![Up(side) [Is The New] Down](https://img5.xaiju.com/storage/11/is/iz/d38796-019e80ae-0ca7-7db1-a363-9704eb04426d.jpg)
Up(side) [Is The New] Down
Added 2020-04-28 16:00:00 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
These days it feels like we're living in an upside-down Escher painting. A barrel of oil "costs" -$35USD, toilet paper is the new gold, and a microscopic particle has brought entire nations to a grinding halt. Can we just call for an early New Year and be done with 2020 already?!
Here in Shanghai, I've managed to work my way through a large chunk of the Art Prints we need to send out for April. There are only 135 left in the system which need to be picked, packed, labeled, and sent for international delivery. Adding to the "fun" of this process is mayhem in the logistics industry - shipping lines we've relied on to deliver packages around the world quickly and cheaply have been shut down one by one. We're now left with "slow boat" shipping or FedEx/DHL (super expensive)... so all your art prints are now literally taking the Slow Boat From China. But they will eventually get to you... with delivery times now being around 30+ days instead of the 15+ we'd got used to in the past.
To commemorate the upside-downness of it all... Omri's working on a new Art Print tentatively called "Escher Alice" or "Blade Face 15" ... I have no idea! It'll get a new name once it's finished. Though I don't think there will ever be another name as fantastic as "Blade Face."
Broken Things
And speaking of all sorts of things being broken... Jen is working on a collection of breakable objects...
Expect to see objects like this strewn around Alice's imagination just waiting to be whacked with a Croquet Mallet or shattered with a blast from the Pepper Grinder. I've always found breakables to be a very important part of the rhythm one gets into while exploring a game world. They are like the hi-hat used to keep the beat during the quiet section of a bit of (snake) jazz. A bite of snake jazz? Anyway...
Live Stream on Twitch
Would you look at that? Twitch offers a way to schedule a future live stream that actually, you know, works?!
So we'll have another live stream on Twitch this week. The usual time... 10AM Thursday morning (Hong Kong Time). Which is Wednesday at 7PM if you happen to be on the West Coast of the US.
My Twitch channel can be found here: https://www.twitch.tv/americanmcgee
And we'll record the post this stream over on my YouTube Channel if you want to watch afterward.
This week we'll continue playing through Alice: Madness Returns while discussing ideas for the design and narrative of Alice: Asylum. Hope to see you there!
A Word From Our Sponsors
Our longtime and very generous supporters over at Freaky Fandoms (Andrew and Deborah) are involved with a documentary film called "In Search of Tomorrow" which explores one of my favorite movie genres: 80's Sci-Fi
They are currently hosting a Kickstarter campaign (it's already surpassed its goal in a huge way!) and offering a ton of great merch, community hooks, and project involvement (credit, etc). Please check out what they are putting together via this link:
In Search of Tomorrow on Kickstarter
If you've been around our Patreon since the start, you know we never do cross-promotion like this... but this is a project I find quite compelling and I think you will too!
Housekeeping Notes from Font Lord
Font Lord says all the Backerkit surveys for the enamel pins have been sent out. And that there are a few of you who have yet to respond. If you don't respond and provide your shipping details then we can't ship out your pins!
A final reminder email will go out in the next couple of days. If you've not yet filled out your survey then keep an eye out of for that. And perhaps do a search of ALL your Email Folders for "backerkit" to make sure it's not gone in the Spam Folder or something. Mmmmm. Spam.
From Beautiful Spring in Shanghai,
-American
Comments
Hi! Did the pins and the posters get sent out at the same time? I got my pins but no poster yet and no tracking number. Thanks for all your hard work!
2020-05-18 18:26:09 +0000 UTCThat snail needs a plushie. Just sayin
2020-05-02 17:51:53 +0000 UTCWoow this print is amazing!
2020-05-01 05:26:07 +0000 UTCThe snailππ
thed4rkestrose
2020-05-01 03:53:53 +0000 UTCReally like the broken things!!
Sarah McKeegan
2020-04-30 15:59:28 +0000 UTCQuestion : More of a general question but one I think American would hopefully support if possible, which is Mod support. I know they don't even have an engine yet but if at all possible will Mod support be a thing, because much to Americans understanding is clear on older games Alice/Skyrim etc that modding and the community keeps these games going YEARS after their release and the developers move on, and if at all possible I am sure we would all mod the HELL out of a new Alice game. Hell, even if He/they cant justify a remake of the first game I bet some of the fans would give it a go with a basis to work from!
Kyle Ross
2020-04-30 07:51:31 +0000 UTCthis picture is amazing.
2020-04-30 04:43:00 +0000 UTCHad an Idea and wanted to share before I forgot. This relates to the crystal vorpal blade. Not sure how this would be explained in game but what if the Crystal blade is a representation of Alice's mind? It starts out as clear crystal to signify the current state of her mind "Fragile" like crystal, and that she doesn't know anything about the details of the fire and what's going on. But as she progresses through the game and learns more of what she's going through the blade starts to slowly turns metal and becomes more solid and unbreakable as a sign of her mind healing itself. This could also be used as a weapon progression mechanic for the blade as it becomes stronger and able to do more damage as it solidifies into pure metal. Maybe this mechanic could be adapted to some of the other weapons as well? What do you guys think?
Ray Weatherford
2020-04-30 04:21:26 +0000 UTCLoving the new piece from Omri! I like all the breakables. Except for the gnome. I really hate the gnome and want to smash it to bits, so I'd say it works out in the end. I really like the angry tooth, but aren't Chaos Coins going to be the main collectible currency in the game, and not teeth like in AMR? Even though every where I've ordered from since this global lockdown says it'll be longer than usual, it's actually been more the opposite for me (with one exception), and usually it has taken about a month for your stuff to arrive for me, so it'll be interesting to see how long it takes this time.
2020-04-29 22:46:49 +0000 UTCI wanna do the extra 30 to get the pins but no moneys
Abetternamenow
2020-04-29 12:51:17 +0000 UTCOH MY GOD. When this is available, I am DEFINITELY getting it. β€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Alli C
2020-04-28 22:14:14 +0000 UTCTook a bit too much inspiration from Spongebobs' Gary there. I would not like to see that back in the game. I do love the elegant looking swan though. The Swan and Toothy Jar are definitely my favourite two from this list. Am not wow'd by the gnome.
Dewi Sri
2020-04-28 18:52:34 +0000 UTCIs there a way to opt out of the enamel pins offer aside from continuing to ignore the emails from backerkit?
2020-04-28 18:48:30 +0000 UTCI love the Broken Things concept and title. Question, it's not that I don't appreciate Omri's hard work but will we have more artists making art prints? I remember art works that were much more dark and less polished and I kinda miss the diversity.
WitchDoll
2020-04-28 16:18:33 +0000 UTC
