American McGee’s Hilarious Takedown: How He Shut Down EA’s “Make it Sexy” Demand for Alice: Madness Returns!
Ever wonder about the wild stories behind your favorite games? Well, American McGee, the visionary director behind the dark and twisted fairytale world of Alice: Madness Returns, just dropped a hilarious bomb about how he dealt with some bizarre demands from publisher EA during the game’s development!
McGee recently spilled the beans, revealing that there was a “fairly big disconnect” between his artistic vision for the 2011 sequel and what EA’s marketing team was pushing for. They apparently wanted to turn Alice: Madness Returns into a full-on “Hard M” title, leaning heavily into gore, horror, and even portraying Alice herself as “psychotic.” But wait, it gets even crazier!
Among their various demands, someone from EA actually asked Spicy Horse Games, the Shanghai-based developer, to “make things more sexy.” Yes, you read that right. A game known for its psychological horror and gothic aesthetics was being asked to amp up the “sexiness.” Naturally, McGee wasn’t having any of it.
His legendary comeback? He digitally adorned the head of a massive snail within the game with adult-themed items and sent that image straight to the marketing team. His exact words (with a laugh-cry emoji) were that “They stopped making those requests.” Talk about an epic mic drop!
McGee clarified that he had the leverage to push back against such outlandish requests because Alice: Madness Returns wasn’t directly funded by EA. Instead, it was financed by a Los Angeles bank. This unique deal meant Spicy Horse Games had complete creative control over the project, as long as they stuck to their development schedule and budget. This explains why McGee felt confident enough to literally troll his publisher!
However, not everything was smooth sailing. Towards the end of development, the team felt they needed an extra 30-60 days for polishing the game. EA, perhaps a little miffed by McGee’s earlier defiance, refused to extend the deadline, resulting in a slightly less polished launch experience. Still, McGee considers it a win, as it meant minimal interference from the publisher.
Beyond the hilarious snail incident, McGee proudly shared some historical achievements of the project. He stated that Madness Returns wasn’t just the first AAA game fully developed by a Chinese team, but also the first game ever to be bond-financed in China. And, as he puts it, they were “the first team ever to tell EA [go f**k yourself] and (kinda) get away with it.” Now that’s a resume highlight!
Alice: Madness Returns launched in June 2011 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. While its initial reception wasn’t universally acclaimed, its unique grim fairytale style and captivating world helped it steadily gain a dedicated fanbase, solidifying its place as a cult classic over the years. Despite McGee’s past attempts to bring Alice 3 to life and even a TV show being in the works, the franchise currently remains dormant. But hey, at least we got this wild story out of it!