Lewis Carroll and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an inventive English writer and mathematician who lived in the 19th century. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which he wrote in 1865, was his most defining and lasting work because it broke away from the moral-heavy, instructional children’s literature typical of the Victorian era, offering instead a playful, nonsensical journey filled with witty wordplay, riddles, and absurd characters. Its bold subversion of logic and societal norms made it uniquely captivating, enchanting readers with a world where rules could be bent—or entirely discarded. Since the original, there have been countless adaptations—from stage plays and ballets to films and video games. Lewis Carroll also wrote a sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, which introduced the world to the iconic poem “Jabberwocky.”
The Tea Party:
The Mad Hatter’s tea party is one of the most iconic scenes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In the book, The Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse are stuck at a tea party in which time has stopped. The Mad Hatter explains that he quarreled with Time during a concert for the queen, and ever since time has been stuck at six o’clock. Our game includes a new character (the Grandfather Clock), a reason for their quarrel (the new second hand), and the tea menu, but the theme stays very close to the original scenario.
The Mushroom Grove:
Another of the iconic scenes from the original book is Alice’s encounter with the caterpillar. In this scene, Alice comes upon a giant mushroom with a large caterpillar sitting atop its cap, smoking hookah. The caterpillar is a bit aloof, irritable, and condescending, giving cryptic advice instead of straightforward answers. Alice discovers that eating one side of the mushroom will make her grow, while eating the other side will make her shrink. Our story keeps the caterpillar’s attitude and the shrinking/growing mushrooms, but puts the scene in a grove, modifies what signifies shrinking/growing and adds the protege character.
The Duchess’s House
In the book, Alice stumbles into the Duchess’s house in the midst of a fight between the Duchess and the cook. During the fight, the cook is hurling fire-irons, saucepans, plates, dishes, and eventually a frying pan at the Duchess. In the scene, the Duchess is rude and impatient. Our story is set in a fictional aftermath of this fight, in which a stained glass window in the house is broken. Later in the original text, Alice runs into the Duchess again, who is actually much more pleasant. This is the root of the somewhat surprising turn in temperament in our game, when the Duchess calms down and allows you to leave.
The Forest
The forest is a recurring setting within Alice’s Adventure, though Lewis Carroll often calls it “the wood”. Alice heads through forested regions in between many of the locations she visits. Our forest scene is most inspired by Alice’s trip between the Duchess’ House and the Tea Party, in which the Cheshire Cat appears on a tree bough, then disappears and reappears, pointing Alice in the direction of the tea party. Our scene is also inspired by the Cheshire cat’s appearance in the Queen’s Croquet game, in which the cat’s smile appears in the air near Alice. The stars and the field mouse were our invention.
The Croquet Grounds
Alice also plays a croquet game with the Queen in the original book - complete with flamingo mallets, hedgehog balls, playing card guards and gardeners. In fact, Alice notes how her flamingo keeps looking up at her, and the hedgehog keeps wandering away, which we included elements of. The wickets in the original, however, were the playing card guards themselves, bending over so their hands and feet touch the ground. Alice also never actually completes the game as there is an argument about beheading the Cheshire Cat (ordered by the Queen) because it won’t leave or kiss the King of Heart’s hand. The wickets and the logic in our game were our own invention.
The Royal Court
The royal tarts are indeed stolen in the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and there is also a trial that Alice stumbles into in which a cryptic note is produced as evidence. The King and Queen are presiding over the trial in the book, however, and the Knave of Hearts (Jack) is already in chains as the potential culprit. Our specific proceedings, note, and puzzle are our own creation.
The Final Rabbit Hole
In the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the courtroom scene is actually the last in Wonderland. Alice munches on mushrooms during the proceedings and slowly grows. The Queen cries “Sentence first - verdict afterwards!” in regard to the Knave, to which Alice replies “Stuff and nonsense!” The Queen then says “Off with your head!” and Alice is swarmed by card guards. With a “little scream”, Alice wakes up with her head in her sister’s lap on the edge of a river, remarking about how strange her dream was. Our ending is obviously modified from the original, but we kept the secret to getting out of wonderland, and also wanted to feature the rabbit hole more prominently, as it is the major entrance to the book.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed the game! :D