American McGee's Alice is a darker and edgier take on the source material of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The franchise is set after the original stories. The first game is a third-person action-adventure video game released in late 2000 by Electronic Arts and helmed by id Software alumnus American McGee, a former level designer for the Doom and Quake franchises, in his first role as project lead.
In 1863, Alice Liddell was awoken from a dream of Wonderland by a house fire. Although she could save herself, unfortunately, her parents and sister were killed. Alice is left with severe burns and psychological damage. The trauma leaves her mostly catatonic and suicidal, and she is institutionalized in Rutledge Asylum. Several years later, Alice, 18 years old, her White Rabbit plush toy comes to life and summons Alice to aid a radically altered Wonderland under the despotic rule of the Queen of Hearts. Alice must fight her way through the twisted dream world to destroy the Queen, restore Wonderland to its former glory, and heal her mind. Along the way, she must destroy the Queen's minions, many of which are her former friends and companions. Her guide and ally is a twisted, emaciated Cheshire Cat, who can be summoned to help her with hints on how to go, usually occasionally cryptic.
The second game, Alice: Madness Returns, was released in 2011, developed by an independent studio Spicy Horse and is the sequel to the first game. Alice: Madness Returns follows Alice Liddell a year later, who was discharged from a psychiatric clinic and now lives in an orphanage for mentally traumatized orphans under the care of Dr. Angus Bumby, a psychiatrist. To get rid of the trauma and learn the truth about her past, she again falls into Wonderland, where a new evil force has corrupted it.
There are two animated short films, sequels to Alice: Madness, called Alice: Otherlands. Alice: Otherlands is set a year after Alice: Madness. These delve into Alice Liddell connecting with and entering the mentalities and minds of those around her, known as "Otherlands", and revolve around her discovering the horrors of the human subconscious – especially those of history's most famous minds. Having unified the material and psychological worlds, Alice now embraces her power, which allows her to move freely between both realms. No longer limited by mortal constraints, she can enter into and manipulate the psychological worlds of others. Now a confident and powerful heroine, although still not entirely void of her trademark attitude, she can help those in need – confronting manifestations of their psychological trauma, guiding them to resolution and tranquillity.
Alice Asylum is currently a hypothetical video game proposed by American McGee as part of his vision for the franchise. It would be the third instalment in the Alice series and a sequel to Alice: Madness Returns. It is intended to be the finale of the Alice trilogy. It is currently being crowdfunded.
Unlike most interpretations of Alice, the blonde hair and blue eyes. This Alice has dark hair and green eyes, which might reference the real-life Alice Liddel, who inspired the original Alice character.
