American McGee is working on a sequel to American McGee’s Alice, the cult favorite action game for the PC developed by American McGee.
“This new project is a dream come true for me and the fans who’ve kept the Alice flame alive,” said McGee, Founder and Senior Creative Director of Shanghai-based studio Spicy Horse. “EA gave us creative latitude and support on the original game which resulted in something beautiful and daring. This trip through the looking glass promises to be even more exciting.”
Released in 2000, the original American McGee’s Alice was a “dark” follow-up to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice’s parents have been killed in a house fire. Alice herself tries to commit suicide and is institutionalized as a result; some time later, she’s transported to a radically different and corrupted Wonderland, now under the rule of the evil Queen of Hearts.
Few details have been released, and publisher EA Partners is apparently giving McGee free reign on the project. “We’ve given him a blank canvas to go where he would like. There is nothing set in stone and nothing has been removed either,” said EA Partners General Manager David DeMartini. He added that future projects could be in store if the game does well, although the new Alice project is the only one currently on the table. “We are really having him focus on this one for now,” he said. “Letting him create as strong a game as he can.”
McGee said on his blog that R.J. Berg, the writer and executive producer of the first game, is returning to take on the same roles for the sequel. “The original Alice was a good bit of fun – and aspects of the original are still quite compelling,” he wrote. “The challenge for us – to build a great game, and a sequel worthy of the original – is real, but not daunting. Over the past few years we’ve assembled a really amazing team. I have full faith in their ability to create something amazing.”
American McGee’s new American McGee’s Alice title is being developed for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
