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.
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."
Outside of the knowledge that a second episode of DLC for Alan Wake -- titled "The Writer" -- will be coming sometime this fall and that it will cost 560 MS Points ($7), little else is known about the developer's plans for the future of the series. Though head of franchise development Oskari Häkkinen didn't get too specific, he told Eurogamer that the second DLC may not necessarily be the last we see of Mr. Wake on Xbox Live Marketplace. "I can't confirm whether this is going to be the last one or not. There are some things in the pipeline that we're looking at, and we're balancing out how we will move on with this," Häkkinen said.
In terms of "The Writer," though, Remedy ... writer Mikko Rautalahti added that gameplay will skew towards the type found in the first DLC ("The Signal"), while level design errs more on the side of fantasy than the first. "You will be seeing a lot more weird stuff. And we've learned quite a bit from making 'The Signal,' and we'll be applying that to 'The Writer' quite a bit," he said.
Both Häkkinen and Rautalahti remained relatively tight-lipped on the subject of an Alan Wake sequel, with Häkkinen only allowing, "I don't see any reason why we wouldn't continue with Microsoft with a full-blown sequel for Alan Wake. We definitely want to do it. We have great ideas for it. I can see Mikko here twiddling his thumbs with his ideas for Alan Wake 2. There's certainly a want, and that want is I believe from both sides." He did, however, add, "Right now I can't confirm anything." Given our feelings on the game (and the first DLC), we've got all our fingers and toes crossed for more.
Listen, America. We know our relationship has been strained these past few weeks. It's just that ... well, you didn't buy Alan Wake very much, did you? If you want us to forgive you, you might want to spring for GoGamer's $30 sale on the literary thriller.
So, you bought Alan Wake at launch, and proceeded to redeem the DLC token code immediately -- because, with no warning on the card, why wouldn't you? Now "The Signal" DLC is out, and you can't download your free copy, and life is terrible. Or is it?
Remedy announced via Twitter that help is on the way for those of you stumbling through a living nightmare of inaccessible post-game content. "If you've redeemed your code prior to release Microsoft will be sending out new codes to you via your email on XBL," the developer said. We're checking with Microsoft to find out exactly when those emails will go out.
In the meantime, catch a new trailer for the DLC after the break. Or don't, if you have yet to finish Alan Wake and fear spoilers.
#review
Psychological thriller Alan Wake hit the Xbox 360 a few months back delivering a taut, deftly-written experience that straddled the line between television and video game. More »
Alan Wake's mysteries still linger, months after a pitch-perfect conclusion. Unlike most downloadable add-ons introduced after the fact, the first of two new episodes, "The Signal," comes after the fiction and wisely targets fans who wouldn't care much for standard DLC fare like "Additional killing grounds!" or "Deadlier explosive rounds!" If you just wanted to share a few more words with the imperiled author (and get 250 Gamerscore out of it), here's your chance.
Well, provided you can find him. The man's having trouble finding himself in the town of Bright Falls, which grows even more unstable and incoherent with every step he takes. Once again it's unclear where the world ends and the writer begins, and the developers at Remedy don't waste time before they start shoving reality and fiction into the same space. Their tinkering leads to an amusing spin on the original game's cardboard cutout gag, and more interestingly creates a few challenging scenarios that differ from those in the main game. I think I would have remembered a demolition derby.
#dlc
The first downloadable expansion for this spring's celebrated Xbox 360 horror game Alan Wake arrives next week. It's called The Signal, and it's a mystery. More »
While you probably know about Alan Wake by now (we liked it a lot), and you probably know about the game's unconventional soundtrack, full of licensed tracks from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to David Bowie, you may be less familiar with the game's original score by Finnish composer Petri Alanko. In short, it's not what you'd expect from a "psychological action thriller." Instead, you'll find something far more "romantic," Alanko says; a wistful arrangement with piano and strings that's a little more light than dark.
If you enjoyed Mr. Alanko's work and - especially if you didn't get the Collector's Edition whose soundtrack disc contained five tracks from the score - you'll be pleased to learn that Sumthing Else Music is releasing the full original score on July 20, featuring 18 tracks of orchestral music. You can pre-order the CD on Amazon now or, if you prefer the digital route, wait until the 20th and hit up Sumthing.com or iTunes.
#xbox360
Our neighbors to the north have likely already seen and been irrevocably horrified by Alan Wake's big, spooky and, most important, clever ad push, which intimidated Canadians with its warnings about just how evil the darkness is. More »
Remedy's imperiled author sim, Alan Wake, will be extended in two downloadable episodes later this year, with the first set to launch on July 27th. Entitled "The Signal," the first add-on is available free to players who purchased the game new. We met up with Remedy's Head of Franchise Development, Oskari Hakkinen, and ascertained that the episode -- which should last around 90 minutes -- will cost 560 MS Points ($7) on the Xbox Live Marketplace to those who didn't get to tear off some shrinkwrap.
The second downloadable episode, "The Writer," will also cost 560 MS points ($7). According to Hakkinen, the $10 price seen within Alan Wake's DLC menu was meant to be a placeholder.
We speculated that the live-action Alan Wake teaser that surfaced last week was promoting a new commercial or web short. It turned out to be a slick music video for "WAR," a song by Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall -- and one of the licensed tracks to feature in Remedy's atmospheric action game. The video features Alan Wake as portrayed by actor Ilkka Villi, who's basically the Milli Vanilli companion to voice actor Matthew Porretta.
Head past the break to see Wake freak out to musical accompaniment, ponder his mysterious manuscript pages ... and wonder why the world's worst cameraman is stalking him and his wife through a field.
[Seen Above: The first image from the upcoming Alan Wake DLC, "The Signal."]
Remedy has released a creepy, cryptic video for Alan Wake. So, it's a lot like every Alan Wake video, but it's especially like the Bright Falls prequel series in that it's composed of live-action footage. The only thing that looks unrealistic, really, is the imperiled author's jacket-hoodie combination.
We're impressed by how well the video captures some the thriller's imagery -- such as the blinding flares and the mysterious manuscript pages -- and we suspect it's part of a live-action commercial (much like those made for Microsoft's Halo franchise) or another web short. We'll be sure to bring you more information next week.
#gameclub
Let's go back to me in high school. Sophomore year. English class. Camus' The Plague. None us read it. The teacher made us sweat it out silently. You talk about Alan Wake Episode 3 please. I, uh, am behind! More »
#rumor
A peek through the downloadable content menu in Alan Wake reveals a listing for the game's second, as yet unannounced episode, "The Writer." More »
Stephen Totilo once wrote that game content can exist outside of a game disc, and there's more than a little fun to be had in expansions. They're antithetical to the limitations of physical distribution. In a news story, the reader keeps asking, "What will it cost?" but there can be no explanation ... even though there should be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest and it's what we'll remember complaining about in the end.
My name is Ludwig Kietzmann. I'm a blogger ... type thing.
The second downloadable episode of Alan Wake will be called "The Writer." The description of the content, which recently popped up in the game's "Downloadable Content" menu, reveals that the tortured author will find himself in "strange circumstances" (surely he must be used to those by now) and must face "one increasingly nightmarish situation after another." According to the listing, the episode will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The first episode, "The Signal," will cost the same when it launches on July 27th, though it's a free download for those who purchased a new copy of Remedy's thriller.
You'll find an image and full description of the DLC after the break -- don't venture further if you're sensitive to spoilers.
Excerpt from Alan Wake's technological thriller, It Came from Amazon:
I sat there staring at the screen, unable to believe my aching eyes. Had I had too much to drink, or was this real? The Amazon checkout cart read $49.99, and it was definitely Alan Wake sitting in the basket. That alone didn't really frighten me. What tipped me over the edge was the $10 bonus credit on a future video game purchase.
The site had similar deals on other games. Super Street Fighter IV for $30, God of War 3 for $45, Splinter Cell Conviction ... again $45. All of these and more, like Super Mario Galaxy 2, with at least $10 bonus credit. Was that even possible? Or, had the Darkness managed to infiltrate my computer?
Unsure of itself, my shaking index finger finally clicked true. The purchase was made -- with free Super Saver shipping -- and now all I could do was wait, wait and contemplate how to spend that $10 credit. Red Dead Redemption was supposed to be pretty good.
#alanwake
Alan Wake is not like Heavy Rain, Halo Reach, God of War III, Splinter Cell: Conviction or any of the other big 2010 games that are not named for their star character. That's intentional. More »
#remedyentertainment
Did you know the alternate names considered for the Alan Wake game? Did you know Remedy turned down a chance to put Wake in another game? No? Then you need to download this week's Kotaku Talk Radio right now. More »
