Alice creator American McGee turns to Kickstarter for Akaneiro: Demon Hunters
American McGee, the man behind Alice, Grimm, and most recently Alice: Madness Returns, is the latest prominent developer to try out Kickstarter. McGee and his Shanghai-based Spicy Horse studio are seeking $200,000 in funding for Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, a free-to-play action RPG detailing the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a Japanese slant.
The more modest sum compared to some of the big names of last year reflects on Akaneiro having already been in development for around one and a half years. According to the Kickstarter page, Spicy Horse needs the money to provide Android and iOS ports in addition to the already planned PC and Mac versions, cross-platform support, co-op multiplayer, community support, and an equipment crafting system. The page also lists potential stretch goals including two new expansions, a Linux version, a player versus player arena, and guild creation.
Spicy Horse collaborated with EA to release Alice: Madness Returns in 2010, but McGee since said that will be the studio's last physical release in light of much better returns from F2P games like Akaneiro. In the video on the Kickstarter page, McGee says his studio's goal is now to "deliver console-quality content to mid-core gamers, and to do this without having to rely on traditional publishers" and that "Akaneiro is the result of those efforts."
