View source for American McGee

{{short description|American video game designer (born 1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = American McGee
| image              = American McGee -- 8 November 2004.jpg
| caption            = McGee in 2004
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = 
| birth_place        = [[Dallas, Texas]], U.S.
| known_for          = {{ubl|''[[Doom II]]''|''[[The Ultimate Doom]]''|''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]''|''[[Quake II]]''|''[[American McGee's Alice]]''|''[[Bad Day L.A.]]''|''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]''}}
| occupation         = [[Video game design|Video game designer]]
| children           = 2
| website            = {{URL|americanmcgee.com}}
}}

'''American McGee'''  is an American retired<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/end-of-adventure-81049672|title=End of the Adventure {{!}} American McGee on Patreon|website=Patreon|language=en|access-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> [[video game designer]]. He is best known as the designer of ''[[American McGee's Alice]]'', its sequel ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]'', and his works on various video games from [[id Software]].
==Early life==
American McGee was born in [[Dallas]], Texas,<ref name=Texas>Birth record for American James McGee - Dallas, Texas, Birth Index, 1903–1997 - Ancestry.com {{subscription required}}</ref> to an eccentric mother who was a house painter. His only interaction with his biological father was on his 13th birthday, a meeting which turned violent as McGee's father drunkenly assaulted him that night.<ref name=wired>{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2000/12/the-great-american-mcgee-game/|title=The Great American (McGee) Game|access-date=July 13, 2019|work=wired.com|date=December 25, 2000}}</ref> McGee was highly creative and was gifted in mathematics and science, taking an early interest in computer programming. He was eventually accepted to a [[magnet school]] for computer science.

In explaining where his name came from, McGee has said that his mother was a [[hippie]] and was inspired by a woman she knew in college that named her child "America":

{{quotation|Yes, my mother named me 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.|American McGee<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanmcgee.com/blosxom.cgi/faq/|title=American McGee's Personal Website and Weblog|access-date=February 20, 2009|work=americanmcgee.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050403214430/http://www.americanmcgee.com/blosxom.cgi/faq/ |archive-date=April 3, 2005}}</ref> }}

McGee had a number of stepfathers when growing up until his mother finally settled into a relationship with a [[trans woman]]. When McGee was sixteen, he came home from school and found his house empty and abandoned; the only things left were his bed, his books, his clothes and his [[Commodore 64]] computer. His mother had sold the house to pay for two plane tickets and the fee for her girlfriend's [[gender confirmation surgery]], leaving him on his own. He packed up his computer, dropped out of high school and took a variety of odd jobs, finally settling on a [[Volkswagen]] repair shop.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kushner, David|title=Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created An Empire And Transformed Pop Culture|year=2003|publisher=Judy Piatkus Ltd|location=Great Britain|isbn=0-7499-2489-6}}</ref>

==Career==
===id Software===
At 21, McGee, an automobile and gaming enthusiast, moved to an apartment complex where he met and befriended [[John Carmack]]. Carmack offered McGee a tech support job at [[id Software]], where he was quickly promoted to level designer and music manager.<ref name=wired/> McGee, along with [[Kevin Cloud]] and [[Tim Willits]], were part of id Software's "second generation" of developers, working on games such as ''[[Official versions of Doom#The Ultimate Doom|The Ultimate Doom]]'', ''[[Doom II]]'', ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' and ''[[Quake II]]''.

[[File:American McGee at id Software, 6 October 1995 (by Ian Mapleson, administrator of the Doom Help Service).jpg|thumb|McGee at id Software (October 6, 1995)]]

In 1998, McGee was fired from id Software.<ref>{{cite web|first=Micheal|last=Mullen|url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_03/13_mcgee/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20001013091835/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_03/13_mcgee/index.html|title=Id Designer Let Go|website=[[GameSpot]]|archivedate=October 13, 2000|date=March 13, 1998|accessdate=October 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ia600705.us.archive.org/5/items/johncarmack_plan_files/johnc_plan_1998.txt|title=John Carmack Archive - .plan 1998|work=scribd.com}}</ref> Later, McGee would say that the day he got fired was very meaningful to him:<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Quaddicted|title=American McGee on Quake|url=https://www.quaddicted.com/interviews/americanmcgee|access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref>

{{quotation|Probably the most meaningful day for me though [working at id Software]&nbsp;... was the day I was fired. I felt a mixture of terror and freedom that was so significant and powerful—it combined together all the good and bad of the years I'd spent working with Carmack, Romero and the others... and kicked me out into the world to fend for myself. The opportunity to work at id during those early years was so unbelievable—and the path it set me on in letting me go has been even more fantastic. I'm sitting here in Shanghai, China still drawing on many of the lessons and experiences from all those years past... it's been an incredible journey which all started with id [Software].|American McGee|title="American McGee on Quake"|source=interview with ''quaddicted.com'' (May/June 2011)}}

According to former id staff [[Sandy Petersen]], [[Tim Willits]] was the one responsible for McGee's firing (although he did not mention Willits by name; referring to him only by "Snake" and "X"). Allegedly, during the development of ''[[Quake II]]'', Willits deliberately gave bad level design advice to McGee and when he presented his work to Carmack, it angered him and McGee was fired soon after.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bored With Nelly |title=The Person That Destroyed Id Software From Within |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_ga1TFBrBo  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/G_ga1TFBrBo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=YouTube |date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=16 July 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Petersen |first1=Sandy |title=Why Is Quake Like That? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUeu96TKQwU  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/MUeu96TKQwU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=YouTube |date=July 2, 2021 |access-date=16 July 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> McGee has stated to this day, he still has no idea why he was fired but acknowledged the fact that it was due to "internal politics and my own failings".<ref>{{cite web |last1=McGee |first1=American |title=American McGee, 1995. |url=https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/1416560415086047232 |website=Twitter |access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>

===Electronic Arts===
McGee soon joined [[Electronic Arts]] and worked as creative director on ''[[American McGee's Alice]]'' (with [[Rogue Entertainment]]), which garnered favorable reviews.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tang, Stephanie|title=Despite a Nail-Biting Funding Finale, Alice: Otherlands Is a Go!|url=https://www.gameskinny.com/tcwn4/despite-a-nail-biting-funding-finale-alice-otherlands-is-a-go|website=GameSkinny|date=August 4, 2017 |access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref> Discussions began soon after the game's release about making a [[American McGee's Alice#Film adaptation|film adaptation of the game]]; initially [[Wes Craven]] was attached to direct the film,<ref>{{cite news|author=Linder, Brian|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/07/wes-craven-to-dark-wonderland|title=Wes Craven to Dark Wonderland|date=December 7, 2000|access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref> and later actress [[Sarah Michelle Gellar]] bought the film rights, but the film has remained in [[development hell]].

After finishing ''Alice'', McGee left EA "in frustration" when the company fired his creative partner R. J. Berg and shut down Rogue Entertainment.<ref>{{cite book|author=McGee, American|title=The Art of Alice: Madness Returns|year=2011|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|location=Milwaukee, OR|isbn=978-1-59582-697-8|page=6}}</ref> In 2002, McGee founded the short-lived Carbon6, which two years later became known as Mauretania Import Export Company.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/03/04/american-mcgee-meets-enlight|title=American McGee Meets Enlight|website=[[IGN]]|date=March 4, 2004|access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref>

===The Mauretania Import Export Company===
McGee directed the 2002 [[music video]] for the song "Same Ol' Road" by the band [[dredg]], from their album ''[[El Cielo (album)|El Cielo]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.res.com/resalerts/resalert20021205.html|title=RES ALERT December 5, 2002|access-date=February 20, 2009|work=res.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715222515/http://www.res.com/resalerts/resalert20021205.html|archive-date=July 15, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Partnering with [[Enlight Software]] and its founder [[Trevor Chan]], McGee released the games ''[[Scrapland]]'' in 2004 and ''[[Bad Day L.A.]]'' in 2006.

McGee backed the Nintendo ''[[Wii]]'' as the "only truly next-gen console in same year."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://gonintendo.com/?p=4614 | title=American McGee rooting for Wii | date=August 15, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.engadget.com/2006-08-15-mcgee-only-real-next-gen-is-wii.html | title=American McGee: Only real next-gen is Wii &#91;update 1&#93; | date=August 15, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/american-mcgee-backs-wii-in-next-gen-race | title=American McGee backs Wii in next-gen race | date=August 15, 2006 }}</ref>

===Spicy Horse===
[[File:American McGee -- 22 June 2006.jpg|thumb|McGee in 2006]]
The planned ''American McGee's Oz'', which was to be produced in conjunction with Ronin Games, was canceled over financial difficulties at Atari. ''[[American McGee's Grimm]]'', developed by his Shanghai-based game development studio [[Spicy Horse]] for the online service [[GameTap]], was released in 23 weekly episodic segments, starting in 2007.

At the 2009 [[D.I.C.E. Summit]], Electronic Arts CEO [[John Riccitiello]] announced that a sequel to ''American McGee's Alice'' was in development for PC, [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Xbox 360]] by McGee's Spicy Horse studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/the-return-of-american-mcgees-alice-set-for-pc-console-5156821|author=Crecente, Brian|title=The Return of American McGee's Alice Set For PC, Consoles|work=[[Kotaku]]|access-date=July 13, 2019|date=February 19, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ea.com/news/ea-and-spicy-horse-return-to-wonderland-for-an-all-new-alice-title|title=EA and Spicy Horse Return to Wonderland for All-New Alice Title |access-date=July 13, 2019|work=ea.com|date=February 19, 2009}}</ref> In July 2010, at the EA Showcase in San Francisco, Spicy Horse and EA announced that sequel's title, ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]'', released less than one year after its announcement, on June 14, 2011.

More recently, McGee's Spicy Horse expanded to include another brand, Spicy Pony, to produce digital mobile media games for the [[iOS (Apple)|iPhone]] platform. Their first title, ''DexIQ'', was released in early December 2009, and its follow-up, ''Crooked House'', was released in March 2010 (both had [[iPad]] versions released in June 2010). On December 17, 2010, McGee's old company The Mauretania Import Export Company was dissolved and all [[intellectual property]] was transferred to Spicy Horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tmiec.com/|title=TMIEC Website Announcement|date=December 15, 2010|work=tmiec.com|access-date=February 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211220308/http://www.tmiec.com/|archive-date=11 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2012, McGee developed free-to-play games for mobile devices, such as BigHead Bash, Akaneiro, and Crazy Fairies.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gera, Emily|title=How American McGee left 'Alice' for a world of free-to-play, toy stores and life without EA|url=https://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/6/5/3066567/how-american-mcgee-left-alice-for-a-world-of-free-to-play-toy-stores|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|date=June 5, 2012 |access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref> In 2013, he opened a [[Kickstarter]] for a new game, ''American McGee's OZombie''; however, due to slow and lackluster funding, the project was canceled. Another Kickstarter for a project called ''[[Alice: Otherlands]]'', a planned series of short films leading to a theatrical film, was announced a few days later. This reached its goal on August 4, 2013, and was officially confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spicyhorse/alice-otherlands|title=Alice: Otherlands|date=September 9, 2017 }}</ref>

===''Alice: Asylum'', cancellation and retirement===
In September 2017, McGee announced that he was working on a license proposal for ''Alice: Asylum'', the third installment of the ''Alice'' franchise. McGee and his small team began working on a [[pitch book]] of "artwork, design outline, and financial/business model" which would be sent to EA upon completion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/patches-ppt-un-19653076|title=PATCHES, PPT, (un)-Packing {{!}} American McGee on Patreon|website=Patreon|language=en|access-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref> The pitch book was partially funded through the membership platform [[Patreon]], and presented to EA in early 2023.  

McGee announced in April 2023 that EA ultimately rejected approving ''Alice: Asylum'' for both production and licensing after receiving McGee's pitch.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zheng |first1=Jenny |title=The Decade-Long Effort To Make Alice: Asylum Has Reached An End |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-decade-long-effort-to-make-alice-asylum-has-reached-an-end/1100-6513093/ |website=[[GameSpot]] |access-date=8 April 2023 |date=8 April 2023}}</ref> Furthermore, McGee announced that even if EA were to reconsider their stance with production of the game in the future, he was not interested in being involved in future ''Alice'' projects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/end-of-adventure-81049672|title=End of the Adventure {{!}} American McGee on Patreon|website=Patreon|language=en|access-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref>

He also announced his retirement from game development, with plans to focus on his family and their family business, Mysterious.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/end-of-adventure-81049672|title=End of the Adventure {{!}} American McGee on Patreon|website=Patreon|language=en|access-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref>

==Personal life==

McGee said in 2013 that his mission is "to create a unified production method for story telling across the interactive and film industries" and says of himself "I want to be the next [[Walt Disney]], only a little more wicked."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screwattack.com/news/qa-screwattack-sits-down-american-mcgee-talk-about-little-red-riding-hood-and-spicy-horses|title=ScrewAttack sits down with American McGee|work=screwattack.com|date=March 1, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305195645/http://www.screwattack.com/news/qa-screwattack-sits-down-american-mcgee-talk-about-little-red-riding-hood-and-spicy-horses|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref>

In 2005, McGee left the United States and resided for a time in [[Hong Kong]] before moving to [[Shanghai]], where he has lived since 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/an-american-mcgee-in-shanghai-5125130|title=An American (McGee) In Shanghai|access-date=July 13, 2019|work=Kotaku|date=January 7, 2009}}</ref> Once in China, he created [[Spicy Horse]], at one point the largest independent Western game development house in the nation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giantbomb.com/spicy-horse/3010-6389/|title=Spicy Horse, History|work=giantbomb.com|date=October 12, 2014}}</ref> and helped found Blade (formerly Vykarian), a game [[outsourcing]] company. They produced ''[[American McGee's Grimm]]'' for GameTap (now owned by [[Metaboli]]) and worked on the sequel to his original ''Alice'' game, ''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]''.

McGee mentions that his inspiration for the [[macabre]] tone of ''Alice'' comes from his disturbing, [[Dysfunctional family|dysfunctional childhood]].

McGee lives in Shanghai with his wife, Yeni Zhang. The couple co-founded Mysterious, Inc., a company that markets art, apparel, and accessories based on McGee's works, with Zhang overseeing the designs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mysterious.americanmcgee.com/pages/about-us|title=About|access-date=September 5, 2020|work=mysterious.americanmcgee.com|date=n.d.}}</ref> 

The couple has two children.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=americanmcgee |author=American McGee |number=1301307415237931008 |date=September 2, 2020 |title=Born in Shanghai on September 2nd, 2019, Lucky Jack McGee (张吉克) is the first child of Mysterious founders Zhang Yan and American McGee. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2019 was the year of the Earth Pig, with a pig… https://instagram.com/p/CEpz9LHjKeY/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/leeloo-mcgee-66177957|title=Leeloo McGee - The Littlest Insane Child|access-date=May 8, 2022}}</ref>

One of McGee's favorite books is [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=American McGee talks modders' remixed Quake maps|url=https://www.redbull.com/int-en/gamechangers-quake-american-mcgee|website=Red Bull}}</ref>

McGee had a sister, Mercy Covington, who was reported missing on November 10, 2015. As of November 2025, her case remains unsolved.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erin |title=American McGee's Sister Missing, Possibly Related to Gamergate Threats |url=https://www.geek-pride.co.uk/american-mcgees-sister-missing-possibly-related-to-gamergate-threats/ |website=Geek Pride |date=December 4, 2015 |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McGee |first1=American |title=Instagram Update |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0ruATDOF9/?hl=en |website=Instagram |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=NamUS |title=Missing Person NamUs #MP32670 |url=https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP32670 |website=NamUS |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>

==Games==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=March 2013}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title{{Efn|All titles sourced from MobyGames}}
!Role
!Developer
|-
|1992
|''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]''
|Software support
| rowspan="4" |[[Id Software]]
|-
|1993
|[[Doom (1993 video game)|''Doom'']]
|Design, level design and technical support. Simplified the level design and textures for the [[Atari Jaguar]]/[[32X]] version(s) in 1994
|-
|1994
|''[[Doom II]]''
|Design and technical support
|-
| rowspan="2" |1995
|''[[The Ultimate Doom]]''
|Testing, technical support and special thanks
|-
|''[[Hexen: Beyond Heretic]]''
|Design
|[[Raven Software]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |1996
|''[[Final Doom]]''
|Design, level design and technical support
| rowspan="2" |Id Software
|-
|[[Quake (video game)|''Quake'']]
|Level design
|-
| rowspan="4" |1997
|''[[Doom 64]]''
|Design
|[[Midway Games]]
|-
|''Quake Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon''
|Design
| rowspan="3" |Id Software
|-
|''Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity''
|Design
|-
|''[[Quake II]]''
|Level design
|-
|1998
|''[[Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3]]''
|Sound design
|[[Ion Storm]]/[[7th Level]]
|-
|2000
|''[[American McGee's Alice]]''
|Original concept, director, cinematic script design
|[[Rogue Entertainment]]
|-
| rowspan="2" |2004
|''[[American McGee's Scrapland]]''
|Executive producer
|[[MercurySteam]]
|-
|''[[GoldenEye: Rogue Agent]]''
|Multiplayer director
|[[Electronic Arts]]
|-
|2006
|[[Bad Day L.A.|''American McGee presents: Bad Day L.A.'']]
|Creative director
|[[Enlight Software]]/TMIEC
|-
|2008
|''[[American McGee's Grimm]]''
|Creative director
| rowspan="2" |[[Spicy Horse]]
|-
|2011
|''[[Alice: Madness Returns]]''
|Original concept, director, writer
|-
| Cancelled<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGee |first=American |date=2023-04-07 |title=End of the Adventure |url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/end-of-adventure-81049672 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Patreon |language=en-US}}</ref>
|''Alice: Asylum<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tibbetts |first=John |date=2022-06-14 |title=Ravenlok Looks Like We're Finally Getting American McGee's Alice 3 |url=https://screenrant.com/ravenlok-trailer-reveal-american-mcgees-alice-3-sequel/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=ScreenRant |language=en-US}}</ref>''
| 
| 
|-
| Cancelled
|''Oz: Adventures<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oloman |first1=Jordan |date=February 25, 2021 |title=American McGee Reveals Oz: Adventures, a Hybrid TV And Video Game Project |work=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/american-mcgee-reveals-oz-adventures-a-hybrid-tv-and-video-game-project |access-date=March 12, 2021}}</ref>''
| 
| 
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|American McGee}}
*{{Official website|http://www.americanmcgee.com/}}
*{{moby developer|id=823|name=American McGee's entry}}
*{{IMDb name|0569035}}
*[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/16z1lk/ama_im_american_mcgee_game_designer_and_founder/ American McGee Reddit Questionnaire] (January 21, 2013)
*[https://www.patreon.com/user?u=340386 American McGee's Patreon page]
*[https://plushiedreadfuls.com// Plushie Dreadfuls by Mysterious website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20240227045607/http://www.pirate-jam.com// Pirate Jam website] (defunct)

{{id Software}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, American}}
[[Category:American atheists]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:Id Software people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:American expatriates in China]]
[[Category:People from Dallas]]