Will You Be Insane Enough For Alice: Asylum?

Have you ever thought of the American McGee’s Alice franchise finally becoming a game trilogy? A terrifying twist of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland was firstly established back in 2000 as “American McGee’s Alice” [5] [6]. Eleven years later, the twisted tale was somehow remastered. Additionally, the mentally unwell Alice went through hypnotherapy in London and slayed fiends in Wonderland again in “Alice: Madness Returns”, the tale’s sequel [5] [24]. Sometime in late 2015, we are treated with two animated shorts that were part of “Alice: Otherlands” [4] [25] [27]. I quite liked the Otherlands shorts due to how they each provided a unique style of animation that was not established in the series before [25] [27], but it is a shame that it was quite underwhelming for plenty of fans [4]. I hope the production of a third Alice game with a whole new team who will always have McGee’s back will make up for the majority of Spicy Horse’s squad leaving due to how uneasy working with Electronic Arts seemed [2] [12] [24]. Sharpen your vorpal blades and hold onto your stuffed rabbits because we are about to fall into another deep, dark, disturbing and developing rabbit hole, Alice: Asylum [2] [24] [28] [29].

I can already imagine this sample of concept art turning out to be like the final cover for the game. [2]

On the other mentally unwell hand in a straitjacket, the cover ought to feature a dull background that resembles Rutledge Asylum in order for it to suit the title. [2]

Before we look into more of the concept art, I shall state that the project will be crowdfunded due to how executives of Electronic Arts tend to be defensive of what IPs they publish [2]. The way American McGee can receive funds is through his Patreon page [28]. The Otherlands shorts were also crowdfunded back in 2013, but on Kickstarter [4] [26]. Since there needs to be some way to get enough money for an ambitious project, I have nothing against crowdfunding, as long as what has been proposed does not turn out to be a scam or fraud. Apart from that, we can agree that not all honest crowdfunded projects end up satisfactory. As part of the negative feedback on John Kricfalusi’s eventually completed Kickstarter project, “Cans Without Labels”, its six year delay was considered to be inexcusable [33]. At least the Kickstarter project for the second remake of the first Leisure Suit Larry game from Replay Games was exceptional with faithfulness to what made the series quite acclaimed [22] [31]. Hopefully the finished game will come out on its proposed deadline or at least after a reasonable delay, so that it will be far more passable and excusable than the outcome of Cans Without Labels [2] [33]. 

Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded had a pretty satisfactory outcome that made its crowdfunding worth it. [22]

But as for Cans Without Labels, it could have been almost as outstanding as an episode of the original Ren and Stimpy. [33]

Apparently, Alice Liddell will be aged down to a possibly almost a thirteen-year-old as the game will take place during her time at Rutledge Asylum, according to one sample of concept art [2]. Despite this, I think it is safe to classify the younger Alice hinted in the development as a preteen since the age of thirteen might not be the final age for her. I believe that it would be a good move to establish the premise as a prequel to American McGee’s Alice as we know that Alice finally got a new job at the London Royal Opera House and gained the ability to look into other lands aside from her Wonderland in Otherlands [5] [25] [27]. In addition to how Alice will be a preteen in Alice: Asylum, it would make sense if her weapons would be various classic toys, expect that she may learn how to use a Vorpal Blade for the first time…which would never be recommended in real life [2]. Even though Alice appears to be aged down and may have a more innocent and child-like personality, I may still personally relate to her when it comes to feeling like an outcast in the society I grew up in.

The Alice in American McGee’s Alice and Alice: Madness Returns may be miserable and mentally unstable, but she is relatable and likeable. Even though she will be a preteen in Alice: Asylum, could she still maintain that likeability? [6] [11]

Uh oh! And there might be another Alice known as “Shadow Alice” as the true antagonist of the game. Encountering a shadowy form of the protagonist would increase the game’s psychological horror factor. Alternatively, perhaps Shadow Alice could explain the Rage and Hysteria forms from the previous two Alice games. [2] [9] [10]

The majority of the concept art that has been revealed so far is fantastic, including the artwork for the mentally unstable heroine [2]. I like the variety of different outfits for her, including the new ash dress that could represent the devastating house fire [2]. Some other dresses, besides her iconic blue dress that could be presented in the final outcome are:

•       Denial
•       Depression
•       DeathTime
•       Blackening
•       Asylum
•       Hospital
•       Pleading

There also seems to be another equivalent of Rage from the first game besides Hysteria from Madness Returns [9] [10]. One sample of concept art shows Alice with fire-like hair and orange and yellow skin. “Inferno” sounds like a good name to describe preteen Alice’s powerful form due to its fire-like design. Heatblast from the Ben 10 franchise ought to eat his flaming heart out [15]. The quality of the concept art reminds me of visuals within the Alice Madness Returns Storybook app I downloaded onto my iPad back in about 2014 [1], which unfortunately does not seem to be available in the App Store anymore and can no longer be played on an iPad with iOS 11 due to lack of updates [3] [19].

The Denial dress would have to be my favourite dress within the batch of concept art. The way that “It’s Your Fault” is constantly written in blood on the back of the petticoat could make the design represent Alice hiding her survivor’s guilt. [2]

I like how fierce Alice’s Inferno form looks. Could it be associated with how she survived the flames that reduced her home to ashes? [2]

As well as some examples of a younger Alice, let us look into the other characters…with caution. Alice is not the only one to receive a younger appearance as the Cheshire Cat could receive a new look that makes him seem more like a kitten [2]. Additionally, could he really receive an alternative look that represents the fire that killed Alice’s family? Since Alice: Asylum is meant to be a chronological prequel, the Mad Hatter will apparently be shown in full human flesh before an incident causes him to become a mentally unstable cyborg, which is strangely fascinating to me [2]. Considering how the Queen of Hearts was the main antagonist in the first game from 2000 [6], it would be no surprise that she would represent anger as part of Alice’s stages of grief, along with the possibility of any conflict between her and the Red Queen occurring [2]. Hopefully we will not worry about being late if we see the White Rabbit with his pocket watch [13]. Considering how Wonderland became corrupted during Alice’s time at Rutledge Asylum, those who dare to play the game once it has been released should take caution in the environments.

I would be up for seeing the Cheshire Cat in an ash form like this, despite how it would contradict Alice’s remark about him becoming mangier in the first game. It just looks pretty cool to me. [2]

That face above those ghastly red tentacles. It sure would be scary if the Queen of Hearts was able to transform into a horrific beast. [2]

The likely domains for the game seem to represent the seven stages of grief, which could basically sum up the third Alice game’s plot and fits the psychologically horrific themes of the franchise because of how Alice suffered from survivor’s guilt due to how she survived the house fire that killed her family [2] [5] [6]. The drafts of each domain are:

•       Alice’s house after the fire, representing Shock [2]
•       A circus in Wonderland that represents Denial [2]
•       The Queen of Hearts’ castle, representing Anger [2]
•       The Mad Hatter’s Domain, representing Bargaining [2]
•       An icy lake in the streets of London that represents Depression [2]
•       The Land Of Fire and Brimstone that represents Testing [2]
•       Checkmate in Red, the stage that represents Acceptance [2]

An additional stage of grief could be slumber and the location to represent it would be Rutledge Asylum [2]. It seems likely that a few aspects of Alice’s time at the asylum would be loosely based on Wilson’s Casebook, an unofficial journal that was written by Greg Roensch and sold with the first Alice game [5] [11] [14]. But since Alice: Asylum is meant to be an official prequel, it is more likely that those aspects will be based on what was shown in the Alice: Madness Returns Storybook app [1] [3] [11] [19].

Some concept art of Alice’s first stage of grief. Considering how the previous two games were 3D, I do not think I would be surprised if Alice: Asylum turns out to be a 3D game too. [2]

The additional stage of grief must represent Alice’s coma from her survival, leading up to the rest of her days in the asylum towards the start of American McGee’s Alice. [1] [5] [19]

Aside from the drafts of the characters and locations, there is a logo that appears to be the final draft [2] [29]. I am hoping the revealed logo will be the final logo that will be revealed in the trailer because of how impressed I am with its design. Speaking of trailer, if there ought to be enough funds for an animated teaser trailer, hopefully it will not be misleading like the teasers for Alice: Madness Returns [16] [17] [20] [21] [30]. Remember Alice’s differently designed London outfit and Wonderland attire, along with the wine red coat she wore in the second teaser, but not in the final game [35]? Oh, and remember that beta logo for Madness Returns too [16] [17]? Not even a hypnotherapy session with Bumby will make me forget them [7]. It makes sense if a cinematic teaser that looks almost nothing like the final game was finished before its modelling, rendering and programming. However, I am sure that most of us would prefer a more honest and reliable cinematic teaser or beta gameplay trailer that ought to be completed and released by the time a fair amount of the game’s visuals are done [8] [23], along with the final choice for the game’s logo.

Who knows? The misleading teasers can always be classified as the final game in an alternate universe or something. [17] [20]

The beta Alice: Madness Returns logo. EA…what have you done (back in 2010 and 2011)? [16] [21]

What has been revealed about Alice: Asylum seems like Fran Bow all over again [18]. A three year schedule ought to ensure the best quality for a specific chapter of Alice’s life without anything being rushed. Could a preteen Alice’s time away from the asylum drive you into madness? Or could it drive yours truly into insanity [35]? Will the crowdfunding be successful? And will the outcome of Alice: Asylum be more satisfying than Otherlands [4] [25] [27]? Being quite a fan of nineteen-year-old Alice who vowed to restore the wonders of her Wonderland [35], I sincerely hope it will, whether the remains of Spicy Horse are still with Electronic Arts or not [12]. If you wish to support McGee’s next big step in his legacy before October 2021, you can check out his Patreon page and donate. It seems like rewards will be available for those on the Alice: Asylum fan list, so I guess becoming a Patreon of his would be worth it [24] [28] [29]. If you begged for a third Alice game for a few years [34], this proposed project could be for you. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go into Hysteria mode [9]. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

And of course, Fran Bow, the point-and-click horror game from 2015 was crowdfunded as well, but on Indiegogo. [18]

Halloween 2021 sounds like the time to roam through the corruption of Alice’s Wonderland again. Again, I am very impressed with this logo’s design as its aspects suit the horror themes of the Alice franchise. [29]

References

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