24-Nov-2006 New light shed on Remedy's horror-thriller as the veil of secrecy is ripped aside
Alan Partridge. Alan Green. Alan Whicker. Alan Bennett. There really have been some top-drawer Alans over the years, but none quite so unsettling and genuinely frightening as Alan Wake (well, apart from Alan Titchmarsh, but we'll skip over him for the sake of argument.)
The incredibly nice chaps at Remedy, who will forever be lauded and worshipped in PC ZONE for making our favourite actionadventure title Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne, have finally emerged from their Finnish hidey-hole to reveal further tantalising details on their beautiful new game. And I mean it when I say beautiful - take a drooling gawp at the screenshots over the next pages and nod in agreement. Are you nodding? Then we'll continue with a bit of background...
Alan Wake is an American writer, and after meeting his girlfriend Alice, starts to experience strange dreams which he uses as material for his first book, a psychological thriller. The novel practically writes itself and becomes a best-seller, but Alice vanishes without trace after publication. Wake then starts to suffer from severe insomnia, and in desperation seeks out a private sleep clinic outside the small town of Bright Falls, Washington. However, here he begins to see glimpses of Alice, and horrible words in his own handwriting appear in his notebooks while he sleeps. Not only that, but there now seems to be something dark, something evil hunting him in the shadows of Bright Falls...
EVERYTHING CHANGES
The Remedy team begin by giving us a quick aerial tour of the massive outdoor environments that we were first blown away by at the Wake unveiling at E3 2005, displaying almost photo-realistic detail. "We have a pretty impressive level of world simulation, with day/night time and weather patterns," says creative director Petri Järvilehto. "The cool thing about that is that the player can be in the same area that he's explored many times earlier and it can still feel completely different. Almost any environment can be transformed from a picture-postcard view into claustrophobic and spooky surroundings."
WHO LEFT THE FAN ON?
To demonstrate, a sunny, midday view of mountains and a calm lake is transformed instantly into a scene at sunset with blustery wind making thousands of rendered trees sway in the distance. We're also shown an incredible real-time sequence where a tornado rips through a built-up area, destroying all in its path.
We then zoom down from above to where Alan Wake is standing, and are given our first look at an early mission from the game, when Alan has to collect the keys to his cabin-retreat where he plans to write his second book. Alan climbs into his car, and rather like Grand Theft Auto, a mission summary and direction-arrow are shown at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, as Wake himself narrates over the action.
"Missions are built around a single linear storyline, so that the player always knows how to progress, but then there are other story fragments spread all around the world - smaller games for the player to mess around with," continues Järvilehto. "While we allow for free-roaming exploration, we don't want you to get lost or frustrated."
Unsettling piano music is playing as Alan drives to the gas station to meet the mechanic holding the key, who's busy fixing a car engine. As Alan approaches, the mechanic is startled, but then slowly recognises our hero: "You're that writer guy." The strange mechanic gives the key to Alan, then challenges him: "Must be tough. Knowing that your words will... Change things." "You read too much," quips Alan. "I only write to entertain people."
THE HITCHER
Alan Wake is episodic, but only in the structure of the game, which is modelled on multiple seasons of TV series', with episodes containing multiple missions, cliffhanger endings and an ensemble cast of characters with very different backgrounds and personalities. Yep, you can relax - there'll be no six-monthly downloadable updates to contend with.
On with the playable mission, and as Alan drives to the cabin, he reveals through voice-over that his new book is about a writer, who, after a tragic loss, goes to live in a secluded cabin where he creates a horror story about creatures of darkness disguised as men. However, when the writer leaves the cabin he discovers the world has turned into the nightmare he's written. Alan's story begins with the writer picking up a hitch-hiker on the way to the cabin - and right on cue, the spooky piano music strikes up again and a real hitchhiker is spotted on the road ahead. "That's creepy..." says Alan.
PAPERBACK WRITER
"Alan Wake is the narrator of the game, very much in the style of a narrator in a novel," says lead writer Sam Lake. "He's perfect for the job, because he's a storyteller by profession. In essence, that means that the player could well be playing Wake's next book."
Of course, Wake picks up the shabby hitcher and begins telling him about the fact he's a writer, and that his story has a hitch-hiker in it. "The hitch-hiker's a killer of course," says the creepy guy in a gruff drawl. "No," replies Alan. "The hitch-hiker gets killed. Then he comes back, or something, a creature of darkness that haunts the writer." Alan drives on, but then is stopped in his tracks - ahead, on the road, a car has overturned, the result of an accident.
Alan pulls up, and gets out of his vehicle to examine the wreckage - there are bloodstains on the road, but no-one around. Suddenly, a lorry hurtles round the corner and smashes into his car with the hitcher still inside, as Alan has to frantically dive to safety, losing consciousness. He starts to hear voices, then wakes up - it's now dark and he has a gun and torch in his hands, and the hitch-hiker is nowhere to be seen. Alan still has to reach the cabin, now on foot, which is up on a nearby hill and across a rickety wooden bridge, which he bravely skips across.
The camera cuts to a first-person shimmering view of the bridge, as we hear a horrific whispered voice: "Waaaaaake!" The enemy zooms Evil Dead-style towards the other side of the bridge, causing a streetlight to shatter. Alan starts to run on the path up towards the cabin, pursued by the unseen enemy, as each street lamp that he passes explodes and plunges the area into more darkness. Wake turns around and shines the torch at the creature, allowing him to shoot at a shadowy human form that recoils in agony.
SEEN THE LIGHT
"Darkness equals terror and danger for Alan," adds Järvilehto. "Enemies seem to be invincible, but light reveals enemies as they truly are and makes them vulnerable. There are many different light sources in the game, so that way we can offer a lot of variation how you combine light with combat."
Back to the heart-stopping demo, and as the chaotic music rises to a crescendo, Wake runs the rest of the way, more lights smashing as he moves past them on the path to the cabin. Finally, he reaches the hideaway, but we can see from outside that all the bulbs in the rooms are exploding, creating more darkness. Trapped, Alan turns around, and as the screen fades to black we hear a voice say: "Wake, we have a common destination..."
WAKE UP
Alan Wake is looking fantastic, but the new presentation has raised even more questions about gameplay, such as the weapons you'll have access to. "Wake knows how to use a gun, as he used to work as a nightwatchman, among other things, before he became a famous writer. However, when it comes to guns, he's definitely no Max Payne," answers Lake. "Resources are definitely limited, which is one of the ways we can build suspense. Bright Falls is famous for its annual Deerfest, so there are a few hunting rifles around, but you won't be tripping over ammo boxes. Although there is that army base outside the town..."
Also, what about the horror aspect: will there be full-on blood and gore in Alan Wake? "We're not making a horror game, we're making a thriller, and as such, suspense and anticipation are vital ingredients in creating the mood and the atmosphere in the game," continues Lake. "There will be horrific and surreal sights - the game contains wild, hallucinatory dream sequences, for example - but we feel confident that you can make them without resorting to gore. In fact, we feel that you can make the game more suspenseorientated and scary without that."
We're running out of time, so as we get up to leave the presentation room and collect the smart souvenir Alan Wake-branded torch (check out Tat Zone on p35 issue #175 if you want a chance to bid for it), I ask Sam Lake about the frightening shadowy foes in the game - who are they, and why are they tormenting poor old bleary-eyed Alan?
"The nature of Wake's enemies is at the very core of the mystery - what are they and where are they from? They seem to be linked to Wake's dreams and writing, but at the same time appear to be tied to Bright Falls. Are they real at all, or is Wake going mad and imagining the whole thing? You'll have to play the game to find out..."
