Rogue also licensed the FAKK2 toolset to go with the Quake 3 Arena engine they're using for Alice. This allows them to progress the story through relatively easily scripted cut scenes as well as offering the excellent TIKI model system that allowed Ritual to breath life into Julie through countless slick animations without taking up much memory at all. An example of the TIKI animation system put to good use are the different Card Guards, with each suit (clubs, diamonds, space and hearts) having a different attack as well as numerous death animations. The FAKK2 toolset is not the only thing Rogue have “borrowed” from Ritual for Alice. A number of Ritual level designers are spending eight weeks at Rogue making levels. In fact, the first two levels Alice will traverse will be done by the (in)famous Levelord himself.

Alice is shaping up to be one weird, yet rather good, title and one worth keeping an eye on. The talented folks at Rogue (including a number of ex-Looking Glass designers) have already proven their talents with the Dissolution of Eternity add-on for Quake, the Ground Zero expansion for Quake 2, and even by managing to squeeze Quake 2 onto the N64. With such well received titles already released from Rogue, Alice was always going to be something cool, but the screenshots, concept and developer comments are beginning to suggest that it might even turn out to be more than something cool. I await its arrival to see if it can deliver.