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Insane Children and Their Make-believe

Dear Insane Children, 

It's freezing in Shanghai! We've just gone through a cold wave described as "the coldest days in 20 years" and... my feet are freezing! Houses in Shanghai are not famous for being well insulated. As I sit here at my desk working, the thermometer reading is 10c (50f)... which is just brrrr!

Is it cold where you are? Or are you, like Alex, enjoying a southern hemisphere "summer"  in your shorts and t-shirt? 

Couple of things to look at today: Artwork, Live Stream, and Narrative


Artwork

The main image (above) is from Adam. It shows Hatter giving Alice a guided tour of "the story to date" - a visual exploration of events leading up to where they are when Alice arrives in Hatter's domain. Basically a "where are we and how did we get here." 

This scene takes place when Alice first meets Hatter.. and is designed in a way such that explaining the required exposition is done in a way that's kept exciting and engaging. 

The scene (above) with Alce and The Knave is her first encounter with this Insane Child who has taken up employment with The Queen of Hearts. 

Lots of great art being produced these days - all of it following along the scenes written in the Alice: Asylum Narrative Overview. You can click on that link to download the Narrative Overview - but beware! - lots of spoilers contained in that document. 

Live Stream 

There WILL BE a live stream this week over on Twitch. The usual place and time... 

www.twitch.tv/americanmcgee 

Important Note: This is very likely the last Live Stream from our current location. And the last Live Stream in The Year of The Rat. Because we won't do another Stream until after the upcoming Chinese New Year - as we head into The Year of The Metal Ox. Rawr!

And... we're moving house! American and family will be heading to a new home on the southern outskirts of Shanghai. That means there will be a period of time where Live Streaming is disrupted by moving home - and another period disrupted by going back to Yan's hometown for Chinese New Year celebrations (with her family). 

The last item for today is related to Narrative Crowd Design. 

STOP READING NOW if you want to avoid SPOILERS!!!

Lately, I've been working on the mechanic for presenting all the back story elements we need to convey to people playing Alice: Asylum. So we've come up with a couple of ideas... and one of those ideas is presented in what's written below.

STOP READING NOW if you want to avoid SPOILERS!!!


The main idea is that we're implicating the Liddell family lawyer, Radcliffe, in Alice's encounter with chaos (the fire that killed her family, incarceration in The Asylum, Bumby's predilections, and the problems caused by Alice killing Bumby. 

And Alice's discovery of Radcliffe's involvement, plus her method for extricating herself from guilty in Bumby's murder... are contained in a Letter she's written to Radcliffe. 

Anyway, before we get too far ahead of ourselves on this... have a read... 


STOP READING NOW if you want to avoid SPOILERS!!!


Memory Scenes - Test Writing

These always take place when we visit Caterpillar. The main narration we’re hearing is Adult Alice - she’s reading the Letter to Radcliffe. (At the start, we are unaware of The Letter - and do not reveal it as a letter, or Adult Alice as the narrator, until much later in the game).

Show the scenes from the past (memories) as Living Scenes - ghostly actors moving around sets - where Child Alice can walk around, explore, and listen as the scenes play out. Night of the fire; taken to the Hospital; the missed Funeral; moved to The Asylum; years of Incarceration and Madness; the First Adventure; the Home for Wayward Children; the Second Adventure; the murder of Bumby; the murder investigation; ejection from The HFWC; life on the streets of London; discovery of critical evidence regarding Radcliffe;

Night of The Fire

Alice peers into the Snow Globe and is pulled into a ghostly scene: “The Liddell House - Date Nov 5th, 1863” - The scene is presented in a dream-like style of muted colors and uncertain lines. Alice’s avatar is solid and normal - wearing her nightgown - while other characters in the scene are presented as transparent specters - not solid; unable to interact with; cannot touch or be touched by Alice.

Alice stands in the front yard of her family home. It’s night and snow falls from the sky above. There are no lights on inside. The house is sleeping.

“That night began like any other. But it ended as an encounter with chaos, unlike anything I’d known before. But I was only 11, so what did I know of chaos?”

We PLAY as Alice navigates the scene and makes her way into the house through a front door that is open to the night air.

“At first I blamed the cat. Always knocking over the oil lamps and having nearly burned down the house at least two times prior. But it did not add up. The locked doors on the second floor. The front door wide open so that the flames could be seen raging inside.”

Flashes of imagery to match the narration: The cat knocking over the oil lamp; Alice’s parents frantically trying to open their bedroom door as smoke filled the corridor. Alice laying in the snow-covered front yard looking up at a burning house filled with screams - the front door conspicuously open.

We PLAY as Alice makes her way to the second floor.

“There were lamps on every floor. But we had checked to ensure they were all extinguished before turning in for the night. Lizzie and I even made a game of running around the house and snuffing them out. And no one ever locked their doors in our home. We had no secrets to hide… or so I thought.”

Flashes of imagery to match the narration: Alice and Lizzie running around excitedly to extinguish all the lamps. A shady black-gloved hand turning a key in a lock. A shadowy figure pouring lamp oil down the corridor outside the family bedrooms. A match thrown to light the oil on fire.

“I imagined you a centaur. I later discovered you were a different kind of monster entirely. But first… I had to be the monster.”

Final flashes of Child Alice being taken away in a straight jacket.

Taken To The Hospital

Alice peers into the Snow Globe and is pulled into a ghostly scene: “XX Hospital - Date Nov XXth, 1863” - The scene is presented in a dream-like style of muted colors and uncertain lines. Alice’s avatar is solid and normal - wearing her nightgown - while other characters in the scene are presented as transparent specters - not solid; unable to interact with; cannot touch or be touched by Alice.

Flashes of Alice taken from her burning home to the hospital. On a stretcher and tended to by nurses and doctors.

“I don’t know what they expected of me. A world blown apart in the span of a night. I was bruised and burnt. At the hospital, they treated my obvious wounds. But left unattended the damage they could not see.”

We PLAY as Alice explores the corridors of the hospital weaving a path that ends at Alice’s room. Here we see our first glimpse of the family doctor and another unknown figure: Bumby and Radcliffe.

Voices overheard: “It’s a miracle she survived.” “Inconvenient.” “She’s young. An event like this will be naturally suppressed - a sort of survival mechanism.” “You had better be right. Not only her survival depends on that.”

Flashes of scenes - Alice resisting the doctors and nurses. Police visiting her room, notebooks in hand. Alice stabbing a doctor with a scalpel.

“But my silence and rage - a sort of neurosis or hysteria - were taken to suggest madness. And from that madness blossomed a bouquet of accusations. The more they accused me, the more I lashed out. And so you had me sent to Rutledge.”

Rutledge Asylum

Alice peers into the Snow Globe and is pulled into a ghostly scene: “Rutledge Asylum - Date Oct XXth, 1863” - The scene is presented in a dream-like style of muted colors and uncertain lines. Alice’s avatar is solid and normal - wearing her nightgown - while other characters in the scene are presented as transparent specters - not solid; unable to interact with; cannot touch or be touched by Alice.

Flashes of The Asylum - Alice bound to a stretcher, thrashing as she’s rolled through the entrance. Nurses and doctors whispering and staring as she’s wheeled through the corridors filled with the shouts and screams of insanity.

“At that time you were already acting as my guardian. Having me committed to the asylum was easy. Who would you believe? The family lawyer and the doctor? Or the raving mad child everyone now believed had burned her family to death?”

We PLAY as Alice walks the corridors of Rutledge Asylum. Everywhere are signs of neglect, decay, madness, and cruelty. This is not a place for curing insanity - it’s a prison designed to drive one mad. The path leads past various rooms and corridors where we see variations on Alice’s routine in the Asylum. Mealtimes; bouts of uncontrolled rage; interactions with doctors, nurses, and psychologists; playing with the other Insane Children. A final room where Alice is bound to a bed; staring, catatonic, clutching her White Rabbit.

“The days passed into months. The months into years. And many of those years were spent in a state far removed from reality. That must have made you feel at ease - no one believes Insane Children and their make-believe.”

Flashes of Alice’s drawings - sketches on paper; scratched into the walls of her cell; carved into the flash on her arms. Our first glimpse of Wonderland and its inhabitants.

“But in my make-believe was your undoing.”

--- End of Test Scenes


After reading that you might have some sense of our goal here. Let me know in the comments below... how does this concept strike you? Can you see this working in-game? 

And a last note... Alex and I are working to present a new, longer format version of the Narrative Overview. Lots of YOUR ideas from Crowd Design are contained in there. And we should have something to share in a few weeks... depending on how much impact The Move has on things. 


From Shanghai with Brrr, 

-American 

Insane Children and Their Make-believe

Comments

This is one path I can see - I believe Lucky Dragon maybe submitting another way (which I won't spoil) which solves these issues too

In this way we see Radcliffe and “who is the enemy” is unimportant because in the end its not man vs environment or man vs man it’s man vs self (Alice is making a jailbreak not from Radcliffe or wonderland but from her own destructive thoughts (revenge and suicide) which were formed from the first two games). It's a cleansing game and not a continuation of the London story - it's ALL taking place inside Adult Alice as she struggles with herself and relives the past events but this time with the “light” and perspective of Child Alice.

Shadow Alice and the Queen (the REAL Queen and not the one we see in the throne room - which is a manipulator) should be big, they should talk down to Child Alice and belittle her and always talk about things like: Queen “the little and frail can’t possibly survive in a harsh world - only the strong who have grown up accustomed to the rules can weather the storm of the larger world” and “when you get to be my age you regret the past as uncontrollable sadness and look only to a future where eternal silence is its own immaculate order” Child Alice can come back with “The past is behind us and the future is always too far away. The present is the only “gift” we truly have and we should be happy for it.” Shadow - “the world out there is large and dangerous - everyone is out to get you” and “revenge is an adults game - not meant for children such as you - go back to your little circus and play” Child Alice can come back with “revenge is a game I’d rather not play. It doesn’t stick to the rules and only gives you a hollowing feeling when you win” Reasons - Adult Alice is struggling with revenge and suicide as her only choices. Child Alice plays through the game to offer a third alternative and the solution for the struggle - unity with our inner child (innocence). So as the globe parts continue the suicide and revenge and anger and depression and all the stages melt away to hope and unity just by Child Alice going through the game - the defeating of monsters and collecting maguffins are all part of the journey but just having Child Alice take the journey allows the Adult Alice to see the there are more than 2 ways to resolve her shattered self.

A cool thing about doing these "come to life wall scenes" is that maybe you can control Alice WHILE the talk is going on AND you can view any of the walls up close in ANY order - of course people will want to go to the first then second then third to understand the story (perhaps they "light up or glow when being referenced) BUT subsequent play throughs the player might want to view them out of order or look for secrets (each panel will display an moving scene that repeats BUT perhaps the scene is LONGER than the explanation given thus when its not lit up it may show 5 to 6 seconds more information than is even being discussed.

ANGER/JUDGEMENT REALM - THRONE ROOM You have (in the Queen's Throne Room) [What follows is a massive amount of exposition delivered via an in-game cutscene - it does contain the central movement of the narrative, so perhaps it’s alright to give it space to breath? Alternately, it could be delivered as a staged Boss Fight where Alice always loses.] and I believe the pictures on the the wall could come alive and reveal the story as the Queen is talking - you said you don't like exposition without action so this could be a similar solution like the Hatter exposition. Also a nod to the 2D portions of AMR

I'm not sure where to put this suggestion but:

Along the lines of what I just stated may be the Queen and the Shadow should always reference "Adults" - as in the Queen would tell child Alice that "only a child thinks as children do" and "the weight of the land rests on the shoulders of adults.. we my dear are the ones who hold up the world. Conversely the Shadow could say things like "In an Adult world justice can only be measured out by an ADULT" or "We are the adults here little one...we decide what happens in the end and what vengeance is delivered" (this last one would be referencing the queen vs the shadow) - The point I'm making is ultimately Adult Alice's real and true problem is also her solution - if reuniting with child Alice is THE SOLUTION to this game then don't we need THE PROBLEM be that Adult Alice isn't willing to unite with said child? In this way Adult Alice's conflict of suicide or revenge has her locked in a chaotic battle between hate for self and hate for others. Child Alice is there to bring love and reconciliation to the conflict thus uniting the two factions and bring all into a whole "self".

I had a thought - why are we contextualizing Adult Alice OR Radcliffe? What if we start the game in wonderland as child Alice and even the player has to discover the rest of the story - we could still have the letter so we would eventually "see" Adult Alice but maybe we should never have any cut scenes or play time in Adult Alice's world - only the last scene of the game... If you think about it that solves a lot of the problems we are all having - Alice IS her own enemy in this one - SHE is contemplating suicide (Alice is the Queen), SHE is thinking of more revenge killings (Alice is the Shadow) and ultimately SHE has to resolve her own turmoil and come to a satisfactory conclusion (Child Alice or reunion with the inner child)

I’d like to consolidate Radcliffe’s involvement in the murder of Alice’s family a bit more, by showing that he and Bumby were equally complicit in causing the fire, in Radcliffe’s case by stealing a set of keys to give Bumby access to the house and to Lizzie. Both men would get what they wanted ... for Radcliffe it was the assurance that his embezzlement of the family fortune would never be discovered ... but for the inconvenient survival of Alice. And maybe, rather than Alice contemplating suicide, the story should hinge on Ratcliffe making a last-ditch effort to kill her!

This actually brings into focus for me bigger feelings that I’ve come to develop about Child Alice and how she factors in. But that’s a big ol’ controversial topic I’ll save for a community post.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

My response to Adult Alice’s prominence in the narrative and it’s importance are this. We need the perspective of what’s going on ‘topside’ or there are no stakes. And if we simply use her contemplation of suicide as a plot device without exploring her character in the context of this story, it would be doing her a great disservice. She needs to be an actual character in this story. She doesn’t have to be as prominent as she was in the previous games, but she’s still the reason all of this is happening. If we don’t have at least a few scenes that help the player sympathize with Adult Alice, they aren’t going to care about Child Alice’s journey to save her. We have to act as if new players will play this game without ever having played the previous two. I’m sure there will be many that will do that, so Adult Alice needs to be re-established as a character to give context for why the player should care about any of this.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

Some quick thoughts: -If “Asylum” is to be Child Alice’s journey of reunification, does giving Adult Alice such a monstrous villain diminish the perceived importance of the Child’s adventure? -If Adult Alice is going “wicked” by contemplating killing Radcliffe are players going to accept that such an action is too far or just think that its “just desserts” for his actions? -Does Adult Alice even require this level of narrative? Her depression and eventual acceptance upon reuniting with the Child could be story arc enough without detracting from the Child’s journey as the keystone of this game I’m honestly not super opposed to the Radcliffe story idea, just thinking over how its inclusion might affect the narrative and the stakes therein. Looking forward to seeing it all in more detail.

Actually what’s really interesting about this scenario as I think more about it, it reframes everything in a way that even more makes Asylum feel like the necessary conclusion of the story, and that Madness Returns is only the middle part. Whereas before I always thought MR was a definitive conclusion. It really makes me want to just play Asylum right now.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

Yes, and in regards to Bumby, I imagine he was keeping tabs on her waiting to see if she had memories about the fire that would implicate him. But a long enough time passed after she left the Asylum that he felt reasonably satisfied that she did not know the fire had anything to do with his foul play. When approached by Radcliffe, he’s surprised, and initially worries that if here were to engage with Alice directly that it might jog her memories about him if she has any. After Radcliffe pressures him and incentivizes him, he takes it as an opportunity to make doubly sure that she will never remember the truth of the event, but it ultimately backfires on him.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

I really like this idea. It is well thought out. Also it makes Radcliffe much worse then before since he would now be the prime force in Alice going to Busby. You could even have a throw away line that Busby admits he knew the Liddle family from before the fire and the Radcliffe could say something like "that you did..." indicating they both kind of know more than they tell the player.

I am but curious what Dr. Radcliffe his involvement is. In Madness Returns there was never any details about Alice 's sister. Perhaps he covered up for Bumby (blackmail?)

Hey this is pretty darn good. I personally prefer that Radcliffe did not know about Bumby's involvement in the fire. I would find it hard to believe that Radcliffe would be okay with the killing of The Liddell family, regardless of the money at stake.

Nicholas Brokaw

So in this scenario, to clarify, Radcliffe is not aware that Bumby had anything to do with the fire. By happenstance he aligned himself with the perpetrator. Even if he did know, he probably wouldn’t care.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

I would suggest this, Radcliffe doesn’t necessarily have to have been directly involved with the fire for him to profit off it. Here’s what I imagine: Radcliffe was the family lawyer and accountant. For years he was moving decimals to enrich himself, but discreetly enough that it was never noticed. The fire afforded Radcliffe with an opportunity. As the family lawyer it fell on him to handle the Liddel’s affairs, but with Alice being the sole survivor she would inherit the fortune once she turned 18, that is if unless she was determined to be insane. Radcliffe had a friend Dr. Heironymous Q. Wilson diagnose her with insanity and hysteria and had her committed to the Asylum. Come her 18th birthday if that diagnosis was not rescinded the ownership the inheritance would be temporarily transferred to Radcliffe which he would have to turn over to the government, but Radcliffe was smart enough that he was sure he could fudge the numbers and come out with a sizable portion. Alice turned 18, and luckily for Radcliffe Alice was catatonic and would not likely be deemed sane. Unluckily for Radcliffe, whilst the litany of paperwork was being finalized to assume control of the inheritance, Alice came out of her catatonic state and seemed well enough that Dr. Wilson had no choice but to deem her insanity cured and she was released. That being the case. Alice became the sole owner of her inheritance. But Radcliffe had waited too long. He was aware of a Dr. Bumby, whose status as a doctor was questionable, yet he seemingly fooled the right people and found himself in charge of an orphanage. There was also talk that the orphanage was a training ground for child prostitutes, but nobody knew for sure, and those that did didn’t care. The part that intrigued Radcliffe was that apparently Bumby was versed in the art of hypnosis. Radcliffe went to Bumby and asked him about the practice, and Bumby divulged how hypnosis was done, and interestingly suggested with enough sessions a sound mind could be undone by itself. This piqued Radcliffe’s interest. He suggested that Bumby act as therapist to Alice and have her undergo hypnosis to undo her mind. Bumby was resistant. Children were easily manipulated, but adults were trickier, more skeptical. Radcliffe let slip that he was aware that the orphanage was not on the up and up and as a respected lawyer of the community he could make things very difficult for Bumby, to which he would have to agree. They came to an accord. Bumby was promised a percentage of the inheritance as well as Alice herself to be sold into prostitution when her mind collapsed. Pris Witless was promised alcohol to act as a patsy by way of making it seem like she was able secure Alice a job with Bumby. All was going according to plan until Alice pushed Bumby in front of a train. Now she’s under investigation for murder. There’s not much evidence. Chances are good she’ll be found innocent. Radcliffe is supposed to be her defending lawyer, but he plans to sabotage her trial by botching the defense. Alice has discovered the truth of Radcliffe’s schemes and began writing what she had intended to be a suicide note, given that so much of her life had been manipulated to such a degree, all of her successes now feel like failures, and what does it matter anyway when anyone that ever truly cares about her is dead. However, as she’s writing she wrestles with the idea. She also starts to feel wrath towards Radcliffe. A lawyer like him, it would be hard to bring him to justice with only circumstantial evidence and hearsay. She’s killed before. Why not again? He deserves it after all. But, ultimately she decides that what evidence she does have is damning enough that she’s sure she can convince Radcliffe’s sense of reason and self preservation that it would be in his best interest to put forth a proper defense. Alice’s major motivation for wanting to live, and not further incriminate herself came after learning that because she was Bumby’s assistant and protege, and being that he had no family, ownership of Houndsditch had legally passed to her. She came to feel a sense of obligation to the other orphans since she still felt complicit in their abuse, and also sympathized with their plight being an orphan herself. After being found not guilty of murder, as a way to make good on her promise to look after the orphans remaining at Houndsditch and any that might come into her care, and as a big middle finger to Radcliffe, she has him use every last cent of her inheritance to build a new larger building, buy new toys, and new books, as well as help fund a teaching staff. Alice then threatens Radcliffe to never bother her again or her darker tendencies may again reveal themselves, implicitly suggesting to Radcliffe that she did indeed kill Bumby, which he had only really guessed at. Frightened, he leaves forthwith.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

If the Insane Chlidren come up with a variation on the Blame Game that doesn't involve The Fire... let me know. For my part, the fire and events surrounding it are of constant fascination. And Alice discovering everything related to the Who, What, Why of that event... is kinda the core of these stories. But if you want to brainstorm... what are Radcliffe's motivations? What is his connection to The Fire? Is it as powerful or meaningful - is he a proper bad guy? Also... if the story we tell is ultimately satisfying... why reject a return to the well? Would Star Wars be better somehow if the constant struggle between the Resistance and The Empire changed with each new episode? If Luke wasn't always searching for himself and his family and his cause for being? Should "Lord of the Rings" have been changing out The One True Ring for several different Rings or bits of magical jewelry? The fire is a representation of Chaos. It's the destructive force that puts into motion all that follows. And there are plenty of interesting questions to raise about the nature of various relationships (Pris, Radcliffe, etc) - to Alice, her family, and the fire. Anyway, let me know if any answers are generated by the discussion that comes from these questions.

American McGee

The insane children look great. Question: are you not concerned that someone might spoil the story for this game somewhere else? Not everyone can keep a secret. The Last of us 2 was a good example of that.

Saleh Abu-Rashid

Stream is not tonight. It’s tomorrow

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

Radcliffe should be more about the scheming after the fact. Like to commit her or to keep her in the asylum.

Greg made a fairly decent point on Discord that I’d like to bring up, even though I personally may not necessarily fully agree with it. The point was made that this is the third time in a row that we are assigning blame for the fire. In the first game it was definitively Dinah. The cutscene clearly showed Dinah knocking over the lamp. The second game retconned all that and said it wasn’t Dinah, it was in fact a new character Bumby. This would be returning to the well of the issue of the fire for the third time. Now personally I feel like the fire is such an important part of this Alice’s story that we have to re-examine it in some way, so I don’t mind learning more was behind the event, but to play devil’s advocate, perhaps we can have Radcliffe be involved in some adjacent plot against Alice that is not necessarily directly tied into the fire. I have no idea what that could be, but we’re all clever. If we put our brains together we could come up with a compelling plot that Radcliffe was scheming against Alice that may have been either assisted or even hindered by the fire. Just a thought. Again I personally don’t mind Radcliffe having been involved in the fire. Maybe others have thoughts?

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

I cant wait for the stream tonight. I really see the story getting fleshed out and I hope thw move goes smoothly for you. Will you be closer or farther from Martin?

One last thing about the ending globe...if you WERE to have multiple endings (last stream you noted thing factions..suicide/queen, revenge/shadow Alice and child Alice reunion with adult Alice) you could then place the globe at the end with three outcomes..bad ending = schene with Alice on a rooftop then butterflies (symbolizing suicide), not great ending = schene with Ratcliffe at the bottom of the stairs with his neck snapped (symbolizing revenge ) and true ending that I explained before with the children at the orphanage.

Another idea I had from your last Twitch stream and tying into this snow globe piece is what if at the beginning of the game you play as adult Alice going through her day (i believe you said she was getting her affairs in order) then at last she goes to a shop and picks out a snow globe and says "ah perfect" but the player doesn't see what it is. Then during the entry into the game proper we are looking at a writing desk with the globe in the center and we "enter" child Alice's world by close up of the globe and entering it. The reason for this is two fold...it ties in why there are snow globes in the game proper AND it can be revealed at the end of the game what the snow globe is showing (possibly a house mirroring what the children's orphanage looks like and as we peer in one last time we see Alice bent down with arms open as the children run to her and the sign reads "Under new management "

I see you have a very fleshed out part of the narrative in these instances. It seems to me you are on the right track because your confidence in your writing is growing. Anytime an idea flows that easily it means you are sold on that idea. I like it. Also the non-combat in these areas are a great juxtaposition to the action. I can see as we go through the stages of grief we will also go through these stages of revelation. The player should get a prize or a reward after each part to mark the event. That way they can have a visual or tangible reminder if that part.

What do you mean by uncertain lines? I get you want to make it clear that they’re memories but all I can picture is Abstract single line art, which I’m not a fan of. I really loved all the non combat exploration scenes in AMR because they were so detailed and it was interesting to see how decrepit Alice’s environments were (I find it interesting to think of her day-to-day life, so I love the idea of seeing her in the asylum drawing with the other kids and such). So I’m just a little worried we’ll lose out on those solid little breaks where we got to run around and get peak into her life. However, I love the idea of a snow globe bringing us into the memory (it makes me think of the sad tale of Oakvale and reliving it through the snow globe quest in the game Fable)! As for weather, I’m in southern Canada and it’s just around 0 degrees so I keep waiting for snow so I can practice snow driving, but it’s starting to feel like it’s not to be. I haven’t had to pull out my bulky winter coat, so that’s nice! Good luck moving! 😁

I thought I knew what cold was growing up in Australia, then I moved to Greenland and my world view changed. Oh for the balmy warmth of positive 10 degrees Celsius.

I think it looks and sounds great!

Sarah McKeegan

I'm in Minnesota in the USA....so it's been around 30 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 months now....

Stephanie Groth

It’s cold here in England too. I sit in my office (at home) trying to resist putting the heating on with freezing finger tips. I think of you and Alice every day now!! My Calendar hangs proudly in front of me. (My work makes me go insane half the time too!)

I think this sounds like a beautiful presentation! I like that we are playing As Alice walking through this stuff. I think it makes feel closer to the heart actually being there to witness this with child's Alices eyes. I also like diving deeper into the narrative because alot of this stuff we have only seen glimpses of. We've never gotten this close before! Having Alice recite the letter over it is going to make it even stronger!

The implication to the audience that is familiar with Madness Returns is that the cutscene with this narration was not him privately thinking to himself but what he was telling other people, and would cause even obsessive fans to now reconsider if they knew everything they thought they knew about Radcliffe. You’ll have the twist built up and can reveal it later satisfyingly.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

This is the narration from Radcliffe that is the only narrative roadblock I see to this idea: “In a huff as usual, oozing with attitude and accusatory flummery. I've "stolen" her rabbit! Ridiculous pretext. She's here about the fire, again. All the mad child wants to talk about. My report found her family dead by misadventure, she won't accept it, goes on and on about her killing memories, and her need to know the truth. The alleged truth is the fire began in the library when the cat knocked over a lamp. The blaze trapped her parents and sister upstairs. Sister Lizzie never even unlocked her door, died in her bed. The guilty cat always sets her off, she denies it, "It makes no sense, it can't be, etcetera..." Agreed. From the outset, Alice was my candidate for the pyromaniac. The girl has a fixation with fire. I once remarked that I thought she might have had a larger role in causing the tragedy. She suffered some sort of psychotic episode.” My suggestion is have Alice experience a ‘memory’ where Radcliffe is holding some sort of dinner party or something and he say this in conversation. Would Alice have been able to experience this? Probably not. But we can easily overlook that. Plus isn’t Alice kinda psychic? Maybe Alice has the subconscious ability to know things she shouldn’t know, and maybe this whole adventure will unlock the ability to utilize that on command, cause this is all pre Otherlands yes?

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

Yeah, there's a conundrum in here that I've yet to deal with... It has to do with Child Alice crossing the line between the place where she's "frozen in time" vs. where these memories begin to look more like "predictions" from a future timeline. I've been thinking about the way this is handled in "A Christmas Carol" with the various Ghosts - past, present, future... And trying to figure out the exposition necessary to explain this to the audience. How to position it, who explains it, etc.

American McGee

One thing to keep in mind... Adult Alice isn't the main character in this story. Child Alice is the main character. But Adult Alice still needs a believable and engaging story arc - start, middle, finish. And that arc needs to result in Adult Alice rejoining with Child Alice in a fashion that is meaningful to both the Adult and Child. I've outlined motivations for various aspects of Alice's psyche as such (a bit dated but still applies)... A "To Whom It May Concern" letter that settles what's left of Adult Alice's estate and belongings. It is read in pieces and gives structure to the visuals that unfold throughout the game. And it links to a collection of items about which Adult Alice expounds on during the writing/reading of the letter. This gives us a narrator for sections of the game in which Young Alice (through her interactions with Caterpillar) peers in on what's happening with Adult Alice. We get to visit locations critical to Alice's backstory. And see items that played key roles in past events. As for Characters and Motivations related to "Alice" as a multi-faceted entity spread across time and form... Young Alice Starts with wanting to escape Denial and find her way home. Discovers that she’s the inner child residing within the adult. Can only get home by connecting with and reuniting with her adult self. Thwarted by Shadow Alice who wants to keep Adult Alice living in Anger. Overcomes Shadow Alice (and The Queen) and reunites with the Adult Self. Shadow Alice Starts with wanting to convert Adult Alice into an Angry Creature. Discovers that the Inner Child is attempting to escape and foil this plan. Can only convert Adult Alice into Anger by destroying her connection with the child. Must choose between integration or destruction. Joins with Child Alice against The Queen and is incorporated into The Whole. Queen of Hearts Wants ORDER above all else and at any cost. Discovers that a battle is afoot between Young and Shadow Alice. Can only achieve Ultimate Order by escaping from The Snowglobe and killing Adult Alice Thwarted by Young and Shadow Alice who decide to unite to save themselves and the whole. Consumed by a mess of chaos and tentacles, cast down into the dungeons forever. Adult Alice Starts as a lost soul who has decided to end her suffering because she cannot find peace with herself. Has a Chest of Items that link to her past and must be resolved. Thwarted by the difficulty of tracking down links to the items. Overcomes the obstacles and pairs the items with their locations and characters. Writes a note To Whom It May Concern - outlining her story and the items - finally leading up to the Rabbit. In revisiting her story and encountering certain characters (the child to whom she hands the rabbit) she learns to love herself again. Adult Alice has three possible outcomes that we need to make clear: 1) suicide Suicide is implied in the note. It's a suicide letter. It's how we're introduced to her character. 2) turning wicked Turning Wicked - needs a turning point during her reading of the letter (exploration of the items); wherein we see an opportunity for (insert: revenge, murder). I think this has to be linked to the orphans from Bumby's Home for Wayward Children. Alice has a choice - to reject them or embrace them. But that choice is complicated by an external force (the government) who do not think she's fit (or able) to care for children. And being unable to prove her fitness, she might just murder the person (government agent) standing in her way? The moment where she decides against murder (or whatever it is) coincides with the moment where Shadow Alice joins forces with Young Alice (late in the game). 3) finding her inner child, becoming whole again Finding the Inner Child - A moment in which a simple act (giving away the rabbit?) sets Alice free from all her demons. Also resolves the dilemma contained in the orphans. So that we see the letter becomes NOT a suicide letter - but a farewell to her old self. It then outlines that she will officially take over care of the children and live a happy life... Now. What among that chest of items might be used as a key to overcoming the obstacle that prevents her from taking the 3rd path? Probably the rabbit? Buried deep at the bottom of the chest? And through it we see a moment of happiness from Alice's earliest childhood memories, and that leads to a realization of something lost - her child self.

American McGee

I also think a neat visual trick to allude to these being ‘memories’ would be to have brief flashes of light that alter Alice’s appearance from Child Alice in her nightgown to Adult Alice or even younger Alice (Childer Alice) to however Alice would have looked during those moments.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

The memory scenes seem pretty interesting from a visual and narrative standpoint, though I remain rather cool on the idea of Radcliffe being behind it all. Perhaps it can work in story, but in an overarching sense it seems like its just trying to redo the "Madness Returns" plot revelation of who was responsible for the fire again and I don't know if that kind of reveal can work twice in a row. Good luck with the move!

Is it a retcon? How is it a retcon if it tracks with his character? I thought a retcon was taking something known from previous installations of a story - and changing them radically to fit a new version of the narrative. We're just taking the unknown and making it known. And think about it like this: Radcliffe is motivated by Greed. And Bumby is motivated by Lust. They hatch a plan to conspire so they both get what they want. And, yes, he would stick to his narrative regarding belief in Alice's guilt. It's not like he's going to admit that he was in on the fire and the coverup. Guilty people work hard not to incriminate themselves... especially lawyers!

American McGee

You're insane :P

American McGee

This is a very intriguing idea. It’s a major retcon but it would track with his character I think. Radcliffe has the means and opportunity, but now we would need the motive before I get 100% behind this. I also feel like if I’m not doing my job if I don’t bring up the fact that Radcliffe has narration in Madness Returns and he suggests that he still kinda believes Alice might have been responsible for the fire, but doesn’t at all indicate that this was something he came up with to pin blame on her. He very much speaks as someone who did not know, but was using Alice as an opportunity to skim some money off the top. No sense is given from his own words to himself that he was in on it with Bumby. I think we can get around this though if it is presented right.

Lucky Dragon ‘She.They’

It is "summer here in Australia" and it's the coldest summer we've had in at least a decade. I love the cold, I wanna move to Ireland for the cold and rain so I'm having a great time!

Abetternamenow


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