Alan Wake
Encyclopedia
Alan Wake is a story-driven action game
in the psychological thriller
genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment
and published by Microsoft Game Studios
, released for the Xbox 360
video game console
in 2010. The plot follows bestselling thriller novel writer Alan Wake, as he uncovers the mystery behind his wife's disappearance while both are on vacation in the small town of Bright Falls in the Pacific Northwest
, where he experiences blackouts and visions of characters and ideas from his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life. Darkness plays a significant role in the game, and the core combat gameplay of Alan Wake consists of "fighting with light".
In its pacing and structure, Alan Wake is similar to a thriller television series, with episode
s that include plot twist
s and cliffhanger
s. The game itself consists of six episodes, and the fiction is continued by two special episodes, titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", that were made available as downloadable content
(DLC) within the same year of the game's release. Together, they make the first season of a possibly longer story. Additionally, a six-episode live-action web series
called Bright Falls acts as a prequel
to the game, and a number of related books also expand upon the Alan Wake story.
The Finnish
studio Remedy Entertainment is known for creating the critically acclaimed Max Payne
(2001), and its sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
(2003). Chiefly written by Sam Lake
(writer for the first two Max Payne games), Alan Wake is the studio's first game since Max Payne 2, and took over five years to create; an unusually long development time in the game industry. The game received positive reviews from critics, and is often revered for its narrative, pacing, and atmosphere. Alan Wake has been awarded the first spot in Time
magazine's list of the top 10 video games of 2010.
While no plans have been announced for a sequel (or "season two") for the game, it has been confirmed that a new Alan Wake title will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade
service. The new game will be a full stand-alone title, but it is not a sequel or a DLC. More information about the new game will be revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011. The first screenshot and a teaser trailer of the new game was released in November 2011.
, described by its developers as a combination of "the mind of a psychological thriller
", and "the body of a cinematic action game
". In interviews, the game's creators hold that the game does not belong squarely in the survival horror video game genre. The game is primarily set in the fictional idyllic small town of Bright Falls, Washington. The main gameplay happens in various areas of Bright Falls – such as the forest, a national park, or a farm – during the nighttime; these are punctuated by calmer, non-combative sequences set during the day.
While controlling the protagonist, Alan Wake, in the dark, light
plays a significant role in gameplay. For example, human enemies possessed by darkness, called the "Taken", are initially impervious to attack; they can only be killed or injured with a firearm when exposed to light, which burns away the darkness shielding them. (The amount of darkness remaining is represented by a corona of light that appears when aiming at Taken.) Therefore, there is significant emphasis on flashlights
and other hand-held lights being used in conjunction with conventional weapons, such as a revolver
or a shotgun
. The beam of these lights acts as a reticle. Such hand-held lights can be boosted, which destroys the darkness faster, but also reduces the battery level of the light. Therefore, besides the conventional shooter gameplay need for reloading ammunition
, the player also has to insert fresh batteries into the flashlight when they run out, or wait for it to recharge slowly. Moreover, the player is often encouraged to take advantage of environmental light sources and placing, and to use other light-based weapons and accessories, such as flare guns
, hand-held flares
and flashbangs
. Wake can also use searchlights to take out massive waves of possessed enemies. Besides the Taken, the player has to combat other possessed enemies with light, such as flocks of ravens, and animated poltergeist
objects. Streetlights and other light stands can provide a "Safe Haven", which the Taken cannot enter, and will regenerate the character's health
very rapidly. Otherwise, health regenerates slowly with time, when not taking any damage. In certain sections of the game, it is possible to use a car to traverse between locations in Bright Falls. When in a car, the player can run down Taken on the road, or boost the vehicle's headlights
to destroy them.
A major element of gameplay is the optional discovery and collection of manuscript
pages from Alan Wake's latest "novel"—Departure. Wake does not remember writing this book, but it seems that its storyline is coming to life around him. These readable manuscript pages are scattered around the game world, out of chronological order; therefore, they often describe scenes that have yet to occur and act as warning and instructions for proceeding through the episodes. Other optional collectibles include coffee thermoses scattered around the game world (100 in all), as well as discovering television sets which show different episodes of the fictional Night Springs series, radios airing talk and music from Bright Falls' local radio station, and textual signs around the town. The radio shows and signs provide a deeper understanding of the town's history and culture. The game's DLC
episodes introduce other collectibles, such as alarm clocks, and video game boxes.
. Alan and his wife Alice travel to the small, idyllic rural town of Bright Falls, Washington for a short vacation, hoping to recover his creative flow. Alan retrieves keys and a map to their rental cabin from a mysterious, veiled, old woman in black apparently standing in for the cabin's sick owner, Carl Stucky, at their scheduled meeting place. Along the way, Wake meets a few of the friendly local townsfolk, including young waitress Rose Marigold (an avid, "overeager" fan of Wake's novels), Park Ranger Rusty, and two retired former rock stars, the Anderson Brothers. The couple then drives to their cabin, which sits on an island at the scenic Cauldron Lake. As they unpack their supplies, Alan discovers that Alice has set up a typewriter for Alan in the cabin's study, hoping that he would be able to start on his new work. Angered by her persistence, Alan steps outside for a walk, knowing that Alice has a phobia of the dark and won't follow him. As he makes his approach back to the cabin he hears Alice's screams as the power goes out. He realizes something has dragged Alice from the cabin into the lake, and he comes to the rescue, attempting to dive in after her.
After an obscured scene briefly shows, Alan suddenly regains consciousness in his car, wrecked by the side of a lonely highway in the middle of the night, with no idea how he'd gotten there. Disoriented and suffering from concussion, he starts to make his way to the town's gas station through the thick woods, subsequently encountering murderous forms of Bright Falls' citizens, including the formerly mentioned Mr. Stucky, now covered in living shadows known as the "Dark Presence"; Alan discovers that light is the only weapon in which he can use against these figures of darkness. He also comes across a ghostly apparition of a deep sea diver, which drops pages of a manuscript for Alan to recover. Alan recognizes the pages as his own writing for an unfinished novel named Departure, but does not recall writing them. Once in town, he calls the local police and discovers for the first time that seven days have passed since his arrival at Cauldron Lake. Sheriff Sarah Breaker arrives to investigate Alice's disappearance, but she refuses to believe Wake when he explains that he spent his first night on an island in the lake. At Alan's insistence, the sheriff takes him to the place the next morning, and, to his horror, he finds that the cabin and the island have vanished. Breaker proceeds to explain that no island has ever existed on Cauldron Lake since the 1970s, after a earthquake seemingly sunk the island and the cabin. Barry Wheeler, Alan's friend and literary agent, soon arrives from New York City to help Alan cope with Alice's disappearance. The case has also attracted the attention of a paranoid FBI Agent, Robert Nightingale, who suspects that Alan is behind Alice's disappearance.
Barry helps Wake find new lodgings at the local Elderwood National Park, managed by Rusty the park ranger, whom Alan has taken a particular liking to. Wake is also interrogated by Sheriff Breaker on the details of his wife's disappearance, although he chooses not to mention the nightmarish night he spent in the woods with the ghostly diver and murderous, darkness-driven, townsfolk— she would never believe him.
A man claiming to be Alice's kidnapper then lures Alan away from the FBI; both are pursued by loggers and hunters possessed by the Dark Presence at the park. A strange force of destruction also attacks Elderwood's Visitor Center and mortally injures Rusty. The dying park ranger reveals to Wake that he had uncovered a page from the Departure manuscript, in Alan's writing, foretelling his own death. Alan comes to the conclusion that this story he had never remembered writing is coming true, and has turned into a horror novel.
After being forced to kill Rusty when the ranger is possessed by the Dark Presence and attempts to murder him with an axe, Wake catches up to Alice's kidnapper, who arranges for them to meet again elsewhere. Oddly enough, the kidnapper in question does not demand a ransom for Alice's safe return; he simply wants Alan to give him the Departure manuscript. However, Alan knows that his manuscript is incomplete and he must somehow find the rest of the pages if he is to get his wife back. Rose Marigold, the waitress, then telephones Wake the following day to inform him she has stumbled upon the remaining writing and wants him to pick it up. Alan goes to see her, and is accompanied by Barry, who observes that many strange happenings have occurred in Bright Falls over the years. For example: the island on Cauldron Lake was owned by a famous author, Thomas Zane, who was also a renowned deep sea diver. Zane was devastated, however, when his girlfriend Barbara Jagger drowned in the lake, and shortly afterwards the island sunk in an earthquake, taking Zane with it. Alan is able to deduce that Zane is the apparition who has been giving him the pages of his manuscript, and Jagger was the old woman who gave him the keys to the cabin when he and Alice first arrived in Bright Falls.
When Wake and Wheeler arrive to see Rose, they discover that she is in fact being unwittingly manipulated by the Dark Presence stalking Alan, and she drugs them into unconsciousness. Alan fails to recover until hours later, while Barry is still out cold. The sheriff and FBI Agent Robert Nightingale promptly show up at Rose's trailer park, as concerned neighbors had become worried when Alan appeared to be spending the night in the young woman's home. Nightingale opens fire on Wake when he tries to run, and the writer escapes into the nearby forest, now pursued by the law. The mysterious darkness again chases Alan, but in the process drives away the FBI and the sheriff's deputies, allowing him to get away safely.
Alan meets Alice's kidnapper for the final time on a bluff overlooking Cauldron Lake. The kidnapper reveals he did not take Alice but instead needed to tell Alan about the evil "Dark Presence" that inhabits Cauldron Lake and can engulf people in its shadows, turning them into mindless killers known as the "Taken". The man explains to Alan that the Dark Presence has the ability to turn fiction into reality, and has used Wake's writing to create a means to escape and wreak havoc—therefore creating the Departure manuscript. The Dark Presence, suddenly taking the form of a black vortex, then appears and consumes the supposed kidnapper; Alan is able to fight his way out using a flare before falling into the lake.
A few days later, Alan awakes in Cauldron Lake Lodge, a private mental institute managed by the somewhat shady Dr. Emil Hartman. Alan reacquaints himself with the two old rock musicians, the Anderson Brothers, who are also patients at the Lodge. They understand the Dark Presence and try to tell him that they have left him clues at their nearby farm, which will teach him how to defeat the darkness. The Dark Presence subsequently appears at the Lodge in the form of a sudden thunderstorm, destroying it. Dr. Hartman persists in trying to convince Alan that the Dark Presence is little more than his own fiction, but Alan comes to the conclusion that Hartman has been trying to manipulate him into writing the rest of the Departure manuscript from the beginning to control the power of the Dark Presence for himself. The doctor is left to the Dark Presence as Wake breaks out of the hospital with Barry's help, escaping from patients and staff who have been turned into the Taken.
Alan and Barry make their way to the Andersons' farm. There, they discover that the Andersons' clues are hidden in a song they wrote back thirty years ago, entitled "Lady of the Light". They are in fact referring to a Bright Falls hermit, Cynthia Weaver, whom they believe has a weapon that can defeat the Dark Presence. Wheeler and Wake spend the night at the Anderson farm drinking homemade moonshine. In his drunken stupor, Alan is somehow able to recall the events of the missing week before the car wreck, being forced by Barbara Jagger to write out a story which will allow the Dark Presence to be unleashed on the world. However, Alan's subconscious, guided by the spirit of Thomas Zane, inserted elements into the story which allow him to escape the cabin on the island, including recreating the spirit of Zane in the form of the ethereal diver. Wake ran from the darkness, fleeing in his car from the island. However, the week Alan had spent writing without sleep took its toll on him, causing him to crash.
When Alan wakes up the next morning, he is confronted by Agent Nightingale and the police, who have tracked him to the Andersons' Farm. He and Barry spend the next day in custody, but when night falls the Dark Presence begins to tear apart Bright Falls in search of Wake. In the ensuing chaos Nightingale is "dragged into the night", but Alan, Barry, and Sheriff Sarah Breaker make a daring escape from the town via helicopter. In light of what is happening around her, the sheriff finally begins to understand the situation. At Alan's request, she lands at the abandoned hydroelectric plant where Cynthia Weaver lives. Cynthia greets the group and takes Alan to "the Well-Lit Room", where he finds the weapon that can defeat the Dark Presence: an old light switch, known as "the Clicker", that Thomas Zane has written into Alan's story years ago.
Leaving Barry, Weaver, and Breaker in the safety of the lit plant, Alan returns to Cauldron Lake alone, and faces off against the Dark Presence, using the Clicker to defeat it. But Alice has yet to resurface, and Alan realizes that for a balance to be maintained, he will have to return to writing Departure to allow Alice to escape. After Alan throws himself into the lake, Alice emerges from the water the next morning, making her way safely to shore. However, the island is still gone. In the final scenes, Alan is seen at the typewriter inside the old cabin somewhere under Cauldron Lake, writing out a new story which will free him as well. His last words to the player are, "It's not a lake—it's an ocean."
Zane's signal leads Alan to a sawmill, but as he explores it, he finds himself back in a setting of his city apartment. Zane appears, and tells Alan that it is himself—the maniacal figure on the televisions—that is keeping him in the Dark Place. Alan refuses to believe that he is trapping himself, but soon faces a monstrosity of several televisions with the maniacal Alan on them that tries to kill him. Alan is able to defeat the crazed version of himself, waking up back at the cabin in the lake, and realizes that he is still trapped.
As he nears the cabin, the imaginary Barry appears and tells Alan that he will have to reject all the illusions before he can face off against the insane version of Alan, including the apparition of Barry. Alan is ready to accept that, forcing Alan to fight Taken illusions of Dr. Hartman, Barry, and the Andersons, defeating them all before he is able to reenter the cabin. His crazed side is in a paranoid state on the cabin floor, and when Alan touches him, the two are made whole again. Alan realizes that he cannot let himself fall into a delusional state again for fear of never being able to escape, and returns to the typewriter to start a new story—"Return".
in 2003, Remedy Entertainment
spent some time "recovering from the crunch", and started coming up with different concepts for a new project. Among these was the concept for Alan Wake.
The game was announced at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) for "the next generation of consoles
and PCs
", and was shown to the press behind closed doors in the form of a tech demo
. In 2006, Remedy partnered with Microsoft Game Studios
to publish the game exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox 360
video game console
and then-current Windows Vista
PC operating system
. The first screenshots depicted the character of Alan Wake in much different attire, as well as a different layout for the town of Bright Falls.
Originally, Remedy planned Bright Falls as a free-roaming, sandbox-style open world
city, similar to those seen in the Grand Theft Auto series
. After trying this idea for six months, the team decided to scrap it, because it interfered with the pacing and storytelling they intended to deliver in a thriller game.
After four years of having repeatedly demonstrated the Windows
version, in 2009, Remedy confirmed that at that point the game was being developed exclusively
for the Xbox 360 and the decision to make a PC version was in Microsoft's hands. After the game's release in 2010, Remedy said that bringing the game to the PC is "not on the cards at the moment."
The game was announced as "done" and undergoing final polishing in August 2009. The game eventually went gold on April 7, 2010, and was released in May.
to a number of artists and works. Remedy has explained the shared themes and ideas between the game and other existing works of popular culture
as "taking something familiar to people as an element, and building something of your own, and hopefully something [that is] unique in games, but still familiar from other forms of entertainment."
Bestselling author Stephen King
was a major inspiration for Alan Wake. The main character as a writer whose work is coming true is a theme that has been explored by King in a number of his works. Wake's narration directly alludes to King on several occasions, including the game's opening line, in which he quotes a Stephen King essay. The game also pays homage to the film The Shining
(based on King's novel of the same name
) with a hedge maze
area similar to the iconic maze in the film, among other references.
The game's setting, Bright Falls, draws inspiration from the early 1990s TV show Twin Peaks
, which was set in the titular town; both fictional small towns in the state of Washington. Alfred Hitchcock
is also cited as an inspiration, with the flocks of birds that often attack the protagonist being influenced by his classic horror film The Birds
.
In the game there are also a number of television sets that can be found around the town in different places. They can be switched on and a short episode of the fictional series Night Springs will be played, which is influenced by the television series The Twilight Zone
, created by Rod Serling
in the late 1950s.
In its structure, the story of Alan Wake plays out similarly to a mystery television program
, where each episode
brings another piece of the puzzle to the main ongoing story, yet have a distinct plot of their own. As such, Alan Wake is organized into episodes, which include narrative
and plot device
s normally used in TV, such as cliffhanger
s at the end of the episodes. A prominent borrowing from the TV world are the "Previously on Alan Wake..." recap sequences that open the episodes, and serve to "refresh the player's memory and point to things that will become relevant shortly." A different song plays at the end of every episode, imitating certain TV shows that feature different music during each episode's closing credits
.
The main game itself is divided up into six episodes. Additionally, two "special features", titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", have been released throughout 2010 as downloadable content
(DLC). Together, Alan Wake and its DLCs constitute the "first season" of a bigger story. The main game is designed to have a satisfactory ending with the main character reaching his goal, while the DLCs form a two-part special that further expands on the game's story by "[continuing] the fiction and [serving] as a bridge between seasons." While the game's developers have expressed interest in following Alan Wake up with a season two (i.e., a sequel), no plans have been announced about this.
Remedy Entertainment chose the TV series storytelling format to establish a certain stylization and pacing. The developers felt that watching episodes of certain TV shows – such as the heavily serialized series Lost
– in the form of released box sets, at the viewers' pace, was a "natural way of 'consuming media'", and that this episodic format was a better fit for a long game. Remedy lauded Lost for its pacing as a thriller TV show.
, and that they aimed "to make the world feel more real rather than put ads in-your-face."
Examples of such marketing include collectable Energizer batteries and lithium batteries
to insert into the player's hand-held lights. The phone service provider Verizon Wireless
is another prominent brand in Alan Wake: besides Verizon branded mobile phones appearing on screen, there is also a 30 second Verizon commercial viewable on one of the game's interactive TVs, as well as an allusion to the company's famous advertising line "Can you hear me now?" during a phone conversation in "The Signal" DLC
. Additionally, billboards
around Bright Falls advertise both Energizer and Verizon. Ford
and Lincoln
automobiles are also featured in the game.
Several Microsoft
related brands also appear in the game. Alan and Alice Wake's car shows that it has the Microsoft-powered Ford Sync
in-vehicle entertainment
system. An Xbox 360
console can be seen in one section of the game, with the box of the fictional Night Springs video game next to it. (Such boxes are a collectible item in "The Writer" DLC.) In multiple sections of the game, Microsoft Tag bar codes can be seen; these can be scanned in real life by the user with the appropriate software on their mobile device. When scanned, these tags redirect players to a phone number with the voicemail from one of the game's character, or to a Verizon-sponsored web site where users gain access to exclusive Alan Wake extras for their console. (This functionality is available in the United States.)
, from the band's fourth studio album, Twilight Theater
. Sam Lake said that the song "...is a prominent part of the Alan Wake soundtrack and the theme also links strongly to the game's storyline." Poets of the Fall also perform two original songs, "Children of the Elder God" and "The Poet and the Muse", under the name Old Gods of Asgard. The band also wrote the ending theme to Remedy's previous game, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
, called "Late Goodbye", which is based on a poem written by Lake. "War", however, was not written specifically for Alan Wake. Haunted by Poe plays at the end of the second episode. Space Oddity by David Bowie
plays over the end credits. Anomie Belle
's "How Can I Be Sure" is also featured in the third episode. On July 20 an official soundtrack consisting of 18 tracks was released.
" by Goldfrapp
was a placeholder because of its "eerie feel". "Dear Darkness" by PJ Harvey
and "Lilac Wine
" by Jeff Buckley
were also candidates. For episode three, "Sea of Love
" and "Don't Go into That Barn" by Tom Waits
were possible choices, as well as The Verve
's "Sit and Wonder" and "Wake Up
" by Arcade Fire.
web series
/miniseries
titled Bright Falls was made available a few weeks before the game's release on the web and the Xbox Live
service. The six episodes of Bright Falls were co-written and directed by Phillip Van, and they serve as a prequel to the game, set in the titular town before Alan Wake arrives there. The main character in the series is Jake Fischer (played by Christopher Forsyth), a newspaper reporter who visits the town on business.
A number of characters are shared between Bright Falls and Alan Wake, including Rose (the diner waitress), Dr. (Emil) Hartman, and the voice of radio host Pat Maine, who all show up in the game and the mini-series as themselves, reprising their roles. Ilkka Villi
, the model and actor for Alan Wake in the game reprises his role in the series, at the conclusion of the last episode in the series, arriving with his wife, Alice.
for the Xbox 360
video game console
. The game was scheduled to be released on May 18, 2010 in North America, and on May 21 in Europe. When the game went gold on April 7, 2010, the European release date was moved up a week. Therefore, the game was released in Europe first, on May 14, 2010, and then in North America on May 18, as originally scheduled. On November 23, 2010, Alan Wake was released on the Games on Demand service of Xbox Live
, costing 4200 Microsoft Points
.
Alan Wake was also released in a limited collector's edition, packaged in a case resembling a hardcover book. The collector's edition contains the game, a book titled The Alan Wake Files, and an exclusive soundtrack
CD. It also features a developer commentary
, and lends access to virtual items for Xbox 360, such as themes and Avatar clothes.
(DLC) on the Xbox Live
service, which serve to bridge the gap between the game's ending, and a possible sequel. The first of the two, titled "The Signal", was released on July 27, 2010. The second episode, "The Writer", was released on October 12, 2010. Both DLCs cost 560 Microsoft Points
.
of Alan Wake was written by Rick Burroughs. An art/making of book, entitled Alan Wake: Illuminated is also available. An official Alan Wake game guide was released by Prima Games
.
gave the game a perfect score of 5/5. He praised Alan Wake for its "flawless pacing", which "ensures a compulsive experience". The editing and plot were also received very positively, making the game "the kind of experience the current console generation was made for."
The Daily Telegraph rated the game 9/10 with editor Nick Cowen being impressed by its "stunning" look, stating the town of Bright Falls and its surrounding environment to be "authentic" in terms of architecture, vegetation, weather and lighting. He described the atmosphere as being able to "...turn on a dime from feeling safe and serene to one of choking menace and foreboding...". Combat mechanics and plot were also praised with the first making "the player feel constantly under threat." and the latter being described as one of the game's "strongest assets". Criticism included the quality of the facial animation and the relatively short length of the game.
Dirk Lammers said the game kept "players on the edge of their seats", giving a final score of 4 out of 4 in his review for the San Francisco Chronicle
.
Matt Greenop from The New Zealand Herald rated the game 5/5 and praised the game's "excellent pace" due to its episodic format. He also praised the "chilling" storyline, "brilliant environments" and concluded the game to be "one of the most innovative and entertaining titles so far this year."
William Vitka from The New York Post
graded it B+, praising the game for its "scary atmosphere", music, graphics and "surprising level of complexity" in combat, but commented negatively on the game's animation and storyline.
Brian Crecente
, editor-in-chief of Kotaku.com
, praised the general use of light as a gameplay-mechanic. He commented on the episodic structure, saying it made the player feel satisfied even after short gameplay sessions. He also praised the overall storyline, having played the final episode thrice in a row, saying: "For the first time in my life, I have experienced something that plays like a game but has the impact of a movie... Alan Wake is a powerful ride, an experience bound to leave you thinking about it and wanting more for days after its completion." He criticized the game for not providing enough information about Wake and his wife, despite being "packed with memorable people", but concluded that the game "redefines interactive storytelling".
Tom McShea criticized the game for lacking "surprising, memorable gameplay moments" in his review for Gamespot.com
, but hailed it for its "fresh" story-telling, great original as well as licensed music, "subtle" lighting effects, which, along with the soundtrack, "create a disturbing atmosphere", "satisfying" combat system and "clever" inclusion of collectibles, giving a final score of 8.5/10.
IGN's
Charles Onyett scored the game 9/10, providing it with the "Editors' Choice Award". He described it as "hard to put down once you have started", and appreciated the game for its episodic structure, "interesting" story-telling mechanic, lighting effects, soundtrack and combat system, which he described as "fast and responsive", but criticized the writing as "uneven". The game received high marks for its "strong atmosphere", "fun gameplay", and "great visuals", but lost some due to its "weak ending".
Tom Orry from VideoGamer.com also awarded a score of 9/10, praising the game for its "clever narrative", "incredible atmosphere" and soundtrack which he described as "one of the best and most memorable I've ever heard in a video game".
GameTrailers
gave the game an 8.6/10. The review praised the game's presentation for "selling you completely on its twisted nightmare", and providing a "genuine sense of dread".
Eurogamer's
Ellie Gibson awarded a score of 7/10, stating that although she didn't consider the game to be very original, she found it accessible and undemanding, with a "neat combat mechanic".
Alan Wake has received a number of nominations and awards for its achievements in video gaming in 2010
. Editors of Time
magazine rendered Alan Wake the best video game of 2010. In its Best Xbox 360 Games of 2010 list, IGN
awarded Alan Wake "Best Horror Game", and also nominated it for "Best Story," "Coolest Atmosphere," "Most Innovative Gameplay," and "Best Character" (for the character of Alan Wake). The game was nominated in the "Best Xbox 360 Game" category at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, and received three nominations at the 2nd Annual Inside Gaming Awards in the categories "Best Narrative," "Best Sound Design" and "Most Compelling Character" (for Alan Wake). Gamespot's
Best Games of 2010 Awards featured seven nominations for the game, including "Best Story" and "Best Writing/Dialogue," and won the reader's choice award for "Best Original IP
." IGN ranked it #61 in their "Top Modern Games" ranking.
The game's soundtrack has won Best Score – European at the 2010 Annual Game Music Awards, with the panel stating "Breaking composer Petri Alanko's expansive score for the critically acclaimed Alan Wake captured the hearts of gamers and stand-alone listeners alike with its intimate orchestrations and psychological explorations."
. NPD Group
stated sales for the first two weeks reached 145,000 units. According to a report, Alan Wake is the second most pirated Xbox 360 game of 2010, with more than 1.1 million downloads.
will "bridge the gap to what we're working towards." However Häkkinen added that the idea is currently in 'limbo' while Microsoft is focusing on downloadable content for the first game. Writer Mikko Rautalahti adds the story is "bigger than one game" and the sequel would be "weird and wonderful".
On May 10, 2011, Remedy revealed they are working on a new Alan Wake game, after some information leaked out about the project before an official announcement. Remedy noted that it is not Alan Wake 2 and neither is it downloadable content. At the time, the company gave a Fall 2011 estimate for the release. In November 2011 it was announced that the new Alan Wake title will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade
service, and will be revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011.
To date, few details have been revealed about the new Alan Wake title. It is rumored that the game will be titled Alan Wake's Night Springs. The first screenshot of the new game appeared on GameInformer on November 7. The screenshot shows Alan Wake in a different attire, with a flannel
shirt and jeans
, next to a road sign that says the town of Night Springs is 15 miles away. Night Springs is a fictional television show in Alan Wake, and is the setting of said show. On November 10, a short teaser trailer was unveiled. In their announcement, Remedy said, "Are you ready to become the Champion of Light?" During the days leading up to the publication of the first screenshot, Remedy employees made a number of comments on the official Alan Wake community forums about the new game. It was shared that the new title is "structured like a full release complete with a pretty damn impressive storyline that expands the originals in some interesting ways." Although no specifics were revealed, Remedy responded to fans who were worried that being an Xbox Live Arcade game meant that the amount of content in the game would be too small. Remedy claimed that there will definitely be enough "value for money" for the players of the game, and that fans "will be blown away by the proportion of things pretty soon".
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
in the psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
and published by Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
, released for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
in 2010. The plot follows bestselling thriller novel writer Alan Wake, as he uncovers the mystery behind his wife's disappearance while both are on vacation in the small town of Bright Falls in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, where he experiences blackouts and visions of characters and ideas from his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life. Darkness plays a significant role in the game, and the core combat gameplay of Alan Wake consists of "fighting with light".
In its pacing and structure, Alan Wake is similar to a thriller television series, with episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s that include plot twist
Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
s and cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
s. The game itself consists of six episodes, and the fiction is continued by two special episodes, titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", that were made available as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
(DLC) within the same year of the game's release. Together, they make the first season of a possibly longer story. Additionally, a six-episode live-action web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
called Bright Falls acts as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the game, and a number of related books also expand upon the Alan Wake story.
The Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
studio Remedy Entertainment is known for creating the critically acclaimed Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
(2001), and its sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
(2003). Chiefly written by Sam Lake
Sam Lake
Sami Järvi , better known by his artist name Sam Lake , is a Finnish writer who is mostly known for his work on the popular Max Payne video game series. Lake is good friends with Petri Järvilehto, a founding member of Remedy Entertainment, the company behind Max Payne...
(writer for the first two Max Payne games), Alan Wake is the studio's first game since Max Payne 2, and took over five years to create; an unusually long development time in the game industry. The game received positive reviews from critics, and is often revered for its narrative, pacing, and atmosphere. Alan Wake has been awarded the first spot in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's list of the top 10 video games of 2010.
While no plans have been announced for a sequel (or "season two") for the game, it has been confirmed that a new Alan Wake title will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service. The new game will be a full stand-alone title, but it is not a sequel or a DLC. More information about the new game will be revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011. The first screenshot and a teaser trailer of the new game was released in November 2011.
Setting and gameplay
Alan Wake is a third-person shooterThird-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
, described by its developers as a combination of "the mind of a psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
", and "the body of a cinematic action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
". In interviews, the game's creators hold that the game does not belong squarely in the survival horror video game genre. The game is primarily set in the fictional idyllic small town of Bright Falls, Washington. The main gameplay happens in various areas of Bright Falls – such as the forest, a national park, or a farm – during the nighttime; these are punctuated by calmer, non-combative sequences set during the day.
While controlling the protagonist, Alan Wake, in the dark, light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
plays a significant role in gameplay. For example, human enemies possessed by darkness, called the "Taken", are initially impervious to attack; they can only be killed or injured with a firearm when exposed to light, which burns away the darkness shielding them. (The amount of darkness remaining is represented by a corona of light that appears when aiming at Taken.) Therefore, there is significant emphasis on flashlights
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
and other hand-held lights being used in conjunction with conventional weapons, such as a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
or a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. The beam of these lights acts as a reticle. Such hand-held lights can be boosted, which destroys the darkness faster, but also reduces the battery level of the light. Therefore, besides the conventional shooter gameplay need for reloading ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
, the player also has to insert fresh batteries into the flashlight when they run out, or wait for it to recharge slowly. Moreover, the player is often encouraged to take advantage of environmental light sources and placing, and to use other light-based weapons and accessories, such as flare guns
Flare gun
A flare gun is a firearm that launches flares. It is typically used for signalling, as distress signalling, at sea or from the ground to aircraft...
, hand-held flares
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
and flashbangs
Stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade or a flashbang, is a non-lethal weapon. The first devices like this were created in the 1960s at the order of the British Special Air Service as an incapacitant....
. Wake can also use searchlights to take out massive waves of possessed enemies. Besides the Taken, the player has to combat other possessed enemies with light, such as flocks of ravens, and animated poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
objects. Streetlights and other light stands can provide a "Safe Haven", which the Taken cannot enter, and will regenerate the character's health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
very rapidly. Otherwise, health regenerates slowly with time, when not taking any damage. In certain sections of the game, it is possible to use a car to traverse between locations in Bright Falls. When in a car, the player can run down Taken on the road, or boost the vehicle's headlights
Headlamp
A headlamp is a lamp, usually attached to the front of a vehicle such as a car or a motorcycle, with the purpose of illuminating the road ahead during periods of low visibility, such as darkness or precipitation. Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by...
to destroy them.
A major element of gameplay is the optional discovery and collection of manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
pages from Alan Wake's latest "novel"—Departure. Wake does not remember writing this book, but it seems that its storyline is coming to life around him. These readable manuscript pages are scattered around the game world, out of chronological order; therefore, they often describe scenes that have yet to occur and act as warning and instructions for proceeding through the episodes. Other optional collectibles include coffee thermoses scattered around the game world (100 in all), as well as discovering television sets which show different episodes of the fictional Night Springs series, radios airing talk and music from Bright Falls' local radio station, and textual signs around the town. The radio shows and signs provide a deeper understanding of the town's history and culture. The game's DLC
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
episodes introduce other collectibles, such as alarm clocks, and video game boxes.
Main game
Bestselling thriller writer Alan Wake is suffering from a two-year long stretch of writer's blockWriter's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
. Alan and his wife Alice travel to the small, idyllic rural town of Bright Falls, Washington for a short vacation, hoping to recover his creative flow. Alan retrieves keys and a map to their rental cabin from a mysterious, veiled, old woman in black apparently standing in for the cabin's sick owner, Carl Stucky, at their scheduled meeting place. Along the way, Wake meets a few of the friendly local townsfolk, including young waitress Rose Marigold (an avid, "overeager" fan of Wake's novels), Park Ranger Rusty, and two retired former rock stars, the Anderson Brothers. The couple then drives to their cabin, which sits on an island at the scenic Cauldron Lake. As they unpack their supplies, Alan discovers that Alice has set up a typewriter for Alan in the cabin's study, hoping that he would be able to start on his new work. Angered by her persistence, Alan steps outside for a walk, knowing that Alice has a phobia of the dark and won't follow him. As he makes his approach back to the cabin he hears Alice's screams as the power goes out. He realizes something has dragged Alice from the cabin into the lake, and he comes to the rescue, attempting to dive in after her.
After an obscured scene briefly shows, Alan suddenly regains consciousness in his car, wrecked by the side of a lonely highway in the middle of the night, with no idea how he'd gotten there. Disoriented and suffering from concussion, he starts to make his way to the town's gas station through the thick woods, subsequently encountering murderous forms of Bright Falls' citizens, including the formerly mentioned Mr. Stucky, now covered in living shadows known as the "Dark Presence"; Alan discovers that light is the only weapon in which he can use against these figures of darkness. He also comes across a ghostly apparition of a deep sea diver, which drops pages of a manuscript for Alan to recover. Alan recognizes the pages as his own writing for an unfinished novel named Departure, but does not recall writing them. Once in town, he calls the local police and discovers for the first time that seven days have passed since his arrival at Cauldron Lake. Sheriff Sarah Breaker arrives to investigate Alice's disappearance, but she refuses to believe Wake when he explains that he spent his first night on an island in the lake. At Alan's insistence, the sheriff takes him to the place the next morning, and, to his horror, he finds that the cabin and the island have vanished. Breaker proceeds to explain that no island has ever existed on Cauldron Lake since the 1970s, after a earthquake seemingly sunk the island and the cabin. Barry Wheeler, Alan's friend and literary agent, soon arrives from New York City to help Alan cope with Alice's disappearance. The case has also attracted the attention of a paranoid FBI Agent, Robert Nightingale, who suspects that Alan is behind Alice's disappearance.
Barry helps Wake find new lodgings at the local Elderwood National Park, managed by Rusty the park ranger, whom Alan has taken a particular liking to. Wake is also interrogated by Sheriff Breaker on the details of his wife's disappearance, although he chooses not to mention the nightmarish night he spent in the woods with the ghostly diver and murderous, darkness-driven, townsfolk— she would never believe him.
A man claiming to be Alice's kidnapper then lures Alan away from the FBI; both are pursued by loggers and hunters possessed by the Dark Presence at the park. A strange force of destruction also attacks Elderwood's Visitor Center and mortally injures Rusty. The dying park ranger reveals to Wake that he had uncovered a page from the Departure manuscript, in Alan's writing, foretelling his own death. Alan comes to the conclusion that this story he had never remembered writing is coming true, and has turned into a horror novel.
After being forced to kill Rusty when the ranger is possessed by the Dark Presence and attempts to murder him with an axe, Wake catches up to Alice's kidnapper, who arranges for them to meet again elsewhere. Oddly enough, the kidnapper in question does not demand a ransom for Alice's safe return; he simply wants Alan to give him the Departure manuscript. However, Alan knows that his manuscript is incomplete and he must somehow find the rest of the pages if he is to get his wife back. Rose Marigold, the waitress, then telephones Wake the following day to inform him she has stumbled upon the remaining writing and wants him to pick it up. Alan goes to see her, and is accompanied by Barry, who observes that many strange happenings have occurred in Bright Falls over the years. For example: the island on Cauldron Lake was owned by a famous author, Thomas Zane, who was also a renowned deep sea diver. Zane was devastated, however, when his girlfriend Barbara Jagger drowned in the lake, and shortly afterwards the island sunk in an earthquake, taking Zane with it. Alan is able to deduce that Zane is the apparition who has been giving him the pages of his manuscript, and Jagger was the old woman who gave him the keys to the cabin when he and Alice first arrived in Bright Falls.
When Wake and Wheeler arrive to see Rose, they discover that she is in fact being unwittingly manipulated by the Dark Presence stalking Alan, and she drugs them into unconsciousness. Alan fails to recover until hours later, while Barry is still out cold. The sheriff and FBI Agent Robert Nightingale promptly show up at Rose's trailer park, as concerned neighbors had become worried when Alan appeared to be spending the night in the young woman's home. Nightingale opens fire on Wake when he tries to run, and the writer escapes into the nearby forest, now pursued by the law. The mysterious darkness again chases Alan, but in the process drives away the FBI and the sheriff's deputies, allowing him to get away safely.
Alan meets Alice's kidnapper for the final time on a bluff overlooking Cauldron Lake. The kidnapper reveals he did not take Alice but instead needed to tell Alan about the evil "Dark Presence" that inhabits Cauldron Lake and can engulf people in its shadows, turning them into mindless killers known as the "Taken". The man explains to Alan that the Dark Presence has the ability to turn fiction into reality, and has used Wake's writing to create a means to escape and wreak havoc—therefore creating the Departure manuscript. The Dark Presence, suddenly taking the form of a black vortex, then appears and consumes the supposed kidnapper; Alan is able to fight his way out using a flare before falling into the lake.
A few days later, Alan awakes in Cauldron Lake Lodge, a private mental institute managed by the somewhat shady Dr. Emil Hartman. Alan reacquaints himself with the two old rock musicians, the Anderson Brothers, who are also patients at the Lodge. They understand the Dark Presence and try to tell him that they have left him clues at their nearby farm, which will teach him how to defeat the darkness. The Dark Presence subsequently appears at the Lodge in the form of a sudden thunderstorm, destroying it. Dr. Hartman persists in trying to convince Alan that the Dark Presence is little more than his own fiction, but Alan comes to the conclusion that Hartman has been trying to manipulate him into writing the rest of the Departure manuscript from the beginning to control the power of the Dark Presence for himself. The doctor is left to the Dark Presence as Wake breaks out of the hospital with Barry's help, escaping from patients and staff who have been turned into the Taken.
Alan and Barry make their way to the Andersons' farm. There, they discover that the Andersons' clues are hidden in a song they wrote back thirty years ago, entitled "Lady of the Light". They are in fact referring to a Bright Falls hermit, Cynthia Weaver, whom they believe has a weapon that can defeat the Dark Presence. Wheeler and Wake spend the night at the Anderson farm drinking homemade moonshine. In his drunken stupor, Alan is somehow able to recall the events of the missing week before the car wreck, being forced by Barbara Jagger to write out a story which will allow the Dark Presence to be unleashed on the world. However, Alan's subconscious, guided by the spirit of Thomas Zane, inserted elements into the story which allow him to escape the cabin on the island, including recreating the spirit of Zane in the form of the ethereal diver. Wake ran from the darkness, fleeing in his car from the island. However, the week Alan had spent writing without sleep took its toll on him, causing him to crash.
When Alan wakes up the next morning, he is confronted by Agent Nightingale and the police, who have tracked him to the Andersons' Farm. He and Barry spend the next day in custody, but when night falls the Dark Presence begins to tear apart Bright Falls in search of Wake. In the ensuing chaos Nightingale is "dragged into the night", but Alan, Barry, and Sheriff Sarah Breaker make a daring escape from the town via helicopter. In light of what is happening around her, the sheriff finally begins to understand the situation. At Alan's request, she lands at the abandoned hydroelectric plant where Cynthia Weaver lives. Cynthia greets the group and takes Alan to "the Well-Lit Room", where he finds the weapon that can defeat the Dark Presence: an old light switch, known as "the Clicker", that Thomas Zane has written into Alan's story years ago.
Leaving Barry, Weaver, and Breaker in the safety of the lit plant, Alan returns to Cauldron Lake alone, and faces off against the Dark Presence, using the Clicker to defeat it. But Alice has yet to resurface, and Alan realizes that for a balance to be maintained, he will have to return to writing Departure to allow Alice to escape. After Alan throws himself into the lake, Alice emerges from the water the next morning, making her way safely to shore. However, the island is still gone. In the final scenes, Alan is seen at the typewriter inside the old cabin somewhere under Cauldron Lake, writing out a new story which will free him as well. His last words to the player are, "It's not a lake—it's an ocean."
The Signal
Continuing from the end of the main game, Alan finds himself in a surreal version of Bright Falls, and realizes he is still held under Cauldron Lake. Zane directs Alan to follow a signal through a cell phone in order to focus and guide himself out of "the Dark Place", the realm where the Dark Presence came from and where the written word can become reality. As Alan continues to avoid and defeat various Taken, he encounters several television screens that show a more maniacal Alan ranting about upcoming events, forewarning Alan of what is to come. He also encounters an ethereal version of Barry, a figment of his subconsciousness, who also helps to guide Alan safely across the abstract landscape.Zane's signal leads Alan to a sawmill, but as he explores it, he finds himself back in a setting of his city apartment. Zane appears, and tells Alan that it is himself—the maniacal figure on the televisions—that is keeping him in the Dark Place. Alan refuses to believe that he is trapping himself, but soon faces a monstrosity of several televisions with the maniacal Alan on them that tries to kill him. Alan is able to defeat the crazed version of himself, waking up back at the cabin in the lake, and realizes that he is still trapped.
The Writer
Still trapped in the Dark Place, Alan regains consciousness to find his memories of Bright Falls merging; after leaving an amalgamation of the Cauldron Lake Lodge and the Andersons' farm, Zane tells Alan he must make his way back to the cabin via a lighthouse. The environments start to become exceedingly surreal and Alan follows Zane's path, avoiding increasing numbers of Taken. Zane warns Alan that the unstable Alan is still inside the cabin, controlling the Dark Place, while he himself represents the rational part of Alan; the rational Alan must regain control of the dream for any chance of Alan to escape the Dark Place. The irrational side of Alan attempts to stop him by creating delusions of Alice, extinguishing the lighthouse's light, and sending armies of Taken after him, but with Zane's help, Alan eventually reaches his goal, passing through the lighthouse to reach the cabin.As he nears the cabin, the imaginary Barry appears and tells Alan that he will have to reject all the illusions before he can face off against the insane version of Alan, including the apparition of Barry. Alan is ready to accept that, forcing Alan to fight Taken illusions of Dr. Hartman, Barry, and the Andersons, defeating them all before he is able to reenter the cabin. His crazed side is in a paranoid state on the cabin floor, and when Alan touches him, the two are made whole again. Alan realizes that he cannot let himself fall into a delusional state again for fear of never being able to escape, and returns to the typewriter to start a new story—"Return".
Cast
All the characters featured in Alan Wake were based on real life models, Ilkka Villi and Jonna Järvenpää models for Alan and Alice Wake respectively are the only Finnish models in the game, all other models were American. Voice overs were provided by Native actors from Japan, America and Finland for their respected regions.| Character | Model | English VA | Finnish VA | Japanese VA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake | Ilkka Villi Ilkka Villi Ilkka Villi is a Finnish actor and writer. He is best known for his role in Alan Wake as the model for the titular character.-Early life:Before proceeding with an acting career Villi worked as a radio journalist and writer.-Alan Wake:... |
Matthew Porretta Matthew Porretta Matthew Charles Porretta is an American television and film actor.Porretta was born into an incredible show-biz family: his father, Frank II, is a trained opera singer and accomplished actor. His mother, Roberta, is also a trained singer and was Miss Ohio 1956. Porretta wasted no time in getting... |
Shunsuke Sakuya Shunsuke Sakuya , occansionally credited as Shusuke Sakino, is a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Notable voice roles:*A Spirit of the Sun *Bleach *Criminal Minds *Darker than Black... |
|
| Alice Wake | Jonna Järvenpää | Brett Madden | Yuko Kaida Yuko Kaida is a Japanese voice actress and theater actress from Kanagawa. She works at Ken Production. Kaida's most known roles include Neela Rasgotra in the Japanese dub of ER, Shimei Ryomo in Ikkitousen, Kyō Takamimori in Potemayo, Amane Ootori in Strawberry Panic!, Minako Tsukiyama in Maria-sama ga Miteru... |
|
| Barbara Jagger | Kate Weiman | |||
| Barry Wheeler | Fred Berman | Wataru Takagi Wataru Takagi is a Japanese seiyū and stage actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Arts Vision.He is best known for his roles in Detective Conan , After War Gundam X , Slayers Try , the Beast Wars: Transformers series , GTO , Hajime no Ippo (July 25, 1966 - ) is a Japanese seiyū and stage... |
||
| Carl Stucky | Gary Swanson | |||
| Cynthia Weaver | Linda Cook Linda Cook (actor) Linda O. Cook is an American actor, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Egypt Jones Masters on the American daytime soap opera Loving from 1988 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994... |
|||
| Doc Nelson | Clark Warren | |||
| Dr. Emil Hartman | Bruce Katzman | Mark Blum Mark Blum Mark Blum is an American actor in movies, on television and stage.-Career:Blum started acting on stage in the 1970s. Beginning in the 1980s as an actor in movies like Lovesick, Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile Dundee, he later appeared in television series as guest, with the failed show... |
||
| Robert Nightingale | Timothy McCracken | |||
| Sheriff Sarah Breaker | Jessica Alexander | |||
| Deputy Sheriff Mulligan | William Buell | |||
| Deputy Sheriff Thornton | Bill Lobley Bill Lobley Bill Lobley is a comic actor known for his work in animation and commercial voiceovers, including the voice of the Parkay Margarine Tub in the late 90's.-Biography:... |
Development
After shipping Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max PayneMax Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
in 2003, Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
spent some time "recovering from the crunch", and started coming up with different concepts for a new project. Among these was the concept for Alan Wake.
The game was announced at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) for "the next generation of consoles
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
and PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
", and was shown to the press behind closed doors in the form of a tech demo
Tech demo
A tech demo is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a product, put together with the primary purpose of showcasing the idea, performance, method or the features of the product...
. In 2006, Remedy partnered with Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
to publish the game exclusively for Microsoft's Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and then-current Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
PC operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. The first screenshots depicted the character of Alan Wake in much different attire, as well as a different layout for the town of Bright Falls.
Originally, Remedy planned Bright Falls as a free-roaming, sandbox-style open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
city, similar to those seen in the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
. After trying this idea for six months, the team decided to scrap it, because it interfered with the pacing and storytelling they intended to deliver in a thriller game.
After four years of having repeatedly demonstrated the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version, in 2009, Remedy confirmed that at that point the game was being developed exclusively
Console exclusivity
Console exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being released on only one video game console. Console exclusivity is a topic which is utilized in discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of rival firms in the video game market, and one which is used for marketing by firms involved...
for the Xbox 360 and the decision to make a PC version was in Microsoft's hands. After the game's release in 2010, Remedy said that bringing the game to the PC is "not on the cards at the moment."
The game was announced as "done" and undergoing final polishing in August 2009. The game eventually went gold on April 7, 2010, and was released in May.
Influences and allusions
Alan Wake was influenced by and often alludes to certain films, TV shows, and books, as well as paying homageHomage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to a number of artists and works. Remedy has explained the shared themes and ideas between the game and other existing works of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
as "taking something familiar to people as an element, and building something of your own, and hopefully something [that is] unique in games, but still familiar from other forms of entertainment."
Bestselling author Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
was a major inspiration for Alan Wake. The main character as a writer whose work is coming true is a theme that has been explored by King in a number of his works. Wake's narration directly alludes to King on several occasions, including the game's opening line, in which he quotes a Stephen King essay. The game also pays homage to the film The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
(based on King's novel of the same name
The Shining (novel)
The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The title was inspired by the John Lennon song "Instant Karma!", which contained the line "We all shine on…". It was King's third published novel, and first hardback bestseller, and the success of the book firmly established King...
) with a hedge maze
Hedge Maze
A hedge maze is an outdoor garden maze or labyrinth in which the "walls" or dividers between passages are made of vertical hedges.-History:...
area similar to the iconic maze in the film, among other references.
The game's setting, Bright Falls, draws inspiration from the early 1990s TV show Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, which was set in the titular town; both fictional small towns in the state of Washington. Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
is also cited as an inspiration, with the flocks of birds that often attack the protagonist being influenced by his classic horror film The Birds
The Birds (film)
The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts Bodega Bay, California which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few...
.
In the game there are also a number of television sets that can be found around the town in different places. They can be switched on and a short episode of the fictional series Night Springs will be played, which is influenced by the television series The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
, created by Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
in the late 1950s.
Episodic format
Alan Wake episodes |
|---|
Main game:
Downloadable content:
|
In its structure, the story of Alan Wake plays out similarly to a mystery television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, where each episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
brings another piece of the puzzle to the main ongoing story, yet have a distinct plot of their own. As such, Alan Wake is organized into episodes, which include narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
and plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
s normally used in TV, such as cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
s at the end of the episodes. A prominent borrowing from the TV world are the "Previously on Alan Wake..." recap sequences that open the episodes, and serve to "refresh the player's memory and point to things that will become relevant shortly." A different song plays at the end of every episode, imitating certain TV shows that feature different music during each episode's closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
.
The main game itself is divided up into six episodes. Additionally, two "special features", titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", have been released throughout 2010 as downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
(DLC). Together, Alan Wake and its DLCs constitute the "first season" of a bigger story. The main game is designed to have a satisfactory ending with the main character reaching his goal, while the DLCs form a two-part special that further expands on the game's story by "[continuing] the fiction and [serving] as a bridge between seasons." While the game's developers have expressed interest in following Alan Wake up with a season two (i.e., a sequel), no plans have been announced about this.
Remedy Entertainment chose the TV series storytelling format to establish a certain stylization and pacing. The developers felt that watching episodes of certain TV shows – such as the heavily serialized series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
– in the form of released box sets, at the viewers' pace, was a "natural way of 'consuming media'", and that this episodic format was a better fit for a long game. Remedy lauded Lost for its pacing as a thriller TV show.
Product placement
A number of real-life brands and products appear in Alan Wake. The game's developers have expressed that they tried to "be very conservative and attentive towards gamers" with their use of product placementProduct placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
, and that they aimed "to make the world feel more real rather than put ads in-your-face."
Examples of such marketing include collectable Energizer batteries and lithium batteries
Lithium battery
Lithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...
to insert into the player's hand-held lights. The phone service provider Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
is another prominent brand in Alan Wake: besides Verizon branded mobile phones appearing on screen, there is also a 30 second Verizon commercial viewable on one of the game's interactive TVs, as well as an allusion to the company's famous advertising line "Can you hear me now?" during a phone conversation in "The Signal" DLC
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
. Additionally, billboards
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
around Bright Falls advertise both Energizer and Verizon. Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Lincoln
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
automobiles are also featured in the game.
Several Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
related brands also appear in the game. Alan and Alice Wake's car shows that it has the Microsoft-powered Ford Sync
Ford Sync
Ford SYNC is a factory-installed, integrated in-vehicle communications and entertainment system that allows users to make hands-free telephone calls and control music and other functions using voice commands...
in-vehicle entertainment
In car entertainment
In-Car Entertainment, , is a collection of hardware devices installed into automobiles, or other forms of transportation, to provide audio and/or audio/visual entertainment, as well as automotive navigation systems...
system. An Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console can be seen in one section of the game, with the box of the fictional Night Springs video game next to it. (Such boxes are a collectible item in "The Writer" DLC.) In multiple sections of the game, Microsoft Tag bar codes can be seen; these can be scanned in real life by the user with the appropriate software on their mobile device. When scanned, these tags redirect players to a phone number with the voicemail from one of the game's character, or to a Verizon-sponsored web site where users gain access to exclusive Alan Wake extras for their console. (This functionality is available in the United States.)
Soundtrack
The game's score is composed by Petri Alanko. The soundtrack features the song "War" by Poets of the FallPoets of the Fall
Poets of the Fall is a rock band from Finland. It consists of Marko Saaresto , Olli Tukiainen and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen...
, from the band's fourth studio album, Twilight Theater
Twilight Theater
-Release history:-Singles:-Trivia:*The track War is featured in the video-game Alan Wake*The track 15 Minute Flame was partly inspired by the movie The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis...
. Sam Lake said that the song "...is a prominent part of the Alan Wake soundtrack and the theme also links strongly to the game's storyline." Poets of the Fall also perform two original songs, "Children of the Elder God" and "The Poet and the Muse", under the name Old Gods of Asgard. The band also wrote the ending theme to Remedy's previous game, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
, called "Late Goodbye", which is based on a poem written by Lake. "War", however, was not written specifically for Alan Wake. Haunted by Poe plays at the end of the second episode. Space Oddity by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
plays over the end credits. Anomie Belle
Anomie Belle
Anomie Belle is an American musician and activist. Originally a classical violinist and songwriter from Portland, Anomie began performing and recording her own music as a child. She has since worked as a musician and producer in Madrid, Glasgow, Amsterdam, New York, Buenos Aires, and London...
's "How Can I Be Sure" is also featured in the third episode. On July 20 an official soundtrack consisting of 18 tracks was released.
Episode specific songs
| Episode | Artist | Song | Year released | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode One | Roy Orbison Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis... |
In Dreams | 1963 | 2:48 |
| Episode Two | Poe | Haunted | 2000 | 5:20 |
| Episode Three | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :... |
Up Jumped The Devil | 1988 | 5:16 |
| Episode Four | Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall is a rock band from Finland. It consists of Marko Saaresto , Olli Tukiainen and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen... (as Old Gods of Asgard) |
The Poet and the Muse | 2010 | 4:18 |
| Episode Five | Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall Poets of the Fall is a rock band from Finland. It consists of Marko Saaresto , Olli Tukiainen and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen... |
War | 2010 | 5:05 |
| Episode Six/Credits | David Bowie David Bowie David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s... |
Space Oddity Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a music single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut; its title alludes to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, released the previous year. The lyrics have also been seen to lampoon the failed... , (Alabama Song Alabama Song The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny... EP version) |
1980 | 5:15 |
| Special One | Anna Ternheim Anna Ternheim -Early life:Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna created her first band "Sova," playing at smaller festivals and local clubs... |
No, I Don't Remember | 2009 | 3:56 |
| Special Two | Depeche Mode Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke... |
The Darkest Star | 2005 | 6:42 |
Other songs that were considered
Episodes two and three originally had alternate songs planned. For episode two, "Lovely HeadLovely Head
"Lovely Head" is an electronic song performed by British group Goldfrapp. The song was written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory for the duo's debut album Felt Mountain . It was released as the album's first single in May 2000 but did not chart...
" by Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
was a placeholder because of its "eerie feel". "Dear Darkness" by PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
and "Lilac Wine
Lilac Wine
"Lilac Wine" is a song written by James Shelton in 1950. It was introduced by Hope Foye in the short-lived theater musical revue, "Dance Me a Song." It was covered by Eartha Kitt , by Judy Henske on her first, self-named album , by Nina Simone on her album Wild Is The Wind , was a solo hit by...
" by Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
were also candidates. For episode three, "Sea of Love
Sea of Love (song)
"Sea of Love" is a song written by John Phillip Baptiste and George Khoury. Phillips' 1959 recording of the song peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, Marty Wilde covered the song, and Phillips' version failed to chart there...
" and "Don't Go into That Barn" by Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
were possible choices, as well as The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
's "Sit and Wonder" and "Wake Up
Wake Up (Arcade Fire song)
"Wake Up" is an indie rock song by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire. It was the fifth and final single released from the band's debut album, Funeral. The single was released as a one-sided 7" vinyl record on November 14, 2005.-Reception:...
" by Arcade Fire.
Bright Falls web series
A promotional live-action tie-inTie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
/miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
titled Bright Falls was made available a few weeks before the game's release on the web and the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
service. The six episodes of Bright Falls were co-written and directed by Phillip Van, and they serve as a prequel to the game, set in the titular town before Alan Wake arrives there. The main character in the series is Jake Fischer (played by Christopher Forsyth), a newspaper reporter who visits the town on business.
A number of characters are shared between Bright Falls and Alan Wake, including Rose (the diner waitress), Dr. (Emil) Hartman, and the voice of radio host Pat Maine, who all show up in the game and the mini-series as themselves, reprising their roles. Ilkka Villi
Ilkka Villi
Ilkka Villi is a Finnish actor and writer. He is best known for his role in Alan Wake as the model for the titular character.-Early life:Before proceeding with an acting career Villi worked as a radio journalist and writer.-Alan Wake:...
, the model and actor for Alan Wake in the game reprises his role in the series, at the conclusion of the last episode in the series, arriving with his wife, Alice.
Plot of Bright Falls
Jake Fischer arrives in Bright Falls to interview Dr. Hartman on his new book, an assignment from his publication agency. After a series of encounters with local townspeople and finding a place to stay, Jake soon finds himself the victim of long periods of lost time and black outs. He finds himself waking up in the middle of a forest and other locations where he had not been previously. He also develops an aversion towards lights and daytime. The longer he stays in Bright Falls, the more violent his behavior becomes. When he realizes this, he tries to duct-tape himself to a refrigerator and recording videotape himself in his sleep to see what might be causing the behavior. It is implied that he is being completely taken over by the Dark Presence to the point of murdering several people. He then vanishes, just before the arrival of Alan and Alice Wake.Release
Alan Wake was released exclusivelyConsole exclusivity
Console exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being released on only one video game console. Console exclusivity is a topic which is utilized in discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of rival firms in the video game market, and one which is used for marketing by firms involved...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The game was scheduled to be released on May 18, 2010 in North America, and on May 21 in Europe. When the game went gold on April 7, 2010, the European release date was moved up a week. Therefore, the game was released in Europe first, on May 14, 2010, and then in North America on May 18, as originally scheduled. On November 23, 2010, Alan Wake was released on the Games on Demand service of Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
, costing 4200 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
.
Alan Wake was also released in a limited collector's edition, packaged in a case resembling a hardcover book. The collector's edition contains the game, a book titled The Alan Wake Files, and an exclusive soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
CD. It also features a developer commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, and lends access to virtual items for Xbox 360, such as themes and Avatar clothes.
Downloadable content
During 2010, two "special feature" episodes of Alan Wake were developed and released as downloadable contentDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
(DLC) on the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
service, which serve to bridge the gap between the game's ending, and a possible sequel. The first of the two, titled "The Signal", was released on July 27, 2010. The second episode, "The Writer", was released on October 12, 2010. Both DLCs cost 560 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
.
Books
The limited collector's edition of the game includes a 144 page book called The Alan Wake Files, which expands on the fiction of the game. A novelizationNovelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of Alan Wake was written by Rick Burroughs. An art/making of book, entitled Alan Wake: Illuminated is also available. An official Alan Wake game guide was released by Prima Games
Prima Games
Prima Games, a division of Random House, is the largest publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States. It is an imprint of the Random House Information Group, based in Roseville, California...
.
Critical response
Alan Wake received generally favorable reviews. Michael Plant from The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
gave the game a perfect score of 5/5. He praised Alan Wake for its "flawless pacing", which "ensures a compulsive experience". The editing and plot were also received very positively, making the game "the kind of experience the current console generation was made for."
The Daily Telegraph rated the game 9/10 with editor Nick Cowen being impressed by its "stunning" look, stating the town of Bright Falls and its surrounding environment to be "authentic" in terms of architecture, vegetation, weather and lighting. He described the atmosphere as being able to "...turn on a dime from feeling safe and serene to one of choking menace and foreboding...". Combat mechanics and plot were also praised with the first making "the player feel constantly under threat." and the latter being described as one of the game's "strongest assets". Criticism included the quality of the facial animation and the relatively short length of the game.
Dirk Lammers said the game kept "players on the edge of their seats", giving a final score of 4 out of 4 in his review for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
Matt Greenop from The New Zealand Herald rated the game 5/5 and praised the game's "excellent pace" due to its episodic format. He also praised the "chilling" storyline, "brilliant environments" and concluded the game to be "one of the most innovative and entertaining titles so far this year."
William Vitka from The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
graded it B+, praising the game for its "scary atmosphere", music, graphics and "surprising level of complexity" in combat, but commented negatively on the game's animation and storyline.
Brian Crecente
Brian Crecente
Brian Crecente is an American journalist and columnist, the Editor-In-Chief of Kotaku, and the writer of Well Played, a weekly column internationally syndicated by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services....
, editor-in-chief of Kotaku.com
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
, praised the general use of light as a gameplay-mechanic. He commented on the episodic structure, saying it made the player feel satisfied even after short gameplay sessions. He also praised the overall storyline, having played the final episode thrice in a row, saying: "For the first time in my life, I have experienced something that plays like a game but has the impact of a movie... Alan Wake is a powerful ride, an experience bound to leave you thinking about it and wanting more for days after its completion." He criticized the game for not providing enough information about Wake and his wife, despite being "packed with memorable people", but concluded that the game "redefines interactive storytelling".
Tom McShea criticized the game for lacking "surprising, memorable gameplay moments" in his review for Gamespot.com
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, but hailed it for its "fresh" story-telling, great original as well as licensed music, "subtle" lighting effects, which, along with the soundtrack, "create a disturbing atmosphere", "satisfying" combat system and "clever" inclusion of collectibles, giving a final score of 8.5/10.
IGN's
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Charles Onyett scored the game 9/10, providing it with the "Editors' Choice Award". He described it as "hard to put down once you have started", and appreciated the game for its episodic structure, "interesting" story-telling mechanic, lighting effects, soundtrack and combat system, which he described as "fast and responsive", but criticized the writing as "uneven". The game received high marks for its "strong atmosphere", "fun gameplay", and "great visuals", but lost some due to its "weak ending".
Tom Orry from VideoGamer.com also awarded a score of 9/10, praising the game for its "clever narrative", "incredible atmosphere" and soundtrack which he described as "one of the best and most memorable I've ever heard in a video game".
GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
gave the game an 8.6/10. The review praised the game's presentation for "selling you completely on its twisted nightmare", and providing a "genuine sense of dread".
Eurogamer's
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
Ellie Gibson awarded a score of 7/10, stating that although she didn't consider the game to be very original, she found it accessible and undemanding, with a "neat combat mechanic".
Awards
| List of awards and nominations for Alan Wake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EWLINE
|
Alan Wake has received a number of nominations and awards for its achievements in video gaming in 2010
2010 in video gaming
The year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America....
. Editors of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine rendered Alan Wake the best video game of 2010. In its Best Xbox 360 Games of 2010 list, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded Alan Wake "Best Horror Game", and also nominated it for "Best Story," "Coolest Atmosphere," "Most Innovative Gameplay," and "Best Character" (for the character of Alan Wake). The game was nominated in the "Best Xbox 360 Game" category at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, and received three nominations at the 2nd Annual Inside Gaming Awards in the categories "Best Narrative," "Best Sound Design" and "Most Compelling Character" (for Alan Wake). Gamespot's
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
Best Games of 2010 Awards featured seven nominations for the game, including "Best Story" and "Best Writing/Dialogue," and won the reader's choice award for "Best Original IP
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
." IGN ranked it #61 in their "Top Modern Games" ranking.
The game's soundtrack has won Best Score – European at the 2010 Annual Game Music Awards, with the panel stating "Breaking composer Petri Alanko's expansive score for the critically acclaimed Alan Wake captured the hearts of gamers and stand-alone listeners alike with its intimate orchestrations and psychological explorations."
Sales
Alan Wake debuted at #2 on the charts in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
stated sales for the first two weeks reached 145,000 units. According to a report, Alan Wake is the second most pirated Xbox 360 game of 2010, with more than 1.1 million downloads.
Sequel and new Alan Wake title
Developer Oskari Häkkinen has spoken out that there is a possibility for Alan Wake 2, as the first title is only "Season 1" and the DLCDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
will "bridge the gap to what we're working towards." However Häkkinen added that the idea is currently in 'limbo' while Microsoft is focusing on downloadable content for the first game. Writer Mikko Rautalahti adds the story is "bigger than one game" and the sequel would be "weird and wonderful".
On May 10, 2011, Remedy revealed they are working on a new Alan Wake game, after some information leaked out about the project before an official announcement. Remedy noted that it is not Alan Wake 2 and neither is it downloadable content. At the time, the company gave a Fall 2011 estimate for the release. In November 2011 it was announced that the new Alan Wake title will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
service, and will be revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011.
To date, few details have been revealed about the new Alan Wake title. It is rumored that the game will be titled Alan Wake's Night Springs. The first screenshot of the new game appeared on GameInformer on November 7. The screenshot shows Alan Wake in a different attire, with a flannel
Flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
shirt and jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
, next to a road sign that says the town of Night Springs is 15 miles away. Night Springs is a fictional television show in Alan Wake, and is the setting of said show. On November 10, a short teaser trailer was unveiled. In their announcement, Remedy said, "Are you ready to become the Champion of Light?" During the days leading up to the publication of the first screenshot, Remedy employees made a number of comments on the official Alan Wake community forums about the new game. It was shared that the new title is "structured like a full release complete with a pretty damn impressive storyline that expands the originals in some interesting ways." Although no specifics were revealed, Remedy responded to fans who were worried that being an Xbox Live Arcade game meant that the amount of content in the game would be too small. Remedy claimed that there will definitely be enough "value for money" for the players of the game, and that fans "will be blown away by the proportion of things pretty soon".
External links
- Official Alan Wake community forums from Remedy Entertainment