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Dev Log #2: Introducing Alice

[p]Welcome, spirits, new and old, to the second of our dev logs, this time diving into Alice and the choices that we made surrounding the character.[/p][p][/p][h3]Prefer to watch?[/h3][p]Join Anisa and Matthew from the team as they talk about Alice and her character design in the video below:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Why Alice?[/h2][p]We realised early on that we wanted characters with Eastern and Western influences who could complement each other, and Alice turned out to be a perfect fit for us. Alice as a character has existed through a multitude of different interpretations, ranging from literature, to film and other media, which meant we had a rich selection of inspirational source material.[/p][p][/p][p]Because her character is so well-known and recognisable, we knew that she could stand on her own next to Monkey King. Her lore and visual identifiers, such as her blonde hair and her blue, puffed sleeve dress, make her instantly recognisable as Alice.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Design of Alice.[/h2][p]Knowing that Alice would be recognisable, we wanted to balance that familiarity while making sure her character design would be our own. Once again, we worked with Agnieszka Szajewska, an amazing artist based in Poland, who was very excited with our direction of Alice. We already had a concept to work with: long blonde hair, blue dress, and a little apron, which is very Disney-esque so we wanted to make sure that we had our own spin on it.[/p][p][/p][p]In Turnbound, Alice’s abilities are centred around using consumables and potions, so we designed her to look smart and strategic. Traditionally her looks are feminine and Victorian, so we looked to other sources of inspiration to influence her design. Japanese fashion, particularly the Gothic Lolita style with its frills, hearts, flowers, and oversized bows, stood out as a way to diversify her aesthetic while keeping her instantly recognisable.[/p][p][/p][p]Another consideration was our game’s setting: it’s a rough environment, yet we’re featuring timeless characters, so it was especially important to reinterpret our heroes in our own style by moving toward a more contemporary fashion aesthetic.[/p][p][/p][p]One of the themes of our game is that the player’s soul is sucked into the board game. Because of that, we wanted to explore supernatural ideas. When you choose a character, you literally inhabit that character during battles, so we gave Alice a ghostly spirit which results in an experience that feels like “cozy horror”.[/p][p][/p][p]This led to a conversation about what kind of spirit, or essence surrounds a character. We wondered what a ghostly presence would look like for someone like Alice, whether it’s the Cheshire Cat or something else? We did humour the idea of keeping her original age, but the themes of the game pushed us towards an older Alice. An older Alice meant a more experienced Alice, possibly changed from her Wonderland adventures, and one that could confront an opponent in front of her.

This meant that we ended up having an alternate skin done by Spain based artist Sergi Brosa. This version is more bold, almost as if she were a cyberpunk survivalist lost in Wonderland. It made us excited about the possibilities of an iconic character in a completely different universe. The smallest details could hint at other stories; for example, Sergi’s Alice looks like she’s been scrounging for resources, getting her hands dirty and getting flowers stuck in her clothes, whereas Agnieszka’s version is cleaner and more fashionable.[/p][p][/p][p]Being able to tell different stories through alternate designs of our characters is extremely exciting!  Each artist has their own style, and through this they can take our brief and come up with designs that make us say, “That’s awesome, we wouldn’t have thought about that!” This collaborative workflow inspires us with ideas that we wouldn’t have discovered on our own.[/p][p][/p][h2]That’s all for now[/h2][p]Thank you once again for your support and patience! Be sure to follow us in any of these places to stay up-to-date with the latest news: [/p][p]Stay spooky and safe[/p]
  • [p]The 1TK team.
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