Spicy Horse

Spicy Horse was an independent video game development studio based in Shanghai, China. It was established in 2007 by American McGee, Anthony Jacobson, and Adam Lang, after McGee sought new business opportunities in Asia following the closure of his earlier company, The Mauretania Import Export Company. The studio was formed around a group of Chinese developers who had substantial experience producing and outsourcing games for Western companies but had generally lacked creative control over the intellectual properties on which they worked. McGee positioned Spicy Horse as a studio that would give local talent greater creative responsibility while providing a more supportive working environment. The company developed a distinctive cross-border model. It was described as the largest independent Western game developer operating in China and employed more than 70 people at its studio in Shanghai's Zhabei District. Its work combined a relatively small core development team with outsourced art production, allowing the studio to concentrate internal resources on design, engineering, direction, and other central development functions. Spicy Horse also presented itself as an early advocate of episodic game development, a model in which a larger project is released in installments rather than as one completed product. The studio's first major release was American McGee's Grimm, an episodic dark-fantasy game distributed through GameTap. Developed with Epic's Unreal Engine 3, the series began releasing in July 2008 and continued through March 2009. Spicy Horse subsequently developed Alice: Madness Returns for Electronic Arts. The game was a sequel to American McGee's Alice and represented the studio's most prominent project. It was also described as the first console game designed and developed entirely in China for export to international markets. Spicy Horse expanded into mobile and digital projects through a related company, Spicy Pony. That operation produced games for platforms including the iPhone and iPad, beginning with DexIQ and later developing an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood titled Akaneiro. The wider studio also pursued OZombie, a proposed adaptation of L. Frank Baum's Oz setting. OZombie was presented to potential backers through Kickstarter, but the campaign was cancelled in July 2013 after insufficient support. The team then redirected its attention toward a series of Alice short films. In 2016, Spicy Horse experienced layoffs and uncertainty about its future. On March 29, American McGee acknowledged the layoffs while indicating that the studio was still operating and was considering moving away from free-to-play mobile games. On July 23, 2016, the company announced that it was closing after roughly a decade of development. McGee said he intended to concentrate on smaller independent projects, supported in part through Patreon, and to pursue a different working environment. Spicy Horse therefore remains principally associated with the development of Alice: Madness Returns, its China-based production model, and its experiments with episodic, mobile, crowdfunding, and transmedia projects.

Spicy Horse emerged from American McGee's search for new opportunities in Asia after the closure of The Mauretania Import Export Company. During that period, McGee met Chinese developers who had spent years working on outsourced game production for Western companies. Although these developers possessed technical and production experience, they had often had limited influence over the intellectual properties they helped create. McGee established Spicy Horse in Shanghai in 2007 with Anthony Jacobson and Adam Lang, intending to combine international project leadership with a more locally empowered development environment. The studio grew into a substantial independent developer in China. It operated from Shanghai's Zhabei District and employed more than 70 people. Its production approach emphasized a core internal team while outsourcing art-asset production. This structure was intended to preserve energy and attention for the central creative and technical aspects of game development. Spicy Horse also described itself as a studio leading the way in episodic games, an approach that was particularly visible in its first major project, American McGee's Grimm. American McGee's Grimm was released through GameTap in episodic form from July 2008 through March 2009. Built with Epic's Unreal Engine 3, the project adapted darkly comic versions of familiar fairy tales into an interactive series. Spicy Horse later took on a larger console production for Electronic Arts: Alice: Madness Returns, a sequel to American McGee's Alice. The title became the studio's best-known work and was notable as a major console game designed and developed in China for export to global markets. The company also explored smaller and newer distribution channels. It created the related Spicy Pony operation to develop digital mobile media games for Apple devices. Spicy Pony's early projects included DexIQ for iPhone and an iPad adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood called Akaneiro. Separately, Spicy Horse proposed OZombie, an adaptation of the Wizard of Oz setting. The project was taken to Kickstarter, but the campaign was cancelled on July 14, 2013, because it did not attract enough support. The studio then redirected its effort toward a series of Alice short films. By 2016, Spicy Horse was under pressure and had begun reducing its workforce. On March 29, McGee confirmed that layoffs had occurred, while saying the company remained in operation and was looking to move away from free-to-play mobile games. Later that year, on July 23, the studio announced that it would close its doors after about ten years. McGee planned to continue with smaller independent development, including work supported through Patreon, and to pursue a different working environment. The closure ended Spicy Horse as an operating studio, but its role in connecting Chinese development talent with internationally marketed game projects, together with the global visibility of Alice: Madness Returns, remains central to its identity.

• 2016

  Layoffs and strategic reassessment

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The studio acknowledged layoffs and indicated that it was considering moving away from free-to-play mobile games.

• 2016

  Studio closes

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Spicy Horse announced its closure after approximately ten years of development.

• 2013

  OZombie crowdfunding campaign cancelled

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The studio cancelled the Kickstarter campaign for OZombie on July 14 after insufficient support and redirected attention to Alice short films.

• 2011

  Alice: Madness Returns released

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  Spicy Horse developed the sequel to American McGee's Alice for Electronic Arts, becoming best known for the project.

• 2009

  American McGee's Grimm episodic run concludes

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The GameTap series completed its episodic release run in March.

• 2009

  Spicy Pony launches mobile projects

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The affiliated Spicy Pony operation released DexIQ for iPhone and pursued additional digital mobile projects.

• 2008

  American McGee's Grimm begins episodic release

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  The studio's first major title began releasing through GameTap in episodic form, using Epic's Unreal Engine 3.

• 2007

  Studio established in Shanghai

  [1]Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

  American McGee, Anthony Jacobson, and Adam Lang established Spicy Horse as an independent Shanghai-based game developer.

Independent, internationally oriented game development with a Shanghai-based core team, Western intellectual-property leadership, outsourced art production, and experimentation across episodic, console, mobile, and crowdfunding formats.

• Episodic video game · 2008

  American McGee's Grimm

  American McGee's Grimm was Spicy Horse's first major title. It was released through GameTap as an episodic series from July 2008 through March 2009. The game used dark and satirical interpretations of familiar fairy-tale material and was built with Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Its episodic distribution reflected the studio's interest in installment-based game development.

• Console and personal-computer video game · 2011

  Alice: Madness Returns

  Alice: Madness Returns is a sequel to American McGee's Alice and Spicy Horse's best-known production. Developed for Electronic Arts, it brought the studio's Shanghai-based team into a major international console project. The title continued the franchise's reimagining of Lewis Carroll-inspired imagery through a darker action-adventure setting and was designed and developed in China for export to international markets.

• Mobile video game · 2009

  DexIQ

  DexIQ was the first reported release from Spicy Pony, the mobile-focused related company established by Spicy Horse. It was designed for the iPhone and released in early December 2009. The project represented the group's expansion from larger computer and console productions into downloadable mobile entertainment.

• Tablet and mobile video game

  Akaneiro

  Akaneiro was an adaptation of the Little Red Riding Hood story developed for the iPad through the studio's mobile-oriented activities. It formed part of Spicy Horse and Spicy Pony's effort to create digital media games for Apple platforms and to explore recognizable literary and fairy-tale properties in interactive form.

• Proposed crowdfunded video game

  OZombie

  OZombie was a proposed adaptation of the Wizard of Oz setting. Spicy Horse sought funding through Kickstarter, but the campaign was cancelled on July 14, 2013 because it did not receive sufficient support. Development attention was subsequently redirected toward a series of Alice short films, and the project did not become a completed Spicy Horse release.

• 2013OZombie Kickstarter

  International crowdfunding market

  Spicy Horse used Kickstarter to seek support for OZombie, a planned game based on the Wizard of Oz setting. The campaign did not attract enough support to continue.

  Outcome. The campaign was cancelled on July 14, 2013, and the studio shifted its attention toward Alice short films.

  Source

• 2016

  Reconsider free-to-play mobile developmentStrategy

  Background

  Following layoffs acknowledged in March 2016, the studio reassessed its operating direction.

  Action taken

  American McGee said the studio would look to move away from free-to-play mobile games.

  Aftermath

  The studio later announced its closure in July 2016, while McGee moved toward smaller independent projects.

  Source

• 2016

  Close the Spicy Horse studioStrategy

  Background

  After approximately ten years of development and reported layoffs, the company decided to end its studio operations.

  Action taken

  Spicy Horse announced that it was closing its doors.

  Aftermath

  American McGee planned to focus on smaller independent development, including work supported through Patreon, and to pursue a different working environment.

  Source

• 2013

  Cancel the OZombie crowdfunding campaignOther

  Background

  The proposed Wizard of Oz adaptation did not receive sufficient support through Kickstarter.

  Action taken

  Spicy Horse cancelled the campaign and redirected effort toward a series of Alice short films.

  Aftermath

  OZombie did not become a completed release identified in the available reference material.

  Source

1. 1Spicy Horse - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org