Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord here again with a follow up to the jigsaw post from a few days ago.
Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions.
We're already doing some of them and looking into others, while also asking for a sample from the factory and all the usual good stuff we do before making a product.
We have compiled a selection of prints we think would be good below.
Please vote for what you think would make a good jigsaw.
(Also please note that some...
Dear Insane Children,
Thank you to everyone who downloaded and commented on the "Gates of Rutledge".
I am blown away by the response, and it's a special thing to share these experiments in sound with you all.
We're going to keep sharing more of these soundscapes as we go, so please stay tuned.
I'll see you in the next post!
Cheers,
Alex
2022-03-24 01:03:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Hello again everyone, Alex here with more Design Bible updates.
This time, we're sharpening our Vorpal Blade(s) and discussing a HUGE subject, and one that I feel is among the most important aspects for any prospective Alice game.
Combat.
Before we get into it, who else really wants to see ...
2022-03-24 00:45:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord here letting you know what we're going to do next and asking for a bit of advice from those in the know.
We want to do a jigsaw puzzle.
It's looking like a 1000 piece jigsaw that will be 70cm X 50cm when complete.
But this isn't really something we've done before, so we just wanted to put the feelers out and ask if there might be anything we're overlooking or any subtleties we need to take into consideration.
So those of you who ar...
Dear Insane Children,
We don't often post gated content (stuff exclusive to our Patrons) but when we do...
We've made an exception with this beautiful track from Alex.
Not only is he doing incredible work on the UI/UX graphics (and underlying design concepts) but he's also providing these haunting soundscapes to really set the mood.
Enjoy!
2022-03-19 22:55:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone,
Alex here (Lead Designer, Co-Writer, + misc.) with another meaty Design Bible update. New video content above. I've also got some news from the Project Management side of the Alice: Asylum pre-production phase. Plus, we also have a Free MP3 Download at the bottom of this post for all our beautiful Patreon supporters.
There's a LOT to cover here, so let's get into it.
2022-03-19 22:44:57 +0000 UTC
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Dear Insane Children,
Well, much as I predicted... the lockdowns have arrived in Fengxian! We could see the wave rolling towards us over the past few days - all of Yan's friends around Shanghai one by one reporting that they were being locked down.
Btw, stop trying to click the Play Icon on that picture... it's a screengrab of a video. Haha! If you want to see the video - it's not very interesting - click 2022-03-15 23:56:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Things here in Shanghai are crazy. I wasn't here during the Jan-Mar period of 2020 when Covid first kicked-off, so I can't compare it to that... but certainly for the time since then, this is the most serious period of virus and lockdowns that I've seen. Tons of areas around Shanghai are in lockdown. All parks, public spaces, government offices, schools, etc are closed. And there's mass testing going on all over the place.
As you might imagine tha...
2022-03-15 01:59:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Well... Shanghai is experiencing a wave of new Covid infections. You can read the local news about it here: https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2203092893/
The result is that a ton of places are getting "locked down" - meaning residents can't leave their homes; people have to stay put (for days) in their office buildings or schools; and everyone is encouraged to avoid ...
2022-03-09 06:44:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Woo it's busy around here. In the last week, I've been to the hospital for migraines and the dentist for a painful tooth; Yan's been to the hospital for pregnancy checkups; and Yan's mom is off to see her brother in the hospital - meaning increased Lucky duty for myself and Yan and Lulu. I've had a bunch of meetings related to Alice (TV series); Akaneiro (more on that later); and Oz: Adventures. There just aren't enough hours in the day or days in the week! 2022-03-07 22:54:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
First up: There WILL NOT BE a Live Stream this week. Sorry! I have to go to the dentist on the usual live stream day. I have a new crown that's decided to fail - so that has to be removed and I get to have a root canal. Wee! I'd change the time to allow for the Live Stream - but this dentist is only in that nearby office once a week. So... Yeah.
Mark your calendar for the 10th of March though. That should be the magic day of the n...
2022-02-28 01:24:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord here with a quick reminder of what next month's print is.
As you can see above, it will be "Burning Birthday" for February Patrons charged in March.
So you now have 7 days to adjust your pledge if needed.
And of course, yes, this will become a choice for the 3x$35 tier Patrons when March rolls around :)
In other news, we do not have infinite space to store every art print selection we ever have, so u...
2022-02-21 06:36:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
LOTS going on these days but I've neglected to provide you with an update! First, we had a Live Stream last week. Here's a link to a recording of that over on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuwJxIQPO8s
In that, we discussed the Alice TV deal, progress on the Design Bible for Asylum, and new work being done on Oz: Adventures. Check it out!
<... 2022-02-17 23:08:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everyone,
Alex here. I am the Design Lead amongst other roles for the Alice: Asylum pre-production project.
My work on the Design Bible last year was focused on delivering the best possible narrative experience for Asylum. From the feedback American and I have received, we've achieved that to a suitable level to proceed.
My work is now focused on presenting key gameplay concepts in the earliest chapter of the DB before the na...
2022-02-12 01:17:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Wow! We're off to a great start. Roaring into the Year of the Tiger!
Alice TV Series Deal
First, for those who missed it: Radar Pictures has brought on board David Hayter to write and develop a TV series for "Alice" - you can read more about that via a Google Search. Tons of...
2022-02-08 00:52:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
First off - an apology for not sharing the news here first on Patreon. When the story came out, it was already nearly midnight here in Shanghai and we were snuggled on the bed with Lucky. But better late and all that...
The Big News!
As the image above proclaims - David Hayter has signed on to bring "Alice" to TV!!!! Wooo!
You c...
2022-01-31 23:33:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Usually, it's the VPN that gives our Live Streams trouble... but this week it's Covid!
You can see in the local Shanghai news that there are several cases in the city - and that one case is directly north of where I live in Fengxian District. Looking at that map... Where you see the red circle for Bailian Nanqiao Shopping Mall... I live about 15 minutes south of th...
2022-01-25 02:51:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
The schedule suggested we might have a Live Stream this morning but that (obviously) did not happen. Lots going on in Shanghai at the moment - visits to the maternity hospital for regular checks of Baby #2, preparation for Chinese New Year, and lots of behind-the-scenes work at Mysterious. So we'll try to have our next Live Stream on the 27th. Try not to go mad in the meantime!
2022-01-20 03:26:32 +0000 UTC
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Dear Insane Children,
Just a quick update to share some new art and wish you a happy weekend.
First up, we have a sketch from Adam depicting Lizzie trapped inside a pocket watch designed by The Dollmaker. Alice will encounter this during her boss fight sequence with Bumby/Dollmaker...
And it allows her to complete Lizzie's narrative arc as established in Madness Returns....
2022-01-15 00:36:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord here with the results of the poll to what the next 6 art prints should be.
As is normal, these choices are so hard due to all the amazing art getting made, but such is the nature of a poll.
There are winners and losers.
There's also some extra into at the end of this list, so be sure to read to the end.
HERE WE GO!!
Above, you see the header image for this post is Alice and the Snail.
This will be the next pri...
Dear Insane Children,
Font Lord here wishing you all a Happy New Year.
Hope it's all going swimmingly so far.
You know how this goes by now :)
We would like you to Choose 5 of your favorite pieces of art from the images below.
Then when the votes are tallied, the winners will become the next 6 prints for Patrons in 2022. Although we do have the right to change things up if we need to, but we'll give you plenty of notice abou...
2022-01-07 07:38:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Feels like it's been ages since our last Live Stream! But the wait is over. We'll have one this week at the usual time and place...
And you can find links to my Twitch and YouTube via Linktree...
https://linktr.ee/americanmcgee
Keep in mind that if you want to WIN PR...
2022-01-04 03:06:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
I think it's fair to say we're all happy to see 2021 quickly vanishing in the rearview mirror. And we're hopeful (perhaps a bit anxious) about what's in store for 2022.
To kick things off, we've compiled a recap of Alice: Asylum Major Events for 2021. And a roadmap for 2022.
But before you dive into that, I want to say THANK YOU! All of this - our team of artists; the collaborative design process; the biz dev conversat...
2022-01-03 01:12:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
The crazy year that was 2021 is in its final moments. And our team - like many of you - has been taking little bits of R&R between holiday events and spurts of Wonderland-inspired creativity. And behind the scenes... there's a lot going on. But we're going to save the major updates until the start of 2022... only a few days away now.
Due to the holidays and timing of various announcements... there will be NO Live Stream this week. But we are p...
2021-12-29 01:11:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
It's Christmas Eve in Shanghai and all through the house... Lucky is running like a crazy little mouse. Christmas music is playing. There's a star atop the tree. And there's even a remote control dump truck waiting for Lucky to open tomorrow morning. Yay!
I hope that you are warm and happy wherever you are - and whatever you might or might not be celebrating these days.
One sad bit of news... I had hoped we'd share a cool announcement ...
2021-12-24 00:37:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Here's a fun Crowd Design task for everyone:
Help us define and design the demons that lurk inside the mind of an evil lawyer. Is "evil lawyer" redundant? Haha. Everyone loves to hate on lawyers... so this one should be easy!
From the Design Brief:
44.2) Enemy Design Tasks - Otherlands Enemy Designs - Page 165 (v2.1)
Art Task Briefing and Output:
Render, explor...
Dear Insane Children,
Another trip around the sun for me - today (December 13th in the USA) is my 49th birthday. Woo.
And it's an excellent birthday too! I am VERY HAPPY with where life is these days. Surrounded by a happy family, supported by wonderful Insane Children, making tons of great art, design, story, and plush toys.
And I happen to know that we're going to announce something very cool in the next few days...
Due to that announcement, I wa...
2021-12-14 02:59:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Oh boy. I just learned some big news.
Can't provide any details right now.
But there is an announcement coming.
Very exciting!
From Shanghai with Glee,
-American
2021-12-11 02:35:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Adam sent over a follow-up sketch to the previous post. This combines some of the elements from those images to present a surreal scene in which everything terrible Alice experienced in the Asylum is reflected back to her in one terrifying moment.
There's a question of which of these should be fully illustrated. But first, Adam says of these:
I have two ideas that could tie all these visuals together into an artistic and elega... 2021-12-10 01:40:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear Insane Children,
Do you remember your childhood? I once heard that when adults can't remember their childhood, it suggests the memories were not worth keeping - that perhaps there was pain, sadness, and/or abuse in the past. I have some happy memories. Also, some are painful. And lots of gaps in between.
Never knew my father and never knew the true circumstances of my conception. Depending on whose version of that event you believe, the truth of my coming into being lie...
2021-12-07 01:19:08 +0000 UTC View Post