The Season 1 Finale For "The A.L.I.C.E. Files" Is Finally Out! (And A Peek At What's Coming Next)

It's been one hell of a ride thus far, but I wanted to take a moment to throw some confetti in the air, and to celebrate the completion of Season 1 of The A.L.I.C.E. Files! It's been nearly a year of work (if you count all the pre-launch efforts that went into the first few episodes), and we managed to get everything out without a single delay, and only minimal problems. And even though we aren't where we need to be with it yet, I didn't want to just let this accomplishment pass by without remarking on it.

And whether you've been following the project since its inception, or you're just now hearing about it, I wanted to take a moment to ask for your help. Because in order for us to keep the wheels turning, we're going to need help from listeners like you.

Don't worry, though, we aren't asking people for money.

 

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

What's The Show About (And What Can You Do To Help)?

For folks who are just joining us, The A.L.I.C.E. Files is a YouTube channel I launched in partnership with Alice Liddell earlier this year. The two of us combined our efforts to produce audio versions of various stories (our own stories, public domain stories, and a couple of fan works), which are all part of an overarching narrative about a young woman designated Alice who has accepted a position with the Carroll Institute. This shadowy organization explores parallel dimensions, and the stories that Alice witnesses are the reports sent back by the agents who went through the Rabbit Hole... and even if they didn't make it back, their stories did.

So the vibe is one part SCP Foundation, and one part Delta Green, with a hefty dose of Alice in Wonderland thrown in for good measure!

 

The trailer is only a few minutes long, if you want to check it out for yourself before reading any further. 

 

Now, the plan for Season 1 was to essentially lay out the general format for the show, and to get listeners used to Alice's new routine. We follow her as she explores the parts of the building she's allowed inside, we meet several of her coworkers, and we get little hints here and there of the greater lore of the setting. Mostly, though, the first season focuses on the files she witnesses on behalf of the Archive. However, sharp-eyed folks (or just those who read the entry Can You Spot The Clues in The A.L.I.C.E. Files (What Are Your Theories?)) may have also noticed that we started dropping plot seeds early, in addition to putting a couple of ARG elements into the show for those who enjoy trying to follow the bread crumbs of an unfolding mystery.

As far as Season 2 goes, Alice was given a serious choice in the finale. Confronted by a bizarre being she can't explain, she's handed a key, and a mystery. Will she report it to her superiors? Will she follow the mystery as it's handed to her? Or will she simply push it out of her mind, put her head down, and just try to keep doing her job? Our goal with Season 2 was to start branching out into an in-universe storyline, and to incorporate a number of popular creepy pasta stories and ideas into the plot, in addition to the more traditional dramatized stories we put together in Season 1.

However, if we're going to get through this, we're going to need help from readers like you.

Again, we're not asking for money. Just the press of a few buttons, and your ears.

Our goal when we started The A.L.I.C.E. Files was to get the channel monetized so that we could earn money from ad revenue, audience tips, and all the other methods available to creators. It would be a tough road, given that YouTube requires a channel to have 1,000 subscribers, and 4,000 hours of watched content in a 365-day period (which is roughly 11.5 hours a day, every day, all year long), but we were confident that we could do that. It might take us a while, but we knew we'd be able to get there eventually.

Unfortunately, thanks to a decision from YouTube, we don't have eventually anymore. We have until the end of the year, sink or swim.

 

I recently laid out the details over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, but the short version is that YouTube is doubling the amount of watch hours a channel needs to have before it can be monetized starting early next year. So we no longer have a couple of years to build up multiple seasons and a large enough audience... we have just under 4 months, and the clock is ticking!

So whether you're just finding out about the channel, or you've been cheering us on since we started back in the spring, please, do the following to help us keep the wheels turning:

- Subscribe to The A.L.I.C.E. Files

- Watch the episodes that are out

- Upvote episodes you like, and leave comments (the algorithm likes it when people do that)

- Share the show on your social media pages to help more people find out about us

At time of writing we have 369 subscribers, and we're just over 1,600 watched hours. We've still got some time left, but we need as many people out there to please add your voices, hit the buttons, and tell people about this project.

There are already a lot of shows that got a 1-season trial, and then disappeared due to audience disinterest. If we can get people to click that subscribe button, and actually show up for our episodes, we've got at least 3 seasons planned. Possibly 4, if folks really want to see more! But if we get the door shut in our face by YouTube, then sadly we might have to move on to something different instead.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Table Talk. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my more involved audio drama channel The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Blue Sky, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

3 Systems I Would Recommend For Running an SCP Foundation Game

While I might be a little late to the game, so to speak, I've been really enjoying the SCP Foundation as a fictional entity. From short stories, to YouTube lore channels, to short films, there's a lot of it to take in, and it's getting a little bit bigger every day. Heck, I even made my own contribution a little while back with 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, SCP Edition, and the audio drama version I put together below.

Consider checking those out, if you haven't seen them yet. It's been tough getting views on them, and I'd like to justify doing a little bit more in this setting, if I can.

However, with so much rich content under creative commons license, it was only a matter of time until someone put out an SCP roleplaying game. And while there is an SCP-specific game on the market now, simply titled SCP The Tabletop RPG, I haven't found it to be a game that really grabs me.

This got me thinking about what other games there are out there one could use to run an RPG campaign in the SCP universe. And while I'm sure there are a lot of games that I missed, I think that the following list makes for some pretty strong starting places.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Game #1: Delta Green

Just the facts, please, sir.

The first game on this list, and perhaps the most obvious, is Delta Green. This secretive government entity exists in the shadows, and since the raid on the town of Innsmouth in the 1920s the agents of this bureau have combatted the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos wherever they find them, protecting the world and safeguarding us against the machinations of mad cults and dark gods alike.

While this game started off life connected to the Call of Cthulhu RPG, they've grown and changed to the point that they're separate entities at this juncture. However, honorable mention to Call of Cthulhu as another option for those who want their players to be even more vulnerable than your average Delta Green agent. If that's an option you want to pursue, consider grabbing the Investigator Handbook and the Keeper's Rulebook for the 7th Edition of the game!

Game #2: Hunter: The Vigil

Werewolves, you say? Shame... I'll just have to shoot them a LOT.

If you want a game where the characters are a little more durable, but have to deal with just as much supernatural nonsense, I'd also recommend checking out Hunter: The Vigil. Part of the Chronicles of Darkness series of RPGs, Hunters are the ones who bump off the things that go bump in the night, and they're often used by storytellers as a threat when players are being a little too loud, and breaking the veil of secrecy a little too often in the other spheres.

While the variability in Hunter can be used to scale the power and equipment your agents have access to, you can also use the other spheres of the Chronicles of Darkness to bring in the various aspects of the SCP universe. If you need reality benders and bizarre magic users, Mage: The Awakening has you covered. If you want beings of phenomenal, cosmic power to act as allies or antagonists, you can find them in Demon: The Descent. And if you want that mid-range of mutants and monsters, then all of the creatures and power sets located in Deviant: The Renegades might be right up your alley.

This option has the most scalability of the choices, but it does require a lot of reading on the part of the ST, and it would require the largest number of books. Still, if you happen to have the Chronicles of Darkness books gathering dust on a shelf, and you're looking for a new way to breathe life into them, consider giving this a try!

Game #3: Savage Worlds

Absolute savages.

Much as with the Chronicles of Darkness, the Savage Worlds RPG system has a lot of different games you could bring to bear on creating an interconnected SCP universe game. However, Savage Worlds tends to be a lot lighter on mechanics, which might be more appealing to some players who like the idea of a big, sprawling, multi-book game, but who don't want to have a stack of tomes on the floor that reaches to the top of the table should they need to reference something during the campaign.

While you'll definitely need the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition as well as Dark States to start with, I'd also recommend using a combination of the weird Western game Deadlands, and the Victorian monster hunting game Rippers as the basis for the campaign. While both of these are period piece games, they provide a lot of the rules and backgrounds one could easily use to get an SCP campaign going. You might even want to expand into books like Weird War I, or even Necessary Evil which includes rules for super powered characters, but that will be up to your particular game, and what sort of elements you want to bring in.

What Games Did I Miss?

Do you have a game or system that you feel would make a good basis for covering the wide variety of genres and stories found in the SCP universe that didn't make this (admittedly very short) list? Toss it in the comments below! I'm always looking for new stuff to check out, so I'm happy to take a gander at any recommendations folks want to throw my way.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or the ongoing audio drama series The A.L.I.C.E. Files! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!