Download the app from the iTunes store here.

Here’s a little peek:

You can get pieces of Alice’s wardrobe, outfit your house in the twisted Wonderland motif (including a Cheshire Cat statue), and go on quests to gain points and experience.

Fighty-Bitey was a cat who was a little insane and would lie in wait, seeming to be the epitome of tranquil, until you tried to pet it – or seemed to try to pet it, or passed near it, or moved at all, or thought about moving.  Any such interruption in the energy of the universe would send the cat into a flurry of teeth and claws…

Mau is cut from that same cloth, but his “fighty-bitey” tends to include sticky grenades and flame throwers.

Here’s your caption for the week.  Add your best Mau-ism to the template, save it as a .jpg, .png, or .gif and send it in through our Contest page.  The best of the best will be shown on the BigHead BASH Facebook page this Friday.

]]> http://www.americanmcgee.com/2012/01/02/the-new-meme-for-mau/feed/ 0 http://www.americanmcgee.com/2012/01/02/the-new-meme-for-mau/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/americanmcgee/~3/jXVVy8g1wjM/ http://www.americanmcgee.com/2011/12/30/alice-madness-returns-makes-click-onlines-list-for-games-of-the-year/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:00:37 +0000 Lilith70 http://www.americanmcgee.com/?p=952 ↓ Read the rest of this entry...]]> The accolades still roll for the honorable A:MR!  We started off the list for the folks at Click:

“10) Alice: Madness Returns (PS3, Xbox 360 & PC) – Electronic Arts

There’s usually at least one inclusion on these lists that surprises people, and we’re willing to wager that Electronic Arts’ return to Wonderland will fit the bill this year. When we reviewed it originally in June we were gushing with our praise. For some reason though, it seems like the majority of the rest of the gaming press disagreed with us. The game fared okay when the averages are tallied up for the year, but we stand firm in our opinion that the follow on to 2000’s American McGee’s Alice is one of the most enjoyable title of its ilk for years…”

You are invited, of course, to read the rest of the article here.  We didn’t give you all of the spoilers.

What we’re loving about the article (and as of Thursday night, only the first two parts are out) is that they almost seemed to make a serious effort to move away from the standard “fan-boy responses” and go with more unusual options.  They mentioned, for instance, that there are no first-person shooters in the whole list.  Batman and Child of Eden didn’t make the cut, but Rayman Origins did.  They based their list on fun and a holistic experience.  We are tickled and honored to share the stage with games selected by these criteria.

“Even though Amercian McGee’s Spicy Horse just wrapped up development on Alice: Madness Returns for EA, don’t expect to see another big-budget game from the Shanghai-based studio. The team has since changed focus to make good on its plans to explore alternative business models, starting with a new Facebook title dubbed BigHead Bash.

“The game is Spicy Horse’s first foray onto social networks, and has players take control of virtual figurines to duke it out in a side-scrolling online deathmatch. Collecting figures will play a huge role in the game, allowing players to earn bonuses for filling out their collection with sets of both original and licensed toys. Taking the theme one step further, Spicy Horse even has plans to sell physical figures tied to the game via a specialized 3D printing service.

“With its licenses and merchandising hooks in place, it might appear that the toy-based brawler was tailor made for microtranscations and the free-to-play model. In a recent interview with Gamasutra, however, American McGee explained that all of these systems fell into place only recently, and Spicy Horse didn’t even think about monetization until BigHead Bash was well underway…”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Maaaaatt. He's mysteeeeerious.

Also hailing from Down Under (and from the Alice: Madness Returns team, and the Grimm team before that) is our long-time friend Matt Razz.  He believes that you are all meant to fall under his crazy Street-Fighter-level mad skillz.

**************************************

Name: Matt Razz

Role at Spicy Horse: Producer / Designer / Spiritual Healer

Where are you from?  How did you come to work with Spicy Horse?

Bored of day to day life in Australia I went on a mission to quench my hunger for specialty horse meat. While journeying through china I was stopped to gather my thoughts, I found myself standing on a bridge when a glistening reflection in the calm Suzhou river caught my eye. Looking up to locate the source, a neon sign reading “Spicy Horse” caught my attention. It was at that moment I knew I had found what I was looking for.

What’s your role in developing BigHead BASH?

General weapons-destroying-toys laboratory tests and analysis.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game thus far?

Popping n00b toys heads off and watching them roll around the ground.

In your own words, tell us how you would describe the game.

Toys galore. Multiplayer mayhem. A weapon for every situation.

What do you think people are going to enjoy about the game?

It’s no secret, I receive points every time I kill you. People will enjoy giving me points by letting me kill them >:) They can try to resist and fight back, but it’s inevitable I will win.

How do you think BHB sets itself apart from other social network games?

Player will receive an online, real-time, player versus player beating of a lifetime from yours truly. Sick of clicking on your farm and asking friends to send you chicken droppings? No other game on Facebook requires this much skill.

What is your favorite BHB character to play as? Your favorite weapon?

Albert III. The offspring of the first monkey in space arrives with a vengeance wielding the mighty sniper rifle!

What is your favorite BHB character in general?

Betty Bombshell sure knows how to lure the boy toys into a trap… A word of advice, don’t trust a word she says.

What would you like the world to know about BHB?

If a free 2.5D online multiplayer death match shooter created from pure silly fun doesn’t sound like enough for you, just wait until you see what new famous characters will join the mayhem soon!

Behold, a new caption contest!

For the next few Mondays, we’ll release a character template in the new-classic meme style.  YOU add in your best lines, save it as a flat image, and send it to us through the form provided.  Every Friday, we’ll feature the best of the best in a stream to the public on our Facebook page.

First up is Chicken Norris.  This badass chicken is badass – as in, really badass.  Maybe Chuck borrowed his moniker from the chicken, you never know.  It could have happened.

When you’re all done with your crazy modifying, head on over to the Contests page to submit through the form there.  See you in the funny papers!

As a special little treat, here are a few freshly filked holiday songs for you to entertain your loved ones:

You better watch out, you better not cry,
You’d better not pout, I’m telling you why,
Krampus will snatch you up by your hair and carry you away in his moldy sack to cook as his solstice meal for being a whiny little brat.

Hmmm… that didn’t rhyme as much as I wanted it to… How about this one?

Away in the ocean, a reef for his bed,
The little Lord Cthulhu lay down his great head.
The stars in the sky look down where he lay,
The little Lord Cthulhu, asleep in R’lyeh.

One more?  Okay.

Deck the halls with strings of entrails,
Fa la la la, la la la la
Tis the season for the hobnails,
Fa la la la, la la la la
Don we now the bloody foe-skins,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la,
Game is over, feed more tokens!
Fa la la la la, la la, la la.

There.  If that doesn’t get the relatives looking at you funny, nothing will.

Merry Hanuchristmakwanikrampiyule!

Ben Kerslake - working for you. With beer.

As part of our loving devotion to the idea that the next generation of brilliant game developers will inspired by the current generation of brilliant game developers, we present a new series of interviews with the guys putting together the Next Big Thing, BigHead BASH.

Today’s interview is with Ben Kerslake who, as you might recall, was on board during the Alice: Madness Returns development.

**********************************

Where are you from?  How did you come to work with Spicy Horse?

I joined Spicy (and moved to China) after doing several months of freelance concept art for the company while living in Australia.

What’s your role in developing BigHead BASH?

I advise on UI design and art direction, as well as aspects of game design. I was also involved in pitching a very early version of the game, prior to us entering production proper.

What’s your favorite aspect of the game thus far?

It has, from quite early in development, been the kind of compulsive PvP shooter that keeps you glued to your seat  and playing. Time really flies. That kernel of fun is augmented, but essentially unchanged – so that purity of intent is my favorite aspect, and one that I think will resonate with many gamers.

In your own words, tell us how you would describe the game.

A fast-paced shooter with a slick visual theme. A virtual toy store with endless shelf space.

What do you think people are going to enjoy about the game?
It’s like those little games kids play with their favorite toys – everyone is suddenly in the same universe, regardless of initial origin; and they’re all either helping or killing each other. That aspect of the “crossover” battle is one we’re lucky to have an opportunity to explore. Also, head size corresponding to your awesomeness usually raises a metaphorical chuckle.

How do you think BHB sets itself apart from other social network games?

Certainly the aspect of toy collection. Both in the competitive aspect of that world, and the varied array of characters we can feature (much like an actual toy manufacturer). Often it feels as if we’re going through the same process as a “real” toy company, just without the need for factory space and physical production… thankfully!

What is your favorite BHB character to play as? Your favorite weapon?

Don Joe. Masked Man (or is he?) of mystery. I flip-flop between the sniper rifle and flame thrower. Shotgun is usually my go-to.

What is your favorite BHB character in general?

The Fluf (animals) group are well realized and accessible. You just can’t fault a chicken packing a minigun.

BUT AMERICAN MCGEE’S GRIMM IS!

If you’ve been looking for those 23 episodes of warped humor, Gamefly has them now.

Of course, if you don’t want unlimited access to all those games every month, you can still get the individual episodes for $3.99 each (yes, we know a few of them are missing, but they’ll be along shortly).

If you weren’t around during those halcyon days of Spicy Horse’ youth, American McGee’s Grimm was the first title that the studio produced.  It was 23 episodes that featured the main character Grimm running around “beloved” fairytales and gumming them up, pulling their flat teeth and replacing them with fangs.  Grimm is an irreverent dwarfish cur with a dry, sarcastic wit and a penchant for mucking about with the low-lifes.  He waltzes through classic tales like “Puss in Boots” and “Red Riding Hood”, and he visits lesser known lands as well such as “the Singing Bone” and “Godfather Death”.  Grimm even makes forays into “Mulan” and Midas’ kingdom to help round out the cultural overviews.  He pulls the covers back on modern child stories to reveal the moral and cautionary tales they were meant to be.