Dear Insane Children,
Continued evolution on the Bumby as Shopkeeper concept images.
Above you'll see Omri's reworking based on our comments. This is "spider hole" Bumby + Mechanical Hands. In this version we'd hear but not see Bumby. And his hands would handle all the interactions in the shop and with Alice.
Another idea is presented here - Centaur in Oxford Bumby...
2019-10-02 00:40:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
As many of you are aware we're trying to define the look and function of Bumby's character in Asylum. This is a tricky task because many of us are uneasy with the idea of interacting with the Ultimate Bad Guy from AMR.
The basic idea we're working with is that there's a Doll Shop where Alice goes to have her weapons (and dresses?) upgraded. It might be where she spends all those Chaos Coins she's constantly collecting. And I had t...
2019-10-01 02:05:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
We had an excellent Livestream over on YouTube yesterday in which we reviewed a TON of artwork, gave away a bunch of Cheshire Kittens, and covered a lot of other topics - Asylum story, Bumby as a shopkeeper, and more!
Hit THIS LINK to check it out.
<...
2019-09-27 16:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi there
Font Lord here with a quick update about shipping.
Now the Chesh sets are getting sent out, and people have started getting their tracking IDs mailed to them, we have had some reports that the auto-email Backerkit is sending out for confirmation is still making reference to the Rabbit Plush, and possible old addresses.
DON'T WORRY !!
This is ju...
Dear Insane Children,
We're BACK after a week of R&R. Seems my throat really needed that. All better now! Pain is gone! And I guess we now know that I shouldn't eat tons of spicy food during the day and citrus fruit right before I go to bed. Hur dur. Lesson learned!
And while it's been quiet here on Patreon there's still tons going on behind the scenes. Our team of Artists and Designers (powered by YOUR support) continue...
2019-09-23 02:35:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
I'm back after a wonderful period of time spent with Lucky (吉克)! He's a good little boy who spends most of his time sleeping. And when he's awake his main focus is drinking milk... followed by explosive bowel movements and a bit of hiccupping. Here he is in the preferable mode of behavior...
The period of time we've had to adjust to this new life has been r...
2019-09-16 15:59:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
I posted this over on Instagram but figure there are a few of you here on Patreon who might also be interested in the discussion...
Feedback Time! Comment below on these design concepts for the Mysterious Makeup Box Set.
We're working on the art and design for the box which contains the makeup box-set. The items in the box set will have their own box artwork - b...
2019-09-12 02:47:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Omri sends along another concept image from the Realm of the Queen of Hearts. As we've discussed previously, this realm is an analog to Alice's Anger as she traverses the stages of PTSD. The entire realm and all its major inhabitants - the Queen especially - are fuel by and addicted to Anger.
We all know there's a kind of power to be drawn from Anger. That's why we have so many catchy quotes which embody that concept:
"D...
2019-09-11 01:02:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
We just finished watching Star Trek: Discovery Parts 1&2. And as someone who grew up watching the original (Shatner/Nimoy) series on TV (re-runs! I am not THAT old!), I found it to be a lot of fun in terms of the references made to events, places, and people contained in the original timeline. From the thematic echos of the TV series musical themes to the sound effects from the communicators and transporters... all familiar and comforting.
Hav...
2019-09-10 16:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Ever since the arrival of our Littlest Insane Child I've had this constant Sense of Christmas. Like that pressure you feel just before the arrival of a big storm except this is mingled with the memory of tinsel, candy canes, fake plastic trees, and eggnog. This child feels like the biggest gift I never knew I wanted.
I know you come here for the tentacles and knives but...
2019-09-05 01:28:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Dear Insane Children,
We're back home safe and sound. Baby and mom are happy and healthy. Thank you, everyone for your kind wishes and love.
Taking a quick break from cleaning the house and learning how to "dad" to bring you a quick update. Thought you might enjoy a bit of Crowd Design while I am away.
Crowd Design: Christmas Poster
Our art team continues work on various aspects of Asylum. Omri sent over the Christmas Poster con...
2019-09-04 01:54:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children
Font Lord here, to ease all of your minds with a soothing balm of information for what happens next with the Cheshire Kitten Set goal and to answer some of the common questions that have been flooding into our inbox now August is over.
---
1) OMG I HAVEN'T BEEN CHARGED YET.
It's still early in the month. Most people don't get char...
Dear Insane Children,
Please welcome our latest Inmate to the Asylum!
24hrs from when Yan arrived at the hospital...
Ji Ke (jee keh - 吉克) is a cute and healthy little boy (pink hat aside). English name not yet decided, though we might still go with Lucky.
Thank you, to everyone expressing kindness across all of social media :) ...
2019-09-02 02:16:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
This is an Automated Notification from the Cheshire Kitten Alert System.
The Early Bird Special on the Cheshire Kitten Plush Collector Set expires at 11:59PM on August 31st, 2019.
Look at your calendar. Is it still August 31st? Then you still have time!
To qualify and receive the Collector Set do the following:
Make sure your Tier and/or Pledge are set to...
2019-08-30 17:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
How far would you go to assuage your anger? To punish those responsible for your pain and loss? To exact revenge upon a world of broken rules and shattered expectations?
This isn't about recovering what's lost - it's too late for that. This is about retribution. Retaliation. Payment.
But no point raging ineptly. First you must prepare.
Denial is a perfect playground in which Alice will learn to sneak, explore, interact, col...
2019-08-30 03:34:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Did you know? Tentacles make everything better. Just take the latest concept image from Jen as example. It's a tent. Made of tentacles. And within? You'll find Priscilla gazing into her crystal ball and reading tarot cards.
We discussed this and more during yesterday's Live Stream over on YouTube. Did you miss it? That might have been because I didn't announce it. Or maybe I set the time/date wrong on the reminder? Or both? Who kn...
2019-08-23 01:24:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Omri sends along a new concept image which continues our exploration of Tarot elements infused with a collection of enemies in Asylum.
Do you remember the Phantasmagoria and Boojum from AMA? I do! And BOY HOWDY do I hate those two!
If you watched my Let's Play of...
2019-08-21 01:24:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
There are nearly 900 of you at the $1 "Unlock The Rewards" Tier. And many of you have recently joined that Tier - we assume because you want the Cheshire Kitten Set.
Warm Reminder: The $1 Tier is there to help Unlock Goals and Rewards. Now that the current Reward - Cheshire Kitten Collector Set - is unlocked... you must adjust your pledge to the $50 Tier if you wish to receive that Reward.
Once more, more si...
2019-08-21 00:45:47 +0000 UTC View Post
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 Discor...
2019-08-19 09:22:53 +0000 UTC View Post
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 des...
2019-08-15 02:14:05 +0000 UTC View Post
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 2019-08-14 04:09:04 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
...
2019-08-13 02:09:37 +0000 UTC View Post
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.&nb...
2019-08-10 01:03:59 +0000 UTC View Post
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 2019-08-09 04:04:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
We had a highly productive Crowd Design Session over on our Discord Server yesterday.
If you missed it live you can hit THIS LINK to check it out over on YouTube (Thank You, Insane Child Asteria Visual).
Our efforts were directed towards reviewing and improving a Product Brief for Alice: Asylum. Lots of useful feedback was gathered an...
2019-08-07 05:32:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
It has been said that if one enjoys eating sausage, one should never visit a sausage factory to observe it being made. It's also been said that one should never mix metaphors and innuendo. For these and all my various sins, I repent. Oh, wait, I live in a godless country... never mind.
Today we're taking a look at the guts of the sausage... the busy work that constitutes the bulk of the Business Development eff...
2019-08-05 01:49:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord and Stick Boy back with another FAQ video - this one covers all the details related to the Cheshire Kitten Plush Collector Set.
The $50 Tier for this Set has been Activated. So... if you want the set, select that Tier!
Remember if you're at the $75 Tier, you don't need to do anything. You already qualify and you'll still get your regular monthly art print.
And if ...
2019-08-02 04:23:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
I'm finally back at my keyboard and trying to get caught up on several days of unanswered emails and overflowing to-do lists.
Omri "bumped" a particular email thread regarding Tarot Cards and sent me down a rabbit hole of symbology and narrative. I thought you might like to chime in as I know many of you are experts on these topics.
Omri wrote, " "the Fool" he is the first card, numbered 0. He really fits into the ...
2019-08-02 01:47:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
It might seem like we're off taking a break but we're actually still hard at work! FontLord was over at the Underground Lair today and we made some adjustments to our cameras, mics, and lighting. To test the new setup we also recorded a couple of FAQ videos... the first of which is presented here.
I think we still need to crank up our output volume a bit. We'll do that!
Anyway, have a look, let us know if you like this format. And we'l...
2019-08-01 05:52:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Yan and I set up a mini photo studio in our workspace yesterday. We then put together a dozen+ setups featuring the Cheshire Kitten and Cheshire Cat Bag. With temperatures near 100f (40c) outside in Shanghai, we happily spent the entire day shooting, editing, adjusting, and shooting some more... All in the cozy cool underground comfort of our own little lair.
I'd love to share some of the candid sho...
2019-07-31 00:59:03 +0000 UTC View Post