History VideoGame / AmericanMcGeesAlice

* AlluringAnglerfish: One appears in the UnderwaterRuins, although it's pretty well hidden.

In February 2009, roughly eight or so years after the game was released, EA announced that American [=McGee=] got the band back together, so to speak, and the sequel, entitled ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' was released on June 14, 2011. In May 2019, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lHi03QrWnE Alice: Asylum]]'' was announced, reportedly dealing with Alice's early days in the asylum. Unfortunately, ''Asylum'' would ultimately be passed on by license holder Electronic Arts in April 2023.

* NeverTrustATrailer: In the game's trailer, Alice and the Mad Hatter are shown having a tea party together, Alice glaring daggers at him as she grips her knife - just as the Hatter pulls on a lever and a circular saw comes out behind Alice to cut her in half. It's a dramaic and frightening scene, but there's nothing in the actual game that resembles it.

In February 2009, roughly eight or so years after the game was released, EA announced that American [=McGee=] got the band back together, so to speak, and the sequel, entitled ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' was released on June 14, 2011. In May 2019, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lHi03QrWnE Alice: Asylum]] was announced, reportedly dealing with Alice's early days in the asylum.

%% YourWorstNightmare: The whole game, basically, at least for Alice, although it's for her own good. It's the only way to regain her sanity.

* HistoricalVillianUpgrade: Throughout his life allegations of pedophilia plagued both Lewis Carroll and his family. The truth of the matter has never been verified, as the only primary source, Carroll's Diary, was altered by the family after his death. American firmly believes the rumors, to the point he was genuinely upset Lewis Carroll's picture was included in the final game.[[spoiler:Exaggerated in the sequel where Professor Bumby is a deeply unsubtle expy of Carroll. In a direct parallel with Carroll's life Bumby becomes obsessed with the daughter of his College's Dean. However, again, actual evidence of any misconduct by Carroll was never proven. Bumby however...]]

[[{{Understatement}} One of the darkest video games ever released]], ''American [=McGee=]'s Alice'' stars the titular character of the ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' series. Released in late 2000 by Creator/ElectronicArts, and helmed by Creator/IdSoftware alumnus American [=McGee=] ([[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt obviously]]), a former level designer for the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' franchises, in his first role as project lead.

* HistoricalVillianUpgrade: Throughout his life allegations of pedophilia plagued both Lewis Carroll and his family. The truth of the matter has never been verified, as the only primary source, Carroll's Diary, was altered by the family after his death. American firmly believes the rumors, to the point he was genuinely upset Lewis Carroll's picture was included in the final game.[[spoiler: Taken UpToEleven in the sequel where Professor Bumby is a deeply unsubtle expy of Carroll. In a direct parallel with Carroll's life Bumby becomes obsessed with the daughter of his College's Dean. However, again, actual evidence of any misconduct by Carroll was never proven. Bumby however...]]

* ParachutePetticoat: The fashion by which it is used to ride steam vents.

* KnifeNut: The Vorpal Blade is Alice' weapon of choice and the first weapon she finds in-game.

* SpotOfTea: As in the novel, Hatter is obsessed with tea. So much so that if the clock strikes twelve during the boss battle with him he will immediately run off for his teatime.

* CreepyCoolCrosses: Early versions of Alice wore a cross instead of her omega necklace. Some badly done versions even made the cross look inverted, and you ''know'' that's never going to fly.

* AchillesHeel: The Mad Hatter [[spoiler:is incredibly vulnerable to the Jacks (supposedly because he's so orderly, and the Jacks represent chaos) and you can win the BossBattle against him more easily if you exploit this weakness.]]

* DreamLand: The game is taking place in Alice's mind while she lies comatose in Rutledge Asylum. It may be more appropriate to call it a Nightmare Land...

* GameMod: The PC version has an [[https://www.nexusmods.com/americanmcgeesalice/mods/1 unofficial HD texture pack]] that overhauls the game's textures, revamps the menus and HUD, and has an option "Overkill" add-on that adds more lighting effects, models, and enemies. This texture pack is also compatible with the 2011 remastered version that was included with the game's sequel.

* GlasgowGrin: All the Insane Children appear to have these cut into their faces.

%% MentalWorld: And how delightfully [[MadnessMakeover mental]] it is!

* SecondaryFire: Many of Alice's weapons have a secondary attack it can use, such as the Vorpal Blade being used as a throwing weapon, the Playing Cards firing a burst of multiple cards at once, and the clown in the Jack-in-the-Box spewing flames around in its vicinity before denotating.

* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: At one point, Alice wakes up in an operating theater ... turned on its ''side''. Additionally, the March Hare and Dormouse can be found on operating tables, horribly experimented on. There's nothing you can do to help them.
* SuperMode: In the first game, Alice can occasionally find the Rage Box that when touched sprays ... something in her face which painfully transforms her into a demon. This PowerUp causes Alice to do more damage to her enemies and causes her to take less damage from their attacks for the duration.

* WeaponizedOffspring: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum [[MatryoshkaObject can open up and spawn smaller, weaker copies of themselves.]]

* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:The Duchess,]] [[spoiler: The Mad Hatter,]] and [[spoiler: The Cheshire Cat]] die this way. They [[UnexplainedRecovery got better]] [[spoiler: in the sequel]] though.

%% commented out as Administrivia/ZeroContextExample, character page material * ActionGirl: Alice.

** The Queen of Hearts' appearance and [[spoiler: her true form]] are horrific. Both are humanoid, but are mostly comprised of tentacles. [[spoiler: The final form also has Mad Hatter's head in its mouth, and the Hatter head has ''Alice's'' head in its mouth]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: The whole game, compared to what one would expect from something called ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''.
* DeadpanSnarker: The Cheshire Cat.

The game itself is an early action adventure, with Alice using a variety of [[ImprobableWeaponUser deadly toys to kill the inhabitants]] trying to destroy her and solving a number of puzzles along the way. The soundtrack is particularly notable, created by Music/NineInchNails member Chris Vrenna with exclusively Victorian instruments and toys.
The trailer for the first game can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg4FG0kCMBU here.]]

** Also when [[spoiler:the Cheshire Cat dies.]]

* UnderTheSea: The Vale of Tears once Alice follows the Mock Turtle underwater, complete with a few UnderwaterRuins. For some, ThatOneLevel.

The trailer for the first game can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_-3T1Tljw here.]]

%% commented out as Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * {{BFG}}: The Blunderbuss.

* DummiedOut: The 2011 re-release brightened up textures but removed quick saving/loading on consoles, the ability to hotkey weapons as well, and the ability to call the Cheshire Cat whenever you wanted on both console and PC versions.
** The original has many unused lines (some were recycled into the sequel) and a few working [=NPC=]s that don't show up in the game: the Fish Footmen and Frog Footmen, which draw wooden swords and summon Card Guards, and the bizarre Fungi; physically a small legless creature strapped to another buoyant animal, which follows the player but doesn't attack.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Meta-Essence that respawn after a while in the same spot appear only in boss arenas. These are actually necessary for the last couple of fights, where the only weapons you'll be using are the mana-guzzling Eye Staff and Blunderbuss.

%% MakeMeWannaShout: The Boojum.

* FrickinLaserBeams: The Bishop chess piece and the Queen of Hearts use these. Also the Eye Staff emits a continuous beam of massive damage.

* AchillesHeel: The Mad Hatter [[spoiler: is incredibly vulnerable to the Jacks (supposedly because he's so orderly, and the Jacks represent chaos) and you can win the BossBattle against him more easily if you exploit this weakness.]]

* DummiedOut: The HD console edition brightened up textures but removed quick save/load, the ability to hotkey weapons and the ability to call the Cheshire Cat whenever you wanted.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: While earning the ending holds true for all video games, Alice literally has to earn her sanity back [[spoiler: by battling the Queen Of Hearts.]]

* {{Grimmification}}: One that takes an already surreal and bizarre children's story to a darker direction with macabre imagery, twisted character interpretations, themes of mental health problems.

* IdleAnimation - Looking down the barrel of the blunderbuss, prying open a jackbomb, burying a card in her own skull, playing with knives ... Alice is ''dangerous'' when she's bored. A lot of the enemies have them as well, such as the Boojum removing and holding up its head to get a better view of the area.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Possibly justified, since American [=McGee=]'s Alice is very different from Creator/LewisCarroll's, but even so it has been said of the game that if you're going to put your own name in the title, it's better if people actually know who you are. The game had amazing graphics for its time, and it was heavily publicized that it was built on the then-cutting edge id Tech 3 UsefulNotes/GameEngine that powered ''VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena''. American [=McGee=] had been a designer for Creator/IdSoftware and worked on the earlier ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' games, as well as its predecessor franchise ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. A good portion of the target audience -- 3D action gamers -- were well aware of who he was. (American [=McGee=] was actually ''not'' a fan of having his name in the title, he wanted to call the game just ''Alice''. According to him, it was the publishers who wanted to put his name in the title, since "made by one of the masterminds behind Doom" would carry more weight with gamers than "a dark version of Alice in Wonderland". He got his wish with the second game, which is ''not'' called ''American [=McGee=]'s VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns''. It still has "An American [=McGee=] Game" in smaller letters at the bottom of the case.)

* InfinityPlusOneSword: Two of them. First, the Jabberwock's Eye Staff which is obtained in pieces throughout the game. When completed, it can fire a continuous, high-damage laser beam, or summon a whole comet rain around you. The second one, the Blunderbuss, is a {{BFG}} that, at the cost of a full will bar, will cause a room-clearing explosion. The Blunderbuss is only available during the FinalBoss unless you happen to find a hidden switch on your second visit to Caterpillar's Plot.
** To some, having such a long firing delay(Eyestaff) or completely exhausting what is essentially ammunition in one shot(Blunderbuss) brings them straight into AwesomeButImpractical territory.

* ItsPersonal: Well, it was personal to begin with, but it becomes much more so after the [[PlayerPunch deaths]] of [[spoiler:[[AndYourLittleDogToo the Rabbit and especially the Cheshire Cat]]]].

* NoSell: In the BossBattle against the Centipede, he's immune to every weapon Alice has at her disposal [[spoiler: except when he rears back before charging, exposing an old scar which is his weak point.]] Of course, you'd know this if you'd [[AllThereInTheManual read]] the {{feelies}} booklet.

* SanityMeter: You get more sane by drinking the ''essence'' of your kills! Try explaining this to your therapist after you finish the game. (Well, if what she's killing is a representation of her mental illness, then it makes a twisted... sort of... sense...)
** WordOfGod said that this was used because it was better [[RuleOfCool and far more interesting]] plot-wise than using a standard health meter and having Alice restore her health with medicine and bandages like the hero does in most games like this. (And frankly, having such stuff lying around Wonderland would make even less sense.)

* ThatOneBoss: Although the Centipede has an obvious weak spot, he's not obligated to expose it... ever. His actions are based mainly on how far away the player is, instead of following a scripted pattern, so if you try to stay in "safe" places, this fight can last for ''hours'' without him taking any damage.
* ThatOneLevel: Pretty much the entire Vale of Tears and Wonderland Woods is pure cancer (due to including both GoddamnBats and ThatOneBoss), but by far the worst single level is the one where the player goes river rafting with the Mock Turtle. Doing this on Easy is even more tedious and difficult, and requires more save-scumming, that fighting the Queen of Hearts on Nightmare.

[[{{Understatement}} One of the darkest video games ever released]], ''American [=McGee=]'s Alice'' stars the titular character of the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' series. Released in late 2000 by Creator/ElectronicArts, and helmed by Creator/IdSoftware alumnus American [=McGee=] ([[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt obviously]]), a former level designer for the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' franchises, in his first role as project lead.

* GoddamnBats: The ladybugs aren't small, but they fly, they're hard to hit, they respawn infinitely (albeit slowly), and even if you kill one, it's likely to fall right on top of you and self-destruct, damaging you in the process. This makes them by far the most annoying enemy in the game.

%% commented out as Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * {{Grimmification}}: One of the more famous examples.

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Possibly justified, since American [=McGee=]'s Alice is very different from Creator/LewisCarroll's, but even so it has been said of the game that if you're going to put your own name in the title, it's better if people actually know who you are. The game had amazing graphics for its time, and it was heavily publicized that it was built on the then-cutting edge id Tech 3 UsefulNotes/GameEngine that powered ''VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena''. American [=McGee=] had been a designer for Creator/IdSoftware and worked on the earlier ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' games, as well as its predecessor franchise ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. A good portion of the target audience - 3D action gamers - were well aware of who he was. (American [=McGee=] was actually ''not'' a fan of having his name in the title - he wanted to call the game just ''Alice''. According to him, it was the publishers who wanted to put his name in the title, since "made by one of the masterminds behind Doom" would carry more weight with gamers than "a dark version of Alice in Wonderland". He got his wish with the second game, which is ''not'' called ''American [=McGee=]'s VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns''. It still has "An American [=McGee=] Game" in smaller letters at the bottom of the case.)

* UpdatedRerelease: The PC version had an updated version of the first ''Alice'' as a pre-order bonus for ''Alice: Madness Returns'' and was bundled bundled as part of the ''Complete Collection'', which touched up some of the game's textures, added compatibility fixes for modern systems, Xbox 360 controller support, and native widescreen options. Unfortunately, this updated version of the game as well as the ''Complete Collection'' was pulled from all digital distribution platforms. American [[=McGee=]] himself has stated his intent to rerelease all the ''Alice'' games on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, Xbox One, and the Switch, though time will tell if this happens.

[[{{Understatement}} Considered by many to be one of the most disturbing video games ever released]],''American [=McGee=]'s Alice'' stars the titular character of the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' series. Released in late 2000 by Creator/ElectronicArts, and helmed by Creator/IdSoftware alumnus American [=McGee=] ([[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt obviously]]), a former level designer for the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' franchises, in his first role as project lead.

''American [=McGee=]'s Alice'' stars the titular character of the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' series. Released in late 2000 by Creator/ElectronicArts, and helmed by Creator/IdSoftware alumnus American [=McGee=] ([[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt obviously]]), a former level designer for the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' franchises, in his first role as project lead.

[[{{Understatement}} One of the most disturbing video games ever released]], ''American [=McGee=]'s Alice'' stars the titular character of the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' series. Released in late 2000 by Creator/ElectronicArts, and helmed by Creator/IdSoftware alumnus American [=McGee=] ([[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt obviously]]), a former level designer for the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' franchises, in his first role as project lead.

* ThatOneBoss: Although the Centipede has an obvious weak spot, he's not obligated to expose it... ever. His actions are 100% random instead of following a scripted pattern, so this fight can last for ''hours'' without him taking any damage.