Design Brief

Design Brief.

Design Strategy:

Using this concept of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, I would like to apply this condition to a different protagonist. Explore a new context for the protagonist and apply his perception to the world of Wonderland. Exploring new character design possibilities for Iconic Wonderland characters and re-creating the scenes in an exhibition format that will look different but feel familiar to Wonderland.

 Project Brief:

I will create a character to act as protagonist, defining key character traits, conceptualizing the context in which he exists, and communicating them via character boards and model sheets that show a range of expressions.

Choosing a series of iconic scenes from the original Alice in Wonderland texts, I will analyse the existing themes, characters, environments, mood and style. Then I will map out changes that can be made based around my protagonist.


Using primarily style and proportion, I will use the principles of character design to distil the essence of each character from these scenes and then apply them to the context of my protagonist.

Using these redesigns, I will create 6 illustrations that emphasize the mood, theme and sense of drama contained within the original Alice in Wonderland text, as perceived by my protagonist.

Alice Abstract

CP:  If the hallucinative condition of Alice in Wonderland syndrome were applied to a new protagonist how would this then affect the design of the inhabitants and the world of Wonderland?

Description:

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s adventures in Wonderland Is the story of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole in the fantasy world of Wonderland. Where she meets strange and interesting characters, the narrative is nonsensical and seems to follow the structure familiar to that of a dream or hallucination.

Research:

As part of my research I referred to theoretical analysis of Alice in Wonderland and things relating to it. Part of my research led me to an interesting find of a disorienting condition called Alice in Wonderland syndrome. It is a neurological condition that effects human perception.  “The patient complains of visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations and altered perceptions.” Alteration of body image, parts of their body are perceived incorrectly also distorted time perception, time moving quickly or slowly.

American McGee’s Alice somewhat uses this notion. In his re-telling, Alice suffers the loss of her family in a horrific fire and is institutionalised into Rutlidge asylum. She slowly loses touch with reality and is sucked back into Wonderland that has been twisted by her own broken mind.

Strategy:

Using this concept of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, I would like to apply this condition to a different protagonist. Explore a new context for the protagonist and apply their perception to the world of Wonderland. Exploring new character design possibilities for Iconic Wonderland characters and re-creating the scenes in an exhibition format that would visually differentiate but retain the familiarities to Wonderland.

American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice is a third-person action game released for PC on October 6, 2000.


Plot.
Shortly after her second adventure, Through the Looking-Glass, Alice's house is burnt down by an accidental fire, killing her family and leaving her as the only survivor. As time progresses Alice loses touch with reality. She is institutionalized in Rutledge Asylum, where she is observed and treated by Dr. Heironymous Wilson. Alice's only possession in Rutledge is a stuffed rabbit. Ten years after Alice was committed to Rutledge, she finds herself sucked back into a Wonderland that has been twisted by her own broken mind. The White Rabbit summons Alice to aid a radically altered Wonderland, which became a twisted version of itself as it came under the horrible rule of the Queen of Hearts. The Cheshire Cat serves as Alice's companion throughout the game, frequently appearing to guide her with cryptic comments.

Setting

The game's setting presents a considerably more macabre rendition of Wonderland than seen in Lewis Carroll's original portrayal. Wonderland, being a creation of Alice's mind, has been corrupted by her insanity. Alice's primary objective is to save Wonderland, and in doing so restore her own sanity.

The new Wonderland is composed of nine provinces. When Alice falls down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in the Village of the Doomed, the home of the Torch Gnomes. The Village of the Doomed is composed of a network of tunnels and caves, patrolled by the Queen of Hearts' card guards. Beyond the subterranean village is the Fortress of Doors, where the main attraction is a school of insane children. Within the school lies an ancient book of recipes for magic potions, as well as the ingredients for one concoction in particular which will be useful to Alice.

World map of Wonderland

Beyond the fortress and across a rough, uncharted landscape lies the Vale of Tears, where Alice's friends Bill McGill and the Mock Turtle reside, along with the Duchess. A giant river runs throughout the gloomy, mist-shrouded landscape, and another aquatic location is accessible through a well inside Bill McGill's house. The well is sealed until the Duchess is slain.

On the other side of the Vale of Tears lies Wonderland Woods, one of the largest regions in the game. The woods are initially filled by ponds, cliffs and jump mushrooms, but much deeper into the woods is a region of rock and magma. This section leads to several new regions including the Cave of the Oracle, the Pale Realm, the Jabberwock's Lair, and the Majestic Maze. The Cave of the Oracle is home to a wise entity that is revealed later to be the Caterpillar.

The Pale Realm makes a transition to the surface of a chessboard, as delving further into this area leads to the White Castle of Looking Glass Land, which is home to life-size chess pieces; the White pieces join Alice in the fight against the Red pieces, a deviation from her normally unhelpful "allies" from earlier portions of the game. Alice is twice transformed into a chess piece herself to pass certain obstacles.

Following this is a distorted version of Rutledge Asylum (where Alice has been incarcerated since her parents' tragic deaths). It is run by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and also houses the Mad Hatter's laboratory.

The path to the Jabberwock's Lair leads into the Land of Fire and Brimstone, a volcanic region of Wonderland and a reminder of the fire in which her family died. It is here that the terrible Jabberwock—a semi-mechanized servant of the Queen of Hearts and the incarnation of Alice's guilt—resides, in the remains of Alice's old home.

The Majestic Maze ends on the road to Queen of Hearts Land, a region heavily guarded by card guards, boojums, and other members of the Queen of Hearts' personal army.

Queensland is the final province of Wonderland. In it lies the Heart Palace from which the Queen of Hearts commands. Tentacles and other repulsive appendages are seen protruding from every organic wall in this area, and numerous areas even resemble body parts, giving the impression that Alice is travelling through her own body.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in American McGee's Alice

The game's characters are generally based on the inhabitants of Lewis Carroll's original novels, but they do not demonstrate the same identities. Many of them are warped incarnations of their conventional selves. The casebook^[3] of Q. Wilson (a supplement included with the game and written from the point of view of Alice's doctor) suggests that many of the characters Alice encounters in Wonderland are symbolic of real life people who get through to the catatonic Alice in some way. Other characters within the game are metaphors for Alice's own feelings, and because she is unhappy, they have become twisted. Some people (Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit) help her; others (Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts) try to cause pain, first by taking away those she loves and then by taking her down with them.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_McGee's_Alice

            http://alice.wikia.com/wiki/American_McGee%27s_Alice