American McGee’s Spicy Horse studio is currently debating which game they should make next: the company wants to make either a Wizard of Oz-themed zombie shooter, or the third entry in their long running Alice franchise.
Spicy Horse is currently trying to acquire the rights to the Alice franchise from EA, who published both of the previous games in the series. If the company’s negotiations with EA are successful, they’ll create another sequel in their twisted take on Wonderland, entitled Alice: Otherlands. While previous Alice games dealt with Alice travelling to Wonderland in order to repair her own fractured psyche, Otherlands will reportedly have Alice travel into the minds of other children.
If they can’t get the rights to the series from EA, Spicy Horse will instead start a new IP, entitled “OZombie.” Just as Alice was a dark, gritty take on Alice in Wonderland, OZombie will present a darker version of the Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy and her band of misfits are recast as a group of shotgun wielding hunters who have to save Oz from a hoard of zombies, led by the Scarecrow.
Regardless of which ever game they end up making, Spicy Horse will host a Kickstarter campaign this summer to secure further funding for their next game. The company’s previous game, Akaneiro: Demon Hunters (which, like most of their other games, was loosely based on an old story — this time Little Red Riding Hood,) was also funded via Kickstarter, and is now available as a free-to-play browser game. Spicy Horse has already started hiring for their next project, and a job listing posted to their site suggests that their next game will be created using the Unity 3D engine, which is currently compatible with the PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, iOS, and Android.
I’m not sure which game I want them to make — American McGee’s Alice was always more interesting from an aesthetic standpoint rather than a gameplay one, so while I enjoyed exploring the world of the first two games, I’m not sure I’d be willing to buy a third game in the series just so I can gawk at more strange scenery. I’m also similarly disinterested in OZombies, because I’m pretty sure the world has enough zombie-focused FPS’s at this point. Still, if American McGee and his team can put an original spin on either title, I’m sure the final game will be worth checking out.
Vinny Parisi
Unless I REALLY wasn’t paying attention, I’m pretty sure Alice was travelling to Wonderland in her games, and not Oz. Otherwise, epic crossover is epic. 😉
inb4commenttrolls
Michael Lacerna
Sorry, got mixed up.
Vinny Parisi
No biggie. Just figured it’d be better hearing it from me than someone who’d actually try to start something over nothing. Such is the internet.