'They Stopped Making Those Requests' — Alice: Madness Returns Director American McGee Got Creative After EA Asked to 'Make Things More Sexy'

Alice: Madness Returns creator and director American McGee revealed that he "pasted dildos" onto the head of a giant snail after publisher EA asked developer Spicy Horse Games to "make things more sexy." In a recent reply to a marketing video posted on X/Twitter, McGee shared behind-the-scenes details about the development of the dark video game twist on Alice in Wonderland. He admitted there was "a fairly big disconnect" between his vision for the 2011 sequel and what EA's marketing team wanted. McGee said EA wanted to push the game to be a "Hard M title" with more gore and horror, featuring a "psychotic" main character—but the requests didn't stop there. When someone at the company asked Spicy Horse to adjust how "sexy" the game was, McGee got creative. "I did NOT want to portray Alice as a psycho, cover her in blood, or 'make things more sexy' (yes, that was a request)," he said. "Famously, I pasted dildos onto the head of a giant snail in response to the 'sexy' request and emailed that to the Marketing team." With a laughing-crying face emoji, he added, "They stopped making those requests." McGee clarified that he was able to deny such requests because Alice: Madness Returns was funded by a Los Angeles bank, not by EA. The deal allowed Spicy Horse to maintain complete control as long as it stuck to the development schedule and budget. The project was successful until the end of development, when the team felt it needed "another 30-60 days for polishing." McGee said EA's refusal to extend the deadline was "probably a bit out of spite," resulting in a slightly less polished launch with little publisher interference. "We made history in relation to all this," he added. "Madness Returns wasn't just the first AAA game fully developed by a Chinese team. It was also the first ever game to be bond financed in China. We were also the first team ever to tell EA [go f**k yourself] and (kinda) get away with it." Alice: Madness Returns launched in June 2011 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Although initial reception from fans and critics wasn't the strongest (we gave it a 6.5/10), its grim fairytale style helped it find an audience, becoming a cult classic over the years. McGee has attempted to make Alice 3 in the past, and there was even a TV show in the works, but the franchise remains dormant.