Dear Insane Children, 

And you thought the Circus Dress was the height of insanity. Ha. 

Ha!

THE MERCURY DRESS

Omri’s snorted a nose-full of mercury and rendered the maddest Alice outfit of them all! When I saw this I wrote and said, “Kylie, is that you!?” 

My feedback’s been sent already but let’s see what YOU have to say about the Mercury Dress in the comments below. 

LIVESTREAM

We’ll go through all your QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS (please mark them as such if you want them read during the stream) during the YouTube Livestream scheduled for Thursday, August 23rd at 09:00 Hong Kong Time. Hit THIS LINK to set a reminder. And please SUBSCRIBE while you’re there – I’m almost at 20,000 subs – yay! 

Check that date/time over on International Meeting Planner to see what time that is where you live. It’s about 20 hours from now (as I post this).

Remember, even if you subscribe, hit the bell, and sacrifice your first born to the YouTube Borg, you might still NOT get a notification when we go live. So be sure to set a separate reminder on your phone or something. We are, after all, not allowed to actually, like, subscribe, or be reminded about the content we actually WANT to see over on YouTube. Fantastic!

One of my favorite cos-players, Faerie Blossom, is working on a makeup test and outfit for the Death Dress. She sent along some impressive pictures of her progress thus far and I’ve included one of those as the YouTube cover image for this week’s stream. Go give her a follow on Instagram if you want to keep up with her progress on this!

CHAOS COIN

I joked yesterday that we could solve the world’s energy problems by harnessing the endless creativity of people’s questions/problems regarding the Chaos Coin promotion. Again, if you want the Chaos Coin Set here on Patreon follow these simple rules: 

1) Pledge at $35 (or higher) before August 31st.

2) Wait until September 17th. 

That’s it. 

If you do that and then cancel your pledge after September 17th it’s fine. You’ll still get the Chaos Coin. And it will only have cost you $35.

Yes, we’ll collect your mailing address and other details (name / message for the coin) in September. 

Yes, I know it says you won’t be charged until September 5th (or something). Patreon charges you in September for the previous month (August). Just do step #1 and #2 and trust me, it’ll be fine. 

Yes, you can pledge at $75 and (if it’s your first month there) get the Chaos Coin Set, Chaos Necklace, and the Art Print for August (Alex’s Card Guard Poster). 

Yes, if you are already at $35 or some higher pledge you will automatically get the Chaos Coin. 

No, you cannot get the coin if you previously pledged $35 in some other month and are now at $2 (or any amount less than $35). You must be processed at $35 (or more) for the month of August, 2018 (a payment which Patreon will pull from you on-or-around September 5th). 

Yes, we will express mail the Chaos Coin Set to anywhere in the world with a tracking link which you can request at a later date. 

Yes, if you keep finding creative ways to make this more complicated than it is my head will explode and there will be no 3rd Alice game. At least not by me. It’ll be “Font Lord’s Alice in Fonty Land” and you’ll all be screaming about Alice’s Comic Sans Dress not being historically accurate because Comic Sans didn’t exist until 1994. 

Woo!

Alright, all, I look forward to catching up with everyone on the livestream tomorrow! And I’m seriously impressed with how much our little Asylum has grown. Some real love and creativity flowing over on the Discord Server. If you’ve not yet jumped in there, do it now! 

From Shanghai with Crazy Brains, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Today’s post is going to be all about “strife and discord” but in a gonad way!

First up, Omri sends along The Circus Dress. And if the reaction over on Instagram, where I previewed a little snippet of this yesterday, is anything to go by this dress is going to cause a fair bit of strife…

I don’t mean to be, well, mean, but I really don’t like this ???? 

The only dress I’ve seen from Omri that I completely hate. It’s not even the dress itself (can’t see it all in this pic), but the hair… 

 So disappointing. Sigh. ? 

But it wasn’t all negative… In fact, most comments were positive…

Wow, new hairstyle! Very interesting!!!

IT S AMAZINGG

Wow!! ????

This is adorable! I can’t wait to see the rest.

And I have to repeat, “If you aren’t failing you aren’t trying.” One of the things (I think I’ve mentioned this before) I like about what Omri’s doing is that he’s exploring. He’s got a really solid map of the ‘known territory’ and he’s poking around the edges of it in all directions to see where else we can go. 

Exploration like this is CRITICAL. It’s how we ended up with, to name a few examples, the amazing ‘hair tech’ in AMR; how we got the ‘butterfly cloud’ when she jumped; hell, it’s how we even got the first game green-lit. 

Of this new dress Omri says: 

So i had this design stuck in my head for a while, I CAN turn this design lighter in spirit if we want it to look less creepy but i thought about like, she gets into the Tweedle’s circus, she has fun, things turn dark and they force her to participate in some kind of way.
She CAN sing, i know Susie Bran can sing.
So this is literally a costume, i can turn it darker/lighter and her makeup will totally change.
I really wonder what the fans will say on this.

Well, fans, that’s your cue… what will you say? Leave your feedback, QUESTIONS, and SUGGESTIONS in the comments below. 

Do keep in mind that nothing is set in stone. We’re creating a LOT of content but none of this is guaranteed to make it into the game. Think of what we’re doing right now as mapping the possibilities. Some we’ll embrace, some we’ll discard. 

DISCORD!

We have set up a Discord Server and linked it to Patreon. Discord is a chat app (like Skype but 10000x better) which you can access via your phone, web browser, or desktop client. Our server has lots of different channels in which we can discuss game design, story, weapons, management of the wiki, and much more. 

Patreon has a useful Help Article on Discord you might check out.
But in a nutshell, firstly, you need an actual Discord account (they’re free to set up).  Then simply go to your Patreon/Account settings page and link the two.  This should also fix the issue for the people who weren’t auto joined into our Discord, so please check out your account settings page if this is you.

We’ll work to integrate this with our live streams as well – which might allow us to do things like a Patron chat overlay and hosting guests for voice interviews and chats. Other ideas? Share those in the comments!

I did send out a link to a SurveyMonkey Page yesterday which we’re using to interview those who might like to help with Discord and our Wiki. Thing is, I stupidly forgot to include the bit where I ask the name/email address of the person taking the survey. Doh! That means the first 4 people who took the survey did so without entering any info we could use to contact them. This would have happened in the first hour of the survey being live. If you suspect you are one of those people please contact us via DM here on Patreon (or try to take the survey again?).

CHAOS!

Quick update on the Chaos Coin Set… This morning we received the final piece of the set, The Collector Card. 

This is – for the first time in the history of The Universe – the entire Chaos Coin Set all together in one place! I swear I heard a faint humming of magik power filling my studio once all these pieces were brought together. Good thing I was wearing my brown pants. 

As you can see the full set contains the following: 

• Elegant Logo Box with Shiny Magic Silver(tm) Chaos Symbol
• Nifty black velvet Chaos Containment Bag
• Level 50 Envy Inducing Frame of Holding
• Double-sided Collector Card (1 per set)
• The Chaos Coin (insert “ahhhhhhhhh…” sound effect)

I dunno… are you sure you should really get all this for just $35?! Martin? What have we done???

Hehe. Anyway, these are all the pieces, DONE. All this will be ready to ship next month after we’ve hit our goal and collected your shipping info. Super! 

Speaking of rewards… 

REWARD YOURSELF

Thank you, for the feedback yesterday on the next Reward setup. Looks like we’ll set the amount at $10 – that means anyone at $10 or more when we hit the next Goal will automatically receive Embroidery Patch Set #2 (plus the Patron-exclusive patch), yes they’re shipped worldwide and yes there’s no extra shipping charge. Don’t know yet what Patron Count we’ll set the reward to trigger at but we’ll do our best to make it relatively easy… depends largely on where the count is come end of August.

From Shanghai with Clowns (yikes!),

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

If you watched the last livestream then you’ll know I was meant to show a FINAL version of the King of Planets outfit and failed miserably. Omri sent a horde of paid assassins to the studio and I was severely punished. Aside from all that we had a good time and I’m pleased were were able to have all our EU-zone Patrons and fans involved in a live discussion. Lots of fun!

The outfit presented this week (in its final form) is something Alice might wear going into battle against the Jabberwock. We’ve talked a bit about this battle and how it might be presented as a false goal which Alice strives towards, realizing too late she’s gone down the wrong path. When she extracts herself from this misguided attack… she’ll have to face inward to go forward. 

Though this outfit is “wrong” (in that it’s part of Alice’s misguided mission) it’s still beautiful. I love the idea of stars spinning in Alice’s hair, of portals into actual space embedded in the design. I can imagine Alice trailing stars and meteors as she moves around in this suit. What do you think? QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS in the comments below! 

NEW GOAL

We’re now at 2,225 Patrons (as I write this) and I suspect we might hit 2,500 before end of month. I’ll send out another MailChimp (spam) and do some other marketing this week to help us reach that goal. So… let’s start planning our NEXT GOAL! I’m thinking about something simple and fun… another set of Embroidered Patches.

The last set of patches was really well received… and I think we’ll copy/pasting that setup. Unlock Patch Set #2 at 3000(Is this the right Goal Number?) Patrons and for all Patrons at $5 and above? Thing is… 

This is a sample of shipping costs… We included shipping last time around and that by itself is a minimum of $5 (going to the US) and $6.40 (going to Canada) and lots more going to other places… upwards of $10+ to some distant locations. That’s not even including the cost of the design, manufacturing, and packaging of the patches. So…

Would everyone be OK if we set the limit at $10 and above?

I’m trying to keep the Patron rewards + shipping as close to our cost as possible (as was done with the first patch set and the Chaos Coin). Thoughts on this? Trying to be as transparent as possible on this stuff and avoid surprises and upset. QUESTIONS and FEEDBACK below! 

BTW, the GOAL of the Goal is to maintain our Patron numbers and avoid a massive overnight crash in numbers once we’ve gone past end of August. Keeping our total number of Patrons high sends a clear signal to potential investors and publishers that there’s a rabid fanbase willing to put their $ where their desires are. This is critical.

So, if you’re reading this and thinking, “I’ll jump ship once I’ve got my Chaos Coin” please consider sticking around at $1 going forward. The $ is helpful but the total Patron count also has a very positive impact on our efforts. Thanks! 

WIKI / DISCORD CONTRIBUTORS

We’ve just launched our Discord Server and linked it to Patreon. If you’re a Patron and already have a Discord Account, then you should have automatically been added to our server when it launched earlier today*. If you don’t know what Discord is – don’t worry – I sorta didn’t either until a few minutes ago! It’s a lighter/faster version of Skype or TeamSpeak. Basically a chat and messaging service we can use to share ideas, coordinate our efforts, and manage the Asylum. 

We’re also going to leverage it to help organize our thoughts in the Asylum Wiki. The wiki is where we want to outline our vision for Alice: Asylum. If you’ve not yet heard – we’re doing something we might call Crowd Designing (ala crowdfunding, etc) of the new game. You’ve already seen this in action if you’ve been part of our Patreon community or watched our live streams. One of our Inmates will put forth an interesting idea and we’ll say, “yeah, that sounds great” – and it becomes a part of the thing we’re building. 

First thing I want to stress about this: We have NO IDEA what we’re doing. I’ve made a lot of games and worked with a lot of teams all around the world over the past 25 years… but I’ve never engaged directly with the fan base to design and write a game. That’s OK because I like to think I have no idea what I’m doing even around those things people think I’m an expert at. The moment you say you know something you stop learning… 

I digress. Point is, we’re going to learn and create something new together. A community, a game, a way of designing a game, a way of producing a game. All that stuff. I’m glad it’s like this because otherwise I’d be bored! 😉

If you are interested in directly contributing to the setup and management of the Discord Server or in helping to collect and organize the ideas creating over on the Wiki then please check out this SurveyMonkey Page.

Think of it as a sort of application / filter Martin and I can use to sort through all those interesting in contributing and making some informed decisions about the shape of the initial group. 

WHAT’S NEXT

Over the coming weeks we’ll start to drill down into specific chapters, story beats, and other narrative elements which will help to define Alice’s journey in Asylum. Behind the scenes I’ve already started work on this with RJ and will share our progress with you in upcoming Patreon Posts, YouTube Livestreams, Wiki entries, and Discord Discussions. Whew! Lots going on!!!

Please, take your time going through this post. There’s lots to absorb and think about. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Help me shape our next steps in a way that YOU like. What do you love about what’s outlined above? What’s missing? What can we do better? 

Looking forward to your thoughts…

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American (and Lulu)

*If you weren’t automatically added to the Discord server then PM us or leave a message in the comments below. We’ll work to get you sorted out as quickly as possible. You patience while we learn this new tech is appreciated! 

Dear Insane Children, 

I won’t lie. I like a good typhoon. Certainly not while out sailing or riding my scooter. But viewed safely from indoors with Lulu and Yan by my side (actually, Yan’s at work right now; thank god for Lulu)… they can be a bit of fun. 

Shanghai is now in the middle of the 4th typhoon of the season – Rumbia. Kinda sounds like a drunk uncle of one of those floor cleaning robots. And it looks a bit like this…

Only problem is that Martin, being way over on the other side of Shanghai, doesn’t want to risk drowning so he’s staying home and won’t be on tonight’s YouTube livestream. I don’t blame him. Blub, blub.

Assuming I don’t blow away in the typhoon, I’ll still be there with Lulu, and we’ll have Martin in the chat. Let’s see how that goes. This is a special EU-friendly time (7PM HKT, 12PM BST). 

Zzzzzzz…

But why are we talking about the weather when we have an AMAZING new dress from Omri to comment on!?!?! Seriously…

This might be my favorite new dress of them all. First off, it’s all BLACK. Perfect! There are two distinct modes. Wow! It’s got “shiny everything” – which, let’s face it, everything needs. Great! And it’s literally The Death Dress… which I don’t think can get more METAL. So, yeah, this is my favorite.

It also has me thinking… maybe all the dresses need two modes? I wrote to Omri about this… saying that we could imagine a ‘normal’ mode Denial Dress similar to what’s already been presented; and then a ‘chaos’ mode of that same dress where everything is on fire, smoking, and burnt. Not sure where we might take this idea… but something to ponder. 

And then there’s… 

Which is Omri’s take on The Jabberwock Dress – the outfit she’s wearing prior to going into battle with the Jabberwock. We showed this during the livestream last week but I’d not yet had a chance to post it here on Patreon. Naughty, American! 

We heard many of you loved the presentation of the Bargaining Suit and wanted some elements of that maintained somewhere in the game, so this is an attempt at honoring that request. What do you think? 

Do the Thing

Again, livestream tonight. 7PM HKT. Hit that link and set a reminder. 

While you’re over there, please hit Subscribe. I’m just inches away from 20k subscribers on YouTube 😐 

And you know I’m on Instagram as well? We share a bit of cosplay, lots of Lulu pics, and other fun stuff over there. Please follow! 

See you all tonight! 🙂 

From Shanghai with Rumbia,

-American (and Lulu)

Dear Insane Children, 

Are we heading towards 3000 Patrons at the end of August? Insane! 

Myself, Martin, Lulu, and the rest of the Asylum team cannot say THANK YOU enough for all the support, trust, and love you’re sending our way!

I did a public post earlier today where I shared a snippet of the latest image from Alex along with some FAQ stuff related to the Chaos Coin. Please CHECK IT OUT if you have Chaos Coin questions!

I also posted about tomorrow’s LIVE STREAM which will take place at 7PM Hong Kong Time on Friday, 17th of August. That’s an EU-friendly start time, so if you’re on that side of the world please join us! We don’t do these often – let’s show the other side of the world how it’s done! 😉 

If you are not on that side of the world, fret not. Livestreams are captured on YouTube and watchable at any time in the future (until the world ends).

We’re often asked about the music playing at the start of the livestreams – a track from our good friend Kian How called “Haunted Garden.” He produced this track for our Out of the Woods campaign over on Kickstarter. And he’s just uploaded it to SoundCloud for you all. Enjoy!

We’ll talk more about music, art, the Chaos Coin, and Asylum design on the stream tomorrow. Hope to see you there! 

As always, post your QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS below for Martin to read!

From Shanghai with a Love-Filled Bloody Heart, 

-American

Dear Insane Children,

A quick public post containing info about The Chaos Coin and the livestream for this week. First, a Giant Welcome to all our new inmates! As I write this, we’re at 2152 (and still growing). Wow! 

If you are not yet an Inmate and want a Chaos Coin, then join now! There’s no limit to how many we’re delivering via this offer but the offer does end on August 31st.

Still a bit of confusion and a number of questions coming in regarding the Chaos Coin Goal and how to acquire a Coin before time runs out. I’ve tried multiple times to explain this as clearly as possible and I’ll try again…

Chaos Coin How-To – In 3-Easy Steps

1) Pledge NOW at $35 (or more).

2) Wait to be charged on or around September 5th.

3) Done. Finished. You’ve passed go. You’ve acquired the Chaos Coin! 

After That…

If you wish to change, reduce, or cancel your pledge after completing the steps above, please wait until September 17th, 2018. This will help us sort and organize your pledges more easily – it will NOT result in additional charges to you. After September 17th, 2018 you can change, reduce, or cancel your pledge and you will still receive the Chaos Coin. 

You must be processed at $35 (or more) for this month (August 2018) in order to receive a Chaos Coin via this offer. 

You have until August 31st to lock in your pledge. 

Livestream and Pledge / Reward Walkthrough

If you are still in doubt then please join us for this weeks livestream – which can also be watched at any time after the stream – via THIS LINK. 

It’s at 7PM Hong Kong Time on August 17th. Here’s an International Meeting Planner timetable to make things clear…

Oi! This is an EU Stream! 

Again, if you miss the stream live then you can still watch it on YouTube via THIS LINK at a later time/date. 

During this stream Martin and I will talk through the commonly asked questions regarding the Chaos Coin Reward. If you’re on during the live stream then you can ask questions at that time as well.

A couple of recent questions: 

1. I pledged after you hit 2000 patrons.  Do I still get the coin?

Yes. There’s no limit to the number of coins/patrons.
Just pledge before end of August, 2018.

2. I just need to pledge for 1 month, right?

Yes. $35 or more for 1 month, THIS MONTH, August 2018.
Previous and later months do not qualify. 

3. Do I get coin + necklace + print at $75?

Yes. If it’s your first month at $75 then you would get all three.
If you’re already at $75 then you’ll still get an art print + Chaos Coin.
If this is your first month at $35 then two more months = art print as well.

4. It costs more because of VAT where I am.   (Not really a question, but some people are mentioning it)

It sucks. We know. Same thing here in China.
Write an angry letter to your politicians.
American and Martin can’t do anything about this.
Elect Lulu as Queen of the World… maybe she’ll fix it.

5. What’s the character count for my name/message on the coin?

For the virtual, in-game coin you can submit a name and message (per our approval). We’ll send out a Survey Monkey for this at a later date.
Name = 64 Characters
Message = 256 Characters

We’ll go into full detail about all this (and more) during the upcoming livestream.

If you have related QUESTIONS or SUGGESTIONS please add them to the comments below and use the “QUESTION: ” or “SUGGESTION: ” tag so Martin can easily see them. Try to avoid asking questions or making suggestions which have been covered before – a lot of your questions and suggestions have been covered in previous posts / livestreams. Lots of info on the Chaos Coin can be found via the Goal Link. 

We look forward to seeing you all on tomorrow’s stream. Yay!

Congratulations to Everyone who helped us reach this amazing goal! Wow!

PS: I’ll put the amazing new Card Guard art (used in the main image, above) from Alex in a Patron-Only post later today. 

From Shanghai with another Typhoon on the Way, 

-American (and Lulu)