Alan Wake

[Buddy]

@ThunderKeil You're right, my bad. Still, I think the term remaster doesn't apply very well here.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Buddy

[Radu]

Spoiler

 

[blackdog]

11 minutes ago, Radu said:

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Discount Jake Gyllenhaal rocks

[ZZZ]

If the game still has the same save system with checkpoints and chapters that you have to play from the beginning it'll be a huge down for me.

[blackdog]

I don’t remember having to restart from the beginning of a chapter when starting a new session, and I remember criticising the game for the chapter/episodic structure because the timing seemed anyways off, and I would regularly end up leaving halfway through a chapter.

Aside: recently I discovered from a podcast -I think where Xbox boss was guest- that Alan Wake was originally intended to be released episodically just like Walking Dead, and that’s why it was so artificially broken down.

[-HP-]

2 hours ago, blackdog said:

I don’t remember having to restart from the beginning of a chapter when starting a new session, and I remember criticising the game for the chapter/episodic structure because the timing seemed anyways off, and I would regularly end up leaving halfway through a chapter.

Aside: recently I discovered from a podcast -I think where Xbox boss was guest- that Alan Wake was originally intended to be released episodically just like Walking Dead, and that’s why it was so artificially broken down.

Alan Wake was a really big venture for Remedy, for a long time it was a open world game, then they rebooted the project internally. That's why they have the large driving sections, they had to try and salvage some of the tech for large open environments on there. It worked really well too, fortunately.

 

[Radu]

I like the episodic structure. I think it ties well into the narrative. It sets the mood even before you start the game, kinda like Max Payne's menu.

[blackdog]

18 hours ago, ┌HP┘ said:

Alan Wake was a really big venture for Remedy, for a long time it was a open world game, then they rebooted the project internally. That's why they have the large driving sections, they had to try and salvage some of the tech for large open environments on there. It worked really well too, fortunately.

 

Yeah I remember, I’m a Remedy fan boy and I was all over the early trailers. The collector’s edition of the X360 unlocked the original scarf Alan wore in the sandbox trailers for my Xbox avatar

Question: the tech worked well or the driving? Cos I felt the driving sections were the weakest of the game, very straightforward without any benefit of driving really.

9 hours ago, Radu said:

I like the episodic structure. I think it ties well into the narrative. It sets the mood even before you start the game, kinda like Max Payne's menu.

Don’t get me wrong, I like it for presentation purposes, but it falls apart when you play longer than an episode per session. You either just played through a whole chapter or you are interrupted possibly minutes after starting a new session… that’s why I criticise it. I would want a reminder of what happened when I start a new session (I could have played the last time a month before!).

This “fault” gave me the idea players would be better served with dynamic recaps, and I even have an idea of how it could be implemented… many times I’ve been tempted in writing an article with ideas like this, to post here or on a blog actually.

Edited September 12, 2021 by blackdog

[Radu]

No more Energizer batteries and Verizon billboards

"A PR rep for Alan Wake Remastered confirmed to Screen Rant that the new game won't have any of the brand placement of the old game. So no Verizon, Energizer, Ford, or Lincoln. Those deals have long since expired."

https://www.pcgamer.com/alan-wake-remastered-will-scrub-all-that-product-placement/

[-HP-]

22 hours ago, blackdog said:

 

Question: the tech worked well or the driving? Cos I felt the driving sections were the weakest of the game, very straightforward without any benefit of driving really.

I meant the tech, the driving felt stiff as fuck, and I kept wanting to get off the car to look into every corner of the map for those damned book pages. Still fun sections, they offered something fresh to do.

[blackdog]

2 hours ago, ┌HP┘ said:

I meant the tech, the driving felt stiff as fuck, and I kept wanting to get off the car to look into every corner of the map for those damned book pages. Still fun sections, they offered something fresh to do.

Same, I feel driving sections are particularly tricky in linear SP games, I had the same problem, and had it before in HL2* and recently in Uncharted 4. I feel when you insert that sort of section you need to make very clear you are not going to get any collectible, or you’re gonna find them in very obvious places… you have to make the player either chase a carrot or run away from something, otherwise it’s just such a stuttering experience that becomes very unenjoyable.

*it worked in Ep2 when they made you race Dog or run away from the helicopter.

Edited September 13, 2021 by blackdog

[Radu]

 

[-HP-]

That breakdown with the guitar 

[Radu]

Youtube algorithm knows what's up, just keeps recommending me Alan Wake videos and then I share them here to get you guys in the loop  

 

[blackdog]

Can't remember if this stuff was in the Collector's Edition I have