After seven years of refining, the classic horror game "Alan Wake" presents a twisted nightmare filled with threats and fear!

For us gamers, we have played many games with special worldviews, wonderful plot development, excellent game graphics and background music that can transcend time and deeply imprint in our minds.

"Alan Wake" is a game that I believe everyone is familiar with. It is a work of Finnish game developer Remedy that took seven years to create. Yes, "Control", "Max Payne" and "Quantum Break" are all products of Remedy. "Alan Wake" has received good reviews and results thanks to its extremely deep and thought-provoking plot. It has also brought the profession of writer into the view of players. Today, let's take a look behind this classic work and see how Remedy demonstrates the unique charm of the "ninth art".

In 2010, Remedy developed and Microsoft Game Studios published a thriller-style action game. In the game story, a best-selling thriller novelist, Alan Wake, went on vacation with his wife to Bright Falls, Washington, but his wife suddenly disappeared. In the process of finding his wife, Alan discovered that a thriller novel plot he had never remembered writing was gradually becoming reality. Threats from the darkness were lurking in Bright Falls, and in the process of finding his beloved wife, our protagonist's sanity was on the brink of collapse.

This game, both in its pacing and structure, is like a TV series. Each episode contains plot analysis and previews, and each episode contains narrative and plot analysis elements similar to a TV show. Another important element taken from TV programs is the "previously on" at the beginning of each episode, where the protagonist will retell the previous plot to "allow players to regain memories of the previous story and quickly integrate into the upcoming plot." In addition, a different song is played at the end of each episode, which is also taken from some TV programs and used as background music for the closing credits.

Machinima.com released a six-episode prequel TV series on YouTube called "Bright Falls". The protagonist, Jack, discovered a strange power in Bright Falls that caused him to become increasingly violent. When he realized the seriousness of the situation and planned to leave the town, he was completely consumed by the dark shadow. The film concludes with Alan and his wife arriving in Bright Falls.

The Plot

Writer Rick Burroughs also wrote an adapted novel based on the game's plot. Presenting the content of the novel in the game's graphics is also something Remedy is good at, such as the comic-style cutscenes in "Max Payne". I loved this narrative-focused action shooter game when I was young, and "bullet time" has become a series' iconic element. "Quantum Break" had live-action TV show cutscenes that were very satisfying.

But the development time of this game far exceeded Remedy's imagination. From making the game to releasing it, it took seven years, which is very rare in the game industry. However, after the game was released, it received rave reviews, and players thought that the work was outstanding in terms of narrative, game pacing, and atmosphere. In addition, "Alan Wake" won first place in the "Top 10 Games of 2010" published by Time magazine.

The protagonist Alan is a best-selling thriller novel writer. He has not had inspiration to write for two years. Therefore, at the suggestion of his wife Alice and his agent Barry, he decided to go on vacation to Bright Falls, a mountainous town in Washington, with his wife to relax. After they arrived, Alan asked an unknown woman in the restaurant for the key and map to the vacation cabin, but he didn't care that she was not the owner arranged to meet by Alice. Later, they stayed in a cabin on a small island in Cauldron Lake.

Just as they were unpacking, Alan discovered that Alice had brought his typewriter with him, and her purpose for arranging this vacation was actually to let Alan change his environment to create. She even set up an appointment for Alan to consult with local psychologist Hartman. Alan left the cabin in anger, but because he heard Alice's sudden cry for help, he ran back to check. It was too late. He saw Alice's shadow in the lake, so he jumped into the water without hesitation. The game officially began at this point.

A week later, Alan woke up from a car crash between the mountains. Although it was obvious that he had crashed the car into the roadside, he had no memory of how he got there. He tried to walk back to town but was chased by shadow-like monsters on the way. The titles of the original manuscript scattered in the map were "Departure," and the author's signature was Alan himself. However, Alan did not remember that he had written this novel. After returning to town, Alan tried to persuade Sheriff Sarah to believe that Alice was missing, but Sarah told him that the small island on Cauldron Lake had disappeared due to an earthquake after a long-ago volcanic eruption.

While staying at the police station, Alan received a call from a kidnapper claiming to have kidnapped Alice. The kidnapper demanded that Alan meet him in a nearby national park and use the original manuscript of "Departure" as the ransom for Alice. Barry also arrived in the town and wanted to help Alan retrieve his memories from the past week. That night, Alan arrived at the meeting place, and the kidnapper demanded the manuscript as the price to release Alice. Alan had no choice but to try to write or find the remaining original manuscript. Therefore, when he received a message from Rose, a female waitress in the restaurant, claiming to have obtained his manuscript, he went to the campsite with Barry. However, they were drugged and knocked out by Rose, who was possessed by the darkness.

Alan woke up at night and found that FBI agent Nightingale had come to arrest them. To avoid breaking the appointment with the kidnapper, Alan had to leave Barry behind to escape. Although Alan broke through the obstacles of the dark monsters and arrived at the designated location, the kidnapper did not show up until late at night, telling him to change the meeting place. In anger and suspicion, Alan went to Mirror Peak to find the kidnapper. However, there was no Alice, only the kidnapper crouched in fear on the ground, as if afraid of something. Then Alan and the kidnapper were both swallowed by a dark tornado.

After waking up in Hartman's lakeside mansion, Alan discovered that the kidnapper was actually hired by Hartman, and they did not kidnap Alice. At this point, the dark shadow suddenly attacked the mansion, and Alan and Barry successfully escaped at the last moment. In order to find the clue given by the Anderson brothers, the two went to Anderson Farm and found the record created by the Anderson brothers in the past. From the song, Alan was sure that he had to find Cynthia, the "Lady of Light," to save Alice.

Two people who decided to spend the night on the farm fell into a deep sleep after drinking the Anderson brothers' private brew. At the same time, they awakened Allen's lost memories of the previous week, and the diver, Thomas, whom Allen had written into the original manuscript as a force of light to combat the control of the dark shadow. However, when they woke up, they were caught by Nightingale detectives. Due to their excessive behavior, Sheriff Sarah was quite dissatisfied with Nightingale, and the Nightingale detective was swallowed by darkness in front of the three of them. Sarah finally decided to trust Allen and escaped the pursuit of the dark shadow with Allen and Barry.

Allen, Barry, and Sarah followed the clues to find "the light woman" Cynthia, who lived around a power plant surrounded by light to avoid the attack of the dark shadow. She led Allen to the "chamber of light" that could defeat the dark shadow. Allen found that it was the "magical switch" he had given to Alice. Although it looked like an ordinary part, it was full of magical power because of Allen's writing.

So Allen decided to return to Cauldron Lake alone and use the magical switch to destroy the dark shadow, complete the original manuscript of "Departure" to save Alice, and restore the tranquility of the town. After defeating the dark shadow, Allen jumped into the lake and continued to complete the original manuscript of "Departure" after returning to the cabin in the lake. When Alice woke up and swam to the shore, Allen was still in the cabin and was sealed.

The following two specials "Signal" and "Writer" continued the content of the original story. After saving Alice, Allen himself was trapped in the dark depths of the cabin; Allen's body lost control because it was full of darkness. With the help of Zane and Phantom Barry, rational Allen tried to escape from the dark depths. Finally, he returned to the cabin, rescued himself on the verge of collapse, and decided to start writing the sequel to "Departure" - "Return".

The Follow-up

After the release of "Max Payne 2", Remedy Studios spent some time "overcoming financial difficulties" and started proposing ideas for new projects. One of these plans was "Alan Wake".

Remedy developers stated that "Alan Wake" would be released on "next-generation gaming consoles and personal computers", but for the four years after the public debut, the developers only showcased the Windows version of the game. It was not until 2009 that Remedy officially announced that they had only developed a version for Xbox 360, and it was up to Microsoft to decide whether or not to make a PC version. Although Microsoft decided to cancel the PC version when the Xbox 360 version was released, the Remedy development team still hoped to release a PC version and continued to pressure Microsoft. They finally received permission in 2011.

Initially, Remedy planned to design Bright Falls as an open world where players could roam freely, but after six months of trial, the development team decided to abandon this option because it conflicted with the game's pacing and thriller narrative, causing players to feel disjointed while playing. In addition, in order to present the environment and setting of the Pacific Northwest in the game, Remedy sent a production team to the area to take a large number of photos and videos.

Tributes

The reason why the story of "Alan Wake" is so fascinating is not only because it allows players to enter the familiar yet unfamiliar profession of a writer but also because it is influenced by many movies, TV shows, and books. In addition to alluding to some of them in the plot, it is also a tribute to some artists and works. Remedy stated that the game they designed was meant to allow players to find familiar elements in the game and provide surprises. One of the biggest sources of inspiration for the game was best-selling author Stephen King. The protagonist in the game is also a writer, and his works come true in his real life, which was inspired by Stephen King's original idea in several of his works. In addition, some of the lines spoken by the main character Alan in the game directly mention Stephen King, and in the game's opening animation, Alan quotes a line he said in a thriller movie review.

Many scenes and elements in the game are based on the movie "The Shining," adapted from Stephen King's novel. For example, when Alan is being chased by Stucky, he hides in a cabin and locks the door, but Stucky chops through the door with an axe. There is also a scene in a garden maze that resembles the movie. Many players have noticed these similarities and enjoy finding these "easter eggs." Stephen King received a copy of the game as a gift, but he couldn't play it because he didn't have an Xbox 360.

The game's setting in Bright Falls is based on the TV show "Twin Peaks," directed by David Lynch in the early 1990s. The "Lady of Light" holding a lamp and the "Log Lady" from "Twin Peaks" have similar appearances.

Some of the inspiration for "Alan Wake" comes from the book "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, which is a horror-romance novel with a satirical twist. The apartment in the book corresponds to the unusual spaces in the game, and the layout and narrative structure of the book correspond to the game's story. The "fictional manuscript" that appears in the book also corresponds to the manuscript that Alan finds during his adventure.

The flock of crows that attack the protagonist in the game is based on the movie "The Birds" by suspense director Alfred Hitchcock, in which a flock of birds attacks humans.

The game also imitates the black and white visuals, opening animations, and special narration style of the TV show "The Twilight Zone," which first aired in the 1950s. It becomes a recurring TV show in the game called "Night Springs."