No Live Stream This Week (YES, NEXT WEEK)
Added 2022-11-10 00:55:05 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
Just checking in really quick to let you know that there won't be a ... well, I mean you can read the headline. Heh.
But we WILL HAVE a Live Stream next week. And I'm hoping we can get Alex on there via Zoom. That way, we can talk in depth about the Massive Design Bible Update we posted last week.
So... got questions? Feedback? General comments of support and love? Share those below! And we'll address them on that special Live Stream next week.
Image above... is from Omri. It's Work in Progress. But still super beautiful.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Love from Shanghai,
-American
Comments
yeah wednesdays are hard for me normally too
Sky Kast
2022-11-15 17:56:04 +0000 UTC@Greyson Kehm I think the question and answer isn't one that's literal. I can't answer the design and narrative choices in the previous 2 games with the characters (as I didn't write those), but I'll try my best for Asylum. With Alice's mind in a state of flux and growth, I think it's natural for Alice's mind to change along with her. Alice's mind has pieces and fragments of herself represented by these Wonderland characters, and a few of them change role as the titles progress. From enemies, to allies, and everything between. When we were writing the story for Asylum, my anchor point was looking at the trilogy as if it were a "severe wound". In AMA, the damage of the wound is inflicted. We see the harm it causes. In Madness, the wound rots and festers. We see the continued impact of the damage and repercussions of the darkness inflicted on Alice by Bumby. In Asylum, we wanted to answer what the result of the wound is? Will Alice survive, or will she perish to the darkness? By that extension and reasoning, and with characters changing roles in each title, we wanted to position characters in Asylum that helped Alice "heal" herself. When you look at the characters Alice encounters in Asylum, a lot want to help her this time around. Which is representative of Alice's emotions, memories and mind trying to save itself, rather than destroy itself. In all her forms, I understand that the Queen is a strong, if not actively dominant, part of Alice's personality. Something that must be challenged, accepted, or overcome. A jagged piece in a puzzle that cannot be ignored. Wether it's authority, control, anger... these are all powerful things, and one Alice eventually comes to terms with and accepts as a part of herself, in the face of becoming nothing in the Shadow. All the pieces form together to save the best parts of Alice, which she eventually does, becoming "whole" by the end of Asylum. Is the Queen a cold harsh truth? A mirror of reason? A part of Alice's imperfection, anger and judgment manifested? A form of Authority and Guidance, replaced subconsciously in the absence of her Mother? I think even writing for the character it could be any one... or maybe none of these. When talking about questions of the self, framed in a Wonderland and madness themed question, I think it's best to just go with your gut on what feels best to your own reasoning. To me, regardless, the Queen is one of my favourite characters. One that I loved writing for. She is well suited to have an air of mystery, and is best represented with "many masks", both figuratively and literally in the context of Alice's story.
Alex Crowley
2022-11-11 07:09:09 +0000 UTC@Deathofink and @Greyson Kehm thanks for the questions and feedback. With the story stuff, I'd rather take the time to reply here, rather than on the spot in the livestreams, so here's my understanding when American and I were working on the writing. Yes, every character in Wonderland is either a representational fragment of Alice's mind, emotions or a manifestation of people in her "real-life". Inside the snowglobe, to craft the story of the "repressed inner-child" we wrote the other Wonderland characters as different versions of the same characters. Keeping in tune with the themes of change, and "Solve et goagula" (Dissolve to reform) that was a consistent core message in the story. In the usage of the Queen here in Asylum, you'll notice between AMA and Madness the Queen changes role and responsibility drastically. By that extension, when we were writing for the Queen in this story, she changed roles a lot before we landed on the version you read in the DB. Her character best suits the role she plays in the overall story for Asylum, which again plays into the aspects of "change". We could see "previous" iterations in the Queen in these massacre scenes, but I personally feel it blends too far back to the other titles, for the purpose of fan-service at the cost of clarity. If we were to see the "previous" iteratitions of the Queen from the previous 2 games, I'd rather they be in direct relation to the Queen/Mother reveal in the final Slumber chapter (if just for a moment) or in a previous memory sequence as to minimize the chance of confusion in an already complex and ambitious story. American might have other thoughts, but these are mine at the time of writing. Hope that clarifies or expands on a few things!
Alex Crowley
2022-11-11 06:49:00 +0000 UTCPretty sure ill be asleep when the stream happens. Oh well. Good luck.
Saleh Abu-Rashid
2022-11-11 00:47:39 +0000 UTCThat art is amazing! As usual!
Sarah McKeegan
2022-11-10 20:46:12 +0000 UTCAs always, I love the art! It is beautiful and sad, but hopeful overall! I... suck at remembering the live streams so normally try to catch it on youtube later, time fail on my end lol. But I love the progression of the story and artwork, the music that has been released, I am so glad to be along for the ride! (Also the Mysterious plushies.... seriously adorable. I have a wishlist that includes most of them available haha. The zodiac ones? Ingenious and dangerous for collectors like me lol.)
Karma Chameleon
2022-11-10 14:12:01 +0000 UTCOmri makes such incredible art. Looking forward to the livestream (hopefully I can make it). I have a question though: In Madness Returns, Cheshire tells Alice that she and the Red Queen were once "two parts of the same psyche". If that's so, and if the Alice from the original game and from Madness Returns is Shadow Alice, and the Alice we're going to play as in Asylum is Child Alice, then what is the Red Queen? There are a couple of theories as to who or what the Red Queen represents to Alice. One theory is that she is the Alice's Child Self, and another is that she's Alice's mental representation of Lizzie. Asylum blows both of those out of the water though, as both Child Alice and the Child of Fire are elsewhere, and Lizzie is trapped in the Dollmaker's pocketwatch. The question therefore remains: What is the Red Queen to Alice?
Greyson Kehm
2022-11-10 04:54:44 +0000 UTCThe Queen of Hearts doesn't make an appearance in the last two games. You're thinking of the Red Queen. It would be fun to watch Shadow Alice tear the Red Queen apart though. Calamari anybody?
Greyson Kehm
2022-11-10 04:41:27 +0000 UTCFrom the bible reading, does this mean that all the Wonderland characters in this game up till Alice getting out of the snow globe were different versions of the ones we actually knew from the "main" Wonderland? When Shadow Alice finally begins destroying Wonderland, is the same Queen of Hearts from the previous games going to be addressed/shown during her massacre?
Death of Ink
2022-11-10 02:05:09 +0000 UTCI do have a question: How did I get to be so damn good looking?
Abetternamenow
2022-11-10 01:17:08 +0000 UTCThat's okay. Knowing my luck I wouldn't be able to make the live stream this week๐
TG
2022-11-10 00:59:49 +0000 UTCSounds great! Iโm not confident I can make it to the stream next week, but I will try!
Nicholas Brokaw
2022-11-10 00:58:16 +0000 UTC
