On creating Down the Rabbit Hole’s characters

Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole is a VR adventure set in Wonderland prior to Alice's arrival. You will guide a girl who is looking for her lost pet by solving puzzles, uncovering secrets and making choices about the story along the way.

In Down the Rabbit Hole, you can meet lots of memorable characters during your journey through Wonderland. They were all created with love and with special care for every single detail. We asked our 2D graphic artists, Alex Bengtsson and Max Huusko, what they think about the characters: [u]What is your favorite character from the game and why?[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] Probably the King of Spades. I love all his dialogues with his "smart" friends. I've been watching some players do a playthrough on YouTube and I love that so many seem to share that with me! - [b]Max:[/b] 4 1/2, I love all his card puns! [u]Tell us more about making this favorite character of yours:[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] (Probably the King of Spades) I wasn't part of the final design, although I did some sketches of him in early pre-production. I remember making an early sketch of him, where his throne was a large stand-in with a pattern of a King of Spades-card. I really liked that idea although it ended up just as nice with the current design! - [b]Max:[/b] (4 1/2) I made a few quite bizarre versions of him with real, human legs and stuff that I’m glad we scrapped. In the end, we tried to make him as 2D as possible. I don’t remember when we chose to go with a Spanish Conquistador look for him, but I think it suits him well. [u]Which character was the most fun to create and why?[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] I really liked working on the cook. Although she's quite different from John Tenniel's illustrations - it feels like we landed a fun design and a fun personality. - [b]Max:[/b] I really enjoyed the caterpillar even if I wasn’t a big part of its creation. He used to be voiced by a guy in the office next to ours and he had the coolest voice, kinda wished we had kept him in. [u]Which character was the most difficult to create and why?[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] The main character probably. We wanted to give her a strong personality without her looking like a superhero. So there was a lot of iteration to get her to a place that felt just right. - [b]Max:[/b] I think the main character was the one we spent the most time on for obvious reasons, it’s the main protagonist so we obviously want players to engage with her. I think we had a clear vision with her from the start though, so I don’t think we struggled too hard with her. [u]Which character do you think gets the least love and why?[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] The trumpet guy next to the king of spades. He's such a talented guy that deserves better! - [b]Max:[/b] I wonder how many players get to see all three versions of Patches. [u]If you could, what type of character would you add to the game?[/u] - [b]Alex:[/b] There are so many, but I really miss Tweedledee & Tweedledum. I think that would add a ton to an already fun dialogue! - [b]Max:[/b] Definitely the fish footman!