Alan Wake 'levels' structured like episodes of a television series

by Xav de Matos { Jun 8th 2009 at 6:00PM }

Following our eyes-only demo of Alan Wake, Remedy lead writer Sam Lake explained the game's levels are structured like a television series season. "The story is divided into episodes," Lake told the small group of journalists viewing the extended Microsoft E3 2009 keynote demo. Prior to the beginning of each level the game will showcase a video Lake described as a "Previously On... segment," to remind players of the important story elements from previous episodes and what relates to the next level the player will experience -- which sounds identical to the storytelling mechanic in Atari's Alone in the Dark.

"It's not a level based game," Lake told the group. "We have a large game world, but the story guides you. So, there is a logical pathway for the player." Lake also explained that, while Alan Wake will tell one linear story, the game will feature "a lot of exploration" for players interested in "digging deeper" into the back story of the universe.

Gallery: Alan Wake

Tags: alan-wake, microsoft, remedy, sam-lake

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Shagittarius @ Jun 8th 2009 6:04PM

Alone in the Silent Wake: Electric Light Boogaloo

chrisnick @ Jun 8th 2009 6:28PM

alone in the dark was the worst game i've ever played......and i had the ps3 version...i saw alan wake and it reminded me of that.....so to be fair, i'll just wait for a review then i'll see if i'll buy it or not.

Wilhelm @ Jun 8th 2009 9:02PM

Alone In The Dark gets a lot of hate... I liked it. :(

Retrodude @ Jun 9th 2009 3:47PM

Alone in the Dark is definitely a misunderstood game. I also have the PS3 version, and I think it's awesome--a total sleeper. Sure some of the game mechanics are slightly awkward, but you could say the same about all the GTA games, and it doesn't detract from the overall experience. Some of the ideas in Alone in the Dark are revolutionary, and like the best Spielberg movies, the action set pieces are incredible (especially the final level, which looks like it's taken straight out Indiana Jones). I was almost turned off of playing this game because of all the negative press--thank God I picked it up when I saw it on sale. Stop hating on this game and play it with an open mind people!

Shagittarius @ Jun 9th 2009 5:19PM

I made it to the final level and when the game crashed on the way down it started me over again on THE ENTIRE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK to drive all the way over to it again. I vowed I would never boot that game again.

The entire last 3 chapters were an exercise in frustration, the rest of the game was ok.

Chad Vanderbilt (Moptimus in Disguise) @ Jun 8th 2009 6:10PM

so its a game about a man who travels to a weird town looking for something and each level is set up like an episode? Thats it?

Lazy. They need to go the whole 9 yards and give him a camera which he uses to vanquish spirits

meatee @ Jun 8th 2009 6:13PM

This is also pretty similar to Siren: Blood Curse on PS3 (albeit some of the 'Episodes' in that game are a bit on the short side). I enjoyed this setup in Siren, so hopefully it'll work out well with Alan Wake.

carg0 @ Jun 8th 2009 6:19PM

sorry but i lost all interest when he broke out the shotgun and it became Silent Gears of Hill Wars.

ryan @ Jun 8th 2009 6:26PM

Alright, here's a podium. Tell the people how to do an Alan Wake game or what we should expect from an Alan Wake game.

Danzaiver @ Jun 8th 2009 6:36PM

This game isn't like Silent Hill

Alan Wake is a Psychological Action Thriller, not a horror game, or a survival game.

They said that like the first time they show the game on E3 on 2005.

Jcarpio @ Jun 8th 2009 6:42PM

Plus they showed one snippet of the game.

Dowse @ Jun 8th 2009 6:45PM

Silent Gears of Hill Wars wasn't even witty.

343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 8th 2009 6:26PM

I still have high hopes, I think the Pacific Northwest will at least make a good setting.

stukorn @ Jun 8th 2009 6:31PM

They should rename this 'alan in the dark'

LaughingTarget @ Jun 8th 2009 7:14PM

Agree here. Alone in the Dark's TV episode system was lame.

PSN: John-Paul-Jones @ Jun 8th 2009 6:34PM

Hopefully the entire city is still explorable regardless of the episode being played, as opposed to certain areas only available on a certain episode. The game looks extremely impressive and moreso if we're allowed to explore everything. There's just something about towns in the middle of the forest that really attracts the beauty of it

why not the LS2LS7? @ Jun 8th 2009 6:38PM

Oddly, TV is called "episodic" when you can view the shows in any order without losing much (i.e. there is no overarching plot development) and "serial" when you have to know what happened before and thus need "last time on" segments.

Discotheque @ Jun 8th 2009 6:39PM

Can't wait for this game.

It would have been cooler if each level was a chapter of his novel, rather than a new episode.

russtophiles @ Jun 8th 2009 6:56PM

This emerging trend of trying to make games like TV needs to stop. Not only does it destroy immersion and constantly break the 4th wall by reminding you 'Hey, you're playing a video game!' in games that need it the least (horror), but it's trying to make games into something they're not. I can't wait until they start showing obnoxious, unskippable interstitial ads in games, to give it that 'authentic' TV watching experience!

DJcube @ Jun 8th 2009 6:57PM

Sounds annoying (however small). Then again, I don't like it on TV shows either. Hopefully there's a skip option.

Diskoboy7 @ Jun 8th 2009 8:32PM

Two words: TWIN PEAKS.

j.howlett @ Jun 8th 2009 8:44PM

will there be backwards talking dwarfs

Diskoboy7 @ Jun 8th 2009 8:57PM

You never know.....

Everytime I see the trailer, I feel like I'm watching Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Minus Laura Palmer.

Ceora @ Jun 8th 2009 11:57PM

Welcome to Alan Wake.. a story about a writer who is afraid of the dark and kills the shadows with his magical flashlight!

yolarrydabomb @ Jun 9th 2009 12:12AM

BORING!

(clicks next page)

MichaelG @ Jun 9th 2009 1:45AM

Video games are the only visual narrative medium where you can have an almost uninterrupted experience for twenty hours. Games use all sorts of tricks to keep players up to speed on the stories (if it even matters). Xenosaga and Mass Effect have huge in-game encyclopedias, many RPGs have NPCs who repeat key information every time you talk to them, and plenty of games have cutscene viewers so you can go back and check out the story stuff you might have forgotten about.

"Previously On..." is a great way to catch up on crucial story aspects if, let's say, you put the game down for two weeks because of school or work. It's also a nice throwback to the types of TV shows that clearly inspired the game.

MichaelG @ Jun 9th 2009 1:47AM

For the record, I also really liked Alone in the Dark. I know that discredits my statements in a lot of eyes but I am not ashamed.

eddyk @ Jun 9th 2009 7:04AM

Hopefully Alan Wake will be what Alone In The Dark should have been ...

ImbecilePete @ Jun 9th 2009 7:55AM

you mean non-existant?

coinop25 @ Jun 9th 2009 10:35AM

I think Alone in the Dark could have been a pretty good game if it weren't for the completely bollocksed controls and endless repetition following ridiculous spikes in the difficulty curve. (And I really appreciated the episodic structure and "Previously on…" reminders, as I can only devote so much time to gaming each day, or each week.)

Alex @ Jun 9th 2009 10:15AM

This is gonna be a larf.

Frojo @ Jun 9th 2009 12:45PM

gosh, i couldn't help but thinking this looked too much like alone in the dark at E3. That game was the biggest dissapointment i've ever had in a game. I pre-ordered the special edition and was super excited and then i got to the stupid roots part and wanted to kill it with some sort of blunt object.