Dear Insane Children, 

I seek the finest and the bravest knights in the land to join me in my Court of Camelot! You have proved yourself worthy… but none (or at least not all) shall pass. It’s the same story every month. We add, on average, around 400 new Patrons per month but then lose around 200 at the start of each new month – a net gain of around +200 per month. For those of you who’ve been around for a while the pattern is familiar… 

As it pertains to our work and progress on Asylum this means nothing – tis but a scratch! But for those of you interested in reaching our next Patreon Goal – the Chaos Coin – it may feel a bit frustrating. The good news is that if the previous trend holds we should unlock that goal this month, August 2018. 

Several of you have written to ask, “What’s going on?” And I think the answer is highly variable. Some people actually write to say, “I need to drop support this month for XYZ reason,” while others just vanish silently. I think there are many who have other pressures and obligations to deal with. And there are probably a few who have figured out how to game the system in order to consume content for the month, then cancel before they are charged. 

Patreon recently implemented a “Charge on Pledge” option which, like it says, charges a Patron the moment they pledge as opposed to waiting for the end of the monthly cycle. I don’t think we see the issue as being large enough to warrant enabling this feature. Despite the ups and downs we’re happy, healthy, and making incredible progress towards our shared goals.

I do want to make clear that we absolutely COULD NOT do what we’re doing by way of art, design, and story pre-production if it were not for YOUR support. For that, I’l say again (again): THANK YOU! 

You are the dedicated few who are acting in a meaningful way to help bring to life a new chapter in an adventure you love. You’re taking part in a (seemingly successful) experiment in crowd designing, funding, and promoting a full-blown game development. 

I think you’ll look back in some years, holding the physical output of your commitment in your hands, and think, “I made this real.” 

Omri sends along a dress fitting with our ongoing progress – the Confidence / Aggression Dress (pictured above). We discuss this and other new bits of art at length in yesterday’s Livestream on YouTube. The other dress we featured was the new Bargaining Dress… 

We had a ton of fun on the livestream and I really enjoyed reviewing these new dresses with everyone. Lots of great feedback and ideas flowing from you all! 

Omri, Joey, and Alex are all working on new art and rounds of revisions based on your comments and we should expect to see lots of great new images next week. I also expect we’ll have bits of news to update on talks with EA, financiers, publishers, and others. 

I look forward to your comments and feedback. Remember if you do have a specific question you want addressed during the next livestream, mark it clearly with “QUESTION: ” – that will help Martin sort through and find things more quickly. Thanks! 

From Shanghai in another Typhoon,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Chaos always has its White Rabbit. Is it any wonder the Chinese designate the rabbit as Yin (vs Yang) – placing it in the house of Chaos? The trickster, the creator, the symbol of the eternal cycle as best represented in the motif of The Three Hares.

The puzzle  concept contained within this image of contour rivalry is one we could take as analogous to the nature of chaos and the grief cycle. 

Perspective dictates the nature of the phases of our journey. What was an “ignorant bliss” before the storm is later viewed as a period of great shame and regret. During that peaceful time it seems nothing is wrong and nothing could go wrong – but turn the wheel a few degrees and the “ears” which sat so comfortably atop the head of contentment now feature prominently above the head of the Chaos Rabbit. 

And then the wheel turns and the ears shift and we’re following the next rabbit. On and on it goes. 

This week we’ll follow the White Rabbit to another YouTube Livestream. Hit THIS LINK to set a reminder. And don’t forget to set your own reminders because YouTube is (rabbit) poop. 

That Livestream is set for 9AM on Thursday morning Hong Kong Time (August 2nd). Use International Meeting Planner to sort out what that means where you live. 

During this week’s stream we’ll discuss the back-and-forth I’ve had with Jennifer regarding new embroidery patch designs. From the outside this might look like simple “patch design” but in reality we’re establishing a CODE. A set of glyphs and symbols which will underpin a secret level of communication within Alice: Asylum. And we’re starting with the glyph that starts it all – the one that sits over the door leading into this new adventure. 

These are the latest versions of the White Rabbit symbol (alongside some patches she’s using as inspiration). I’m a huge fan of #1 and so I’ve incorporated it (main image, above) with the Tarot Card Back image sent to us by Alex this week. 

Now, Alex says he’s not feeling like this is going in the right direction – would like a do-over, and that’s fair enough… but not all the art we’re doing these days has to reach a ‘final’ stage. I’ve told him that it’s enough that we define the basic outline of an idea, stick a pin in it, and move on.

Truth is, we’re not in a place where we could start manufacturing Alice Tarot Cards tomorrow, so there’s no super-urgent need to finalize these images… especially not when there are so many other images we could be working on. And he is now working on something COOL … more on that later.

Back to the patches, I said to Jen: 

Now I think we’re getting somewhere… if I had a friend with one of these patches on his/her jacket or backpack… I might think they were into a satanic rabbit cult. I personally like #1 the best. I feel like my brain is tainted by the red/white color scheme of the Chinese “White Rabbit” candy – so I can’t take #2 seriously… though I do believe “White Rabbit” brand candy is the candy of choice for satanic rabbitists.  

Not sure if you’ve all seen the Chinese candy I am referring to…

But some of the earlier designs did feel a bit close to this – certainly in color scheme…

So… what do you think? Which White Rabbit would you prefer to follow through the chaos of existence?

As usual, leave your QUESTIONS and comments below. If you have a question, please mark it clearly as such. And we’ll do our best to get through everything… 

Btw, I am literally giving away Greg’s Junk during the livestream tomorrow. 

From Shanghai with the Cult of Lulu,

-American

PS: The Chaos Rabbit image attached as a JPG so you can use it as your desktop background – like me!

Dear Insane Children, 

We received the production sample box for Out of the Woods today at the Shanghai studio! I messed around and made a rotation video of it. We’ll get hands on with it during this week’s live stream. 

If you are interested in Out of the Woods there’s a pre-order store for that.

I have to say, my heart skipped a beat when I finally saw the physical product in hand today. It’s absolutely beautiful. 

Amazing what we can accomplish when we all work together! 

From Shanghai in Awe,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Whew! Finally back in Shanghai after a whirlwind of travel to Thailand. During my time there I caught up with Liz and Jamie of Followtheboat – who are slowly making their way around the world aboard a boat with a cat. If you like posh British accents, boats, cats, or just the simple schadenfreude that comes from seeing people stuck in a marina for ages on end (that’s why I follow them)… check out their Patreon page! Lots of great writing, photos, and video of their challenges and adventures. 

Meanwhile back in the Land of Wonder work continues on our pre-production of Alice: Asylum. 

• Asylum Presentation is in EA’s hands and initial response is positive.
• Meetings this week with financiers interested in the Development Village concept.
• Printed License Presentations arriving this week – for signing and delivering to all who ordered them (lots of you!)
• We’re at 1771 Patrons – only 229 new Patrons to go before we unlock the Chaos Coin reward.
• Chaos Coin reward package designed, samples delivered – beautiful stuff!
• Lots of new art, story, design progress made by the team – like the Red Dress from Omri (above) and the Secret Garden from Joey (below).
• More and more content going into the Wiki each day.

Joey continues her work on the Tarot Card ideas and has sent along a spreadsheet (attached to this post) containing some ideas for character associations with various cards. She’s asking for YOUR feedback on these ideas – so if you are a tarot expert and have thoughts to share, please do so in the comments below. 

NEW RULE: For future livestreams we’re putting in place a rule to help with reading and responding to your comments. In the background we’ll continue reading all your comments and collecting your ideas as they come in. But for future livestreams we will not read every single comment live – we simply do not have time. If you have a question please make it clear by using a “?” and calling out: “QUESTION: …” Do try to keep your questions limited to those things you cannot easily find via Google. 

We will still read out and discuss comments and suggestions which are particularly interesting – or those design ideas you put forth which feel like the sort which might end up in the game. 

You can leave your thoughts on this in the comments below! 😛

Jennifer is working on a new set of embroidered patches. This is the latest for the White Rabbit. I wrote back to her with this feedback: 

I think the cravat is confusing the concept. It took me a minute to figure out where the rabbit is in there!

I think #1 is in the right direction but the rabbit’s silhouette needs help. Don’t be afraid to render it as a realistic (ie non-Wonderland) rabbit… it’s meant to be a calling card that those of us “in the club” to display in the real world. To normies it should look normal and maybe a bit cryptic. It shouldn’t come off as too fantastical or magical (though the symbols might lead someone to believe there’s a religious / magik feel to it?). 

I was thinking… it’s like the sign marking the entrance to a speakeasy or those “hobo glyphs”

Perhaps I am overthinking this… but I want to get it right because the final symbol is something we could carry forward into the game, merch, etc.  

And of course there’s the fantastic new dress from Omri (the main image for this post). There’s something about Alice’s face and hair style in this one which distinctly reminds me of Rachel from “Blade Runner” – appropriate I guess since they were both a sort of mechanical doll? 

Omri is working on a new set of dresses based on the Jabberwock… those will be interesting I bet! 

Alright… have at it in the comments below. We’ll cover your QUESTIONS and (interesting) comments in this week’s live stream. A reminder for that will be sent out in the next Patreon post of this week. 

I’m off to dig out from all the work piled up in my absence. And Lulu needs a pet. 

From Shanghai with Love, 

-American

Question for live stream must be posed as a question in the comments below.

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”
-Nietzche

Continuously improving to attain something greater… Where there is chaos, we create order. When we see something lacking, we create. Evolution, revolution, convolution… 

I am happy to have you all along for this process. And very thankful to have skilled artists like Omri, Joey, Alex, Jennifer, and others who embrace the process. We’re creating some amazing things together!

First up today is a really excellent creation from the process – the latest incarnation of the Chaos Dress. And all I can say is: YES.

Love it. Omri’s taken an idea presented during our last YouTube Livestream by “Alice_on_Elm_Street” – that we be able to switch between Order and Chaos with the Chaos Dress. And there you have it – a dress switching between order and chaos! Yay for cool fan-powered ideas 🙂 

Omri’s also sent along a new variation on the Blackening Dress. For those uncertain about the NAME of this dress, do a quick Google search and you’ll find the concept is one contained in alchemy. The Nigredo is a phase in the alchemical process – usually the first phase – in which the ingredients are charred and blackened. In the psychological realm you might think of this phase as “the dark night of the soul.” 

We can imagine this dress being linked with the event of the fire – but a reflection of the result (psychologically) vs. the physical fire (and result). 

Looks beautiful to me – but then perhaps that’s just my inner goth speaking? What do you think? 

And then we arrive at… (insert dramatic music)…

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the Bargaining phase… the setting, the mental state Alice would be in, and how all this might reflect on her attire. While I think this dress is beautiful I also think we might want to consider the implications for a bargaining stage in Alice’s psychological state.

What I’m wondering is this: Would a 13 year-old girl, who has lost her family and wishes to return to the way things were, bargain from a position of power? Would she go up against the most painful situation in her life with knife in hand and wearing what appears to be the most gilded, expensive, powerful dress in her wardrobe? Or, in keeping with the stages of grief, would she be bargaining to trade everything (who she is, what she wants, who she could become) for a past which now lies in ashes? 

Bargaining isn’t pretty. It’s not done from a position of power. It forfeits, discards, and diminishes the self in exchange for the ‘other’ – it is, in effect, giving up. Is this dress one you’d… grovel in?

So… something to think about… but perhaps we need a few more distressed dresses? Let me know your thoughts on this topic in the comments below!

And speaking of CHAOS…

That’s the box, bag, and frame for the Chaos Coin. Each coin will ship inside this beautiful collector set. This is just a production sample photo from the factory – I’ll have the physical items in my hands this weekend. But I have to say these are looking excellent! 

We’re at 1731 Patrons as I write this. Chaos Coins unlock at 2000 – so we only have 269 more Patrons to go! You can help us get there faster by sharing our Goal via your social media channels. Show your friends the awesome Chaos Coin and Collector Set we’ll unlock when we reach 2000 Patrons. All the relevant info and images can be found HERE.

The actual physical coins are a thing of beauty – meaty and solid…

Let’s hurry up and get those coins unlocked because… 

Jennifer is starting work on more Embroidered Patch designs – one of which is the cute little Lulu patch you see above. Other designs being looked at – Insane Children, White Rabbit (as in “follow the”), Rage Alice, Alchemy Symbols, and more. If there are patch ideas you want to share – please do in the comments below. 

And once we’ve hit the Chaos Coin goal, then we’ll set up a new set of Patches as the goal after that (with an easier trigger). 

From Shanghai with Woof,

-American (and Lulu)

Dear Insane Children, 

We just hit 1700 Patrons! That means we’re only 300 Patrons away from unlocking the Chaos Coin. Yay! 

We did a marathon 3-hour livestream on YouTube yesterday. If you missed it, don’t fret – you can check it out via THIS LINK. We talked about dresses, story, and answered a TON of Patreon comments.

Sadly, Martin’s microphone was suffering mental issues. But we’ve since found the problem and fixed it. Thank you, to everyone who stuck with us through the technical difficulties. And a big thanks to Martin who had to endure not only a maladjusted microphone but a constant stream of abuse from me! Oh, the humanity! The drama! 😛

Here’s the latest from Omri in response to our comments during the live stream: 

 1. I thought about chaos outfit that it should constantly change color nut i like the On/Off concept. But perhaps we can (i don’t know if it’s possible) to make the two styles constantly clash, appear and disappear.

2. SUIT: Women wore suits after Coco Chanel at the beginning of 1900’s, she also tossed the corset.Also all of alice’s designs are very modern and they make no sense as for the “time” dresses didn’t go above ankles and hair wasn’t loose at all /: the Original Chaos hair is actually historically accurate.

3. i’ll make a dress out of the Suit.

4. Taylor Goen

5. I will move to china to work on Alice3. no problem. 

6. Yes to lulu earrings and Tees.

Point 5 (in case you missed the live stream where we discussed this) is in reference to the idea that I’d like to start a Development Village out in Western China where we can get away from the big cities, enjoy nature, and build games at a reduced cost and under reduced pressure.

Point 6 is in reference to the idea that we produce and sell “Mysterious Lulu” products… 

So… I’ve just added “Mysterious Lulu” silver earrings to the Mysterious Shop and put them on a 48-hour flash sale – so head over and grab a pair before time runs out! Awww… Lulu 🙂

And Joey sends along a new version of the Alice “Asylum Group” image…

As mentioned during the live stream I’m off to Thailand on Sunday night for 5 days. Heading over to scout locations for Pirate Jam 2019. We need to find kayaking, rock climbing, snorkeling, and diving guides + spots. I’ll be driving around (on land) between Krabi and southern Phang Nga in search of suitable locations and activities. But I expect we’ll continue to make progress on Asylum art, story, and design stuff in that time. 

Look forward to your feedback and questions in the comments below!

From Shanghai with Lulu,

-American