They're one of the few developers who know how to fiddle with Quake technology as well as id Software themselves. Rogue, a Dallas, Texas-based game development house debuted in the gaming industry in 1996 with Strife, an action RPG built upon the Doom engine. From there, the company's name has been mostly associated with its Quake expansion packs, Dissolution of Eternity and Ground Zero.  Proving further how intimately adept they are with Quake technology, Rogue converted Quake II over to the Nintendo 64.  But today, Rogue is a company 27-employees strong and is in the final stretch of quietly developing a game that they seldom get credit for: American McGee's Alice.

Alice is Rogue's first standalone title since Strife  and it brings new game design considerations for the company: It's their first game that runs on the latest id engine, Quake III Arena; their first set in a third-person point of view; and it's the first time they've worked closely with a lead designer outside its own circle, American McGee. As he and his team were wrapping up Alice by its shipping date, Jim Molinets, the president of Rogue Entertainment and one of its founders, took the time out to discuss what it's been like to bring Alice to life.

GameSlice: It's coming down to the wire now as you guys work to finish the game.  How would you describe this pressure?

Jim: Well, having been through this several times before, I would say that it’s the same as usual.  You always want to do your best during crunch time and I think I can safely say that this is the hardest, yet most rewarding part.  You are working a ton, but you also get to see the game go from pieces to its own glorious whole.  I wouldn’t miss that for anything. 

GameSlice:  Why did Rogue decide to take on Alice as its first full-scale original game in quite some time? 

Jim: With the source material, who in their right mind wouldn’t?  Seriously, when we started talks with EA about this project we were all convinced that this could be one of the most surreal and interesting games ever done for the PC.  Again, how could you pass up an opportunity like that?

Beyond that, we felt that it was time that we stepped from the shadows and went for a full title again.  We cut our teeth on the mission packs and the N64 Quake 2 port and felt we were ready to tackle the challenges of Alice.