

The snow globe metaphor works well for the current situation in China. My wife (Yan) describes her situation (shared by millions around the country) as being “in jail.” 

That means she’s staying indoors along with her mom and Lucky. Only one person is allowed to leave the house every two days. And that’s only to go outside for groceries. Everything else in the area is shut down and deserted. The “bao an” who normally guard all the housing compounds around the city – and who are normally seen as guarding a place against strangers trying to get in – are now also controlling who goes out. When Yan tries to go outside they want to know where she’s going, how far away, and how long she’ll be gone. If she’s going anywhere other than the local market for groceries then they tell her she’ll have to fill in a travel report. 

I wake up every day in Thailand and read the news. None of it’s great. Certainly, none of it is the sort of “Scientists Solve The Coronavirus Problem” that I keep hoping to see. So I find myself in my own sort of “snow globe” of uncertainty. How long will I have to stay in Thailand? When will it be safe to return to China? What is “safe” in this situation? Are Yan and the family prepared to weather the storm if the situation gets worse – food shortages, utility outages, etc? 

One of the biggest problems revealed by this situation relates to “The News.” We are all painfully aware that “news” these days is 99% clickbait nonsense and maybe 1% unvarnished truth. The concept of news reporters going out into the danger zones of the world and capturing The Truth of a situation seems like something from old-timey movies. And this is made worse when dealing with a traditionally opaque country like China. 

And who can blame China? If the situation is as bad as their actions seem to imply then to release the real story could mass hysteria and panic in a population of 1.3 billion people. The panic would then kill 1000x whatever the virus might have done on its own. Same goes for extending the quarantine period vs. allowing everyone to go back to work. The quarantine is killing the Chinese economy. But lifting it too soon could kill millions of people. 

So I imagine that we’re only hearing a fraction of the truth. And whatever is being hidden from us… well, being unable to see it only makes it larger and more terrible in the imagination. 

At least Hare is wearing his mask… 

Back in The Asylum

There are some glimmers of Good News – at least as far as Asylum goes. I had a Very Good Call with a group of execs and producers from a Media Company (who must remain unnamed). We discussed the idea of Alice as a TV Drama and Game. Everyone on the call was enthusiastic. (It’s always good to hear that the people you’re pitching have shelves full of Alice merch!) 

I’d rate the call (and post-call email notes) as being 10/10 in terms of quality and excitement. Does that mean it’s 100% certain we can make the project go forward with this group? No. But… it’s a positive event during a period of darkness. And it’s giving me hope for the future. 

Please join me in crossing fingers (and toes) that we soon hear back from said Media Company and that they green-light Asylum. That would be excellent! 

And the sun is shining here in Thailand. Trying my best to stay positive! 

From Thailand with Love, 

-American