XaiJu
americanmcgee
americanmcgee

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One Night in Bangkok

Dear Insane Children, 

Actually, we've been here more than one night but tonight is THE NIGHT. Yan and I are heading to see Nine Inch Nails at MoonStar Studio. It's been over 20 years since I last saw Trent in person - back when we were doing sound/music for Quake. Lots has happened in the years since and it'll be fun to catch up! 

Over the weekend Yan and I ran around all the markets and malls in Bangkok collecting ideas for jewelry, art, and clothes - there's an absolute explosion of creativity in Thailand and they have some of the best workshops for creating stainless and silver earrings and necklaces. We're working to decide whether our next jewelry item (The Alchemy Necklace) might be made here or in China. Lots of great inspiration! 

Meanwhile our artists continue cranking out amazing new concepts. The main image (above) was sent by Joey. She's working through enemy and weapon (toy) ideas at the moment. I've just sent her a new list of ideas to play with - nut cracker, ball in cup, toy soldiers, etc. Are there any ideas YOU have for toys as weapons? Enemies from the old games you'd like to see brought to life in some interesting (pre-history) way? 

As usual, comments QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS are welcome! There will be a live stream this week on Friday - but likely later in the day so that our friends in EU can get in on the fun. More details on that coming SOON!

This is her revision to the "Fist Gun" we saw in the previous livestream. The variation still offers amble opportunity for hatching puns... but reduces their obscene hilarity. Cluck it out. Has she hatched a winner? Lay your feedback in the comments below!

Those of you who follow me over on Instagram will know that the first two images were already shared there - turns out the Android Patreon App is poop when it comes to posting multiple images. So I was being sneaky and sharing images via Instagram :P 

But this variation on the Dice is exclusive to YOU my Patrons. Yay! She's added a bit more detail with regards to how these work and what spawns out of them. I like the idea of a Giant Rabbit... this again takes me towards the idea of White Rabbit playing a very central role in this particular adventure. She's taking him along this time - which explains why we see her wake up with him in her arms at the start of AMA - and he's helping her find her way, fight enemies, and unravel the mystery of this particular adventure. 

In other important news we do have an update from EA! My contact sent along a message: 

So... our guy is on vacation but we'll have a chat around end of August. Sound good to me. Progress is progress. 

For those of you new to this... the negotiation process - even when all parties want to do a deal - can take AGES. For example, it took over a year (16 months if I recall correctly) for us to get the deal in place for Alice: Madness Returns. Mind you, that deal included trans-national bond financing, international banking/loans, bond agents, accredited game production audit companies, heaps of lawyers... the final deal papers stacked up to 150cm high! I don't think we're looking at that sort of process or timing... but just warning you ;)

One thing to keep in mind... the more time we have the more preproduction we can do - the more art we can produce, story we can write, etc. From my perspective, more time (within reason), is more time to create and perfect our vision. Not a bad thing. So... let's hurry up and wait! Still lots of art to create, story to write, and GOALS to UNLOCK!

Goals! We are SO CLOSE to 2000 Patrons. As I write this we only need another ~120 Patrons to unlock the Chaos Coin Goal. Wooo! At the current rate we'll definitely hit that number before end of month. As soon as I am finished with this post I'm going to push another round of marketing and mailing list notification (ahem, spam). 

A lot of you writing to ask how you make sure you don't miss out on this Goal... What I might suggest is, at this point, if you are interested in the Chaos Coin, go ahead and set your pledge at $35 (or higher) and wait. If we somehow manage to get to End of Month (August 31st) without hitting 2000 Patrons then you will still have a few days to adjust your pledge back to your "comfort level." But chances are we WILL hit that goal and when we do, you'll be ready! Let the pledge process for end of this month (usually happens 5 days into the next month) and the Chaos Coin will be yours!

Now would also be a great time for YOU ALL to spread the word via your social media channels. Tweet about it, post it to Instagram, talk about it on Facebook. Feel free to share the images we've previously posted - you can find those on the Chaos Coin page over on Mysterious. 

Yan and Bangkok send their love. We'll be back with another update in the next few days. Again expect the next livestream on Friday late afternoon (Hong Kong Time) which will make it accessible for those of you in the EU-ish time zones. 

From Bangkok with ความรัก,

-American

One Night in Bangkok

Comments

I still really love the demon dice from the first game, I guess the thought of using something "evil" for "good" was always fascinating to me. The demons could be completely redesigned, im not attached to the designs of the original ones.

About the chaos coin offer. Which time zone is it applied to it?

Actually I had an idea but it's not really a weapon more like a skill. I'd like to see Chesire Cat summonable like in the first game. If he could appear anywhere and your mana/sanity is on full it would be very cool to call him to help your way in combat! Like in the beta version of the first game as I know.

sumblinker

Pennywise :O

sumblinker

Great concepts (especially the flowers), as always, it's bringing me back to the true essence of nightmares.

I second the cup & ball (in lieu of spring chick/fist gun). I'd also like to see more period-specific items like the stick & hoop. This could be a combo weapon - she could roll the hoop out for a ranged knockdown, and use the stick for melee. Or possibly get weird with it and use it for locomotion, circus-style (in the clown outfit)? How about a pocket-sized carousel that enlarges when she sets it on the ground, and does spinning AOE damage? An old style whirligig would make a lovely melee weapon, like a handheld buzzsaw... What about a sonic weapon, like a glockenspiel? There are some beautiful lyre-shaped models that would be easy to carry.

This is truly an interesting enemy! Love it💕

Like rose red!!!💀🥀

Wow rose😲😍🥀💀🔪

Are these flowers highly likely to be in the game? Cuz I thought of something for my digital message if they are, but it's sort of a hint, maybe I shouldn't...hmm!! Decisions!

SUGGESTION: my favourite enemy from the first game would have to be the army ants since i love the complexity of colony insects and i think it translates so perfectly into an enemy. So maybe if you are going to venture back into the insect enemy world i would love to see other types like perhaps stag beetles (who could throw you much like the ants and their bayonets) and perhaps praying mantis which you could experiment with having them hidden as leaves or lotus blossom and appearing to attack Alice. It may be interesting to interact with a slow worm or earth worm enemy too. Overall, the enemies from the first game in the vale of tears level and the the hatter level always intimidated me and i always found them so cool in their design!

Why sad? it sounds kinda cool :(

WitchDoll

Loving it all. Like the chick gun idea more than the fist gun idea. The fist just didn't go.

Have fun at the concert American! The flowers designs and ideas are gorgeous, love it! I agree with the comments that say that the egg weapon is not so appealing. I do find it a little silly for a game like Alice. On the other hand, the Giant Rabbit coming out of the dice is awesome, I love it and the fact that it might have connection to Alice's rabbit doll. The only thing about the dice is the colors, seem a bit off and plastic alike (not final design i'm guessing?). Enemies that I would like to see again are: The Jabberwocky, the Card Guards, Eyepot, Madcap, Nightmare Spider, Jabberspawn, the Executioner in action, Killer Mushroom and perhaps more residents of the Queen of Hearts's court, like the King of hearts (tortured? ) and Knaves of Hearts. SUGGESTIONS: -Perhaps a dominoes weapon? I see it as a throwing weapon where Alice throws one piece of Domino and it splits into five more pieces, attaching themselves onto enemies and giving them deadly electroshock pulses, or perhaps acting like a landmine that burst with the same electroshock energy (a reference to the ECT at the Asylum), thought ECT was not invented yet.... so maybe the dominoes will suck out the blood from enemies, like leeches. and the landmine can be a blood trap. -"Whipping Top" ( <a href="https://museum.wales/media/8980/whip-and-top.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://museum.wales/media/8980/whip-and-top.jpg</a> ) - Holding the handle, Alice launches the "top" with a throwing motion which causes the top to spin at the enemy, at the same time growing in size, it spins around the enemy and hitting it a few times and finish it off by jumping on the enemy's head, spinning and grinding its head until it explodes :) In the meantime Alice can keep attacking the enemies with the whip. - "Cup and Ball" can be a badass mace like weapon, made of black iron with spikes and a sad screaming face on it. Another option is to stick it into the ground (cup facing up) and the ball spinning around knocking back enemies. Also, I really liked the Jacks from AMA, It would be nice to see them again. I'm also excited about the Chaos Coin, can't wait! (Sorry for any grammar mistakes) Edit: I don't know why but my comment disappeared twice...

WitchDoll

Very pretty!! Yet so creepy! Perfect.

Yesssss they must be super creepy! But disarming at first glance.

Love the flowers very creepy looking , The spring chicken weapon reminds me alot of Angry birds. Liking the Dice rabbit attack .

This is beautiful and also super creepy! I love this so much :)

Hannah Young

I totally love the flowers, and the yellow one looks especially creepy! Also the giant rabbit, summoned by the dice... please make it a thing!!

Amazing, my trust for flowers have gone lower. I miss sucker punch...But this bird egg thing looks nice.

Saleh Abu-Rashid

SUGGESTION: I think those flowers would make great collectables items, they could come as planted on a tea cup. Those flowers look amazingly terrifying! I love them! I'd love to see a creepy-cute version of it as a patch idea.

Priscila Nosoma

Love the flower enemies, saw the chicken gun on Instagram super cute and I imagine somewhat oversized with little Alice carrying it (kind of a cute image in my head.) Interesting seeing more development in the five and it's possible roll outcomes, giant bunny sounds pretty great.

Just adjusted my pledge tier. Let the countdown commence! Chaos! Chaos everywhere! Let the Chaos Coins shower us all! So excited! o(*≧□≦)o

Ok, I'm somewhat jealous that you get to see nin and Mr Reznor. If love to see them live, but they're so big now that attending one of their gigs, especially in the wheelchair, would be less than fun...

The egg weapon just isn't appealing. It just doesn't fit with Alice's lore and it just silly. The gun idea wasn't the brightest but it was better. Maybe take a step back from this weapon and explore other ideas.

Love the flowers! Not a fan of the chicken gun. It looks cute but doesn't really fit in with everything. It's too comical. I really liked the fist gun, it's was very steam punky and awesome. I'm on the fence about the dice idea. it's kinda cool, but will it actually help in the heat of battle? Have a great show! :D SUGGESTION: I would love to see the flowers based on real flowers, and there are some really weird/creepy/terrifying ones out there. Like this Black Bat Flower (illustration by Beatrix Papp, the flower is real, though) <a href="https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/005/566/361/large/beatrix-papp-tacca-chantrieri.jpg?1492025100" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/005/566/361/large/beatrix-papp-tacca-chantrieri.jpg?1492025100</a> Or maybe Bleeding Hearts? <a href="http://rainyside.com/images/archives/Dicentra_spectabilis060705_3.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://rainyside.com/images/archives/Dicentra_spectabilis060705_3.jpg</a> Just googling 'Weird Orchids' will give you a looot of weird and interesting looking flowers that somehow puts me a bit in the mind of the Rorschach test <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=weird+orchids&amp;client=firefox-b&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiLnoLlguzcAhVHPFAKHe6iARsQ_AUICigB&amp;biw=1680&amp;bih=913" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/search?q=weird+orchids&amp;client=firefox-b&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiLnoLlguzcAhVHPFAKHe6iARsQ_AUICigB&amp;biw=1680&amp;bih=913</a>#imgrc=OQvZn2PbhU0HAM:

These flowers are the stuff of nightmares! Love it

the appearance of the daffodil flower has Uzumaki (manga) vibes, which I like a lot. the enemies I would be happy to see again are: AMA: Phantasmagoria , Jabberspawn, Killer Mushroom AMR: Samurai Wasp , Drowned Sailor, Eyepot and of course the Executioner

QUESTION: Since we are so close to unlocking the coin how will everyone choose the name and quotes for there coin, and will the quotes be ones you choose from a list or will it be up to each person to have whatever they want, will movie or game quotes be allowed if so?

The new flower enemies look awesome ! Also I had a question about how will the hidden message feature work, do we get to send you a message personally or through Patreon ? I'm curious about how that will work ,thanks guys !!!

Nice, now I am become a Patreon, supporter of Alice. The red flower enemy looks sick, by the way. Its teeth remind me of the new Pennywise (2017's It), and that's awesome. Cheers!

Just upped my pledge. Really excited for these! Congratulations on a great campaign so far, and thank you for continuing to make Alice games!

But Alice doesn't really like sweets, remember? I like that idea, though. And yeah, Boojums were annoying, but awesome.

Jay Olsen

QUESTION: When the chaos coins get rolling, what kind of message can we write? I don’t know what to write xD

I love the flowers!!! They are beautiful and terrifying!!

SUGGESTION(S): I know this is a little late, but I was thinking about the Jack-in-the-Box and spring-launcher weapon concepts. So far, the chick spring-launcher idea seems a little unwieldy and awkward (Maybe it can be used as a knockback/movement utility tool instead, like a rocket jump?) and the ordinary Jack-in-the-Box bomb would be great if it hadn't already been used, even though I know we'd like to tie the games together in some ways. I was thinking it'd be a better fit for the (chaos) theme of the game to make the Jack-in-the-Box bomb, not a damaging weapon, but maybe a stun weapon for crowd control. Alice could throw it, a song could start and when it finishes, the Jack pops out on a tall spring and brings with it a terrifying image and/or sound that stuns smaller-medium enemies with fear for a time. Good opportunity for the artists and devs to show off their skills at generating terrifying imagery :D Maybe this could even work into the ideas of having elemental damage (discussed in early streams) with fear being something that causes some damage over time and delivers a stun effect when built up enough. Use it on the wrong enemies, however, and they go into Hysteria mode, becoming far more dangerous, but maybe also vulnerable in some way. Now that I think of it, raw damage (Will or Willpower damage?) could be its own element with similar effects like having scaling damage as Alice performs combos on enemies. Combo certain enemies too long or for too much damage and they go into Rage mode, or something. I remember playing Devil May Cry and loving the idea that enemies get to use your Devil Trigger mode too on harder difficulties. It made sense for them to be able to since they share a key trait with the main character, it was a solid challenge, and with their added toughness, they could be used to have more fun with the weapons before expiring. QUESTION: H.R. Giger / Zdzisław Beksiński style DLC dresses? Please?

Jay Olsen

The red flower is absolutely terrifying and I love it!!! It's like. "Wow..it's so ..." then it wakes up and the mouth begins to open. "pr...etty?? Ahhh!!!" Runs away.

Got the email and switched right over to 35! Hopefully we reach it this month, but if we don't my wallet won't be complaining that's for sure lmao

Makko

LOVE the flowers. I want more. Curious to see how the dice pan out. Not a huge fan of the hatching one, but I trust your geniuses. SUGGESTION: I feel like this concept could be incorporated into either enemy or weapon- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/479146505433648/posts/2248307375184210/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/479146505433648/posts/2248307375184210/</a>

Sarah Heist

I got my replacement art print. Thank you so much for sending it to me. I really do like the chick gun, I think that idea is hilarious. QUESTION: How exactly will the dice work, is it like however high the number it lands on dictates how much damage it will inflict?

Lucas Severin

I absolutely adore those flowers, designs. The flowers were always one of my favorite parts.

SUGGESTION maybe Alice can collect marbles in her world? And they can have different abilities or I really liked the magic candies idea to give her power ups and limited abilitied.. Love the flower its so awesome! Maybe we can have the boojums return?? I liked those enemies! I'm excited about hitting the goal and I'm even more excited about negotiations and preproduction 💜

QUESTION: Is the overall look of wonderland in Asylum going to be more colourful and whimsical than AMA or AMR?


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