Hi, I'm Robin.

I was recently given the opportunity to interview NewGrounds OG and Alice is Dead creator, Hyptosis. This has been an exciting moment for me an honor to talk to one of the original creators of a game I first played after seeing it gain popularity on YouTube in the mid-2010's. In light of the recent announcement of Alice is Dead: Hearts and Diamonds, a full HD remake of the original series complete with new art made from the ground up, I thought now more than ever was the best time to reach out for this interview. So without further ado, here's here our conversation!

(Art from Hyptosis, taken from this blogpost.)

Robin.: "Thank you for me joining me for this interview today! How are you doing?"

Hyptosis: "I am well! Been working like crazy though, but it's all good."

Robin.: "Good to hear! I'll start off with a question I think is important- What is the biggest inspiration for you as an artist?"

Hyptosis: "That is a good question and should be easy to answer. When I was younger it was just art, comics, cartoons, story-telling. Lodoss War was HUGE in inspiring me to pursue art, and really it still does. Nothing got in my head like that anime. It got me into D&D, it’s the reason I started drawing characters for roleplaying, and it spiraled from there. Anymore of it may be burdensome to try to explain. I still enjoy art, it became a job for a long time and that changed how I felt and feel about it. I guess anymore I mostly just go look for niche concept artists and they inspire me, and playing games still inspires me. It seemed a lot easier when I was 18 to have the drive to create without an agenda or product in mind."

Robin.: "Lodoss War? I haven't heard of that. What's it about?"

(Promotional art for Record of Lodoss War.)

Hyptosis: "Record of Lodoss War is an anime just about the creator’s D&D games, the story isn’t particularly ground-breaking but the art was. I didn’t know art could look like that, every frame is like a finished illustration. There is a series of novels that the anime was based on."

Robin.: "Oh I see, I'll be sure to look into that then in my free time, it sounds cool. So, if I recall correctly, you both draw and write, correct? Which do you prefer to do more?"

Hyptosis: "I really don’t have a preference, they go hand-in-hand for sure. Sometimes I will get another artist or two to help me on a project. A lot of writers might knee-jerk at this but I’m not afraid to say it, writing is a lot easier than illustrating. A sentence takes 20 seconds to type and can tell you 10 things, now try to draw that and see how long it takes and hope you illustrate the information clearly enough when you’re done that it reads to the audience. I worked in comics for a few years and banged heads with writers all the time. They had no idea how hard the art side of making comics was and how difficult it was to clearly convey 10 things on a single page. I like doing both, but one is for sure a bigger time sink and just flat more difficult."

Robin.: "Yeah, as both a writer and person who likes to draw myself, I definitely do agree with you on that. I guess we're gonna be in the trenches on that together, haha. You said you worked in comics? Are there any specific comics you've worked on that people might know about?"

Hyptosis: "I worked on a lot of comics, but probably nothing anyone has heard about. I did some Civil War comics I can’t remember the names of, I colored a comic about an HIV-positive superhero in a mechanical ninja suit... um, worked on a western comic that I can’t remember the name of. I was always a worker drone on these projects, colorist mostly. Nothing big. I did TV commercials and roleplaying handbooks after college, then card games for a bit, then comics, then worked in movies a bit, then got into making flash games. Took a few years off to get into a wildly different field rebuilding reactors for plants. Came back and am now back into working on games. I’ve also got a small side hustle designing and working on one-off concept cars but Covid has put the brakes on that. I for sure think it’s smart to be a writer and artist, or an artist and programmer, all which I try to do. It makes you respect your co-workers and team more."

Robin.: "Well, it sounds like you've definitely been busy, that's a lot! What changes in your art have you noticed throughout this time? How do you think you've improved overall?"

Hyptosis: "I for sure think I’m a better artist now. Like, even if I’m not a great painter technically, I know how to get things done more quickly and efficiently. My strength is in getting projects done and not in being the best artist ever. There are way too many amazing artists to compete with now."

Robin.: "And what artists would these be, if you don't mind me asking? Are there any artists out there in particular that you hold a great respect for?"

Hyptosis: "Oh man now I’m gonna get all excited. Okay, so right now my favorite artists are Jung Gi Kim, his work can be adult in nature but if you look him up, you will see why he’s so amazing. His work reminds me a little of my own too, only a million times better, so that also makes me like him a lot. I have every artbook he’s ever printed, he has his own shelf in my office. Next up is Alessandro Barbucci. HUGE inspiration of mine. Essentially single-handedly taught me how to draw girls. Old school influences were Brian Froud, he taught me to draw creatively and got me into high fantasy, pixies and stuff. Nobuteru Yūki (Lodoss War and Weathering Continent) taught me to draw fantasy and adventure. Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal) taught me to draw knees and hands and feet. Joe Madureira taught me about line weight. Adam Warren taught me about speedlines and motion! There are so many, but nowadays, just go to Artstation and look at the front page, there are 200 people that just post every single day that are leagues beyond my meager level."

Robin.: "Wow, that's a lot influences! All sound like really great and talented artists, but I think we should turn our focus back to your art, namely your famous NewGrounds point and click adventure series, Alice is Dead. With the upcoming HD remaster, I've got to ask- where did the original idea for Alice is Dead come from? Did you grow up watching the Disney animated Alice in Wonderland and have you ever read the original stories by Lewis Caroll?"

Hyptosis: "I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen the Disney Alice in Wonderland, I’ve seen parts but I can’t recall anything specific. I remember there being a music video on YouTube made from bits of sound from it, I saw that a bunch. I was mostly drawing fantasy and crime art at the time, and Mike, Impendingriot, it was his idea to make an Alice in Wonderland themed game. I loved Sierra graphical adventure type games from when I was a kid, so we kind of went that direction with it. He’d say something, I’d draw some stuff, show it to him, we’d bounce it back and forth and suddenly we had the first game. And the entire process was just a few days too. We never expected anyone to like it, we just kind of jammed stuff we liked into it. Mike and I always watched heist movies. Reservoir Dogs, Heat, etc. Rabbit is legitimately inspired by Harvey Keitel and Danny Trejo. We even called him Rabbit Trejo in our notes and chats while we worked. Obviously we strived to make him into our own thing, but that is where he started. A fluffy gangster type character. We later reinforced this with the Hatter’s design, it was no accident he looked like a little mobster. But yeah, after the first game was well received, I read the book for ideas on Aid 2 and 3, I avoided the Disney cartoon because I was afraid of creative contamination."

Robin.: "Oh I see, yeah that's totally fair then, wanting to avoid some unintentional creative overlap I mean. So Alice is Dead is obviously a darker take on the Alice in Wonderland world and ideas, what with all the crime and as you said, direct inspiration from old heist movies and such. How would you say your series compares and contrasts to other 'dark' takes on the franchise, such as the Tim Burton movies or the American McGee's Alice game?"

Hyptosis: "I did watch Burton’s! But I can’t remember much from it either except Depp’s face, haha. I don’t remember anything else at all from it. McGee I wasn’t familiar with until later when we started getting compared to it a lot. I think it’s maybe a little more similar than any of the others? But even so, it seems it’s about being insane and in an asylum or something? Forgive me if I’m wrong, and we don’t have much of that. I think his Alice used a butcher's knife, and our Alice was seen fighting once with a knife too (like any good hitman). So that came up a few times. I think our product is still pretty different from those others, I’m not super familiar with them though. Movies in general and the original stories are the biggest influence, and Mike has a great sense of timing for story and filmmaking that he brought to the project and really gave it life. I feel really good about Aid standing on its own even today."

Robin.: "Yeah to be honest, I don’t remember anything about those movies aside from how Johnny Depp looked as the Mad Hatter, haha. I am a little surprised that you hadn’t hear of American McGee’s Alice beforehand though given some odd coincidences between the game and your game, namely the knife similarity, but it makes sense given your inspirations. So, what made you want to come back and remake the series as a collection with new art and everything all these years later?"

Hyptosis: "Yeah on McGee, maybe hadn’t heard of it wasn’t right, I wasn’t familiar with it I guess. But the only similarities anyone has ever mentioned was the knife and that the Cheshire cat were both creepy. Which, it’s not hard to see why he’d be creepy considering his behavior in the story. We wanted him to be this teleporting mutant chimera living between worlds and using electronics to communicate. He could still, in a sense, turn invisible and appear in locations he shouldn’t. In the original story he could make his head appear to have no body, which is something we never got to explore but I hope to this time. Sorry, got a bit off topic, haha, mostly I want to remake the game first, because I want it preserved. I want a ‘complete’ edition to be updated for newer computers. The old game was 10 megs, now a single image for a single screen is bigger than that. NewGrounds has done a great job of saving the games though, it means a lot to me, and also, has made working on the new HD version way easier. We can go test the old games on NG and make sure we’re staying true! NewGrounds cares about preserving all that old content. That means something."

Robin.: "I greatly admire NewGrounds for doing their utmost to save and document old games and media that’s been on their platform for years, and I’m glad to hear that them doing so has helped you along in your development of this new collection. Speaking of documenting NewGrounds history, if I recall correctly, YouTuber TwoLeftThumbs, also known as Noodle on NewGrounds, has stepped in to help publish your game alongside a bunch of other games recently. What’s it like working with him? In what ways does he offer you support?"

Hyptosis: "Yeah, NewGrounds is the best. Tom Fulp has always treated me with a ton of respect and displayed a cautious optimism about my projects. TwoLeftThumbs/Noodle has been helping me with the face of Alice is Dead. I’m not the best PR person. I’m a pretty focused worker, I’d even say a hard worker. But I would rather chop some extra wood, than to take time to tell people that I chopped a little wood. If that makes any sense. He’s helping tell people about Alice is Dead, helping with porting, and just a whole slew of stuff I dislike doing. I’d rather use my time to flesh out the stories and add new content, haha. Working with him so far has been great, he’s chill and lets you do your thing. I appreciate that."

Robin.: "That’s good to hear, I’m glad that both Tom and TwoLeftThumbs have been supportive of you. Do you have any plans for the future after you’re done with Alice is Dead, or is that too far down the pipeline?"

Hyptosis: "I think I might take some time off after Alice is Dead HD is done. I mean, it will also depend on how well it is received. If people are totally stoked and it does really well I probably won't be able to contain myself and will start working on the next game immediately, haha, be it a prequel or sequel we're not sure. We have notes for both. But if it is kinda just ’meh’ or worse, people hate it. I’ll probably go build a cabin in the woods or something for a few years, haha, who knows. I do have a Peter Pan idea I’ve been kicking around for years, and also there was Red OZ which never really clicked, but it’s rattling around in there too so who knows."

Robin.: "Well I hope Alice is Dead is successful then so you don’t have to hide out in the woods for a few years, haha. I am definitely interested in seeing what you make in the future, but for now, that’s all I had to ask! Thank you again for agreeing to this interview, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!"

Hyptosis: "Didn’t want to sound like I’m running off into the woods haha, I just haven't had a vacation… ever. I’ll probably take one. You bet, I really appreciate it! Thanks!"

(Art of Rabbit from Alice is Dead: Hearts and Diamonds by Hyptosis.)

I'd like to once again give a thank you to Hyptosis for agreeing to do this interview! If you'd like to show him some support, consider wishlisting Alice is Dead: Hearts and Diamonds on Steam. At risk of sounding like TwoLeftThumbs himself, it's a good way of supporting the devs by showing them how many people are interested in their product. While we're on the subject, if you like what I do here and you want to see more, please consider making a one-time or signing up for monthly donations over on my Ko-Fi page. Thanks for reading, and until next time, I'll see you all later.

-Robin.