American McGee's Alice
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Wikipedia-Article "American McGee's Alice"
- This article is about a computer game, for the film based on this, see Alice (2006 film).
| American McGee's Alice | |
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| Developer(s) | Rogue Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Designer(s) | American McGee |
| Engine | Quake III engine |
| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) | October 5, 2000 |
| Genre | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | {{{ratings}}} |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X |
| Media | CD (2) |
| System requirements | |
| Input | |
American McGee's Alice is a Third Person Shooter computer game released on October 6, 2000. It was developed by Rogue Entertainment and published, distributed and marketed by Electronic Arts. It was designed by American McGee, and featured music composed by former Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna. The game is powered by the Quake III engine.
Set years after Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Alice features an older, more cynical and macabre incarnation of Alice.
Alice's parents are killed in a fire. Driven catatonic and having attempted suicide (note her bandaged wrists), she is institutionalised in Rutledge Asylum. Years later Alice is called by the White Rabbit to the aid of a radically altered Wonderland, under threat from the Red Queen, the evil despot who has enslaved its people. The Cheshire Cat is a frightening incarnation, and is her constant companion throughout the game, popping up now and again to guide the player or offer advice.
The game is written in the spirit of Tim Burton's gothic and nightmarish works (such as The Nightmare Before Christmas). For example: insane children whose laughter echoes through the game's empty halls; a spirit wall made of tortured faces; and the remnants of the Mad Hatter's sick clockwork experiments.
The game's characters are generally based on the inhabitants of Lewis Carroll's original novels, but they are not the same characters. Many of the characters are warped incarnations of their original selves. Among the notable:
Major Characters:
- Alice; her dress has blood splatter in the front and her face bears a look crying out for vengeance.
- The Cheshire Cat has a more sinister design and gives cryptic quotes and riddles to Alice.
- The Mad Hatter is now a mechanical contraption obsessed with robotising the inhabitants of Wonderland.
- Tweedledee and Tweedledum, now a pair of sadistic henchmen who work for the Mad Hatter in an asylum.
- The March Hare, experimented upon by The Mad Hatter, is now part hare, part machine and in a very tortured state.
Minor Characters:
- Card Guards, the Queen's soldiers;
- Snarks, frog-legged fish who inhabit the waters of Wonderland; (this is a departure from the works of Carroll, as "The Hunting of the Snark" revealed that Snarks and Boojums are the same);
- Boojums, ghost-like creatures who fly around and use a shriek attack that hurls you through the air;
Others include Army Ants (vaguely humanoid ants in army uniforms); Evil Mushrooms; carnivorous Blood Roses; mechanical Ladybugs; Red Chess Pieces (Pawns, Knights, Bishops and Rooks); Clockwork Automatons; Phantasmagoria; Fire Imps; Nightmare Spiders; and Magma Men.
Although the graphics aren't spetacular, many of the levels are very clever and creative in design. Often, these designs inspire a world of chaos and wonder. There is even a level design that is similar to those hallways/house of mirrors found in circus attractions. Many levels look like the inside of an asylum or a mad-house, linking Alice's wonderland to reality.
The sound and music adds much to the atmosphere. Although they are not your typical scary, horror-themed genre, the music is incredibly disturbing. One such example is in the "Skool's Out" level, where there are insane inhabitants that laugh maniacally and speak gibberish and the background music is an innocent, yet creepy, lullaby.
Though she starts with nothing more than a rusty knife (called the "Vorpal Blade") , Alice can collect various weapons (called toys) throughout the game. Some of the toys that Alice may find are:
- A Deck of razor-sharp Playing Cards
- A Massive Blunderbuss
- A Croquet Mallet in the form of Flamingo
- Some Demon Dice
- An Ice Wand
- Jack-in-a-box Bombs
- A Bunch of Jacks
- The Jabberwock's Eyestaff
- A Watch that stops time
Movie adaptation
A film with the title Alice is currently in pre-production and will be based upon the dark storyline and characters in this game.
Prior to this announcement, the fictional title Dark Wonderland has been used in reference to previous failed attempts at producing movie adaptations. Before completing the game, American McGee and two film producers pitched the idea of making a movie to Dimension Films. Head of Dimension Studios, Bob Weinstien was shown the CG trailer for the game and "then he slammed his fist down and said, 'we are making this movie.'". Dimension Films hired John August to write a film treatment and Wes Craven was supposed to direct the film. However, Craven did not care for August's treatment and despite attempts by other writers to put forth ideas for the story, no progress was made. The studio became displeased with the two film producers and the project collapsed.
According to screenwriter John August, neither the alleged title Dark Wonderland nor any rumored casting were real. Wes Craven, in answering questions about the proposed film, also indicated that the project never even reached a stage in which casting would be considered.
In April 2004, McGee stated that the film rights had been moved to 20th Century Fox. McGee wrote that they "love the project and are going to make it", but he was skeptical. Despite being the creative force behind the game, McGee does not own the rights and the film project is not in his hands.
On June 21, 2005 news surfaced that actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has been cast as Alice for the movie adaptation, now apparently titled Alice. The movie is a Universal Studios project, with Erich and Jon Hoeber adapting the script. Marcus Nispel is set to direct.
References
- http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/what-became-of-american-mcgees-alice
- http://www.americanmcgee.com/blosxom.cgi/home/fri1904.html
- http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/036/036660p1.html
- http://www.wescraven.com/communique_data.asp (under "New Projects")
External links
