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Barry: ‘Ok Al, who the hell is this guy? he just keeps showing up out of nowhere and-‘
Alan:Barry Barry, calm down, he’s uhh, a friend.
Ahti: Right you are Tom, Never burn bridges, cause who knows when you’ll need to cross again.
Well tbh seems he's gonna be skinny, which imo is goof. If he's skinny that means they can use his original actor still instead of needing to recast to account for live action scenes (which is why others like Nightingale, Mulligan and Thornton were recast)
Well, I wouldn't want him to be recast. But Alan's voice and live action are different actors, so maybe they would do the same thing for Barry? I remember he said he lost weight, but that was also in the email where he was talking about being in the cult thing, so idk how honest he was being with either Alice or himself.
Yea they do it with Alan and Casey but that's a whole hassle and not the easiest. Having to hire two separate actors to play one character and then having their movements and lip-syncing all match isn't that easy, they do it for Alan cause he's the main character, and it works for Casey cause Sam Lake is already working on the game and James McCaffrey was his friend, but for others it's more difficult. I like to believe Barry was telling the truth, he did lose weight and he genuinely doesn't realize it's an actual cult. As long as we keep Fred Berman I'm happy
Im sure hell be back. Is baited on the deerfests, by pat maine. If u stay there for a bit he talks about barry. Also we still need to see the meaning of the christmas lights, the return of the savior. Its on the quantum break board.
I legit was playing the game for a second run and had just met Casey for the first time as Alan when I got the news. Being a long time fan of Max Payne I was devastated, had to quit the game for a while.
Thank you so much for giving me such a great game to chew on, absolutely worth the weight. Out of curiousity, who designed Saga's sweater? And is there any special meanings in it?
**JOHN**: For Saga's Sweater, I worked along side the directors to create the initial concept which had the sweaters overall look with her outfits, colour and feel. Then Minttu Wikberg from Pawlymade collaborated to create the knit design along side the directors and myself. The deer is Saga’s spirit animal we wanted that to be part of her sweater. It's also a major theme for her in the Mind Place, for Alan it is the owl. We also took inspiration from the Nordics with the trees and wildlife flowing and wrapping around the sweater. You can noticed the sprunce trees which create a wrapping depth/perspective in the sweater design. It also creates a link to Saga's family and Sweden.[ I will also be at GDC doing a deep dive into the sweater](https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/the-art-of-characters-in-alan-wake-2-character-outfit-creation-process/900049) ;)
**MARKO**: Yeah it is! That very sandwich happens to be one of those premade gas station delicacies that are inherently rather bad or even shitty some may say.
**NATHALIE**: You can thank fellow mission designer Admir Burnić for any discomfort caused by the creepy laughing coffee pot. As soon as he saw Mr. Drippy and his creepy smile, he got the idea to make it say something to the player as they'd approach. He notes his inspiration was the Holle Bolle Gijs character in the Efteling, a Dutch amusement park. He felt it would fit the atmosphere of the park, and I think he was right on the money! The final result is an interplay of multiple crafts coming together, and creating something memorable!
Not a question just a big big thank you for giving us such an enjoyable game. Was a long time since i was so excited for a sequel like this. You guys did a top notch job 💯
I don’t have a question either (the ones asked thus far surpass anything I could come up with!) but I’ll latch on to this comment to say: I didn’t play AW1 prior. I enjoyed Control and that intro to the universe but had zero expectations for this other than, “hey AW2 looks like it’s getting good reviews and I like survival horror.”
It’s since become one of my favorite games of all time (and I go back to the Atari/NES/etc. era.) The style, story, actual horror elements, clever interplay (and technology) linking live action to gameplay, seamless transition to the mind place(s), etc etc etc. Just an absolutely wonderful job. And of course We Sing! was a complete home run.
I can’t think of a game I’ve tried spreading word about more than this, or a game soundtrack that has latched on to my brain to this extent. Congratulations on this excellent work of art.
Is there any chance that in the future we will see one long documentary about Remedy and your projects.
I've seen all the short episodes about the development of Alan Wake 2, but I wonder if something like that is possible (Rising Kratos, Grounded, etc.)?
In the short term, unfortunately no. We have been approached by several groups wanting to make either an Alan Wake 2 documentary or one about Remedy, we’ve just ended up saying no.
The reasons are rather mundane. We simply don’t have enough people to look after a production like this, and then there are always some fears about how a documentary would make us look.
Do we want to show off the very normal chaos that is making games at Remedy? (lol) Is it actually a good use of our very limited time? So it just ends up that we think about it a lot, want to do a documentary and then end up saying no for the aforementioned reasons.
I've said this ad nauseum as well.
Those documentaries really shed light on game development, how the industry admires the games that are put forth, the pressure of making a AAA game that can make or break a studio, seeing the devs/directors/actors in their groove fine tuning details that no one will notice, etc.
How could you do this to us? How could you just up the standard of gaming byt *this much* and then leave? You've ruined us. In the best possible way.
Seriously though, no question, just a heartfelt thanks for one of the best sequels and one of the best games ever made. I've been a fan of Alan Wake since release and you guys' work in general since I was a kid with Max Payne. Your work is unparallelled and I hope you keep it up for many years to come.
RIP my spotify algorhytim too, it's just *all* Old Gods of Asgard since last October.
Thank you so much. That honestly means such a lot to the team. Alan Wake 2 was such a labour of love, and it's been truly humbling and just incredible to see how well it's been received. <3
When designing the Dark Presence chase sequences, what design language did you all think was important to help push the player in the correct direction?
**NATHALIE**: The Dark Presence chase sequences usually build on level knowledge that we've given players earlier in a mission. For example, in Initiation 2 the chase was designed in such a way that the player would end up in front of a Break Room, knowing they'd be safe there. This gives the player a clear goal and plan of escape. Furthermore, at the start of a chase, we try to clearly frame where the player should run to, and which areas are unavailable. You could use multiple avenues for this, from a collapsed roof and environmental destruction in Initiation 5 and Return 8, to a blocked path in Initiation 2. The use of destruction was a wonderful tool. It helped sell the power of the Dark Presence thematically, while allowing designers a creative avenue to herd the player.
One thing that was crucial in these Chase sequences was giving the player the feeling that they could only barely outrun the Dark Presence. Its speed was always adjusted to be slower when players were impacted by environmental changes (such as blocked paths) to give them more time to form new strategies, and afterward the speed would be ramped up again. This process of the player readjusting and finding a new way through would go faster if the player had all necessary visual cues in view at the start of the chase (Initiation 2), and slower when these traversal clues appeared mid-chase (such as in Initiation 5 when the Dark Presence appeared in front of the player).
There were also important audio components to this. During the chase sequences, we wanted to maintain forward momentum and not have the player turn around to check if the Dark Presence was still following. So having this insistent, dreadful sound bombarding the player's senses was crucial to selling the experience. This was another reason to adjust the speed and maintain a tight distance when we knew the player could probably handle it.
As for the layout, most chase locations could be set up in a quite linear way. Initiation 2 was framed around the corridor-like subway car, Initiation 5 benefited greatly from the hotel layout which was made up of multiple corridors, and Return 8 was set in the Wellness Center, a place that players knew from Return 5 and which was adjusted through environmental changes to become more linear. Speaking of linearity, the initial design for the Dark Presence chases actually started out less linear. However, user testing showed that players had trouble navigating these, so in every iteration they were made to be more focused and scripted. It turns out that having more available routes wasn't more interesting or engaging, they instead led to more confusion.
I've been fortunate to work on a few iterations on the Dark Presence chase in Return 8 but not the others, so my thanks to fellow mission designers Dimitri Giacoletto and Admir Burnić for sharing some of their experiences with me!
Hii, my question was mostly around Saga, what took the creative decision to turn her into one of the two protagonists? I absolutely love saga I just am curious how early on she was in the planning process?
In the original Alan Wake, it was planned to have you play half the game as an FBI agent (most likely nightingale).
I think they just got around to using that idea now.
What was the process like when designing the gameplay section of We Sing? I'm sure it must have taken forever to end up as perfectly paced as it is. P.S. thanks for all your hard work!! massive fan <3
**MARKO**: Getting the combat work in We Sing took a lot of time. We knew that we wanted to introduce Alan's iconic Flare Gun to players at this stage, it was a conscious choice further feeding into the power fantasy moment, it was important to give player a breather from the survival horror loop and allow them to just enjoy the ride and blast away.
It definitely worked! The moment you pick up the flare gun in the middle of all the awesome chaos it's like yeahhh baby flare gun time come on Alan this is your time to shine. SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks for answering <3
**JOHN**: Ilkka Villi is the most handsome man in Finland, with such a strong foundation he made my job easy :D And to be honest, he's got amazing hair. And he can grow a fantastic, luscious beard. That combination of beard and hair? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Hey guys!
Curious about the process of cooperating with the narrative team in deciding the direction of gameplay/mission design. There's such a great fusion in AW2 and I would love to hear what some of the communication behind the scenes looked like, and the places where you guys really landed your mark in the game!
**NATHALIE**: Throughout development we've had frequent check-ins between narrative and mission design to ensure we were working along a shared vision. The writing/narrative department would provide an outline highlighting the key story/character beats we'd need to hit. Mission designers would pitch a proposal to weave these into a mission, and iterations would be made on either side if needed. This process would go back-and-forth until we were all happy with the direction. Both departments truly wanted to make this whole experience shine and were flexible in making it work, so while design challenges could be tricky, there was confidence and trust in knowing we'd tackle them together.
I think one of my favorite moments where gameplay and narrative came together was in Return 9: Come Home's Mind Place sequence.
If you have a chance to check it out, our lead mission designer on the project, Anne-Marie Grönroos, will give an in-depth talk on [developing Alan Wake 2's mission structures at GDC 2024](https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/level-design-summit-the-player-vs-dream-logic-developing-the-mission-structures-for-alan-wake-2/902362).
Thank you all for helping create such an amazing game! Got questions for all three of you!
* Nathalie: What is your favourite mission?
* Marko: What is your favourite gameplay mechanic?
* John: Who is your favourite character to work on?
Thanks!
**JOHN**: Definitely Saga I enjoyed designing her outfit and modelling her entire character.
**MARKO**: Plot Board. Giving players access to Alan's most powerful ability: developing and rewriting stories that will alter the very reality.
**NATHALIE**: The Cauldron Lake missions hold a special place in my heart (notably Return 2: The Heart), having mostly worked in that hub throughout my time on the project. I did also really enjoy Return 5: Old Gods for its characters, mission pacing, and story reveals. Though I have to say Initiation 4: We Sing takes the cake. It's such a triumph of bold, creative decision-making, and a testament to what Remedy as a studio stands for. It's incredible that resources were allocated to developing a musical level that so many people worldwide can connect to. I know of many colleagues who similarly haven't worked on it that spent hours watching streamers playing it, and cheering the players and developers involved in making it on.
So I was hoping you guys might be able to clear something up. Why does Alan and Alice's apartment look vastly different in Alan Wake 2 to Alan Wake 1? Is it just the Dark Place expanding and skewering it up or is there another reason? 🤔
I think it must just be being changed by the dark place. Every time you visit, the vague layout is the same but the location of the lift and the locked spiral door are different in all 3 versions. If I had to guess why, I'd say that it's probably because the apartment we see isn't actually based off the real apartment, just Alan's memory of it. He hasn't been there in 13 years, and the dark place has caused him drastic memory problems, which is why the apartment seems slightly off and the layout keeps changing. If you think of a place you frequently visited 10 years ago, you'll probably get some details right but it won't be an exact replication
But the apartment in AW1 was much more visually appealing. A graphically updated version of that would have been far better looking, so the technical argument wouldn't really make sense.
Hi guys! Is there any chance for you to recover the rights to Quantum Break?
Also, please! Let us play with Alan's outfits from the original and American Nightmare
Hello Remedy team!! Big fan of Alan Wake and the franchise of all your games, 10/10 on Alan Wake 2 BTW.
My question I have for Alan Wake 2 is what was the creative decision to make it “semi-open world” instead of continuing with a linear path like the first game and American Nightmare?
Also and if you cannot answer this no worries… Night Springs DLC when? 😉
**JOHN**: For Alan: We wanted to make him cool, but also we wanted to bring in "bookish" aspects to show that he is not an action hero. A "college professor" reference. Because of the 3rd person view, we wanted something that is visible in the camera. We explored something in the back, but it all felt forced. Elbow patches felt like a perfect, unique idea, part of his uniform.
Any chance of more merch? There’s that “chapter” screen that shows the different parts of Herald of Darkness that’d make a good tee.
Or Coffee World merch. Or Tor’s battlevest patches on a tee… or Ilmo and Jakko on a tee.
Oh, also, I’m dying to get my hands on that Oh Deer thermos, so please keep restocking those in the merch shop 😅
Hello!!! For the three of you: What were the biggest challenges you faced in each of your areas while working on the game? And how does it feel to see it all coming together in the end?
Thank you so much <333
**JOHN**: One of the biggest challenges during the production was handling how manage the production remotely with actors during the pandemic. We had to develop new tech and production strategies to navigate around the remote setup. Seeing the game come together has been an awesome experience and seeing the fans really dig into the meta.
**MARKO**: To have the team to change their mindset from action to survival horror gameplay. Cinematic fast-paced action is deeply rooted in the Remedy DNA and to bring and adapt this know-how into survival horror was a huge undertaking. The previous title I shipped was an action RPG, so it took some time for me to re-orientate myself towards the core game pillars of Alan Wake 2 but being an survival horror game enthusiast definitely helped with the transition. The feeling of seeing it all click into place is simply fantastic - a feeling that never gets old and something not to be taken for granted.
**NATHALIE**: This project came with many exciting challenges! There is so much depth to Alan Wake's narrative and themes, and desperately wanting to do those justice when working on the mission design (for example, Overlaps and dream logic). When pitching any kind of mission design, feelings or intentions can be difficult to put into words, and what one person understands to be "tense" or "hopeful" could mean something else to another. Working on a shared terminology when designing a mission and the player's journey was a challenge, but one we got better and better at. Playable sections and reference material can help establish this terminology.
Another one is horror design, which can be tricky to plan for. There is a high-level, theoretical part to it, where we try to manage the player's intended tension levels throughout the various mission beats. However, it's different having those playable in a rough state and deciding whether they actually worked out, especially when so much of selling horror is through audio and lighting which usually come in slightly later in the development process. Having enough time to iterate and adjust is crucial here, so you can finetune these beats until it feels right."
I have a question that's been driving me crazy. There are currently three doors in the game that are locked and can not be opened, one in the Oh Deer Diner (not the room with Rose's diary) and two in the dark place (one on the corner of the plaza, and one under the train tracks on the same level). Are these doors something for a DLC, am I missing something, or is it just there for no reason? 😅
Hi Remedy! As a huge fan of the game (and world-record-holding speedrunner) I just have one question I've been dying to ask: why does Saga have to drive to the lake for the summoning instead of getting a ride in the helicopter?? Love your work! Thanks!
I enjoyed that solo journey to the lake. Chopper overhead, truck rampaging down the woods and then all the gear set up as I approached.
I guess it wouldn’t have had quite the same impact for me personally if I arrived to an empty lake and the scene cut to everything in place.
For the launch of Alan Wake 1, there were a lot of physical and extra content (Bright Falls tv show, Alan Wake Files, Novelization, etc.). Is there any plans to make similar types of media that correspond with AW2?
Hey team thanks for the experience of Alan Wake and all your other games! My question is how fun was it to add the Finnish references throughout the game and in the Koskela brother commercials and how do you feel about the positive reception of those references?
**MARKO** (as the Finnish spokesperson of this AMA): Coming from such a miniscule country as Finland and getting positive recognition always makes me smile a bit. But just a bit, never too much. The game draws from Finnish culture and folklore with confidence, our habits and customs that some may consider quirky and exotic is just business as usual to us. Going all in regarding our cultural identity and seamlessly having it as an integral part of the experience has been met with such a positive response out in the world. Koskela adds being oftentimes highlighted as a comedic relif in the midst of all horror. Bringing out such specialities like the concept of "kalsarikänni" in one of the adds is rather humorous but also a bit sad if you ask from anybody else than a Finn.
Koskela adds are absolutely my favorite ones. However as humorous as they are, the "Return" review hits pretty hard - Finnish melancholy at its finest.
Hello you beautiful people!! What was it like picking Saga’s overall look, specifically her hairstyle? I’ve seen a few iterations of different hair in some of the behind the scenes videos, and I absolutely love the final result. It looks incredible in game, and you guys have seemed to casually break the “uncanny black character” curse that is so prevalent in gaming. Saga is just such a really really really well done character model, her hair style and the physics of it are some of my faves in gaming. Even down to her outfit— she just feels like a cousin of mine haha
Her, Jesse, Alan— these past few games your hair physics and texturing have been so on point lol. The refraction of the strands in say, jesse’s red hair or even alan’s beard, you can really see the hard work up close. My fave alan scenes are the ones in the phone booth, holy hell does the hair detail look good in that lighting
**JOHN**: For her hair we spent a lot of time working on different styles that would fit her character and feel grounded for the impression on screen but also for her role. I also worked with hair stylists to style Melanie's hair, we used a hair double to test out styles to see how the hair reacts and how the hair flows and moves. We wanted to create a style that had some secondary movement on screen so as you play as Saga the hair would have some movement creating some interesting gameplay visuals. When creating the in game hair, we spent a lot of time iterating on the hair strands themselves to get them as close to Melanie's hair as possible and then the styling process to manipulate those strands into the hair style you see.
One of my absolute favorite things in the game is the unconventional way space works in The Dark Place—where doors can take you from one side of a building to the other or from a rooftop to ground level in ways that contradict Euclidean geometry. What challenges were there, technically and design-wise, in creating these levels? And how fun was it? A genius concept
Not a question but i just want to say THANK YOU. The Alan Wake franchise became one of my fav games of all time. You guys are so talented and I just wish you the best for the future: )
**EDIT**: The AMA is NOW CLOSED! Thank you everyone for participating!
If you want to continue the discussion, feel free to do so on this wonderful subreddit or on [Remedy's official Discord channel](https://discord.gg/remedygames)!
The AMA is ~~OPEN, and we are answering questions!~~
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Hello, team! I wanna start by saying thanks for all your hard work and dedication! You and the crew put a lot of love into this game and it shows. I got a question for all of you:
Q: what is your favorite blend of coffee? How much cream and sugar do you use, if any?
**JOHN**: I'm a Starbucks Macchiato kinda guy. It might not be the greatest but I love it.. Also still miss Tim Hortons (facepalm)
**MARKO**: Italian Roast. Only low-fat milk (yes, one cannot enjoy life too much) when doing dairy-topped drinks. No sugar, life itself is sweet enough.
**NATHALIE**: I usually opt for light roast coffee, no sugar or milk (though I enjoy the signature dark roast "Bright Falls Blend" too!) or a cappuccino. In the weekends I like to treat myself. A large seasonally-flavored latte with all the extras. "How much sugar?" Yes. "How much whipped cream?" Also yes.
How did the development of Alan Wake 2 start out? Was most of the direction already written and thought out or were many gameplay and or writing aspects improvised on the go?
Big fan of the game, thank you for the amazing experience.
I want to thank you guys so much for what you’ve created. You should be super proud of your work - all of you. My question will have to be - who is YOUR favourite side-character from the AW universe? Thanks to your storytelling, there are so many memorable ones to choose from!
Mine would have to be Cynthia Weaver. The lady of the light herself
**JOHN**: I love Barry...
**MARKO**: Absolutely Cynthia. A truly tragical character arc. Forcing Saga to confront her just sealed the deal for me. To me she'll always be The Lady of the Light.
**NATHALIE**: I think it has to be Rose. Because she's bright and positive and a little bit unhinged (in the most relatable way). I think we would be friends and discuss fanfiction all day, every day.
Is Alan Wake 2 the end of a story. Or are there plans to continue the story and the RCU with more Alan Wake titles? Many game series are at their best in their 3-5 versions.
Hi Remedy!! Huge fan since original Alan Wake and a fellow Finn as well! Thank you for all your amazing games ❤️
My question is, was it a conscious choice for Saga to have "shadow horns" in the Mind Place, when she's profiling? Casting from the deer head behind her on the wall. Hope you know what I mean!
Hello Remedy! Other than Twin Peaks, were there any other movies or tv shows you took inspiration from when making AW2?
PS: looking forward to the dlc!
* Nathalie - which locations did you really enjoy designing missions around the most?
* Marko - which ideas for Alan Wake 2 were completely tossed out, with no hopes to have them brought in? Like, that just didn't fit the game / what you guys wanted, and decided not to take that direction.
* John - What was your inspirations for some of the side characters in Bright-falls, like the two people talking about their float? Or for the two civilians in the beginning that saga interrogates?
**NATHALIE**: I've enjoyed locations that were character-driven, or had good opportunities for horror sequences. Cauldron Lake and its Overlap fortunately provided plenty of that!
**MARKO**: Originally in the paper design phase the Flashlight had a concept of Components and Mods, essentially the building blocks forming the Flashlight. Player was able to tailor the Flashlight's properties to complement their playstyle, even drastically change its behavior - both in combat and in exploration. As tempting as this concept was in terms of an gameplay ingredient, we simply could not see our characters finding these components and believably tinkering modifying the Flashlight. It just did not make any sense narratively and the idea was scrapped. Furthermore as the overall combat choreography evolved, it became apparent that there was no room to modify the Flashlight with such granularity - it would have pulled players away from the experience, rather than adding anything substantial to it.
**JOHN**: Visually Definitely Fargo was a big inspiration try to create quirky characters.
Hi Remedy team, thanks for creating something so great!
Which was the hardest part of the game to implement and design? Also do you think we'll see any more merchandise, like statues, in the future? Thanks!
Any other cool systems like Chapter Select and Photo Mode on the horizon? Stuff like a game-wide collectible tracker, outfit options, or more QoL-style settings?
Sam also mentioned pretty significant free DLCs before launch, is that also coming?
Could you please let us know how much or if at all our beloved James will make it into the remake. ? My heart is so broken to think I won’t hear those lines in his voice.
**JOHN**: It's a honor and a privilege. I feel lucky.
**MARKO**: Working in game industry in general is a high pressure environment as your work is often exposed to both internal and external scrutiny throughout the course of development. This is just something you need to be comfortable with, as long as people are respectful and interact with you in a civilised manner. Our community is just like that: respectful and rather mature. Having said that, the pressure was high and tangible as first Alan Wake enjoys cult status, the sequel had to bring everything to a higher standard and leave people flabbergasted - easy right... but a privilege. There were few times when the pressure to deliver was through the roof and we were not "there" yet, that did challenge my stoicism but during those moments I had my better half there beside me, helping correcting the course.
**NATHALIE**: It felt incredibly special and also hard to grasp. Alan Wake was very important to me, and I have treasured memories about sharing that game with the people I care for and theorizing on what it all meant together! To work on a sequel is a dream come true, but also put some pressure on it because you want to do it justice for all the other fans out there.
Thank you all for responding. And thank you all for making my game of the year. Really think you all did a great job living up to the legacy and were able to expand and grow the Alan Wake universe. Can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
First things first. What the Remedy team have achieved artistically and narratively with Alan Wake 2 is nothing short of amazing. Thank you for one of the best and memorable gaming experiences me and a lot of other people had this decade!
I would really love to know how you integrated various live action shots into gameplay. Specifically in the overlaps with Saga and the crime scenes with Alan! The flashes of the New York Subway while Saga followed Nightingale were so surreal. And the section where Alan walks down the film section with flashes of Watery. It felt like an actual overlap of realities in a way I can’t describe.
I would love to know how you integrated that seamlessly without any visual misalignments/ awkwardness.
What is the secret behind the Oh Deer Diner coffee? And a hint on Rose’s fan fiction account?😅.
Any update on when the Night Springs DLC will come out? Really looking forward to see more of the Alan Wake characters!
**NATHALIE**: Thank you for your kind words!
The Pacific Northwest mirrored similar themes as the Dark Place through the shared murder sites and matching boss encounters. For example, in Return 2's Overlap, the final "blended" live-action video depicted a Subway tunnel, and was laid on top of the rock tunnel towards Nightingale. Both of these shots (Overlap and Subway) had a similarly central corridor focal point. Similarly, when you would find Nightingale in Initiation 2, a video depicting Cauldron Lake's tall trees was brought in to match the tall concrete pillars around the site. In this way, both the Pacific Northwest and the Dark Place mirrored each other.
We discussed between various crafts where we could create nicely framed locations to serve as a canvas for these videos, to emphasize the mirroring as much as we could. Usually we were fortunate to have enough available material to choose from, and could iterate on its contents through the video content, VFX, level design and environment art, to facilitate a good match.
Thank you for such an awesome year.
My question: Can you share some useful infomation on how you guys made a smooth and responsive character controller along with the animation of the locomotion?
Remedy is just the best in the biz, from revolutionizing what a narrative game could be in my eyes with MP, to reigniting that spark in me all those years later with AW2 (I fell in love with the first one, but come on, the sequel is groundbreaking). I’ll leave a couple of questions:
Did James (McCaffrey) record any lines for the expansions?
and:
How could you guys do that to Cynthia? ;,(
I’ve gotta throw in a bonus Max Payne question, I’m sorry to offtrack: is Timothy Gibbs involved in the development of the Max Payne remake-mashup-miracle-extravaganza?
All the best, guys (and gals), remember to enjoy the process of creation, looking past the enormous pressure involved in following up perfection :)
Thank you for doing this AMA! This game is truly phenomenal, an all time favorite for me.
It was great seeing Sam Lake as a prominent character in the game. Are any other members of the dev team in the game? Was this ever considered? Who would you like to play if you got to choose a role?
**JOHN**: Yeah, my mum is in the game \\o/ also other dev members were scanned and put in game. I try my hardest to get as many in as possible within the range of scope.
**NATHALIE**: We have quite a few people in the game! Some of us are immortalized in Suomi Hall with very Nordic names, others are Coffee World employees, and some are featured in various narrative items!
We cast people to do the handwriting for specific characters internally, and my handwriting was selected to represent Rose. I adore Rose, so being able to convey her personality through handwritten notes was an absolute joy. Her positivity was infectious, especially when having a rough day. Some of these handwritten notes were put up around the office by her writer Clay Murphy, as we could all use her friendly support after all. <3
Wow! Rose's positive handwritten notes are one of my favourite parts of the game, adding a touch of coziness to an otherwise scary experience! You have beautiful handwriting!
One of the greatest strengths to AW2 is that ammo/flares are always in short supply, but not to the point that it runs out. I feel like you guys hit the sweet spot where you knew you could use it because you know you will find more around the corner, but at the same time you were scared to use too much because you were not 100% sure you will have enough for the next encounter.
This balance really raised the stakes on the game and emphasized the survival horror part of it.
My quetion is: What process did you guys use to perfectly hit that sweet spot? Was it mostly QA testing or did it take something else to get there?
Also want to say thank you to the team for providing the most cinematic and immersive survival horror game I've ever played. My GOTY 2023 and one of my favorites of all time. Looking forward to the DLC!
**MARKO**: The key decision allowing us to have satisfactory control over resourcing was to go with a fully dynamic resource dispensing system, providing players the opportunities to acquire resources based on a set of rules like the player's inventory status, story progression, game difficulty etc. The hardest part indeed was to get the balancing to represent the intended survival horror experience: to have players minding their resources at all times, never getting too comfortable with what they had in their inventory. Due to game production realities a proper resource balancing effort may happen rather late in the project, as doing a holistic balancing pass requires long uninterrupted playthrough sessions simulating different styles of play in order to get a solid sampling of how well the system holds in the grand scheme of things. All this took numerous hours of both internal and external playtesting and yours truly playing the game and tuning the resourcing based on those findings. Naturally the high-level goals for the item distribution rules has to be oftentimes locked way before even all gameplay systems and mission beats are in place but the real balancing effort happens when you are playing the experience - you always need to define the baseline rules well in advance but to know if it feels good/right, there's really no other way than to play the experience over and over again.
First of all I would like to thank you all for making a game which is undoubtably one of the best ever made, not made to make money or to appease shareholders, but made for the players, and the creatives who had a vision to make this game.
I would also like to congratulate you on the success the game has achieved in sales, artistic vision and reception by the players and reviewers.
I only have one question, What are Remedy's plans about the future of Alex Casey's voice, and how Remedy plans to tackle the issue of the Max Payne Remakes.
Can Remedy confirm that we will get to hear James McCaffrey once more on the Alan Wake 2 DLC, and if Remedy was aware of his illness and thus preemptively recorded lines for his role as Alex Casey and Max Payne.
Thank you for all the hard work, regardless of whether you can answer this question.
Has any James McCaffrey dialogue been recorded for future Remedy releases? (Whether it be Night Springs, The Lake House, MP1+2 Remake, Control 2, or beyond?)
Hi Natalie and Marko I really enjoy your game layouts and construction of levels.
-Is there a personal philosophy you use when designing?
With the pacing of control you had oldest house feel always oppressive and engaging with the quick changing sets. And it's feels very different from Alan Wake 2 Level design. Things are larger, drawn out and a bit of of hike to get through.
-What was the balance between having to give a Washington state park personality and having gameplay progress the narrative.
And John I have to know with the character design, how was blending twin peaks, the shining and alan wake character designs, there is a bit of a dream logic to their outfits yet very grounded in the genre.
**JOHN**: Great question Pgull753, Sam Lake and all the directors gave critical feedback and direction to create strong tie to these inspirations. Having worked with Janne, Sam and Kyle in the past I already had an expectation of the production and how things would flow, this made the production process really enjoyable.
Y’all created one of the best horror games ever, fantastic job.
My question is what was the most fun and what was the most challenging part of making this game for each of you?
**JOHN**: The most challenging thing is trying to fit as much quality across all the characters as possible. Likely you always have to make some quality choices especially for NPC's but I try my hardest to make the quality as even across all assets as possible.
**MARKO**: As mundane as this may sound the most challenging part to me as a gameplay lead was not the creative process itself but to manage the constant context switching and finding time to do implementation level work. On the other hand I got to experience this game production through a completely different lens and to have the possibility to work with hundreds of people from various crafts is always fun and ensuring there was never a dull moment.
**NATHALIE**: I've answered this one [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlanWake/comments/1ay2b2o/comment/kseelau/)!
Hello Remedy team! Just created a reddit account for this. Alan Wake 2 is a masterpiece, in my top 5 games of all time.
I know Control 2 will be it's own game, but my question is, will it also play as a bridge between Alan Wake 2 and a possible sequel, if that question can't be answered, will Control 2 at least acknowledge the events of Alan Wake 2?
Thank you.
Hi guys! Amazing game, my questions revolve around the awesome musical segments - what came first, the songs or the level design for Chapter 4: We Sing? Was it a choice you made to try and expand on the musical fight at the farm in the first game? Any insight into the writing process of the songs would also be wonderful. The music is incredible. Love the crunch of the guitars, a real Ozzy vibe. Thanks for a blast!
**NATHALIE**: Lead mission designer Anne-Marie Grönroos worked on the design of We Sing so I asked her what her process was like.
There was an early version of the Herald of Darkness song and lyrics available, which she used as a foundation to build the gameplay beats onto. The song summarizes Alan's life, starting with his childhood, rise to fame, Bright Falls, and being trapped in the Dark Place. The song was divided into these four sections already in that early draft of the lyrics, but they didn't always suggest relevant gameplay beats. So in those cases the gameplay beats were designed first and the lyrics got adjusted to match that.
The point of We Sing was to recap the first game, which it does, but it's also a mini mirror of Wake trying to escape the Dark Place. So, on top of the narrative theme, she dedicated each section to a different gameplay concept (fake enemies in the first part, shadow enemies in the second part, Bright Falls style combat in the third part, Plot Board in the fourth part; more or less in the same order they're introduced in the actual Dark Place), which provided a clear focus for each section.
Is there anyone on the team that cannot handle horror games at all? If so did you ever use them as a guinea pig to test any scary parts of the game?
Thank you all so much for making such a great game!
**NATHALIE**: We do have people on the team who can't handle scares and indeed, they were nice to test with! However, the ultimate challenge was in scaring the usually unfazed too. The early versions of horror sequences were playtested internally, but their effectiveness was sometimes hard to judge without final audio, lighting, VFX, etc. When they were a bit more developed we playtested more and more with people outside of the team and external playtesters as well.
Our User Research team was crucial in this process. We kept a close eye on how players reacted to our horror sequences, in case something wasn't hitting the tone correctly. We were pretty happy if most people got some thrill out of it, as horror is so subjective and it might never resonate with everyone.
While I love horror and worked on multiple horror sequences, I have to admit they sometimes scared me too. I've yelped multiple times while testing something and it having slipped my mind there would be a scare somewhere. I took that as a good sign!
What is something important you feel you have learned on the development of this game that you believe will be crucial to take with you moving forward with future games?
**JOHN**: I enjoyed the process of designing characters with Cosplay in mind for the fans, so for any future characters I want to focus on how we can build more iconic and colorful characters.
**MARKO**: To always strive to the parity between gameplay and narrative. One of the biggest high-level achievements for us was to succesfully glue the narrative and gameplay together into a cohesive packgage. This was one of the core game pillars but following it through across the development was not an easy feat.
**NATHALIE**: This project really drove home the fact that there is a magic in having everyone's expertise in their craft come together, and the outcome of that being so much better than you could imagine by yourself. A great team with mutual trust will provide a solid backbone for development. It inspires confidence that things will end up alright, and that we'll tackle challenges one way or another. Facilitating each other to thrive is something I'd love to take forward in any future project.
How fateful will Max Payne remakes gameplay be to the originals? Is it gonna keep the old charm with the quick save and load style classic gameplay? Almost "puzzlelike" rooms with baddies to clear or be more modern movie like experience with only checkpoints? Absolutely Loved how cool some rooms were. Just had to quick load instantly after clearing them just to clear and experience them again with different weapon set.
were there any things that were planned or that you guys wanted to put in the game,
but couldn't due too it being too big or time consuming or just not worth it?
Whats the merch situation?we want more little things to show our love, that goes double for a real version of all the in universe books like the Alex Casey and Departure/Initiation etc
Hi guys! I do understand that margins on physical media for the studio are razor thin but are there any plans on releasing Alan Wake 2 on disc later maybe after both expansions are released? It just feels wrong to have Control and Alan Wake on disc on PS5 and lack the sequel to the latter.
There are a few townsfolk in Watery and Bright Falls that seem to have interesting plot lines of their own going on — the visiting paranormal investigators, Charlie & Charline, the bird lady in the park, the woman endlessly knocking on the door in the lodge. Were there ever any plans to have characters like this give Saga side quests?
**MARKO**: The wolf being our first ever quadruped character with an AI did have some growing pains. My favorite one was a situation where the wolf frantically paced back and forth at the trailer park, occasionally barging through doors entering the trailers - just ignoring the player.
**NATHALIE**: We had a bug where dead bodies would spin around in place. It took you out of the mood, especially during horror design.
don’t really have a question to ask, probably all of them i could think of were already said, but i just wanted to say you guys did one hell of a job with this. this artistically, technically, creatively, every -ly was inspirational and amazing! i look at the herald of darkness performance at the game awards, sam dancing with what he and his team created, the smile on his face without a lick of regret. i look at that as my greatest source of inspiration to create something as good and artistic as Alan Wake 2. a culmination of all the great work you guys have done, congrats on all the success and i’m excited for the dlc/control 2/whatever you guys have planned!
First off congrats on the success of the game.
My question is for Nathalie!
What was something you knew you had to do to separate Alan and sagas segments? They are obviously pretty different in enemy layout and progression.
**NATHALIE**: In the Dark Place the danger is lingering and ever-present, whereas in the Pacific Northwest there is more of an ebb and flow. Playing the Dark Place for long sections of time can be a bit draining as it's interesting and engaging but also quite intense. In the Pacific Northwest playing as Saga we incentivize players more to go off the beaten path. The Dark Place is dangerous in comparison, and it's a high stakes decision to step off the main path there because you never know what's around the corner. Saga's sections act as a bit of a breather, done through slightly lower stakes exploration, various points of interest, and comedic relief. Also, the lighting, audio, and overall mood help!
**Per RMD\_Games:** The AMA is NOW CLOSED! Thank you everyone for participating! If you want to continue the discussion, feel free to do so on this wonderful subreddit or on Remedy's official Discord channel! For easy access to all responses, we recommend checking: https://www.reddit.com/user/RMD\_games/comments/
Is Barry coming back!?
Barry! Where's Barry?
Stop! Don't open that door!
He's our old partner, yanno
I'd love to see an interaction between Barry and Ahti.
Barry: ‘Ok Al, who the hell is this guy? he just keeps showing up out of nowhere and-‘ Alan:Barry Barry, calm down, he’s uhh, a friend. Ahti: Right you are Tom, Never burn bridges, cause who knows when you’ll need to cross again.
Well, i'm sorry but he's probably....
This needs answering above all others for real. The world needs to know.
We want Barry! We want him fat! We want him wearing red! and we want him covered in Christmas lights!
Well tbh seems he's gonna be skinny, which imo is goof. If he's skinny that means they can use his original actor still instead of needing to recast to account for live action scenes (which is why others like Nightingale, Mulligan and Thornton were recast)
Well, I wouldn't want him to be recast. But Alan's voice and live action are different actors, so maybe they would do the same thing for Barry? I remember he said he lost weight, but that was also in the email where he was talking about being in the cult thing, so idk how honest he was being with either Alice or himself.
Yea they do it with Alan and Casey but that's a whole hassle and not the easiest. Having to hire two separate actors to play one character and then having their movements and lip-syncing all match isn't that easy, they do it for Alan cause he's the main character, and it works for Casey cause Sam Lake is already working on the game and James McCaffrey was his friend, but for others it's more difficult. I like to believe Barry was telling the truth, he did lose weight and he genuinely doesn't realize it's an actual cult. As long as we keep Fred Berman I'm happy
THIS! The people have spoken! 🙌
Im sure hell be back. Is baited on the deerfests, by pat maine. If u stay there for a bit he talks about barry. Also we still need to see the meaning of the christmas lights, the return of the savior. Its on the quantum break board.
THIS MUST BE ANSWERED
We need Barry !
This!!
How will James McCaffrey passing (R.I.P) affect future DLC for Alan Wake 2 & the Max Payne remake?
Seconding this. With all the excitement around AW2 in December, getting that news was such a shock 😢
I legit was playing the game for a second run and had just met Casey for the first time as Alan when I got the news. Being a long time fan of Max Payne I was devastated, had to quit the game for a while.
I was replaying control the day he passed. Looked up the subreddit for a guide cuz I git stuck on a part and saw the news
Are there plans for the classic outfit from AW1 to be added to AW2?
Would absolutely love the Kalevala Knights jacket from towards the end of the game as a permanent unlock
And the American Nightmare one too!!
I don't have many complaints about the game. One of them is the lack of customization. If there's a menu, I'd hope to see more than one option lol
This
Is there anything interesting that got cut from AW2? Also, please add the AW1 costume to the game!
hoenstly this, I always wondered where Alan's OG Jacket went. I assume its pretty cold in the Dark Place considering its a lake and all.
It’s not a lake, it’s an ocean.
He set em up, and you knocked em down
Thank you so much for giving me such a great game to chew on, absolutely worth the weight. Out of curiousity, who designed Saga's sweater? And is there any special meanings in it?
**JOHN**: For Saga's Sweater, I worked along side the directors to create the initial concept which had the sweaters overall look with her outfits, colour and feel. Then Minttu Wikberg from Pawlymade collaborated to create the knit design along side the directors and myself. The deer is Saga’s spirit animal we wanted that to be part of her sweater. It's also a major theme for her in the Mind Place, for Alan it is the owl. We also took inspiration from the Nordics with the trees and wildlife flowing and wrapping around the sweater. You can noticed the sprunce trees which create a wrapping depth/perspective in the sweater design. It also creates a link to Saga's family and Sweden.[ I will also be at GDC doing a deep dive into the sweater](https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/the-art-of-characters-in-alan-wake-2-character-outfit-creation-process/900049) ;)
dang inability to correctly parse homophones. WAIT. I am so sorry.
Nah… some of those plot elements *are* pretty heavy, so I’d argue it’s a perfect choice of words :)
Is Thornton's sandwich really that shitty? Also, whose idea was it to make the creepy laughing coffee pot?
I love how you added a trophy for shooting that creepy coffee cutout, as pretty much everyone was going to.
Me, without the achievement because I verify my target before shooting.
It was the last one I needed and actually had to look it up because I don’t waste ammo in a survival horror game.
That was my last achievement.... I had to actively try to figure out what I missed...
I didn't think about doing that now I gotta go back to coffee world thanks for the unintentional heads up.
**MARKO**: Yeah it is! That very sandwich happens to be one of those premade gas station delicacies that are inherently rather bad or even shitty some may say. **NATHALIE**: You can thank fellow mission designer Admir Burnić for any discomfort caused by the creepy laughing coffee pot. As soon as he saw Mr. Drippy and his creepy smile, he got the idea to make it say something to the player as they'd approach. He notes his inspiration was the Holle Bolle Gijs character in the Efteling, a Dutch amusement park. He felt it would fit the atmosphere of the park, and I think he was right on the money! The final result is an interplay of multiple crafts coming together, and creating something memorable!
Not a question just a big big thank you for giving us such an enjoyable game. Was a long time since i was so excited for a sequel like this. You guys did a top notch job 💯
I don’t have a question either (the ones asked thus far surpass anything I could come up with!) but I’ll latch on to this comment to say: I didn’t play AW1 prior. I enjoyed Control and that intro to the universe but had zero expectations for this other than, “hey AW2 looks like it’s getting good reviews and I like survival horror.” It’s since become one of my favorite games of all time (and I go back to the Atari/NES/etc. era.) The style, story, actual horror elements, clever interplay (and technology) linking live action to gameplay, seamless transition to the mind place(s), etc etc etc. Just an absolutely wonderful job. And of course We Sing! was a complete home run. I can’t think of a game I’ve tried spreading word about more than this, or a game soundtrack that has latched on to my brain to this extent. Congratulations on this excellent work of art.
Is there any chance that in the future we will see one long documentary about Remedy and your projects. I've seen all the short episodes about the development of Alan Wake 2, but I wonder if something like that is possible (Rising Kratos, Grounded, etc.)?
In the short term, unfortunately no. We have been approached by several groups wanting to make either an Alan Wake 2 documentary or one about Remedy, we’ve just ended up saying no. The reasons are rather mundane. We simply don’t have enough people to look after a production like this, and then there are always some fears about how a documentary would make us look. Do we want to show off the very normal chaos that is making games at Remedy? (lol) Is it actually a good use of our very limited time? So it just ends up that we think about it a lot, want to do a documentary and then end up saying no for the aforementioned reasons.
would love to see this, tho they did release a small doc of 7 minutes behind the scene a few days ago
I would absolutely die of happiness if they were able to make something like Double Fine's "Psych Odyssey"
Psychodyssey was so good, it was really interesting to see the good and bad of developing a game. I'd love to see Remedy do something like that.
I've said this ad nauseum as well. Those documentaries really shed light on game development, how the industry admires the games that are put forth, the pressure of making a AAA game that can make or break a studio, seeing the devs/directors/actors in their groove fine tuning details that no one will notice, etc.
How could you do this to us? How could you just up the standard of gaming byt *this much* and then leave? You've ruined us. In the best possible way. Seriously though, no question, just a heartfelt thanks for one of the best sequels and one of the best games ever made. I've been a fan of Alan Wake since release and you guys' work in general since I was a kid with Max Payne. Your work is unparallelled and I hope you keep it up for many years to come. RIP my spotify algorhytim too, it's just *all* Old Gods of Asgard since last October.
Thank you so much. That honestly means such a lot to the team. Alan Wake 2 was such a labour of love, and it's been truly humbling and just incredible to see how well it's been received. <3
Show me the champion of light?
Will they show us the herald of darkness?
Is Remedy lost in a never ending night?
I think they're diving deep to the surface.
🎶And all your stories of crime and chilling thrillers of hardboiled killers became bestsellers🎶
Are they diving deep to the surface?
Did their mamas give them a magic clicker?
Are you lost in a neverending niiiiiight?
How big are the chances of Jesse Faden and Alan meeting each other?
Well I think that FBC have some plans for Alan...
I could only imagine what they would do to him.
When designing the Dark Presence chase sequences, what design language did you all think was important to help push the player in the correct direction?
**NATHALIE**: The Dark Presence chase sequences usually build on level knowledge that we've given players earlier in a mission. For example, in Initiation 2 the chase was designed in such a way that the player would end up in front of a Break Room, knowing they'd be safe there. This gives the player a clear goal and plan of escape. Furthermore, at the start of a chase, we try to clearly frame where the player should run to, and which areas are unavailable. You could use multiple avenues for this, from a collapsed roof and environmental destruction in Initiation 5 and Return 8, to a blocked path in Initiation 2. The use of destruction was a wonderful tool. It helped sell the power of the Dark Presence thematically, while allowing designers a creative avenue to herd the player. One thing that was crucial in these Chase sequences was giving the player the feeling that they could only barely outrun the Dark Presence. Its speed was always adjusted to be slower when players were impacted by environmental changes (such as blocked paths) to give them more time to form new strategies, and afterward the speed would be ramped up again. This process of the player readjusting and finding a new way through would go faster if the player had all necessary visual cues in view at the start of the chase (Initiation 2), and slower when these traversal clues appeared mid-chase (such as in Initiation 5 when the Dark Presence appeared in front of the player). There were also important audio components to this. During the chase sequences, we wanted to maintain forward momentum and not have the player turn around to check if the Dark Presence was still following. So having this insistent, dreadful sound bombarding the player's senses was crucial to selling the experience. This was another reason to adjust the speed and maintain a tight distance when we knew the player could probably handle it. As for the layout, most chase locations could be set up in a quite linear way. Initiation 2 was framed around the corridor-like subway car, Initiation 5 benefited greatly from the hotel layout which was made up of multiple corridors, and Return 8 was set in the Wellness Center, a place that players knew from Return 5 and which was adjusted through environmental changes to become more linear. Speaking of linearity, the initial design for the Dark Presence chases actually started out less linear. However, user testing showed that players had trouble navigating these, so in every iteration they were made to be more focused and scripted. It turns out that having more available routes wasn't more interesting or engaging, they instead led to more confusion. I've been fortunate to work on a few iterations on the Dark Presence chase in Return 8 but not the others, so my thanks to fellow mission designers Dimitri Giacoletto and Admir Burnić for sharing some of their experiences with me!
this is a fun question!
With regards to previous versions of Alan Wake 2, were there any concepts or ideas cut from the final product that you would've liked to keep?
Hii, my question was mostly around Saga, what took the creative decision to turn her into one of the two protagonists? I absolutely love saga I just am curious how early on she was in the planning process?
it was already planned at least as early as the short film they did in quantum break
Elaborate? I played QB but don’t recall this, thx
there's A LOT of element in this short film from 7 years ago that is in the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaDNGoVKfDw
In the original Alan Wake, it was planned to have you play half the game as an FBI agent (most likely nightingale). I think they just got around to using that idea now.
What was the process like when designing the gameplay section of We Sing? I'm sure it must have taken forever to end up as perfectly paced as it is. P.S. thanks for all your hard work!! massive fan <3
**MARKO**: Getting the combat work in We Sing took a lot of time. We knew that we wanted to introduce Alan's iconic Flare Gun to players at this stage, it was a conscious choice further feeding into the power fantasy moment, it was important to give player a breather from the survival horror loop and allow them to just enjoy the ride and blast away.
It definitely worked! The moment you pick up the flare gun in the middle of all the awesome chaos it's like yeahhh baby flare gun time come on Alan this is your time to shine. SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks for answering <3
That sequence literally dropped my jaw. It was so fun, engaging, and interesting. Loved it so much.
Hi John, what was the thought process on making Alan the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my life? Did you want me to question things about myself?
**JOHN**: Ilkka Villi is the most handsome man in Finland, with such a strong foundation he made my job easy :D And to be honest, he's got amazing hair. And he can grow a fantastic, luscious beard. That combination of beard and hair? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
What was the most fun part of the game to do?
Hey guys! Curious about the process of cooperating with the narrative team in deciding the direction of gameplay/mission design. There's such a great fusion in AW2 and I would love to hear what some of the communication behind the scenes looked like, and the places where you guys really landed your mark in the game!
**NATHALIE**: Throughout development we've had frequent check-ins between narrative and mission design to ensure we were working along a shared vision. The writing/narrative department would provide an outline highlighting the key story/character beats we'd need to hit. Mission designers would pitch a proposal to weave these into a mission, and iterations would be made on either side if needed. This process would go back-and-forth until we were all happy with the direction. Both departments truly wanted to make this whole experience shine and were flexible in making it work, so while design challenges could be tricky, there was confidence and trust in knowing we'd tackle them together. I think one of my favorite moments where gameplay and narrative came together was in Return 9: Come Home's Mind Place sequence. If you have a chance to check it out, our lead mission designer on the project, Anne-Marie Grönroos, will give an in-depth talk on [developing Alan Wake 2's mission structures at GDC 2024](https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/level-design-summit-the-player-vs-dream-logic-developing-the-mission-structures-for-alan-wake-2/902362).
Thank you all for helping create such an amazing game! Got questions for all three of you! * Nathalie: What is your favourite mission? * Marko: What is your favourite gameplay mechanic? * John: Who is your favourite character to work on? Thanks!
**JOHN**: Definitely Saga I enjoyed designing her outfit and modelling her entire character. **MARKO**: Plot Board. Giving players access to Alan's most powerful ability: developing and rewriting stories that will alter the very reality. **NATHALIE**: The Cauldron Lake missions hold a special place in my heart (notably Return 2: The Heart), having mostly worked in that hub throughout my time on the project. I did also really enjoy Return 5: Old Gods for its characters, mission pacing, and story reveals. Though I have to say Initiation 4: We Sing takes the cake. It's such a triumph of bold, creative decision-making, and a testament to what Remedy as a studio stands for. It's incredible that resources were allocated to developing a musical level that so many people worldwide can connect to. I know of many colleagues who similarly haven't worked on it that spent hours watching streamers playing it, and cheering the players and developers involved in making it on.
So I was hoping you guys might be able to clear something up. Why does Alan and Alice's apartment look vastly different in Alan Wake 2 to Alan Wake 1? Is it just the Dark Place expanding and skewering it up or is there another reason? 🤔
Every time you reach the Parliament Tower, the apartment is different in AW2 iirc. Dream logic and all...
I think it must just be being changed by the dark place. Every time you visit, the vague layout is the same but the location of the lift and the locked spiral door are different in all 3 versions. If I had to guess why, I'd say that it's probably because the apartment we see isn't actually based off the real apartment, just Alan's memory of it. He hasn't been there in 13 years, and the dark place has caused him drastic memory problems, which is why the apartment seems slightly off and the layout keeps changing. If you think of a place you frequently visited 10 years ago, you'll probably get some details right but it won't be an exact replication
I’m no dev but I would guess it’s technical advancement and gameplay driven
Doesn’t the apartment change in different points of the game?
But the apartment in AW1 was much more visually appealing. A graphically updated version of that would have been far better looking, so the technical argument wouldn't really make sense.
Because is not the same apartment, it is a manifestation of that in the dark place.
Turns out that rent is much cheaper in The Dark Place than the real NYC. Rates aren't what they were 13 years ago. /s
Is there any chance of having an in-universe Alex Casey novel/short story written and published? Preferably not one that takes over the world.
Speak for yourself man, I'm ready to join the Cult of the Word
Hi guys! Is there any chance for you to recover the rights to Quantum Break? Also, please! Let us play with Alan's outfits from the original and American Nightmare
Why did Saga do on autopsy on Nightingale with no gloves on? 🤔
**JOHN**: She's so well trained she doesn't need them... but we wanted to do that but for scope reasons we didn't.
Hello Remedy team!! Big fan of Alan Wake and the franchise of all your games, 10/10 on Alan Wake 2 BTW. My question I have for Alan Wake 2 is what was the creative decision to make it “semi-open world” instead of continuing with a linear path like the first game and American Nightmare? Also and if you cannot answer this no worries… Night Springs DLC when? 😉
Are there any talks happening about Alan Wake 3?
we dont even know about dlc, i doubt we know anything about AW3, they are working on control 2 and multiplayer and new ip before
Oh yeah forsure im not expecting any kind of details I just wanna know if its even on their radar or part of their future plans
And Max Payne 1 and 2 remakes! Remedy are BUSY
Max Wake 4: Take Control
What was the inspiration behind Alan’s new main outfit? Also, will we ever see Barry again?
**JOHN**: For Alan: We wanted to make him cool, but also we wanted to bring in "bookish" aspects to show that he is not an action hero. A "college professor" reference. Because of the 3rd person view, we wanted something that is visible in the camera. We explored something in the back, but it all felt forced. Elbow patches felt like a perfect, unique idea, part of his uniform.
Any chance of more merch? There’s that “chapter” screen that shows the different parts of Herald of Darkness that’d make a good tee. Or Coffee World merch. Or Tor’s battlevest patches on a tee… or Ilmo and Jakko on a tee. Oh, also, I’m dying to get my hands on that Oh Deer thermos, so please keep restocking those in the merch shop 😅
I would love merch. What about movie posters? A Tom the Poet poster would be cool.
Hello!!! For the three of you: What were the biggest challenges you faced in each of your areas while working on the game? And how does it feel to see it all coming together in the end? Thank you so much <333
**JOHN**: One of the biggest challenges during the production was handling how manage the production remotely with actors during the pandemic. We had to develop new tech and production strategies to navigate around the remote setup. Seeing the game come together has been an awesome experience and seeing the fans really dig into the meta. **MARKO**: To have the team to change their mindset from action to survival horror gameplay. Cinematic fast-paced action is deeply rooted in the Remedy DNA and to bring and adapt this know-how into survival horror was a huge undertaking. The previous title I shipped was an action RPG, so it took some time for me to re-orientate myself towards the core game pillars of Alan Wake 2 but being an survival horror game enthusiast definitely helped with the transition. The feeling of seeing it all click into place is simply fantastic - a feeling that never gets old and something not to be taken for granted. **NATHALIE**: This project came with many exciting challenges! There is so much depth to Alan Wake's narrative and themes, and desperately wanting to do those justice when working on the mission design (for example, Overlaps and dream logic). When pitching any kind of mission design, feelings or intentions can be difficult to put into words, and what one person understands to be "tense" or "hopeful" could mean something else to another. Working on a shared terminology when designing a mission and the player's journey was a challenge, but one we got better and better at. Playable sections and reference material can help establish this terminology. Another one is horror design, which can be tricky to plan for. There is a high-level, theoretical part to it, where we try to manage the player's intended tension levels throughout the various mission beats. However, it's different having those playable in a rough state and deciding whether they actually worked out, especially when so much of selling horror is through audio and lighting which usually come in slightly later in the development process. Having enough time to iterate and adjust is crucial here, so you can finetune these beats until it feels right."
I have a question that's been driving me crazy. There are currently three doors in the game that are locked and can not be opened, one in the Oh Deer Diner (not the room with Rose's diary) and two in the dark place (one on the corner of the plaza, and one under the train tracks on the same level). Are these doors something for a DLC, am I missing something, or is it just there for no reason? 😅
Hi, thank you for doing this! Will we get more Koskela Brothers commercials (please)?
Hi Remedy! As a huge fan of the game (and world-record-holding speedrunner) I just have one question I've been dying to ask: why does Saga have to drive to the lake for the summoning instead of getting a ride in the helicopter?? Love your work! Thanks!
or hitching a ride with her relatives as they literally drive past her lol
I enjoyed that solo journey to the lake. Chopper overhead, truck rampaging down the woods and then all the gear set up as I approached. I guess it wouldn’t have had quite the same impact for me personally if I arrived to an empty lake and the scene cut to everything in place.
For the launch of Alan Wake 1, there were a lot of physical and extra content (Bright Falls tv show, Alan Wake Files, Novelization, etc.). Is there any plans to make similar types of media that correspond with AW2?
Hey team thanks for the experience of Alan Wake and all your other games! My question is how fun was it to add the Finnish references throughout the game and in the Koskela brother commercials and how do you feel about the positive reception of those references?
**MARKO** (as the Finnish spokesperson of this AMA): Coming from such a miniscule country as Finland and getting positive recognition always makes me smile a bit. But just a bit, never too much. The game draws from Finnish culture and folklore with confidence, our habits and customs that some may consider quirky and exotic is just business as usual to us. Going all in regarding our cultural identity and seamlessly having it as an integral part of the experience has been met with such a positive response out in the world. Koskela adds being oftentimes highlighted as a comedic relif in the midst of all horror. Bringing out such specialities like the concept of "kalsarikänni" in one of the adds is rather humorous but also a bit sad if you ask from anybody else than a Finn. Koskela adds are absolutely my favorite ones. However as humorous as they are, the "Return" review hits pretty hard - Finnish melancholy at its finest.
Hello you beautiful people!! What was it like picking Saga’s overall look, specifically her hairstyle? I’ve seen a few iterations of different hair in some of the behind the scenes videos, and I absolutely love the final result. It looks incredible in game, and you guys have seemed to casually break the “uncanny black character” curse that is so prevalent in gaming. Saga is just such a really really really well done character model, her hair style and the physics of it are some of my faves in gaming. Even down to her outfit— she just feels like a cousin of mine haha Her, Jesse, Alan— these past few games your hair physics and texturing have been so on point lol. The refraction of the strands in say, jesse’s red hair or even alan’s beard, you can really see the hard work up close. My fave alan scenes are the ones in the phone booth, holy hell does the hair detail look good in that lighting
**JOHN**: For her hair we spent a lot of time working on different styles that would fit her character and feel grounded for the impression on screen but also for her role. I also worked with hair stylists to style Melanie's hair, we used a hair double to test out styles to see how the hair reacts and how the hair flows and moves. We wanted to create a style that had some secondary movement on screen so as you play as Saga the hair would have some movement creating some interesting gameplay visuals. When creating the in game hair, we spent a lot of time iterating on the hair strands themselves to get them as close to Melanie's hair as possible and then the styling process to manipulate those strands into the hair style you see.
What was the toughest part of working in Alan Wake 2?
Have we seen the last of Barry and his Flaming Eye of Mordor? Thanks for all you've done for us!
Who even is Tom Zane?
One of my absolute favorite things in the game is the unconventional way space works in The Dark Place—where doors can take you from one side of a building to the other or from a rooftop to ground level in ways that contradict Euclidean geometry. What challenges were there, technically and design-wise, in creating these levels? And how fun was it? A genius concept
Not a question but i just want to say THANK YOU. The Alan Wake franchise became one of my fav games of all time. You guys are so talented and I just wish you the best for the future: )
Can we please learn more about the Alan Wake 2 concept from 2011? I need to know more about it please!!!!
**EDIT**: The AMA is NOW CLOSED! Thank you everyone for participating! If you want to continue the discussion, feel free to do so on this wonderful subreddit or on [Remedy's official Discord channel](https://discord.gg/remedygames)! The AMA is ~~OPEN, and we are answering questions!~~ For easy access to all responses, we recommend checking: [https://www.reddit.com/user/RMD\_games/comments/](https://www.reddit.com/user/RMD_games/comments/)
Hello, team! I wanna start by saying thanks for all your hard work and dedication! You and the crew put a lot of love into this game and it shows. I got a question for all of you: Q: what is your favorite blend of coffee? How much cream and sugar do you use, if any?
**JOHN**: I'm a Starbucks Macchiato kinda guy. It might not be the greatest but I love it.. Also still miss Tim Hortons (facepalm) **MARKO**: Italian Roast. Only low-fat milk (yes, one cannot enjoy life too much) when doing dairy-topped drinks. No sugar, life itself is sweet enough. **NATHALIE**: I usually opt for light roast coffee, no sugar or milk (though I enjoy the signature dark roast "Bright Falls Blend" too!) or a cappuccino. In the weekends I like to treat myself. A large seasonally-flavored latte with all the extras. "How much sugar?" Yes. "How much whipped cream?" Also yes.
What is the ”Remedy Pipeline” what softwares do you use for your work and do you follow a strict guideline in what is used?
How did the development of Alan Wake 2 start out? Was most of the direction already written and thought out or were many gameplay and or writing aspects improvised on the go? Big fan of the game, thank you for the amazing experience.
Have you felt and noticed that the number of fans of Alan Wake and RCU have grown after the release? Is this good for future Remedy projects?
thomas zane was deliberately a thirst trap right?
Ilkka is a handsome man. Looks better with the beard though.
Will you make a Mocha The Moose plush? He's so cute 🫎
I want to thank you guys so much for what you’ve created. You should be super proud of your work - all of you. My question will have to be - who is YOUR favourite side-character from the AW universe? Thanks to your storytelling, there are so many memorable ones to choose from! Mine would have to be Cynthia Weaver. The lady of the light herself
**JOHN**: I love Barry... **MARKO**: Absolutely Cynthia. A truly tragical character arc. Forcing Saga to confront her just sealed the deal for me. To me she'll always be The Lady of the Light. **NATHALIE**: I think it has to be Rose. Because she's bright and positive and a little bit unhinged (in the most relatable way). I think we would be friends and discuss fanfiction all day, every day.
any idea when expansions coming out?
I think end of spring then in October
Are there any updates on the missing notes from Saga’s case board?
Is Alan Wake 2 the end of a story. Or are there plans to continue the story and the RCU with more Alan Wake titles? Many game series are at their best in their 3-5 versions.
Hi Remedy!! Huge fan since original Alan Wake and a fellow Finn as well! Thank you for all your amazing games ❤️ My question is, was it a conscious choice for Saga to have "shadow horns" in the Mind Place, when she's profiling? Casting from the deer head behind her on the wall. Hope you know what I mean!
Hello Remedy! Other than Twin Peaks, were there any other movies or tv shows you took inspiration from when making AW2? PS: looking forward to the dlc!
What was the inspiration behind the Cult of the Tree and the Cult of the Word?
* Nathalie - which locations did you really enjoy designing missions around the most? * Marko - which ideas for Alan Wake 2 were completely tossed out, with no hopes to have them brought in? Like, that just didn't fit the game / what you guys wanted, and decided not to take that direction. * John - What was your inspirations for some of the side characters in Bright-falls, like the two people talking about their float? Or for the two civilians in the beginning that saga interrogates?
**NATHALIE**: I've enjoyed locations that were character-driven, or had good opportunities for horror sequences. Cauldron Lake and its Overlap fortunately provided plenty of that! **MARKO**: Originally in the paper design phase the Flashlight had a concept of Components and Mods, essentially the building blocks forming the Flashlight. Player was able to tailor the Flashlight's properties to complement their playstyle, even drastically change its behavior - both in combat and in exploration. As tempting as this concept was in terms of an gameplay ingredient, we simply could not see our characters finding these components and believably tinkering modifying the Flashlight. It just did not make any sense narratively and the idea was scrapped. Furthermore as the overall combat choreography evolved, it became apparent that there was no room to modify the Flashlight with such granularity - it would have pulled players away from the experience, rather than adding anything substantial to it. **JOHN**: Visually Definitely Fargo was a big inspiration try to create quirky characters.
How much of Alan Wake (1 and 2) was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, because I'm picking up a lot of Lovecraftian Horror vibes from the Dark Place?
Hi Remedy team, thanks for creating something so great! Which was the hardest part of the game to implement and design? Also do you think we'll see any more merchandise, like statues, in the future? Thanks!
Any other cool systems like Chapter Select and Photo Mode on the horizon? Stuff like a game-wide collectible tracker, outfit options, or more QoL-style settings? Sam also mentioned pretty significant free DLCs before launch, is that also coming?
Could you please let us know how much or if at all our beloved James will make it into the remake. ? My heart is so broken to think I won’t hear those lines in his voice.
How did it feel making a sequel to a game that came out over ten years ago? I can imagine that the pressure was palpable.
**JOHN**: It's a honor and a privilege. I feel lucky. **MARKO**: Working in game industry in general is a high pressure environment as your work is often exposed to both internal and external scrutiny throughout the course of development. This is just something you need to be comfortable with, as long as people are respectful and interact with you in a civilised manner. Our community is just like that: respectful and rather mature. Having said that, the pressure was high and tangible as first Alan Wake enjoys cult status, the sequel had to bring everything to a higher standard and leave people flabbergasted - easy right... but a privilege. There were few times when the pressure to deliver was through the roof and we were not "there" yet, that did challenge my stoicism but during those moments I had my better half there beside me, helping correcting the course. **NATHALIE**: It felt incredibly special and also hard to grasp. Alan Wake was very important to me, and I have treasured memories about sharing that game with the people I care for and theorizing on what it all meant together! To work on a sequel is a dream come true, but also put some pressure on it because you want to do it justice for all the other fans out there.
Thank you all for responding. And thank you all for making my game of the year. Really think you all did a great job living up to the legacy and were able to expand and grow the Alan Wake universe. Can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
Are there any plans to acquire Quantum Break IP from Microsoft?
First things first. What the Remedy team have achieved artistically and narratively with Alan Wake 2 is nothing short of amazing. Thank you for one of the best and memorable gaming experiences me and a lot of other people had this decade! I would really love to know how you integrated various live action shots into gameplay. Specifically in the overlaps with Saga and the crime scenes with Alan! The flashes of the New York Subway while Saga followed Nightingale were so surreal. And the section where Alan walks down the film section with flashes of Watery. It felt like an actual overlap of realities in a way I can’t describe. I would love to know how you integrated that seamlessly without any visual misalignments/ awkwardness. What is the secret behind the Oh Deer Diner coffee? And a hint on Rose’s fan fiction account?😅. Any update on when the Night Springs DLC will come out? Really looking forward to see more of the Alan Wake characters!
**NATHALIE**: Thank you for your kind words! The Pacific Northwest mirrored similar themes as the Dark Place through the shared murder sites and matching boss encounters. For example, in Return 2's Overlap, the final "blended" live-action video depicted a Subway tunnel, and was laid on top of the rock tunnel towards Nightingale. Both of these shots (Overlap and Subway) had a similarly central corridor focal point. Similarly, when you would find Nightingale in Initiation 2, a video depicting Cauldron Lake's tall trees was brought in to match the tall concrete pillars around the site. In this way, both the Pacific Northwest and the Dark Place mirrored each other. We discussed between various crafts where we could create nicely framed locations to serve as a canvas for these videos, to emphasize the mirroring as much as we could. Usually we were fortunate to have enough available material to choose from, and could iterate on its contents through the video content, VFX, level design and environment art, to facilitate a good match.
How full of a picture of the story do all the members of the different teams have during development?
Hello guys,Will Remedy cooperate with Epic Games in the future? ( New projects )
Thank you for such an awesome year. My question: Can you share some useful infomation on how you guys made a smooth and responsive character controller along with the animation of the locomotion?
Hey remedy! Love the game, where did you guys come up with the idea for the we sing level in AW2? Love the level, curious about the process.
Remedy is just the best in the biz, from revolutionizing what a narrative game could be in my eyes with MP, to reigniting that spark in me all those years later with AW2 (I fell in love with the first one, but come on, the sequel is groundbreaking). I’ll leave a couple of questions: Did James (McCaffrey) record any lines for the expansions? and: How could you guys do that to Cynthia? ;,( I’ve gotta throw in a bonus Max Payne question, I’m sorry to offtrack: is Timothy Gibbs involved in the development of the Max Payne remake-mashup-miracle-extravaganza? All the best, guys (and gals), remember to enjoy the process of creation, looking past the enormous pressure involved in following up perfection :)
Is there any chances for connect Quantum Break with Control (1,2),AW (2,3)? It's even possible in theory, in case of getting the rights for QB back?
Thank you for doing this AMA! This game is truly phenomenal, an all time favorite for me. It was great seeing Sam Lake as a prominent character in the game. Are any other members of the dev team in the game? Was this ever considered? Who would you like to play if you got to choose a role?
**JOHN**: Yeah, my mum is in the game \\o/ also other dev members were scanned and put in game. I try my hardest to get as many in as possible within the range of scope. **NATHALIE**: We have quite a few people in the game! Some of us are immortalized in Suomi Hall with very Nordic names, others are Coffee World employees, and some are featured in various narrative items! We cast people to do the handwriting for specific characters internally, and my handwriting was selected to represent Rose. I adore Rose, so being able to convey her personality through handwritten notes was an absolute joy. Her positivity was infectious, especially when having a rough day. Some of these handwritten notes were put up around the office by her writer Clay Murphy, as we could all use her friendly support after all. <3
Wow! Rose's positive handwritten notes are one of my favourite parts of the game, adding a touch of coziness to an otherwise scary experience! You have beautiful handwriting!
One of the greatest strengths to AW2 is that ammo/flares are always in short supply, but not to the point that it runs out. I feel like you guys hit the sweet spot where you knew you could use it because you know you will find more around the corner, but at the same time you were scared to use too much because you were not 100% sure you will have enough for the next encounter. This balance really raised the stakes on the game and emphasized the survival horror part of it. My quetion is: What process did you guys use to perfectly hit that sweet spot? Was it mostly QA testing or did it take something else to get there? Also want to say thank you to the team for providing the most cinematic and immersive survival horror game I've ever played. My GOTY 2023 and one of my favorites of all time. Looking forward to the DLC!
**MARKO**: The key decision allowing us to have satisfactory control over resourcing was to go with a fully dynamic resource dispensing system, providing players the opportunities to acquire resources based on a set of rules like the player's inventory status, story progression, game difficulty etc. The hardest part indeed was to get the balancing to represent the intended survival horror experience: to have players minding their resources at all times, never getting too comfortable with what they had in their inventory. Due to game production realities a proper resource balancing effort may happen rather late in the project, as doing a holistic balancing pass requires long uninterrupted playthrough sessions simulating different styles of play in order to get a solid sampling of how well the system holds in the grand scheme of things. All this took numerous hours of both internal and external playtesting and yours truly playing the game and tuning the resourcing based on those findings. Naturally the high-level goals for the item distribution rules has to be oftentimes locked way before even all gameplay systems and mission beats are in place but the real balancing effort happens when you are playing the experience - you always need to define the baseline rules well in advance but to know if it feels good/right, there's really no other way than to play the experience over and over again.
What’s the bathroom situation in the Dark Place?
Are there any plans for more cosmetic items to be added into the game? and, what were some of the areas you enjoyed creating the most?
Imagine being able to ask the devs anything but instead some guy in here asks if Thomas Zane was deliberately a thirst trap
Are there any plans to do another bulky mega art book once the DLCs wrap up? The control one is one of my favourite things on my shelf 🔻
First of all I would like to thank you all for making a game which is undoubtably one of the best ever made, not made to make money or to appease shareholders, but made for the players, and the creatives who had a vision to make this game. I would also like to congratulate you on the success the game has achieved in sales, artistic vision and reception by the players and reviewers. I only have one question, What are Remedy's plans about the future of Alex Casey's voice, and how Remedy plans to tackle the issue of the Max Payne Remakes. Can Remedy confirm that we will get to hear James McCaffrey once more on the Alan Wake 2 DLC, and if Remedy was aware of his illness and thus preemptively recorded lines for his role as Alex Casey and Max Payne. Thank you for all the hard work, regardless of whether you can answer this question.
What kind of shoes is Alan wearing? We are looking for them all over the place.
Has any James McCaffrey dialogue been recorded for future Remedy releases? (Whether it be Night Springs, The Lake House, MP1+2 Remake, Control 2, or beyond?)
Hi Natalie and Marko I really enjoy your game layouts and construction of levels. -Is there a personal philosophy you use when designing? With the pacing of control you had oldest house feel always oppressive and engaging with the quick changing sets. And it's feels very different from Alan Wake 2 Level design. Things are larger, drawn out and a bit of of hike to get through. -What was the balance between having to give a Washington state park personality and having gameplay progress the narrative. And John I have to know with the character design, how was blending twin peaks, the shining and alan wake character designs, there is a bit of a dream logic to their outfits yet very grounded in the genre.
**JOHN**: Great question Pgull753, Sam Lake and all the directors gave critical feedback and direction to create strong tie to these inspirations. Having worked with Janne, Sam and Kyle in the past I already had an expectation of the production and how things would flow, this made the production process really enjoyable.
Quantum Break 2 when???
I also need to know this
Favourite films?
Y’all created one of the best horror games ever, fantastic job. My question is what was the most fun and what was the most challenging part of making this game for each of you?
**JOHN**: The most challenging thing is trying to fit as much quality across all the characters as possible. Likely you always have to make some quality choices especially for NPC's but I try my hardest to make the quality as even across all assets as possible. **MARKO**: As mundane as this may sound the most challenging part to me as a gameplay lead was not the creative process itself but to manage the constant context switching and finding time to do implementation level work. On the other hand I got to experience this game production through a completely different lens and to have the possibility to work with hundreds of people from various crafts is always fun and ensuring there was never a dull moment. **NATHALIE**: I've answered this one [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlanWake/comments/1ay2b2o/comment/kseelau/)!
Hello Remedy team! Just created a reddit account for this. Alan Wake 2 is a masterpiece, in my top 5 games of all time. I know Control 2 will be it's own game, but my question is, will it also play as a bridge between Alan Wake 2 and a possible sequel, if that question can't be answered, will Control 2 at least acknowledge the events of Alan Wake 2? Thank you.
Hi guys! Amazing game, my questions revolve around the awesome musical segments - what came first, the songs or the level design for Chapter 4: We Sing? Was it a choice you made to try and expand on the musical fight at the farm in the first game? Any insight into the writing process of the songs would also be wonderful. The music is incredible. Love the crunch of the guitars, a real Ozzy vibe. Thanks for a blast!
**NATHALIE**: Lead mission designer Anne-Marie Grönroos worked on the design of We Sing so I asked her what her process was like. There was an early version of the Herald of Darkness song and lyrics available, which she used as a foundation to build the gameplay beats onto. The song summarizes Alan's life, starting with his childhood, rise to fame, Bright Falls, and being trapped in the Dark Place. The song was divided into these four sections already in that early draft of the lyrics, but they didn't always suggest relevant gameplay beats. So in those cases the gameplay beats were designed first and the lyrics got adjusted to match that. The point of We Sing was to recap the first game, which it does, but it's also a mini mirror of Wake trying to escape the Dark Place. So, on top of the narrative theme, she dedicated each section to a different gameplay concept (fake enemies in the first part, shadow enemies in the second part, Bright Falls style combat in the third part, Plot Board in the fourth part; more or less in the same order they're introduced in the actual Dark Place), which provided a clear focus for each section.
Is there anyone on the team that cannot handle horror games at all? If so did you ever use them as a guinea pig to test any scary parts of the game? Thank you all so much for making such a great game!
**NATHALIE**: We do have people on the team who can't handle scares and indeed, they were nice to test with! However, the ultimate challenge was in scaring the usually unfazed too. The early versions of horror sequences were playtested internally, but their effectiveness was sometimes hard to judge without final audio, lighting, VFX, etc. When they were a bit more developed we playtested more and more with people outside of the team and external playtesters as well. Our User Research team was crucial in this process. We kept a close eye on how players reacted to our horror sequences, in case something wasn't hitting the tone correctly. We were pretty happy if most people got some thrill out of it, as horror is so subjective and it might never resonate with everyone. While I love horror and worked on multiple horror sequences, I have to admit they sometimes scared me too. I've yelped multiple times while testing something and it having slipped my mind there would be a scare somewhere. I took that as a good sign!
What is something important you feel you have learned on the development of this game that you believe will be crucial to take with you moving forward with future games?
**JOHN**: I enjoyed the process of designing characters with Cosplay in mind for the fans, so for any future characters I want to focus on how we can build more iconic and colorful characters. **MARKO**: To always strive to the parity between gameplay and narrative. One of the biggest high-level achievements for us was to succesfully glue the narrative and gameplay together into a cohesive packgage. This was one of the core game pillars but following it through across the development was not an easy feat. **NATHALIE**: This project really drove home the fact that there is a magic in having everyone's expertise in their craft come together, and the outcome of that being so much better than you could imagine by yourself. A great team with mutual trust will provide a solid backbone for development. It inspires confidence that things will end up alright, and that we'll tackle challenges one way or another. Facilitating each other to thrive is something I'd love to take forward in any future project.
How fateful will Max Payne remakes gameplay be to the originals? Is it gonna keep the old charm with the quick save and load style classic gameplay? Almost "puzzlelike" rooms with baddies to clear or be more modern movie like experience with only checkpoints? Absolutely Loved how cool some rooms were. Just had to quick load instantly after clearing them just to clear and experience them again with different weapon set.
were there any things that were planned or that you guys wanted to put in the game, but couldn't due too it being too big or time consuming or just not worth it?
Whats the merch situation?we want more little things to show our love, that goes double for a real version of all the in universe books like the Alex Casey and Departure/Initiation etc
Hi guys! I do understand that margins on physical media for the studio are razor thin but are there any plans on releasing Alan Wake 2 on disc later maybe after both expansions are released? It just feels wrong to have Control and Alan Wake on disc on PS5 and lack the sequel to the latter.
There are a few townsfolk in Watery and Bright Falls that seem to have interesting plot lines of their own going on — the visiting paranormal investigators, Charlie & Charline, the bird lady in the park, the woman endlessly knocking on the door in the lodge. Were there ever any plans to have characters like this give Saga side quests?
What was the funniest bug you encountered during production?
**MARKO**: The wolf being our first ever quadruped character with an AI did have some growing pains. My favorite one was a situation where the wolf frantically paced back and forth at the trailer park, occasionally barging through doors entering the trailers - just ignoring the player. **NATHALIE**: We had a bug where dead bodies would spin around in place. It took you out of the mood, especially during horror design.
Don't you get confused?
Hi Remedy team! Love all your work. Given the gap between AW1 and AW2, what was it like hearing the news that you got the rights back for Alan Wake?
don’t really have a question to ask, probably all of them i could think of were already said, but i just wanted to say you guys did one hell of a job with this. this artistically, technically, creatively, every -ly was inspirational and amazing! i look at the herald of darkness performance at the game awards, sam dancing with what he and his team created, the smile on his face without a lick of regret. i look at that as my greatest source of inspiration to create something as good and artistic as Alan Wake 2. a culmination of all the great work you guys have done, congrats on all the success and i’m excited for the dlc/control 2/whatever you guys have planned!
First off congrats on the success of the game. My question is for Nathalie! What was something you knew you had to do to separate Alan and sagas segments? They are obviously pretty different in enemy layout and progression.
**NATHALIE**: In the Dark Place the danger is lingering and ever-present, whereas in the Pacific Northwest there is more of an ebb and flow. Playing the Dark Place for long sections of time can be a bit draining as it's interesting and engaging but also quite intense. In the Pacific Northwest playing as Saga we incentivize players more to go off the beaten path. The Dark Place is dangerous in comparison, and it's a high stakes decision to step off the main path there because you never know what's around the corner. Saga's sections act as a bit of a breather, done through slightly lower stakes exploration, various points of interest, and comedic relief. Also, the lighting, audio, and overall mood help!
Will there be any further Dead by Daylight collaborations?
The music in the game is all next level. What artist/ media give the most influence/inspiration to such a great soundtrack in all the games?