I've been looking forward to Alan Wake since at least 2006. The survival horror/adventure has a great setting - think Twin Peaks – and huge potential. But things have been very quiet over the last year. Until now. Ok, don't get too excited but at least *something* is happening. Developer Remedy have been posting snippets of text on their forum – Alan Wake is a novelist in the game – and desperate fans have been taking what ever crumbs they can get. So what does it say?
The amount of pages keeps growing each night. There are also new edits on the old pages. They keep getting more aggressive. The story is rewriting itself. The protagonist is now my namesake, and his wife is called Alice. The most worrying aspect: the genre seems to be shifting. It's turning into a horror story. I can no longer be certain whether the hero can succeed or even survive. Apart for jumbled fragments of bad dreams and an oppressive feeling, I can remember nothing of the process when I wake up. But this morning, a breakthrough! When I came to my senses, I could smell her perfume on my shirt. I am close. I know it. I must push on.- Alan Wake
Yes, it's a marketing/PR stunt but such is the clamour for anything Wake related that some will lap it up. Me? I just want see something new– anything will do – of the game itself. Rumours persist that the game may finally be shown at GDC but Wake fans have learnt not to hold their breath. Alan Wake has the potential to be one of the games of the year. Let's hope it's this one.
Alan Wake then – still excited? Or have you simply given up caring?
