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American McGee



 
 
American James McGee (born December 13, 1972) is an American game designer
Game designer

A game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules and structures of a game. The term applies to the designer of any game, whether a video game or Tabletop games such as board games or card games....
.

e began his career at id Software
Id Software

id Software is an American video game developer from Mesquite, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer John D....
. He worked on such games as Doom, Doom II
Doom II

Doom II: Hell on Earth is a first-person shooter video game created by id Software. It was originally released on the IBM PC on October 10, 1994....
, Quake
Quake

Quake is a first-person shooter computer game that was released by id Software on June 22, 1996. It was the first game in the popular Quake of computer and video games....
, and Quake II
Quake II

Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter Personal computer game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision....
 in the areas of level design, music production, sound effects development, and program coding. In 1998, he moved to Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts is an international video game developer, marketer, video game publisher and distributor of video games. Established in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible for its games....
, where he worked as a consultant on many projects and also created his own game, American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland universe....
.






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American James McGee (born December 13, 1972) is an American game designer
Game designer

A game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules and structures of a game. The term applies to the designer of any game, whether a video game or Tabletop games such as board games or card games....
.

Career

McGee began his career at id Software
Id Software

id Software is an American video game developer from Mesquite, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer John D....
. He worked on such games as Doom, Doom II
Doom II

Doom II: Hell on Earth is a first-person shooter video game created by id Software. It was originally released on the IBM PC on October 10, 1994....
, Quake
Quake

Quake is a first-person shooter computer game that was released by id Software on June 22, 1996. It was the first game in the popular Quake of computer and video games....
, and Quake II
Quake II

Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter Personal computer game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision....
 in the areas of level design, music production, sound effects development, and program coding. In 1998, he moved to Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts is an international video game developer, marketer, video game publisher and distributor of video games. Established in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible for its games....
, where he worked as a consultant on many projects and also created his own game, American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland universe....
. After finishing Alice, he left Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts is an international video game developer, marketer, video game publisher and distributor of video games. Established in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible for its games....
 (EA) and founded his own company, The Mauretania Import Export Company
The Mauretania Import Export Company

The Mauretania Import Export Company is a video game, film, and television production company founded by former id Software employee American McGee, who is best known for his 2000 action game American McGee's Alice....
, of which he is the president.

McGee produced the game Scrapland
Scrapland

American McGee presents: Scrapland is a game developed by Mercury Steam Entertainment, with American McGee as a producer and published by Enlight Software....
 with Enlight Software in 2004, and later released Bad Day L.A.
Bad Day L.A.

American McGee presents: Bad Day L.A. is a 2006 video game by American McGee. Players assume the role of Anthony Willams, a former Hollywood agent turned homeless man in Los Angeles....
 in 2006 with the same partners. American McGee's Oz has been cancelled while other projects are in development. American McGee's Grimm
American McGee's Grimm

American McGee's Grimm is a 24-part episodic video game video game series based upon Grimm's Fairy Tales, designed by American McGee, developed by Spicy Horse and distributed online initially by GameTap starting July 31, 2008....
 has been developed by his design house, Spicy Horse
Spicy Horse

Spicy Horse is a China-based, independent, video game developer started by American McGee in 2007.Spicy Horse employs more than 35 people at their studio in Changning District, Shanghai....
, for the online service GameTap
GameTap

GameTap is an United States online video game service by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "broadband gaming network", the service provides users with Golden Age of Arcade Games arcade game, computer and video games and game related video content....
. It is currently being released on GameTap in weekly episodic segments.

At the 2009 D.I.C.E. Summit
D.I.C.E. Summit

D.I.C.E. Summit is an annual multi-day gathering of videogame executives held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Established in 2002 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the conference is host to the annual Entertainment Software Association's Interactive Achievement Awards....
, it was announced by Electronic Arts CEO, John Riccitiello
John Riccitiello

John Riccitiello is the Chief executive officer of Electronic Arts .He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley....
, that a sequel to American McGee's Alice is in development for PC, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation ....
 and Xbox 360
Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the History of video game consoles of video game consoles....
 by American McGee's Spicy Horse
Spicy Horse

Spicy Horse is a China-based, independent, video game developer started by American McGee in 2007.Spicy Horse employs more than 35 people at their studio in Changning District, Shanghai....
 studio.

Films

Production of the Oz
Land of Oz

Oz is a fairy country containing four lands under the rule of high king.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fairy countries that he created for his books....
 game has been put on hold, which McGee attributes to a lack of interest at game publishing houses in new ideas and products without established market names. In order to get a publisher, McGee has decided to sell the game as a film before actually finishing it. He was recently set to write the script for the Oz films, which is said to be a trilogy, that would be produced by Disney
The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O....
 and Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerome Leon Bruckheimer , better known by his professional name Jerry Bruckheimer, is an United States film producer and television producer....
. McGee spearheaded an attempt to launch a film adaptation of his Alice game, but the project collapsed and fell into obscurity for several years. It was finally picked up by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures

This is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main film production company/distribution company arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.List of films...
 and was set to be released as Alice
American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland universe....
 in July 2008. In 2004 the project moved from Dimension Films
Dimension Films

Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films....
 to 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, or simply Fox, is one of the six Worldwide major film studios....
, but in 2005 Universal Pictures acquired the rights. As of June 2008, producer Scott Faye indicated the film was in "turnaround" from Universal. He admitted that the script needed development, but would be used to attract the attention of a new studio. While McGee has had no control of Alice and only limited control of Oz, he is expected to exercise more control over Grimm.

Personal life


His stated mission is "to create a unified production method for story telling across the interactive and film industries" and of himself, he says, "I want to be the next Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
, only a little more wicked."

Upon inquiry about his unusual name: "My mom was a hippie
Hippie

The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster , and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district....
. I'm not sure how else to put that... She claims a woman she knew in college, who named her daughter 'America', inspired the name. She also tells me that she was thinking of naming me 'Obnard'. She was and always has been a very eccentric and creative person." He has also stated that there is only one other person in the world named "American" and "he was named after me."

Currently, McGee resides in Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
 in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 where he works with Spicy Horse
Spicy Horse

Spicy Horse is a China-based, independent, video game developer started by American McGee in 2007.Spicy Horse employs more than 35 people at their studio in Changning District, Shanghai....
 and Vykarian, a game outsourcing
Outsourcing

Outsourcing is subcontracting a process, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering firm or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the core competence of a particular business, or to make more efficient...
 company. They are currently producing American McGee's Grimm
American McGee's Grimm

American McGee's Grimm is a 24-part episodic video game video game series based upon Grimm's Fairy Tales, designed by American McGee, developed by Spicy Horse and distributed online initially by GameTap starting July 31, 2008....
.

Works

  • American McGee's Alice
    American McGee's Alice

    American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland universe....
     (2000)
  • American McGee presents: Scrapland
    Scrapland

    American McGee presents: Scrapland is a game developed by Mercury Steam Entertainment, with American McGee as a producer and published by Enlight Software....
     (2004)
  • American McGee presents: Bad Day L.A.
    Bad Day L.A.

    American McGee presents: Bad Day L.A. is a 2006 video game by American McGee. Players assume the role of Anthony Willams, a former Hollywood agent turned homeless man in Los Angeles....
     (2006)
  • American McGee's Grimm
    American McGee's Grimm

    American McGee's Grimm is a 24-part episodic video game video game series based upon Grimm's Fairy Tales, designed by American McGee, developed by Spicy Horse and distributed online initially by GameTap starting July 31, 2008....
     (2008)


See also

  • Alice
    American McGee's Alice

    American McGee's Alice is a third-person action PC video game released on October 6, 2000, which takes place in the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland universe....
    , game-derived film
  • dredg
    Dredg

    Dredg is an United States Progressive rock/alternative rock band formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella....
    , "Same Ol' Road" music video directed by McGee


External links