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Spicy Horse reducing staff, NOT shutting down

What even happened with that Alice game they showed a while ago? I seem to remember it having a big backlash due to looking like a generic F2P phone game, then never heard anything else about it.
 

nbnt

is responsible for the well-being of this island.
What a bummer :( I loved A:MR
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Via DET
RIP ;_;
 

sora87

Member
Madness Returns was an awesome game, full of great imagery and interesting things happening. Shame we never got more.
 

Vitor711

Member
They made Alice: Madness Returns which was great and then made a bunch of games nobody asked for. What a shame.

I'd say that they just didn't learn from their past mistakes Alice was potentially great but the pacing was awful and it was overly long. The visuals/gameplay mechanics for each stage always outstayed their welcome before the end of each level.

At half the length, I might have a much higher opinion of the game.
 
The problem with The downfall of Spicy Horse was simply a series of mistakes by McGee.


Namely:

  • Moving all operations to China
  • A series mediocre Kickstarters
  • Shifting development to an already crowded Mobile F2P market


I feel he was banking heavily on Mobile being the next big thing, but by the time he was there, he was already too late.

Here's hoping everything turns out better for him in the future, both personally and in future business ventures.
 
Sad but not too unexpected. Haven't heard of them in ages. Madness Returns was a great game. Dragged a bit in places, but the style was amazing.
 

Garlador

Member
Alice: Madness Returns was probably my favorite game I played that year.

I certainly acknowledge there were better games and Alice had its flaws (lots of them)...

But the imagination on display, the atmosphere it presented, the artistry, the presentation, the music, the characterization, the psychology, the gameplay... I adored it from start to finish and replayed it multiple times. When I finally upgraded from the stone age to modern life with a great HD TV, Alice was the first game I put in simply so I could see what the Vale of Tears looked like in true HD.

I'm sure we'll get more Alice games, just not by Spicy Horse, and that's a shame because they were really good at what they did and had an eye for visuals that was rarely surpassed.

I definitely loved both Alice games, and I hope everyone lands on their feet.

And maybe one day, some day, we can go down the rabbit hole again.
 
Madness Returns was a flawed but still awesome game. I would have loved another Alice sequel at some point; it was pretty disappointing when they teased more Alice but then elected to kickstart an Oz game instead. Pretty much stopped paying attention at that point.
 
That's a real shame. I loved Madness Returns. The art of Alice: Madness Returns is still the only gaming related art book I have felt compelled to buy. What a book it is too.
 

Garlador

Member
That's a real shame. I loved Madness Returns. The art of Alice: Madness Returns is still the only gaming related art book I have felt compelled to buy. What a book it is too.

I went so far as to get it signed as well. Don't regret it for a moment. Gorgeous art book and a gorgeous game.
 
That's a shame, Madness Returns was a great game and I would have loved to see another one or at least something else besides a bunch of mobile games.
 
What a shame. I loved Madness Returns. They had some serious talent at that studio, hopefully they have no trouble finding new work.

The environment artists in particular should have no trouble with that. Say what you will about the gameplay, but every environment in that game was mesmerizing and looked really carefully crafted.
 

Tohsaka

Member
Damn, that sucks. Alice was a great game, was hoping they'd be able to make another one eventually but it didn't work out I guess.
 
Here's hoping the devs find jobs quickly.

I'm not worried at all about American, dudes extremely talented and I'd bet people will be climbing over each other to bring him onto their teams.

Shame about his sister, hope they get some answers soon.
 
This is a bummer, Alice: Maness Returns is one of my nieces favorite games. I still need to find a copy and try it, that backlog though.

Hope the developers find work soon.
 

ajm

Neo Member
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153
 

RK128

Member
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153

Glad to see the studio is still making games :D! Really enjoyed the Alice games you guys produced and I look forward to those future projects.

I'm so sorry about your sister :(. I hope the police and PI can find her soon.
 

Squire

Banned
Damn shame. They always provided some wonderful looking games that had some nice variety to them. Wonder what McGee will do next.

Hopefully he spends his time doing something more valuable than propagating GamerGate nonsense.

Best of luck to those out of work.
 

CO_Andy

Member
RIP Alice 3

This will be our Shenmue 3, fellow Alice fans :(

Hope McGee moves on to indie style games like Bloodstained.
 

Aselith

Member
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153

Really sorry to hear about your sister, man. That's unfathomable horrible. I can't even imagine how that must weigh on you.
 
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153

Thanks for your comment, and best of luck both for the studio and for the search :) It's really awful and I hope you'll have good news soon, it must be terrible.
 

onken

Member
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153

Well that's some good news at least, keep at it dude!
 

LiK

Member
Really enjoyed Madness Returns even with the flaws. Shame we won't get the final game in the trilogy.
 
Unfortunate. Madness Returns was a lot of fun, mostly because of the art. The cards in the sky was a beautiful level and the reveal near the end of the underwater level was truly fucked up. Hopefully we'll see more one day.
 

Vitor711

Member
Just wanted to let everyone know Spicy Horse did reduce staff earlier this week, but a core team will remain in the studio and we'll be announcing new projects soon. The remaining team will continue to support our existing and recently launched mobile F2P titles. As has been mentioned in this thread, the F2P space has become quite brutal in recent years, and after 5 years and 7 titles, I feel it's time we pivot to something new.

Also, just wanted to say I appreciate the sentiment and kind words regarding my sister. Still no news, but we maintain hope the police and PI can move things forward.

I've just posted this briefly on Twitter if you need confirmation:
https://twitter.com/americanmcgee/status/714950254400049153

Glad to see you guys are still in business and echoing all the sentiments here regarding the safe return of your sister.

Even with all the issues I had with Alice: MR, that game had so many fantastic individual elements that I'd hate to see the studio shutter and not have a chance to build on that. Especially with that phenomenal art-style.
 
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