Remedy Entertainment has seen a lot of press in the past few months, due to the October release of its’ next title, Alan Wake 2. However, despite attention surrounding the sequel, Sam Lake, the creative director for the game, recently explained how Stephen King’s generosity led to the inclusion of the opening quote in the original Alan Wake title. If you’re a long time fan of the Alan Wake franchise, or perhaps you played Alan Wake: Remastered recently, then you likely remember the horror author’s prose when Wake introduces himself to the player. If you do not recall the quote, the title character says the following:
“Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear. In a horror story, the victim keeps asking ‘why?’ But there can be no explanation, and there shouldn’t be one,” Wake explains, “The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we’ll remember in the end. My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer.”
This then leads into the open of the game, where Wake is traveling with his wife to Bright Falls, Washington in an attempt to cure his writer’s block. While you might think King’s quote from the game is from one of his well known books such as: It, The Shinning, or Carrie, it does not come from one of his famous properties at all. Instead, the quote is actually from an essay King wrote for Entertainment Weekly in 2008 titled, “Why Hollywood Can’t Do Horror”
SEE: Alan Wake 2’s Developers Championing Single Player Games, Putting Story and Experience First
Lake explained in an interview with Eurogamer at Summer Game Fest that the developers at Remedy Entertainment “desperately wanted a quote from [Stephen King] to start it off.” He further admitted King “…wanted $1 for us to get the rights to use it.” So, King allowed Alan Wake that iconic opening quote and it only cost the team at Remedy a single dollar. To say Stephen King’s generosity is big is an understatement, as he easily could have commanded a much higher fee!
How Stephen King Is Still Influencing Alan Wake and Why the Sequel Will Take the Game’s Horror to the Next Level
The Stephen King quote at the beginning of Alan Wake is just the tip of the iceberg for how King has inspired the game franchise. King and David Lynch are two inspirations creators Sam Lake and Kyle Rowley cite when talking about Alan Wake. There is a deep love for the horror genre, which has inspired the series, and certainly adds another layer to the quote at the beginning of the first game.
Lake and Rowley have both explained in recent interviews they will be putting story first in Alan Wake 2. There will be fewer jump scares and instead more attention is given to environmental and psychological horror. They want to ensure any time there is suspense in the game, it is used as a tool to continue the story, opposed to being a cheap tool for fright.
The sequel title will also be using new and exciting game mechanics to bring players even closer to the characters they control. In Alan Wake 2, players will not only control title character, Alan Wake, they will also play as FBI Agent Saga Anderson. Both characters will be available for the gamer to switch with at any time, except for the beginning and end of the game. There has been a lot of work put into the title, with Remedy Entertainment even making the controversial decision to do a digital-only release, so more time and money could be focused on quality.
Alan Wake 2 releases on October 17, 2023 and will land on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The horror survival title will run on Northlight Engine and play in third-person perspective.
What do you think of the generosity of Stephen King sharing his quote with the developers of Alan Wake? Are you excited for the next installment in the Alan Wake franchise? What are you most looking forward to when it finally releases? Be sure to share your thoughts about the game in the comments.
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