There aren’t many works that more closely meet the definition of cult classic than American McGee’s Alice: Madness Returns. It debuted back in 2011 and was the follow-up to American McGee’s Alice, which had debuted more than ten years earlier, in 2000.
There have been long-term plans for a third game in the Alice: Asylum series, but since the game’s announcement, little significant has actually happened.
That is mostly due to money. This time, American McGee wanted Alice: Asylum to be crowdfunded, but given that he hasn’t produced much since, it’s safe to conclude that he hasn’t been very successful. Yet, he’s still determined to see the game through to completion, and in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, he even requested assistance from EA (thanks, Rock, Paper, Shotgun).
The main purpose of the movie is to spread the word that Alice: Asylum’s design bible, which contains a tonne of concept art, game design notes, and other fascinating details about development, will be made available for download for free.
On the other hand, the film ends with a dark screen followed by a red EA logo that gradually appears. The phrase “Let’s make impossible things happen together” occurs shortly after, and it appears to be a direct appeal to Electronic Arts to contribute to the funding of Alice: Asylum like it did with Madness Returns back in 2011.
Although it’s likely that EA has given up on the series at this point, we’ll have to wait and see if this truly has any impact. The publisher’s days of strange and experimental titles are pretty much finished, though it would be lovely to see.
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Stranger things have, however, occurred in the gaming industry, and you can’t help but appreciate American McGee’s tenacity in his efforts to get the game he is passionate about into the hands of the general public. Hoping EA has the same opinion.
