So, I've been trying to catch SVGL up on things that I've written but not really talked much about, and I was just going to let the Alan Wake discussion go, figuring it's too old and stuff. But I saw that Mitch Krpata talked about it kind of recently, which makes it okay by me.
His issue with Alan Wake reminds me a lot of my problem with Shadow Complex (your urgent salvation can wait while I search around for some more collectibles, dear!). But when I wrote about Alan Wake, I had a different kinda-issue with what was otherwise a pretty good game.
It may not be the 'greatest writing' of my career, but I think this article, on the attrition of Japanese survival horror in the face of Western design best practices, is maybe one of the more 'useful' things I've ever written. I'm still not especially convinced we can ever get the survival horror genre's heyday back -- if for no other reason than I've hopelessly idealized my teen gaming experiences, perma-preserved the glory of old franchises under the gloss of nostalgia, and jacked my expectations for future games beyond all meeting.
Actually, I thought Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was really good. And I think Alan Wake is pretty good. I wouldn't say I loved it; some parts of it impressed me greatly, and I didn't find it forgettable.
I did write this article recently about why it wasn't that scary, though. Read that for my whole thoughts on the game.
Okay, I was scared sometimes. But there were enough holes in it that kept it from really grabbing me. What'd you guys think?
[Today's Good Song: 'You Cried Me', Jookabox (check Rafa Toro's sweet and cute-scary vid for it, too.)]
9 comments:
Several GamaSutra commenters beat me to it, but: I don't think the designers were trying to make a really "scary" game. Tense in places, a few scares, but that wasn't the main point.
I do agree that collectibles such as the thermoses and beer can pyramids were a weakness. As the game evolved from sandbox to linear, they kept some good stuff (like the engine, especially the weather stuff, which they mention in the developer's commentary on the limited edition) and got rid of some chaff (like character backstories that probably would have bogged down the narrative). I have a feeling that the thermoses worked well in a sandbox game as an incentive to explore, and they made a mistake in not removing them.
I wanted to write a verbose comment about Alan Wake, in fact I was raring to a few weeks ago. (By spamming your shoutbox again :/ )
However my memory and enthusiasm has died with having to keep quiet till the rest of world had played it, (magically the game came to the UK before the US, for a change) and then also gorging on Red Dead Redemption straight after.
Originally Alan Wake was my personal game of the year, but then it was superseded by Red Dead. I loved AW, but more truthfully I love Remedy.
I will expand on that later...
Even though horror is one of my favourite genres in games, I'm not really looking to be scared when I play them. It's a nice surprise when it does happen, but what I like most about (good) horror stories is the attention to atmosphere, the emphasis of the unknown as an adversary, and the potential for character drama. It might just be my particular taste, but for me horror games tend to have a better combination of those elements than other genres.
In those terms, I think Alan Wake is fantastic. It has its own signature atmosphere, it leaves the true nature of the antagonist to the imagination, and it is very character-driven. It has a little too much action for my taste, the search for collectibles was somewhat distracting, it's not inherently scary, and the character animations are a couple of years behind the cutting edge, but it is otherwise one of the more enjoyable titles I've played in a long time, if for nothing else than the build-up to and execution of the ending.
I have to agree with one of your commenters on the Gamasutra article: without some risk of loss, there can't be any serious tension in a horror game.
Bioshock, for me at least, was a pretty scary game. I didn't realize until the end of the game how little you lost from dying, because I'd been playing extremely cautiously. When I found out that you just popped out of the nearest revivo-matic pod, it suddenly became far less scary. On replaying it, the first Big Daddy encounter was more of a joke than anything, as I just bum-rushed him from the pod with the wrench, dying over and over. I lost nothing, therefore I had no incentive to be scared of anything.
I agree that Wake was meant to be more of a "thriller" than a "scary" game. Whatever it was, I loved it. Sure, the thermoses were a problem. But Remedy just seems to make great games, with great atmosphere, and very good writing. I mean, the Max Paynes are still two of my very favorite games ever. I know there are a lot of people not as high on it as me, but I put Wake right up there as one of the top games of the year. The episodic idea was pretty brilliant as well. When "In Dreams" came on early in the game, I just had to sit and enjoy it. It was amazing. The music, the cutscenes, and some of the level designs were absolutely spectacular. I'd get more into it, but I don't want to start throwing spoiler alerts up everywhere.
Have you ever played Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter? I haven't played much in the way of horror games, but when it comes to atmosphere and tension, I'll be forever comparing every other "scary" game I ever play to it.
Leigh, you're spot-on on your Alan Wake article at Gamasutra. While Alan Wake was good, I only got one or two genuine scares; particularly the parts where I didn't have a handgun or when my torchlight was gone. Alan's limited stamina was a great touch too.
They shouldn't have added in the "look out there's a bunch of Taken after you" slo-mo camera shots, and should have minimized Alan Wake's on-the-nose monologue. Let the game's visuals do the brunt of the story-telling.
I liked it. But I can't believe it cost $775 million to make! Just seems a bit much to me.
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