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[StephaneC]

Jeux Expo : What can you say about the game scenario ? Which will be the role of Alan in this story ?

SL: Alan Wake is a bestselling horror writer. Early on in his career, his fiancée was his muse. When he'd first met her, he had started to see strange dreams which he used as material for his first book. The book was a big success. It was a dream come true. But then Wake’s fiancée vanished without a trace. Wake was devastated. After that, he couldn't write anymore. His dreams stopped and he began to suffer from insomnia.

At the beginning of the game, Wake travels to a sleep clinic to seek treatment for his condition. The secluded clinic is located near the small town of Bright Falls, Washington, far away from the stressful urban lifestyle.

Receiving treatment at the clinic, Wake is able to sleep again. At the clinic, he meets a mysterious woman who is the very image of his missing fiancée, uncannily so. At once, his dreams return, this time as terrible nightmares. Wake begins to write again: a new book based on those nightmares. But something is horribly, horribly wrong. Impossibly, the town of Bright Falls starts to change to something awful that bears a close resemblance to Wake’s new book. Wake ends up fighting for his life with a gun and a flashlight in his hands, trying to understand what’s happening.

http://www.jeuxpo.com/alan-wake-english.php (full in english)
http://www.jeuxpo.com/alan-wake.php (full in french)

 

[Ninja Scooter]

i liked this story better when it was called...

THAT ONE MOVIE WITH JOHNNY DEPP THAT CAME OUT RECENTLY! YOU KNOW, THE ONE WHERE HE HAS THE HAIR!

 

[B'z-chan]

I liked this story more when it was called Silent Hill 2. They share too much in common, just from first impressions. It better be more pyschological alla Silent Hill 1 mixed with some Max Payne.

Damnit i want another Max Payne game.

 

[Lord Error]

Doesn't this seem like almost a carbon copy of Silent Hill idea/story?

*edit* too late...

 

[element]

Alan Wake was awesome. Don't mess with it.

 

[black_13]

i liked this story better when it was called...

http://www.kinoweb.de/film98/Senseless/pix/spade.jpg
THAT ONE MOVIE WITH JOHNNY DEPP THAT CAME OUT RECENTLY! YOU KNOW, THE ONE WHERE HE HAS THE HAIR!

My thought exactly. The story is like a mix of The Secret Window and Silent Hill 2.

Nevertheless, I loved Max Payne and Remedy's work so I'm sure this will be good as well.


As for Max Payne 3, unless Remedy and Take Two manage to get along again then we won't be seeing a Max Payne 3 or at least a MP3 that's good.

 

[Lord Error]

Alan Wake was awesome. Don't mess with it.

Are there any videos of this game available (except for that teaser trailer)? I've heard it was very good at the show. Still, doesn't change the fact that the story seems derivative as hell, of the most known game in the horror genre at that...

 

[border]

Yes, it sounds uhhhhh, very "inspired by" the Silent Hill series.

I would rather have Remedy working on another Max Payne....particularly since this game sounds like it follows the worst parts of Max Payne (nightmarish dream sequence).

 

[Kiriku]

As much as I love Max Payne, I think this sounds excellent. I'm confident Remedy will deliver, the game seems right up their alley.

A friend of mine (also a Max Payne fan) saw the Alan Wake presentation at E3, and he said it was awesome. The weater effects and the way day turns into night was very impressive. He also said that in the game, you have to hide inside before night arrives...because during night, Alan Wake see his own hideous creations from his books come to life and hunt him down.

I agree it sounds like the Silent Hill series, but I think that's a great source of inspiration in terms of story and atmosphere, and I'm sure Remedy will have enough original ideas (and good gameplay) to separate it from SH.

 

[Mrbob]

Yes, it sounds uhhhhh, very "inspired by" the Silent Hill series.

I would rather have Remedy working on another Max Payne....particularly since this game sounds like it follows the worst parts of Max Payne (nightmarish dream sequence).

This is a bit unfair. Yeah there is some problems with the nightmare sequence in Max Payne but it is only a little part of a bigger game. I'm sure Remedy has learned from their mistakes of the past.

For the most part I enjoyed Max Payne 1 and 2. Can't wait to see what Remedy has cooking in this new series.

 

[StephaneC]

last pics from Valo was very good

 

[Keio]

Having seen the E3 demo, I think it's safe to say that technologically Remedy has already hit a home run. Now it's just down to game design.

A mixture of Twin Peaks, Silent Hill and Stephen King novels sounds good - and I have no doubt Sam Lake can write a good script for the game.

The biggest hurdle is probably integrating freeform gameplay in an open world to a horror athmosphere. GTA-like games usually tend to edge more towards comedy than seriousness so this could be a first...

 

[Chittagong]

I saw the E3 presentation - this game is awesome.

The physics and lighting play a significant role in the game, demonstrated by real-time changes of daytime and fully interactive objects such as playground swings.

The lighting is absolutely stunning and unlike anything I've ever seen before. Even the mountains cast volumetric shadows - from an birdeye perspective it looks stunning, and down on the ground you might have a streetlong shadow.

The game was said to be built very much around the day-night cycle - during nights the nightmares creep in, while during days it' safer to explore.

As for the plot, as pointed out, closest videogame plot seems to be Silent Hill 2 (luckily I considered it the best in the entire series!).

However, there are differences to Silent Hill setting, too. Biggest one being that Alan Wake is based in a more Twin Peaks like setting, which in full daylight is charming, but turns into a scene for nightmares during nights (it just happens that Twin Peaks is my alltime favourite TV series!).

My GOTS E3 2005, by far. One of the few truly next generation games I saw.

 

[op_ivy]

damn, sounds like i really missed out at e3 in not seeing this. sounds really cool. i'll second someone else, where is the e3 media for this game?

 

[dorio]

Any videos from the e3 presentation?

 

[Keio]

I think www.alanwake.com has all the links to officially available stuff, but check the forums over there: they have a few extra links to scans etc.

 

[eso76]

I like it.
There's some silent hill (actually, it's not like silent hill invented the "girl who happens to be the main character's dead wife very image ") but the subject seems to be handled in a very different way this time around.
More David Lynch-esque, i'd say and i surely hope there's fewer (or NO) monsters and more exploration/adventure.
Could be nice.

To those who've tried it, how much freedom are you given to roam about ? is there a set path, or is it more like, say, morrowind ?

 

[Chittagong]

It was not playable, it was a presentation narrated by the writer and played by the lead designer. The cabinet was extremely small, just enough to house around ten people. Possibilities of somebody taping it - I'd say fat chance.

The que was very long and lot's of people (such as myself) got the vip treatment past the wait, so chances even waiting to see it were slim. Exaclty why it was this way is beyond me, it would have had potential to wow larger crowds.

EDIT: Regarding the freedom, I understood that it'd be a very freeroaming game - think GTA. They guy playing the demo crabbed a car at one point and took it through a tunnel to the sea and lighthouse. On the way he stopped the car on a mountain road to pull a lever that unleashed an avalange of logs and stones, presumably to show of physics.

At some points he panned high above the ground to show how they had modelled a huge, seamless region in the mountain area, ending into sea in the other end. You could see really far in great detail.

It will be interesting to see how they implement the missions / storyline etc.

EDIT 2: At another point he ran to the town playground and grabbed a swing.

 

[cyberheater]

I'm really looking forward to this one. The screen shots were fantastic and really show what next gen gaming is about.

I really hope they work on the multiplayer aspect of this game. It could be awesome.

 

[harry2020]

This is one of the few next-gen games that I've seen that genuinely interests me, although the story seems extremely similair to that of Silent Hill 2. It's extremely nice graphically as well, cant wait to see more of it...

 

[eso76]

Ok, i've found something about this and this went from "don't really care about" to "most wanted next gen title".

A few infos from the official forum, by someone who's witnessed the showing:

the environment of the game...... light wind trees sway slightly, grass begins to sway slightly and NATURALLY none in unison and each blade has a shadow.... then he went into storm, grass is moving a lot, trees swaying like crazy, leaves blowing everywhere, EVEN THE HUGE LAKE WAS RESPONDING TO THE WIND!!!!!!

shadow play..... He pushed a swing an looked at the ground a a real time shadow of it was being perfectly cast. He stood by a bunch of bars and stairs and changed sun properties and every singe bar cast a shadow and the shadows moved realistically in real time and crazy quality ON A RADEON!!! xbox 360 will kill this game with the graphics. it will be insane. then free camera mode and went into the hills and moved sun properties and those trees u see in the screen shots...yeah EVERY SINGLE ONE CASTS A SHADOW.
then he has a flashlight at one point and IT LOOKS LIKE A FLASHLIGHT.

Free Roam.... the environment is free roaming kinda like gta but it doesnt look like crap like gta and NO LOAD TIMES.

Physics...... At one point he blew up part of a mountain and generated a rock slide and the physics were INSANE. every rock ever branch every port-a-pottie moved diferently and reacted differently.


EDIT: Also, it seems to feature a "free flowing simulation of town life with people going about their own business"

 

[Lord Error]

Ever since I saw that old tech demo of Heavenly Sword where night and day change resulted in massive shadows crawling over anything and everything I thought that it would be neat for every next gen horror game to have something like that. I'm glad they did it in this game.

As some others said, this is one of the very few next gen games that has me genuinly intrigued, as it seems like something more than just a new coat of paint over something old.

Btw simillarities with SIlent Hill don't stop at girl who looks like wife, but also in the way monsters appaer out of the imagination of game's characters, which is the basis for the whole silent hill premise.

In any case, I'm not really holding it against the game, just pointing out. Shades of Twin Peaks are more than welcome too, as that was one of my favorite shows ever.

 

[Particle Physicist]

im getting this game. im remedy fan, and it looks awesome.

 

[PhatSaqs]

 

[Amused_To_Death]

Has Remedy picked a publisher for this game yet?

 

[Lord Error]

Damn, that guy looks like a carbon copy of Tom Cruise.

 

[cyberheater]

Ok, i've found something about this and this went from "don't really care about" to "most wanted next gen title".

A few infos from the official forum, by someone who's witnessed the showing:

the environment of the game...... light wind trees sway slightly, grass begins to sway slightly and NATURALLY none in unison and each blade has a shadow.... then he went into storm, grass is moving a lot, trees swaying like crazy, leaves blowing everywhere, EVEN THE HUGE LAKE WAS RESPONDING TO THE WIND!!!!!!

shadow play..... He pushed a swing an looked at the ground a a real time shadow of it was being perfectly cast. He stood by a bunch of bars and stairs and changed sun properties and every singe bar cast a shadow and the shadows moved realistically in real time and crazy quality ON A RADEON!!! xbox 360 will kill this game with the graphics. it will be insane. then free camera mode and went into the hills and moved sun properties and those trees u see in the screen shots...yeah EVERY SINGLE ONE CASTS A SHADOW.
then he has a flashlight at one point and IT LOOKS LIKE A FLASHLIGHT.

Free Roam.... the environment is free roaming kinda like gta but it doesnt look like crap like gta and NO LOAD TIMES.

Physics...... At one point he blew up part of a mountain and generated a rock slide and the physics were INSANE. every rock ever branch every port-a-pottie moved diferently and reacted differently.


EDIT: Also, it seems to feature a "free flowing simulation of town life with people going about their own business"

That definitetly gets my vote. Awesome...

 

[StephaneC]

im getting this game. im remedy fan, and it looks awesome.

take-two ?

 

[Keio]

No publisher yet. According to an E3 interview, they'll get one when they want to get one. After the Max Payne deals Remedy is basically one of the only development companies that can do pretty much whatever they want to.

 

[newsguy]

So is this slated for 360 launch? It would be nice to have a quality survival horror game this Nov.

 

[Keio]

Not a launch game – 2006 earliest, but my guess would be 2007.

 

[cyberheater]

I would agree. It's gonna be mid 2007 at the earlyest.

 

[super-heated plasma]

Where could they have possibly come up with such a stunningly original idea?

Regardless of similarities (even big ones) it may share with other properties, the game looks and sounds good.

 

[Amused_To_Death]

No publisher yet. According to an E3 interview, they'll get one when they want to get one. After the Max Payne deals Remedy is basically one of the only development companies that can do pretty much whatever they want to.

Just saw the Eurogamer interview, more interesting tidbits in that interview:

- AW being developed for PC, Xbox360 and PS3 (Xbox360 is easier to work with...)
- AW is indeed inspired by Stephen King novels and Twin Peaks.
- Remedy is not working with 3DR.
- They are still talking to publishers
- They worked great with Rockstar on Max Payne
- They might consider Steam-style delivery for the PC.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59460

 

[Ramirez]

Give me a new Max Payne damnit!

 

[PhatSaqs]

Just saw the Eurogamer interview, more interesting tidbits in that interview:

- AW being developed for PC, Xbox360 and PS3 (Xbox360 is easier to work with...)
- AW is indeed inspired by Stephen King novels and Twin Peaks.
- Remedy is not working with 3DR.
- They are still talking to publishers
- They worked great with Rockstar on Max Payne
- They might consider Steam-style delivery for the PC.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59460

That was a great interview.

Xbox 360 is initially easier to approach and harness all of the power of the system whereas and PS3 has more theoretical power that won't be as easily utilized by the developers.

Cool.

 

[Lord Error]

Haha, look at that politically correct answer (that doesn't answer the question)

Eurogamer: Controversy has raged recently over whether the Killzone 2 and MotorStorm PS3 videos shown off at E3 were real time gameplay videos or just over-ambitious renders. What's your opinion on the PS3 tech demos and gameplay videos? Are PS3 games really going to look that good?

Petri Järvilehto: I think both consoles will have great looking games. Xbox 360 is initially easier to approach and harness all of the power of the system whereas and PS3 has more theoretical power that won't be as easily utilized by the developers.

 

[dorio]

Give me a new Max Payne damnit!

Please don't.

We'd much rather give the players a great single-player game, than a mediocre single and multiplayer game.

I wish more developers thought this way.

Xbox 360 is initially easier to approach and harness all of the power of the system whereas and PS3 has more theoretical power that won't be as easily utilized by the developers.

Sounds like last gen.

 

[eso76]

I would agree. It's gonna be mid 2007 at the earlyest.

WHAT ?? This makes Alan go back from "most wanted" to "don't really care about YET".

But i read somewhere that the game is pretty much finished..

 

[Keio]

But i read somewhere that the game is pretty much finished..

It's not. The Remedy guys have said that "we'll be working on this/that for a few years" in a few interviews, probably hinting at 2007 release.

This is worth following, I think - this might be a properly next-gen game if they nail the game design challenges.

 

[harry2020]

It's not. The Remedy guys have said that "we'll be working on this/that for a few years" in a few interviews, probably hinting at 2007 release.

2007?? I guess people are gonna have to get used to waiting a long time for these really decent next-gen games. The amount of work required to make games like this is probably significantly more than current gen games.