American McGee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids American McGee
American McGee in 2004
Born	American James McGee December 13, 1972 (1972-12-13) (age 52) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Video game designer
Known for	Doom II The Ultimate Doom Quake Quake II American McGee's Alice Bad Day L.A. Alice: Madness Returns

American James McGee, born on December 13, 1972, is a retired American video game designer. He is famous for creating unique video games. His most well-known games are American McGee's Alice and its sequel, Alice: Madness Returns. He also worked on many games from a company called id Software.

Early Life and Name

American James McGee was born on December 13, 1972, in Dallas, Texas. His mother was a house painter. From a young age, American was very creative and good at math and science. He became interested in computer programming early on. He even got into a special school for computer science.

American McGee's mother named him 'American'. She said she was inspired by a friend who named her child 'America'. He also mentioned she thought about naming him 'Obnard'! She was a very creative person.

When American was sixteen, he came home from school to find his house empty. Only his bed, books, clothes, and his Commodore 64 computer were left. His mother had sold the house and moved away. He packed his computer, left high school, and took different jobs. He eventually worked at a Volkswagen repair shop.

Career in Gaming

Working at id Software

At 21, American McGee moved to an apartment where he met John Carmack, a famous game developer. Carmack offered McGee a job helping with tech support at id Software. He quickly moved up to become a level designer and music manager.

McGee, along with Kevin Cloud and Tim Willits, were part of the "second generation" of developers at id Software. They worked on popular games like The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Quake, and Quake II.

American McGee at id Software in 1995

In 1998, McGee left id Software. He later said that leaving the company was a very important day for him. He felt a mix of fear and freedom. He learned a lot from his time there, and it helped him on his amazing journey in the game world.

Joining Electronic Arts

After leaving id Software, McGee joined Electronic Arts (EA). He worked as a creative director on American McGee's Alice. This game was made with Rogue Entertainment and got good reviews. There were talks about making a movie based on the game, but it never happened.

After Alice, McGee left EA because his creative partner was let go and Rogue Entertainment closed. In 2002, McGee started a company called Carbon6, which later became Mauretania Import Export Company.

The Mauretania Import Export Company

McGee directed a music video for the band dredg in 2002. He also teamed up with Enlight Software to release games like Scrapland in 2004 and Bad Day L.A. in 2006.

McGee supported the Nintendo Wii console, calling it a "next-gen" console.

Spicy Horse Studio

American McGee in 2006

A planned game called American McGee's Oz was canceled due to money problems. Later, McGee started his own game studio in Shanghai, China, called Spicy Horse. They developed American McGee's Grimm, which was released in weekly parts starting in 2007.

In 2009, EA announced that a sequel to American McGee's Alice was being made by Spicy Horse. The game, titled Alice: Madness Returns, was released on June 14, 2011.

Spicy Horse also created a new brand called Spicy Pony to make mobile games for iPhone. Their first mobile game, DexIQ, came out in 2009. In 2010, McGee's old company, The Mauretania Import Export Company, closed, and all its projects moved to Spicy Horse.

In 2012, McGee focused on free-to-play mobile games. In 2013, he started a Kickstarter project for a new game called American McGee's OZombie, but it didn't get enough funding and was canceled. Another Kickstarter for Alice: Otherlands, a series of short films, was successful.

Alice: Asylum and Retirement

In 2017, McGee announced he was working on a proposal for Alice: Asylum. This would be the third game in the Alice series. He and his team created a "pitch book" with art and design ideas. They sent it to EA in early 2023.

In April 2023, McGee announced that EA decided not to approve Alice: Asylum. He also said that he was no longer interested in working on future Alice projects, even if EA changed their mind.

McGee also announced his retirement from making video games. He plans to focus on his family and their family business called Mysterious.

Personal Life

American McGee's goal is to create a way to tell stories that works for both games and movies. He has said, "I want to be the next Walt Disney, only a little more wicked."

In 2005, McGee left the United States. He lived in Hong Kong for a while before moving to Shanghai, China, in 2009. In China, he started Spicy Horse, which became a large independent game studio.

He has mentioned that his difficult childhood helped inspire the dark and unique style of his Alice games.

McGee lives in Shanghai with his wife, Yeni Zhang. They started a company called Mysterious, Inc., which sells art and clothing based on McGee's work. Yeni oversees the designs. They have two children.

One of McGee's favorite books is Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

McGee had a sister, Mercy Covington, who went missing in 2015. Her case is still unsolved.

Games

Images for kids

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  American McGee in 2004

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  McGee at id Software (October 6, 1995)

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  McGee in 2006

See also

In Spanish: American McGee para niños