Dear Insane Children, 

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Here at The Asylum we’re heading into another week filled with online madness. We’ll start things off with a Crowd Design Session over on Discord. Here’s the start time… 

And here’s a LINK to info on our Discord Server. 

We host Crowd Design Sessions there every-other-week. If this is your first month with us on Patreon then you’ll need to wait until next month for Discord access to activate. But you can check out previous sessions after we upload them to YouTube. 

 Goblet Goblins

Omri sent along a render of some enemy designs based on “Cups” from the Tarot Minor Arcana. He was a bit concerned about how similar these are to an image we previously shared (a set of cup sculpture with mouths and legs) – and asked if we might want to get permission from that artist. Here’s my feedback to him… 

I love these Cups. As for whether or not you need to ask permission… I don’t know. The idea of cups with legs isn’t original. We had a teapot with legs in A:MR. And if you Google Image Search for “cups with legs” you’ll get back tons.

Anyway, I like the cups as enemies ideas. And I like how this is connected to Tarot but also stands (pun, har) on its own … not being restricted by literal “card form.” More of this!

Maybe the tarot theme can be contained by Tarot Cards which are dropped (and collected) when you kill these enemies? Cups drop “cups cards” ?

Into Anger

From this week we’ll start our journey into the area of Wonderland defined by “Anger” as a phase in Alice’s PTSD. This is a realm ruled by the Queen of Hearts and patrolled by her Card Guard Army. 

Our story for this area – so far – is that Alice will fight her way through to a confrontation with The Queen. Alice is captured and The Queen threatens to decapitate White Rabbit unless Alice joins her battle against The Red Queen. 

It’s at this stage that our narrative will deepen to include the majority of the characters and themes we’re wrestling with through to the end of the game. This is where we’re set on our path to Mad Hatter and our confrontation with The Red Queen.

On the topic of Cups and Anger – it’s been said that “holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” 

Anger is also a messenger because it always has something to tell us. We only become angry in relation to things about which we truly care. That’s why it’s been said that apathy – not anger – is he opposite of love. Anger is, in many ways, an extension to strong emotions such as love. It contains an energy to act. 

We need to explore that energy and what it represents in Alice’s journey. 

Where is Alice’s anger directed? How does it wish to resolve? 

We might suggest her anger is directed at the perceived source of her loss. In AMA, Alice directed her anger at herself (along with her guilt) in relation to the fire, her loss, and her inability to save her family. 

“Save yourself, Alice!” transformed from a sacrificial plea by a loving parent to a burning scar branded across a child’s tender soul. 

But anger at oneself contains a mature admission of the role we always play in our own misfortunes. We won’t go there again (yet?).  She’s not yet ready for any of that. 

Instead, I suggest we tinker with a more general “anger against the world” theme. 

It’s no one’s fault and it’s everybody’s fault! The entire system is to blame it all needs to burn. This will play well within the institutional setting of the asylum. And allows us to frame the orderlies, doctors, processes, foundations, society, and world at large as The Enemy. 

Even if a fire had not burned down her family we’re still dealing with a 13-year-old girl trying to come to grips with the nature of the world – with Order vs. Chaos. 

These tantrums aren’t subtle or bizarre. Quite common – mundane even… but not to those who suffer them as all children must. 

Is that enough for us to pin our story on? A big enough enemy to defeat? We’ll see…

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

Cheshire Kitten Plush Collector Set – Reminder

Lots of you have joined recently to capture the Early Bird Special on the Cheshire Kitten Collector Set. Welcome! 

Just a reminder that you must Set Your Tier to the $50 Tier before the end of August 2019. Lots of you (100’s) are joining at the $1 Tier. If you leave your Tier at $1 through August it WILL NOT result in you being sent a Cheshire Kitten Set. 

If you want the Set – please select the $50 or $75 Tier before the end of August. 

If instructions are still unclear then hit THIS LINK to go over and read the explainer.

Meow!

See you all tomorrow!

From Shanghai with (not) Anger,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

The team continues work on various Asylum elements including enemy design. Above is an image from Omri which depicts the potential design for a Tarot Enemy representing The Fool. The idea is that throughout Asylum we’ll encounter cannon fodder enemies (think The Ruin in Madness Returns – but more interesting/varied) based on the Tarot Cards. This provides us a means for layering art and interpretation into these character designs so that they’re varied and surprising.

During a recent YouTube Live Stream we touched on the subject of the companion dog(s) seen with The Fool. Many of you expressed a dislike of harming animals in game (and otherwise) – a response which myself and Martin share. So… we want to avoid battle against realistic doggos and such… but what about shadow wraith type dogs? 

Here’s what I wrote to Omri over on Trello:  

I think we can live with fighting and killing “shadow dogs” – they just need to be magic and evil enough.

Since we see him about to walk over a cliff in the usual cards – have him do that as his entry and exit… he “walks” up through the floor and back down through it to appear and disappear. I like this sort of enemy mechanic. There can be a “tell” every time a Fool is about to appear – a glitter on the floor, a puff of that smoke… perhaps the dogs appear first and then the Fool arrives?

As for attacks and effects… The Fool represents (in the reverse meaning) blindness to danger. So it seems that his attacks, like his dogs, should be clouded, smokey, and cause the player difficulty seeing the battlefield. A smokescreen which does damage. It could be that so long as you continue to stand in his smokescreens you take damage. So Alice must move out of the smoke and attack… perhaps one of her weapons is able to disperse the smokescreen?

Let us know in the comments below your thoughts on The Fool, his smoky companions, and the ideas presented for movement and attack.

Ok, ok! Denial Alice wins. Personally, I wanted an Asylum Alice to complete this set but this is a democratic dictatorship and I don’t feel strongly enough about this decision to use one of my Dictator Points on it… Besides, we can still do an Asylum Alice in the future.

One of you asked, “Why only three plushes?” Which is a fair point. No need to arbitrarily limit them. 

And I did see some interesting questions/feedback on the topic of Bumby being a character in Asylum (running a toy shop in the train station). Lots to dive into there – save that for a future Live Stream or Crowd Design Session. 

Anyway, Jen did this wonderful render of a Denial Alice Plush design. Should this be our next plush? Probably won’t tackle this until early 2020… but doesn’t hurt to start thinking about it now! 

Meet “The Ringmasters” – latest poster by Omri from the Circus Realm. This will likely be the last of these – for now. Omri says, 

I thought that it makes the most sense having the third poster with the Tweedles, it’s their circus.

I think this is the last of the series… i’d ask the patrons? if they want more of these we can stretch it to 5. Norman will help me with the goats on the bottom.

BTW symbolism, the first is sadness, Pris has Jabberwock’s head on her hat and in this one it’s demon summoning.

For “the goats” I asked Omri to make sure those come out “super satanic” as my mom would love that. (“No, I won’t” – mom). 

Everyone’s favorite Mysterious Model, Lulu, is going in for surgery today. We suspect she swallowed something naughty. Her “pipes” have been blocked for days and she had to go into the doggy hospital for an IV and observation. Multiple xrays have revealed “something” in her intestinal tract. Not good.

So, if you love Lulu as much as we do, light a candle, say a prayer, howl at the moon – and join us in hoping that she’ll make a swift recovery. 

We’re missing her farts and licks very much 🙁 

From Shanghai with Sad, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

As many of you know my wife and I are expecting an “Insane Child” to arrive in our house very soon! Yan’s due date is September 2nd and she says that day can’t come soon enough… 

In the meantime, she’s at home on maternity leave and spending her time working on a variety of products for Mysterious. She’s spent her entire career working in the fashion industry and has a lot of love for product design, manufacturing, and other elements related to many of the products we make and sell. 

One of her passions is makeup – yours too, right?! – and she’s working on a Line of makeup inspired by Alice and the concept artwork we’re producing for Asylum. 

She’d like to present her ideas to the world and collect feedback. 

So we’re hosting a Livestream on YouTube this Friday at 10AM (Hong Kong Time). That’s Thursday night at 7PM for those of you in the USA on PST. 

Hit THIS LINK to set a reminder and join the discussion!

This event will be 100% focused on Yan’s work related to this makeup line concept. If this sort of thing interests you then please join us. Bring your questions, suggestions, and feedback. 

And feel free to leave pre-event questions and suggestions in the comments below.

A couple of important points to establish right away: 

Yes, these products are Cruelty Free, Vegan, and the ingredients (such as mica) are Ethically Sourced. The factory we’re talking to provides audited statements of proof on these points. Were we unable to assure these things we wouldn’t get into this business to start with! 

We look forward to seeing you during the stream!

From Shanghai with Blush,

-American & Yan

Dear Insane Children, 

The team are putting finishing touches on a couple of elements related to Denial and The Circus Realm. Over the past couple of weeks they’ve sketched out details for the characters we’ll encounter and locations we’ll visit. We also have a rough outline of the major story beats – but will come back to complete that sketch later. 

The image above is the final version of Omri’s “Madame Priscilla” poster from the Circus Realm. 

This turned out great – and if it’s anything like the “Surprise Guest” poster – it’ll be amazing when printed. Of all the prints we’ve done… “Surprise Guest” jumped swiftly into my Top-3. There’s a magic quality about it when printed as an actual poster. For those of you receiving these as art prints… you’ll soon see what I mean. 

Plushy Battle!

Meanwhile… in the dark depths of the Art Caves… Jen and Omri are sketch-battling over ideas for a third-and-final Asylum Plush. One suggestion (championed by Jen) is that we produce an “Asylum Alice” plush. Omri says that’s “depressing” and would prefer to see a Denial Dress Alice Plush. 

What do YOU think? If we add another Plush to the line… would you prefer Inmate Alice – wearing a straight jacket and with head shaved? Or a Denial Dress Alice… cute and blissfully unaware.

Why All the Dolls? The Doll Maker!

A while back I did suggest that we’d see Alice visit The Doll Maker during her exploration of Wonderland in Alice: Asylum. At this point in the story she’s unaware (consciously) of the evil he represents. Her battle is not with him – but with herself. So he’s able to occupy a neutral (?) place in the Asylum representation of Wonderland. I think we might see him running a doll-toy-shop which Alice visits to acquire and upgrade her arsenal of toys-as-weapons.

If we continue along that line of thinking… imagine that The Doll Maker has the full set of Plush Toys – White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and an (Asylum) Alice doll. 

How might this narrative element fit into Alice’s adventure in terms of game play, weapons, or other mechanics? Would Alice collect these dolls or the parts necessary to construct them as a task for The Doll Maker? Does she work to acquire the necessary Chaos Coins so that she can purchase these dolls – and add to her abilities based on attributes that they carry? 

Let me know your thoughts on this – and what/if we should have a third plush in the form of (which) Alice – in the comments below!

Joey is working on storyboards for The Circus Realm. And this series of frames got me thinking in a message to Omri… 

Regarding the singing… appearing on stage. I love that trope. Would be beautiful/scary to see… from Chaos through to the Circus Realm, little Alice is sneaking around, humming, slowly starting to form a tune and sing to herself. It’s something she does to calm her nerves. And perhaps a finished song emerges over this time… until she’s walking through some pitch-black space and really starting to sing. When suddenly the lights come up and she’s surrounded by all the eyes and faces of the circus? 

I feel like it we wouldn’t have to try very hard to incorporate a bit more theatrics and singing into Asylum.

Please share your thoughts on that in the comment below. Are there games you’ve played where, like Alice: Asylum, there’s been an element of literal theater or singing integrated into the world and story? Would you like to see more of that sort of thing? 

The Fire – Anger- And The Queen of Hearts

From next week we’ll move into the Realm of the Queen of Hearts. The manifestation of Anger. 

What might we find there? How does Alice’s PTSD inform the characters, architecture, and narrative of this critical area? We’ve already established that Alice’s Rabbit will be kidnapped and held hostage by The Queen. Hatter is firmly in her targeting sights and Alice is on a mission to destroy what threatens her… 

Collect your thoughts and experiences related to Anger. They will come in handy for where we’re heading next!

From Shanghai with GrrrrAngerrrr, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

YOU DID IT! The Cheshire Kitten Goal is officially UNLOCKED! Yay!

Everyone high-five with Cheshire Kitten – (watch the claws)

What Does This Mean? 

This means it’s time to select the $50 Tier (or $75 Tier) so that you get the Cheshire Kitten Collector Set mailed to you anywhere in the world. 

This is the Art Print for August – so if you do select the $75 Tier you’ll also get this print. And if it’s your first month at $75 you’ll get the Cheshire Kitten Set + Art Print + Chaos Necklace. That’s an amazing deal! 

This is a one-time offer. And you only need to pay for one month. But this is the only month (August 2019) you can claim this Early Bird Special offer here on Patreon. 

Have questions? Follow this link and learn more: bit.ly/CheshKitten

Congrats on yet another success! You’re all wonderful 🙂 

From Shanghai with Meow,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

There’s a typhoon heading to Shanghai! And I have to run to the dentist in about 5 minutes so a quick update before I go…  Yikes!

First, the above video was just posted over on YouTube. It’s another quick explainer FAQ – this time dealing with the question of platforms – specifically the Nintendo Switch. 

Second, we had a fun Live Stream on YouTube yesterday. If you missed that you can HIT THIS LINK to check it out now. 

Third, the Cheshire Kitten Goal here on Patreon HAS UNLOCKED. If you’ve been waiting for that to adjust your pledge… WAIT NO MORE! 

Yaaay!

bit.ly/CheshKitten <— Has the Pledge Adjustment and other details. 

Forth, … Maybe there is no forth? 

I have to run!

From Shanghai with Teeth,

-American