After delay upon delay, Alan Wake is finally almost upon us. And despite the psychological thriller's postponements, excitement surrounding the game seems to be hitting fever pitch.
CVG catches up with Microsoft product marketing manager Laura Disney to ask all about the game's impending release...
We're not used to MS bringing out 'psychological thrillers'. How does this genre work as a game?
While some players will of course prefer to label the game as a 'horror', Alan Wake is more about a strong atmosphere rather than typical horror elements like blood and gore.
It's unique and gripping story - heavily influenced by pop culture classics - is brought to life using techniques reminiscent of modern movies and TV shows. The goal of Alan Wake is create an intense experience for the player, and though 'psychological thriller' might not be a genre we are used to applying to games, Alan Wake is definitely not something you've experienced before.
What will make Alan Wake stand out against this year's crop of incredible games?
2010 is set to be a fantastic year for gaming, and Alan Wake will be no exception. The atmosphere of the game will create an immersive experience for the player, and the episodic nature will truly imitate the feeling of being drawn into your favourite TV show.
Elements of light and dark will also shape the game in mysterious ways leaving the player unsure as to where they are safe and where they are not...
Gamers have had a mighty long wait for AW. Why has the title taken such a long time to materialise?
Alan Wake is on track from a development standpoint and will play an important role in our Spring 2010 game portfolio. Remedy Entertainment have put a huge amount of work into the title and have really polished the game over the last few months.
As we are committed to delivering the very best and most innovative gaming experiences we can, our release will be driven by our own quality standards rather than a timeline.
Has its long duration in development hindered the game in any way - do any parts look 'dated'?
Throughout development, Remedy has continued to polish and refine Alan Wake to maintain its look and feel throughout. Remedy has a clear impression of what the gamers expect from a AAA title and have worked the make sure that this is evident in the final version.
What in Alan Wake will really blow gamers away?
The time Remedy has spent on Alan Wake is indicative of the final result players can expect to see. The storyline will run as a driving factor throughout the game, creating an atmosphere that captivates the player in a way that many straight-out horror games do not.
Alan Wake will blur the lines between video gaming and television, and play on the strengths of both to create something truly compelling.
Are you anticipating AW enduring as a franchise - with DLC and sequels in the future?
As Robbie Bach announced at CES earlier this month, the episodic nature of Alan Wake will see DLC become available for title later in the year. As for a sequel, we'll have to wait and see.
Comments
12 comments so far...
StonecoldMC on 29 Jan '10 said:
Remedy themselves have stated they want Alan Wake to be their new Franchise (after selling Max Payne to Take Two).
Its going to have its release date announced at X10 though isnt it
?
Simply. Can't. Wait!
Dajmin on 29 Jan '10 said:
I'm still a bit dubious about this suddenly being marketed as "episodic". If they've been working on it for like 4 years, when was this decision made? I'm interested in the story, but if the main story is all done and they've just chopped it up for the sake of making extra releases it seems a little unfair on their customers.
It's selling on the strength of Max Payne right now, make no mistake. If the content doesn't balance out against the payment people won't stand by them.
newsinthefield on 29 Jan '10 said:
Sorry, but that woman actually sounds like a computer. How does she socialise?!
Red_Avatar on 29 Jan '10 said:
Erm why is this on the PC Gamer front page? It's not even going to be released on PC!
StonecoldMC on 29 Jan '10 said:
No need to worry
, these are some quotes from Remedy on the Official Forum:
"We're crunching away like mad to make sure AW is going to be the best possible game it can be. We are not going to be holding back on anything.
It's going to be a great game. Trust me - I've seen it"
"I have so much to say on this but I'll only say now that the plans for what content is on the DVD were not altered in any way due to the new episodes.
I think we can have some fun doing them. So that you'd have more fun playing them."
As you say Dajmin this is Remedy Games, creators of Max Payne. This Game is in very, very safe hands
.
Picnic12 on 29 Jan '10 said:
'the episodic nature will truly imitate the feeling of being drawn into your favourite TV show.'
If your favourite TV show is Family Fortunes it's not going to sell Alan Wake very well.
The last minute announcement of episodes will draw even more unwanted comparisons with the Xbox360 version of Alone in the dark.
Episodes seem a way of saying 'If you don't like this bit, don't worry as you can skip to the next bit shortly'. That doesn't shout of a particularly immersive environment.
I'm still feeling 8/10 average reviews here. I hope that I am shown to have been too cautious.
It'd be nice if there were some in-references to Max Payne. There are similarities between the 2 characters- separated temporarly or permanently from their family. Max Payne looks a bit physically similar to the Max Payne from Max Payne 2.
syphilis on 29 Jan '10 said:
I usually think of 'interview' as a face to face or at least telephone thing. This sounds more like an email or something. If she really talks like that I'd love to see it, sitcom material methinks.
SICARIUS1 on 29 Jan '10 said:
Looks pretty good actually.
yerbluesjohn on 30 Jan '10 said:
Reads like a very boring press release with questions thrown in before each paragraph.
StonecoldMC on 30 Jan '10 said:
Keep this one quiet, but this is a wee bit of info about the type of books that Alan has written in the past: he "made a career of writing bestselling crime thrillers set in New York City where the protagonist was a hardboiled cop,"
Sound familiar.? It just gets better and better
.
SKUNKKEY on 31 Jan '10 said:
this is looking very promising,i hope its released on pc as when they demoed it on a quad pc it looked stunning,also it was specifically built for a quad core,but ive heard it might get canned on pc.im geting this game either way,but i would prefer it on the pc
spam23 on 2 Feb '10 said:
Classic mistake of 'interview by email' with a soulless robot from an advertising department.