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'Alan Wake 2' appears in artist's resume (and in our hearts)
CG character animator Althea Suarez Gata spent exactly one month at Halon Entertainment, a "previsualization and technology company" whose credits include the Halo: Reach "Deliver Hope" live-action short and a bunch of big-budget Hollywood stuff. In April 2011, just last month, she worked on "Untitled Alien Project" and ... what's this? A video game project titled "Alan Wake 2." Gata's duties are listed simply as "In-Game Cinematic" so it's hard to glean much beyond the whole it's Alan Wake 2 part. The first and last time we caught wind of a sequel to our number three game of 2010 was when Remedy's head of franchise development Oskari Häkkinen said, "We definitely want to do it. We have great ideas for it. I can see [writer Mikko Rautalahti] here twiddling his thumbs with his ideas for Alan Wake 2." For awhile, that faint glimmer of sequel light in the poor sales darkness was enough to sustain us but only now, with the taste of this latest morsel, do we realize how starved we've been. We've reached out to Remedy for a comment on the listing and also just to check in on how Alan's been doing.
Remedy: Signing with MGS for Alan Wake was 'a business risk'
Speaking at a GDC panel earlier this year, Remedy's Markus Maki discussed the development of Alan Wake, namely that the game was originally planned as a multiplatform release, PC and PS3 included. As reported by CVG, Maki noted that Remedy had to maintain a narrow "focus" to get the project done, which meant staying light on features -- no multiplayer, etc. -- and eventually agreeing to become a Microsoft exclusive. Regarding the planned multiplatform release, Maki stated that Microsoft's offer to publish the game pulled "one big technological effort, the PS3, out of the equation," thus allowing Remedy to focus on a single platform. That said, Maki added that moving to a single platform "changed the technology risk to a business risk - but that's a subject for a different talk altogether." Ouch. Meanwhile, the PC version of Alan Wake, for reasons we may never fully comprehend, remains (appropriately) shrouded in darkness.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2010: Alan Wake
Turns out we'd been thinking of "episodic" gaming the wrong way. Episodic pioneers like Telltale long-since realized that consumers won't stick around episode to episode unless they buy the season upfront; so, episodic gaming isn't so much about a new business model as it is about a new (well, for gaming at least) method of storytelling. And that's where Alan Wake comes in. When Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment announced it was turning in wronged NYPD cop Max Payne's badge and gun, only to pick up mystery writer Alan Wake's uh, pen ... and hoodie ... it was clear something was different. Over the game's prolonged five-year development cycle, Alan Wake morphed from an open-world, sandbox-style game set in the Pacific Northwest's fictional town of Bright Falls to a carefully scripted, episodic creation that had more in common with Twin Peaks than Grand Theft Auto.
Alan Wake DLC discounted on Xbox Live Marketplace
As part of its ongoing "Countdown to New Year's" promotion, Xbox Live has reduced the prices of both Alan Wake DLC episodes -- The Signal and The Writer -- by more than fifty percent. You can grab the two-part epilogue now at 200 MS Points ($2.50) apiece. If you're going to spend as much as $5 watching a nocturnal, has-been writer trying to escape his own plot twists, you're better off with Alan Wake than M. Night Shyamalan. The tenuously Alan Wake-branded "Rain Coat and Pants" avatar clothing set has also been reduced to 120 MS Points ($1.50), but we'd suggest saving that change for a rainy day instead. Like, when there's actual rain outside.
Alan Wake, Mass Effect 2 and Limbo among Time's best games of 2010
In collating the top ten of everything in 2010 (excluding the top ten recursive jokes about top ten lists), Time has picked some of its favorite video games from the last twelve months. Among the top ten are science fiction stalwarts Halo: Reach and Mass Effect 2, the elegant and creepy Limbo, and iPhone finch fling-em-up, Angry Birds (which just makes it in, having launched at the very end of 2009). Time's top choice is Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake, which is praised by writer Evan Narcisse for its mature craft and metaphoric gameplay. "Its mix of meta-awareness and Hitchcockian suspense make Alan Wake a unique and fun experiment and one of the best games of the year." Alan Wake's devoted fans are likely to agree: Time couldn't have picked a better game, and the game couldn't have picked a worse time.
Alan Wake speed painting animates the actor behind the pixels
A Wacom tablet, Photoshop, and a burning love for Alan Wake's live-action prequel Bright Falls are all that YouTube user J3sseM needed to create this time-lapse video of Mr. Wake's portrait (real-life Finnish actor Ilkka Villi). Oh, right, and lots of artistic talent. That probably helped too.
Recording Alan Wake audio was just as scary as listening to it
In a recent interview with Designing Sound, the audio team behind Alan Wake revealed much about their process creating the game's creepy soundscape. One of the more interesting bits in the interview involves the field recording that was done to capture some of the nature sounds of the forest. Pete Comley, a freelance sound designer hired for the project, actually lives in Washington and recorded sounds in many of the forests on which Alan Wake's environments are based. "Some of the recording was done very late at night in environments very similar to the ones Alan Wake tromps through, far in the woodsy backcountry," said Comley. "I had to keep reminding myself that there were no such things as "the Taken" when I heard the sound of elk crackling through the underbrush in the moonlit darkness (or even worse, total darkness)," he said, adding, "Making this game scared the daylights out of me more than once since I feel like I live where it takes place." Check out the full, exhaustive interview for more on Alan Wake's audio design process, including how the team approached creating the sound of light, the Dark Presence and the Taken.
Alan Wake LE for $30, other Limited Edition sales on Amazon today
Amazon has been dropping deals this week like it's trying to single-handedly stimulate the games industry. Today's "Prelude to Black Friday" offering from the online retailer features several special edition games at deep discounts, including Alan Wake: Limited Edition for a mere $30 (down from $80) [update: it's sold out!]. That's the same price (a.k.a. 2400 Microsoft Points) the standard game will cost as a download when it arrives on Xbox Live's Games on Demand next Tuesday, November 23 (sans access to "The Signal" DLC, which is included in the LE). Halo: Reach - Legendary Edition is also on sale, for a reasonable $75 (50-percent off), as the day's lightning deal, which expires at 5PM ET. Other all-day discounts on Amazon include the special edition bundles for Dead Rising 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Head past the break to peruse our galleries of some of these limited editions ... if you haven't deserted us for Amazon already!
Alan Wake dev seeking programmer, motion control know-how a plus
Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Max Payne and, most recently, Alan Wake, is on the hunt for some new talent to add to its ranks -- including a programmer that will preferably have "experience on motion-control technology (e.g. Kinect)." While it's entirely possible that the developer simply wants someone on staff who has mad Dance Central skills, the more likely motivation would be that it's looking to be prepared for when (or if) it decides to develop a game that incorporates motion controls. We're going to suggest that Remedy give this guy a ring. That is, if the company gets tapped to make a Star Wars title that will let players project holograms of themselves into it and bark orders at Lord Vader, Emperor style.
Scary good deal: Alan Wake for $20
We've said it many times and in many ways: Alan Wake is pretty great. For a mere $20, Buy.com is offering new copies of the game, a positively wonderful deal. Since they're new, they should have a free code for the first DLC 'The Signal.' We'd kinda like a sequel, so go buy a copy.
Xbox 360 bundle with Alan Wake, Forza 3 confirmed for US
The holiday Xbox 360 S bundle packing Alan Wake and Forza 3 has been confirmed for the US. Previously revealed for multiple territories, Major Nelson has officially unveiled the bundle for the US. As with other regions, the bundle will include a 250GB Xbox 360 S console, a retail copy of Forza Motorsport 3 and a token to download Alan Wake from Xbox Live Games on Demand. The bundle runs $299.99 and should hit the shelves within the next few weeks. [Thanks, Kromis]
Remedy on Alan Wake: Story went right, marketing went wrong
IGN recently visited Remedy's headquarters in Finland to discuss the successes and failures of Alan Wake. According to Remedy's Matias Myllyrine, the team is very happy with the "mood and the story and the setting" of the game. While the project underwent significant changes during development -- it was originally an open world game, for example -- Myllyrine believes it remains "very close" to the original vision "in terms of feel, mood and atmosphere." As for failure, Myllyrine wished that Alan Wake's marketing would have had "an even crisper communication of what the game does," adding that it could have used "stronger advertising about what's unique about this game." We'd certainly agree that a sequel -- should it see the light of day -- needs stronger marketing, but we have another piece of advice as well: Don't release your game on the same day as Red Dead Redemption.
Remedy looking for Xbox 360 mystery project producer
According to a recent job posting, Remedy is hiring for a producer position on an upcoming Xbox 360 project. The listing doesn't offer any concrete details on the game, noting only that it is a "AAA console project." The fact that the project is only pegged to the Xbox 360 platform could point to an Alan Wake sequel, which would make sense given that the final Alan Wake DLC is out and the company already has a sequel mapped out. Of course, Alan Wake's unimpressive sales debut casts some doubt on the possibility of a sequel. Here's hoping Remedy shines a light on this project soon and doesn't keep us in suspense for long.
Alan Wake, Epic Mickey among award-nominated video game scores
Set to be announced in advance of the Hollywood Music In Media Conference running November 18-20, 2010 in -- where else -- Hollywood, CA, the 2010 Hollywood Music In Media Awards nominees include nine video game scores under the category of Visual Media. The bombastic orchestral sounds of God of War 3 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are joined by the more moody fare of Alan Wake and -- a bit out of left field -- the score to Disney Epic Mickey. The winning score will be revealed on November 11, 2010, and you can find the complete list of nominees after the break. Cue dramatic end-of-post theme.
Xbox holiday bundle with Forza 3, downloadable Alan Wake headed to multiple territories
Just in case you were worried that there weren't quite enough Xbox 360 bundles to choose from, it looks like Microsoft has another one headed down the pike. The bundle in question includes a 250GB Xbox 360 S console as well as Alan Wake and the eternal pack-in, Forza Motorsport 3. The image above -- pulled directly from one of Microsoft's retailer resource services -- is denoted as a Canadian bundle. Siliconera also reports that the bundle has been announced for South Korea at a price of 398,000 won ($356). A tipster has informed Kotaku that the bundle is available in Europe as well, retailing for €250 ($348). We've contacted Microsoft to find out if the bundle is coming stateside as well. One intriguing note about the bundle: It doesn't actually include a physical copy of Alan Wake, instead offering a code to download the game in its entirety (see a close-up image in the gallery below). While it's likely to be a Games on Demand title in the near future, it's also worth noting that Remedy has expressed interest in releasing the game in downloadable episodes, a la Fable 2. %Gallery-105176%
Alan Wake: The Writer review: Scary scribblenaut
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." This advice from Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes, would prove useful to anyone in the business of storytelling -- anyone but Alan Wake. A sip of reality would do the ill-tempered writer some good, now that he finds himself in a drunk stumble towards the end of a story that began in May. In "The Writer," the final downloadable episode for Alan Wake, developer Remedy faces a problem that creeps in at the climax of any thriller. With the air cleared of mystery, there's much less impetus to march through the forests of Bright Falls in search of obscured answers. Remedy reaches for the carpet now, taking hold of its reality-with-a-twist setting before twisting it some more, until the world hangs upside-down. %Gallery-104826%
Alan Wake 'The Writer' dated October 12th, promises to 'end the nightmare'
Courtesy of the below-embedded trailer for "The Writer" – the purported final piece of Alan Wake DLC – comes the release date and, with it, the end of Alan's journey, both narratively and (for now?) commercially. Come October 12, you'll once again rejoin Alan Wake in his nightmare world, a strange place populated by photosensitive murderers and floating words, and "end the nightmare" as the trailer proclaims. Like "The Signal," the game's first DLC episode, "The Writer" will cost a reasonable 560 Microsoft bucks ($7 Earth bucks) and feature "intense action." After watching the Bright Falls lighthouse explode a bunch of dudes in the trailer, we're going to agree with that assessment.
Report: 'The Writer' is final Alan Wake DLC
Alan Wake's "The Writer" DLC may be the last we see of Mr. Wake in downloadable form, according to Evil Avatar. Remedy head Matias Myllyrinne apparently told the site that The Writer would "conclude things" (Evil Av's words) and, like the last DLC episode, would feature "intense action" (Myllyrinne's words). Remedy has yet to confirm the report as of publishing. Even if the Writer is to be the last DLC for Alan Wake, Remedy has expressed interest in an episodic, digitally distributed release of the full game at some point. Additionally, a recent interview with Remedy resulted in a fuzzy answer to the question of additional Alan Wake DLC beyond The Writer. With any luck, Remedy will paint a clearer explanation soon.
Upcoming Alan Wake DLC features a song by a band you know
We find ourselves in a bit of a precarious situation -- we've always thought the songs that play at the end of Alan Wake's episodes are delightful little treats, so we don't want to forecast the ending track of the game's upcoming DLC chapter, "The Writer." We do know what said track is, though, and we desperately want to tell you. If you don't mind the minor spoiler, continue reading past the jump.
Remedy MD: episodic Alan Wake release would be 'interesting experiment'
Alan Wake was one of the victims of Red Dead Redemption's retail shootout earlier this year, but Remedy's Managing Director Matias Myllyrinne isn't bitter about it. Speaking to Joystiq at GDC Europe, the studio head expressed, "RDR is a fantastic game, due credit to Rockstar, they deserve it. For us, Wake clicked with gamers and a lot of the reviewers out there. I think it will continue to sell as folks learn about it." Myllyrinne expressed hope that the world of Wake would be something that Remedy could continue building on in the future. He couldn't make any announcements on future plans for Mr. Wake, but after seeing the strong reaction from the audience to the game, he feels Remedy established the key things it wanted to do with Wake -- "as a form of entertainment and art." Speaking directly to the numbers and the cost of Wake's five-year production, he said, "Commercially, the numbers will make sense in the end." The internally episodic narrative of Alan Wake would lend itself well to online distribution (perhaps following in Fable 2's footsteps), and Myllyrinne told us, "I don't think there's anything technically stopping us from doing that. I think those will be business decisiions we'll make together with Microsoft. I think it would be an interesting experiment." He also told us the next piece of DLC, dubbed "The Writer," is "not too far away" and that, in terms of gameplay, will feel more "surreal," like "Salvadore Dali does Alan Wake." When pushed on whether Remedy would take a break from Wake after the second DLC episode launches, he couldn't get into specifics. Myllyrinne said he had promised some folks that he wouldn't talk, but that Remedy would announce its next project "in a few months."
