Interview: The Infamous American McGee Talks The "Alice" Series, China And What's Next

When I first met American McGee during a trip to Shanghai back in February I was struck by how different he was from my perceptions. Having played his twisted, and sometimes macabre titles like Alice: Madness Returns, Bad Day L.A., and Grimm, I expected to find a wild sort of character with a dark sense of humor. What I found instead was a contemplative and adventurous man who was helping to shape the future of game development overseas.

With his name branded over his more recent titles, it can be easy to forget that American's development experience started back with id Software, designing the original first-person shooters with the likes of John Carmack and Romero. McGee has seen a lot of the industry over the years, and that experience has helped inform him of its future.

I got a chance to catch up with American again for a brief Q&A about life as a developer in China, the trials of revisiting his Alice IP, and how his new free-to-play titles, Akaneiro and BigHead BASH are going to shape the future of his studio.