Alan Wake Message Board older than one year ago

Earlier this week I spoke with Oskari Häkkinen, head of franchise development at Remedy, about the PC release of Alan Wake. We talked about the importance of PC gaming to the Remedy team, drawing inspiration from popular culture and whether Alan’s further adventures will be following close behind.

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Remedy’s sleepy writer sim Alan Wake is out on Steam in a day and a bit, after the lengthiest beta test we’ve ever experienced. As far as I can tell, it’s a perfectly accurate recreation of the life of a writer: just this morning, my breakfast was interrupted when I realised I had been sitting on my foot and that foot was now asleep possessed by a demon intent on enslaving the world to do its bidding. What does it want? It wants YOU to watch the launch trailer they’ve just released, or it’ll smite you with corns. I’ve embedded it below, to save your soles.(more…)

#alanwake In the previous developer diary about Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the creative triumvirate of the Remedy dev studio said that they're making this new Xbox Live game with more of an action focus in mind. But they're back again to assuage any fears you might have about the minimization of the moody narrative that won so many fans for Alan Wake in the first place. The comments in the video above shed some light on where American Nightmare fits in Wake continuity and also shout out other influences that will be coming to the fore in the downloadable title. Me, I'm just glad for more Night Springs. That show-that-doesn't-actually-exist rocks. More »

Remedy believes in a future for Wake.

Matias Myllyrinne, CEO of Remedy, told us at DICE 2012, with the imminent launch of Alan Wake on PC and Alan Wake's American Nightmare on XBLA, that the studio isn't done with its literary protagonist.

"We're crowd pleasers, we'll do what the audience wants, 'cause usually that's the good business move as well," Myllyrinne responded when we asked what's next for Wake. He also reconfirmed the studio owns the IP, so the future of Wake is their's to write.

"Hopefully, we'll have one or two surprises. I don't know, I'm loving the digital [distribution] side and we'll see how that evolves, but just being able to give people quick access to bit-size chunks of gaming is maybe more fun than working for years and years -- taking the phone offline and closing the shutters-- at least, this way, you're able to react much more quickly to people's desires and wishes."

With Remedy directly publishing Alan Wake on Steam, we wanted to know if the studio had an internal figure for sales that would dictate resources being put into a full-blown sequel?

"I don't know. I don't know if that would dictate it. If it bombs [laughs], then that's certainly a signal, but we're fairly confident that it'll do well. We'll certainly continue with Wake. Right now we're focusing on getting the PC out next week, then getting American Nightmare out. And it's too early to talk about what our next move is, but we've obviously put things into motion."

#alanwake You won't be seeing much in the way of trees in the upcoming Alan Wake game. Where Remedy's first outing with the writer-turned-hero took place in the creepy forests of the Pacific Northwest, American Nightmare puts players in a haunted desert. New weapons—including what looks like a nail gun—and new enemies shop up in these shots. Some of the giant-sized antagonists, like those spiders, show signs of being irradiated or it might just be more nightmares-made-real weirdness breaking through to the real world. More »

"Specificity" is such a succulent word. Alan Wake for PC has an official launch date of February 16 on Steam, with other digital distribution outlets following. The standard offering will be available for $29.99, which will include the core game plus "The Signal" and "The Writer" DLC.

There's also a Limited Collector's Edition for $35. It includes the content found in the regular edition, adding the Alan Wake Files Book, developer commentary and extended soundtrack.

On XBLA, Alan Wake's American Nightmare begins on February 22. Rampaging donuts and cholesterol-injecting nurses not yet confirmed.

Alan Wake on PC gets a release date. It is the oh my goodness it’s only two weeks away. The 16th Feb. And tis being sensibly priced too, for a two year old game, at $30. Developers Remedy have been putting some proper effort into the PC version. Not only has it been souped up with improved graphics, but it’ll also support multiple monitors and stereoscopic 3D.

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For those not content with simply downloading the PC version of Alan Wake next month, Nordic Games has some good news. The Swedish publisher will be releasing a boxed version of Alan Wake's PC outing, with an official launch date to be announced in "the next few days."

Like its downloadable cousin, the boxed version will also include both of Alan Wake's DLC episodes, "The Signal" and "The Writer."

#alanwake The makers of Alan Wake said yesterday that the PC versionof the Xbox 360 exclusive will arrive in February. As it is self-published by Remedy, you don't have to worry about it using the execrable Games For Windows Live: "Games for Windows Live will not be used; we will be fully supporting the Steam platform," says developer Remedy Entertainment. More »

Remedy’s supernatural thriller, Alan Wake, will be arriving in February, they explain on their forums. They also say: “Games for Windows Live will not be used; we will be fully supporting the Steam platform.” Just in case you missed that. Other issues of note include the fact that it doesn’t (yet) run perfectly on Windows XP, and it won’t have mod support.

I’ve posted the minimum specifications below. We broke the news about Alan’s appearance on PC with interview snippets here and here.(more…)

If you missed out on the Xbox 360 version of Remedy's flashlight combat game Alan Wake, the wait for the PC version won't be too much longer. In a forum post Remedy's community manager revealed Alan Wake is coming to Steam in February...

I'm pretty selfish. I know Alan deserves to be at home, sitting on the couch, watching reruns of Mad About You with his wife, but I prefer him on the front lines of the war against the forces of darkness. Who wants to play a game about a married couple being a boring married couple?

I loved the original Alan Wake, but doubted the writer would ever return after the original's underwhelming sales performance. But here we are, and even though Alan Wake's American Nightmare isn't the direct sequel I'll always hope for, my brief time with the game gives the impression that I won't be disappointed.

#wellplayed As game consoles become more like cable television boxes, maybe it's time for video games to start becoming more like cable television shows. More »

#alanwake Next year Mr. Scratch is coming for you. More »

A couple of days ago, Remedy confirmed the rumour that Alan Wake would be at last be seeing a PC version. Our man Dan Griddled-octopus managed to coax a few (rather evasive) words on that subject out of Aki Järvilehto, Executive Vice President at Remedy, but before he could escape we sent Dan back with a couple of particularly burning additional questions. Specifically: that infamous “Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen” comment and on whether there’s a risk of Games For Windows Live.(more…)

Alan Wake is coming to the PC in 2012. Not the new one, mind. We're talking about the original. Which came out on consoles in May 2010. [PC Gamer] More »

Our man Dan Griliopoulos was at the Alan Wake PC announcement earlier today, and immediately managed to pin down Aki Jårvilehto, Executive Vice President at Remedy for a few questions. And some very, very short answers. Tackled: why now, what’ll be different on PC, whether there’ll be any new content, whether the new Wake game American Nightmare might come to PC, and whether or not Aki likes being asked questions like that. We don’t entirely believe his reply to that one.(more…)

Yes, squinty torch-waver Alan Wake is indeed headed PC-wards. Specifically: Q1 2012, on Steam. As suspected. Clicketh yon image above for a larger version, and see below for the first details.(more…)

Alan Wake may finally find the path to PC after almost two years of Xbox 360 exclusivity. Alan Wake forum users spotted telltale text in the Steam registry, indicating the game has (or had) some kind of presence on Valve's platform. This comes alongside Remedy's Executive VP Aki Järvilehto, passively mentioned the PC version to a Finnish website -- Just Push Start roughly translated him as saying there might be "some positive news to tell" PC fans in the near future.

During Alan Wake's lengthy development there was much back and forth about whether the game would ever launch on PC, with the scales eventually tipping toward console exclusivity.

Over a year later, and with a pseudo-sequel on the way for Xbox Live Arcade with Alan Wake's American Nightmare, we're hopeful for Alan's arrival on PC.

Rumour 1! Said Remedy’s Aki Järvilehto to a Finnish site on the subject of Alan Wake on PC: “We have received feedback from a lot of PC gamers, and I have to admit that yes, we somehow ignored that. Let’s see if in the near future we could have some positive news to tell you about dating!” (Positive news about dating? You mean she liked me after all?) This seems something of a change of tune.

Rumour 2! Via the same nefarious database-exploring methods as turned up the apparent leak of the latest Humble Bundle contents, we have the below image of the game apparently readying for a Steam release. Rumour! Speculation! Possible Photoshopping! But what the hell – it’d be lovely to have Remedy back.(more…)

Looks like the rumors were right, at least partially: Alan Wake's American Nightmare will be an XBLA exclusive title wherein our titular hero is pitted against Mr. Scratch, an apparently egotistical and especially evil version of Alan. Evil birds, evil satellites and everything you'd expect lurks within the Spike TV Video Game Awards trailer, as well as in your very soul.

#alanwake This is Alan Wake: American Nightmare, the downloadable sequel to Remedy's 2010 narrative game for the Xbox 360. In it, the protagonist author Alan Wake fights against his murderous doppleganger. More »

According to a story posted by IndustryGamers, Remedy's 2010 Xbox 360 exclusive Alan Wake sold much better than originally thought. While NPD sales figures currently peg the game at 330K units sold in the US to date (with the number closer to 500K worldwide), those numbers apparently do not factor in digital download sales...

#videogameart Darwin Yamamoto's not that different than other gamers. He spends a lot of time looking at the faces—or, more accurately, the backs—of the medium's heroes and heroines as they open up new worlds on his TV screen. But Yamamoto's also an artist and user experience designer who's done work on the look of Valve's Steam platform and for various Microsoft products like Bing. After hundreds of hours of gaming, the New York City resident decided to render the faces of some of gaming's biggest franchises in a series of minimalist portraits. After stumbling across a link on Twitter (thanks, @tiffchow), I got in touch with Yamamoto and emailed him a few questions about his oddly evocative headshots. Here's what he had to say: More »

There's been a not-insubstantial outcry of concern from fans of the Alan Wake franchise following the announcement that the series' next installment, Night Springs, would be an XBLA exclusive. Worried parties shouldn't fear a sea change in the original game's setup -- on the game's forums, Remedy community manager Peter Papadopoulos explained it will be "structured like a full release," asking posters to "wait for the official announcement before making up your mind." But ... but we've already rolled out our Jump to Conclusions mat!

Remedy CEO Markus Mäki also chimed in on the forums, adding, "If you're thinking about this in terms of some kind of a, I don't know, super simplified 'we still use the name but changed everything about it' version of Alan Wake, let me just say that this is not the case. That's all I'm gonna say."

Other than these defensive statements, all we have to go on is the meager announcement from yesterday, as well as the supposedly leaked title screen acquired by XBLAFans this past May, posted above. We'll have to wait until the VGAs to see the game in action -- or, as the title screen would seem to hint at, in "Arcade Action."

There's been a not-insubstantial outcry of concern from fans of the Alan Wake franchise following the announcement that the series' next installment, Night Springs, would be an XBLA exclusive. Worried parties shouldn't fear a sea change in the original game's setup -- on the game's forums, Remedy community manager Peter Papadopoulos explained it will be "structured like a full release," asking posters to "wait for the official announcement before making up your mind." But ... but we've already rolled out our Jump to Conclusions mat!

Remedy CEO Markus Mäki also chimed in on the forums, adding, "If you're thinking about this in terms of some kind of a, I don't know, super simplified 'we still use the name but changed everything about it' version of Alan Wake, let me just say that this is not the case. That's all I'm gonna say."

Other than these defensive statements, all we have to go on is the meager announcement from yesterday, as well as the supposedly leaked title screen acquired by XBLAFans this past May, posted above. We'll have to wait until the VGAs to see the game in action -- or, as the title screen would seem to hint at, in "Arcade Action."

#rumor Earlier today we got confirmation that the next Alan Wake will indeed be downloadable, and that more details will be revealed at the upcoming Spike Video Game Awards. More »

Mr. Xbox, Major Nelson, confirmed some rumor and speculation today, saying that the Alan Wake game that will be shown at this year's Spike Video Game Awards will be a downloadable game. We'll know more in the coming weeks. More »

Alan Wake's Night Springs is the alleged name of an upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, reports XBLAFans. The site also obtained some screenshots, though their source asked for them not to be shared. This same informant outed Gotham City Impostors several months back.

Night Springs is the name of the Twilight Zone-esque television show in the world of Wake. Though Remedy had no comment on this recent development, the studio did previously confirm to Joystiq that a new Wake was in the works, but that it would be neither Alan Wake 2 nor more DLC for the first game.

Yesterday, a number of sites (including us) reported on a resume listing that seemingly heralded the existence of Alan Wake 2, an as-of-then unannounced sequel to last year's psychological action horror game from Remedy Entertainment. This morning, Remedy responded to several of those reports (not ours...*sniff*...) with a confirmation of the game's existence... of sorts.

So reads Remedy's Statement:

Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that yes, more Wake is coming! But to be absolutely certain to avoid confusion, this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. But neither will it be DLC. The rest we're saving for our official announcement when we'll actually SHOW YOU.

We are really excited about this project which a slice of our team has been working on for the last months. It's something that'll definitely give more to the Wake fans out there, but just as importantly, this installment will also give an opportunity for players who aren't familiar with the franchise to finally jump on board.

Yes, confusion has most certainly been avoided here.

Don't ask us, Alan. We're just as confused as you are.

So, to recap: It is not an Alan Wake sequel, nor is it a DLC offering for the first game. Rather, it is something new for fans of the property, but also something that new players can "jump on board" with. Is it a prequel? A Dark Athena-esque updated repackaging of the first game? The Alan Wake/Max Payne crossover we've always dreamed about? Does it have four legs, yet only one foot? If I figure this out, will The Riddler spare Commissioner Gordon's life?

Cryptic language aside, Remedy seems supremely excited about what they're working on, and promises we won't have to wait too terribly long to find out more.

We can't wait to show you more, bear with us. Release dates, platforms and pricing are unconfirmed as of yet, but Fall 2011 is probably a good guess. More coming soon!

I hereby decree a bounty upon this puzzlement! I want someone to slice this Gordian knot before Remedy makes its (seemingly) inevitable E3 announcement. First person in the comments of this story to guess correctly gets some profile points, a Whiskey t-shirt of their choosing (based on whatever we have lying around), and I promise to finally talk to someone about getting rid of that damnedable "first comment" quest.